Vedior’s ICT systems are constantly under review and we continuously seek ways to improve performance, efficiency, security and, wherever possible, reduce costs. A number of major ICT initiatives were completed by our operating companies during the course of the year with emphasis placed on telecommunications and network enhancement (including the roll out of Voice over Internet Protocol, or ‘VOIP’, networks in certain markets), the development of web-enabled front office systems, and the introduction of additional functionality to enhance services to our clients and candidates via the Internet. The Internet plays an increasingly important role in all aspects of our business from attracting candidates to interacting with clients to generating internal efficiencies. During 2005, the trend towards open standards for information interchange continued and new technology products are almost invariably web-enabled and suited for browser viewing. Vedior operating company websites now receive well over one million unique visits per month and the quality and functionality of company websites continues to improve. Vedior’s Database of On-Line Vacancies (DOVA) which entered service in 2004 regularly features over 20,000 temporary and permanent vacancies making it one of the world’s largest international databases of online jobs. These diverse jobs are uploaded from Vedior’s operating companies’ websites around the globe in multiple languages. Consolidated jobs are advertised on www.vedior.com, providing additional visibility and maximising the potential for candidate response. A successful online advertising campaign during 2005 resulted in web traffic to DOVA increasing by more than tenfold. Further development and functionality is planned in 2006. Vendor Management Systems (VMS) and Human Resource Outsource providers continue to increase their market visibility among larger employers particularly in the US, UK and Australasia. A number of Vedior companies have developed important strategic alliances with key VMS vendors which enable them to provide leading-edge technology for managed services clients in a ‘vendor neutral’ capacity. Following on from the amalgamation of various databases, Vediorbis in France commenced the development and implementation of a web-based Employee Relations Management System to improve working practices and the effectiveness of its workforce. Vedior’s subsidiary in India, Ma Foi, has begun to provide a range of cost-effective offshore services to several companies within the Group. As India’s largest HR BPO provider, Ma Foi’s technology and administrative expertise is very significant. During 2006, we expect more of our operating companies to take advantage of the excellent and cost effective skills offered by our Indian colleagues. Vedior Holding supports its operating companies in all technology matters. In March 2005, the ICT managers of our largest operating companies met in person to discuss a broad range of technology issues which resulted in the development of a number of important Group initiatives. This meeting is held annually to supplement established information sharing procedures which include half-yearly conference calls with all ICT managers worldwide. Given our global scale and decentralised structure, this efficient and open sharing of information ensures our companies are well-informed, mitigates risk, prevents duplication of effort, provides useful benchmarking data and, ultimately, leads to improved services. Vedior continues to contain technology spend through more efficient business models, corporate procurement programmes and the use of tactical outsourcing. Vedior takes advantage of economies of scale through global and national framework agreements with leading software and hardware vendors. Vedior operating companies work cooperatively to achieve best pricing and services from suppliers. In addition to established agreements, new global agreements were put in place during 2005 with vendors of networking solutions and Email archiving products. Email archiving now forms part of a formal document retention policy which was introduced at the end of 2005 specifying, among other things, that business related emails are to be archived in the same way as all business documents. While Email archiving is an essential cost of doing business, such systems also provide numerous efficiency benefits and ease the strain on Email systems increasingly burdened by the volume of traffic. We continue to seek ways to minimise and mitigate technology risk. ICT risk is managed via an annual review which, from 2005, was made available online within our corporate intranet. The review requires each company to meet a number of minimum criteria including the requirement to have a tested plan for disaster recovery/business process continuity. Security issues are another important area of focus. Vedior companies download and deploy advanced anti-virus software products. A number of Vedior’s operating companies now employ full-time staff to manage security and business process continuity, while others outsource this to a specialist provider. During 2005, no major virus or intrusion disruptions occurred.
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