BearingPoint
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| BearingPoint Inc. | |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: BE) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | McLean, Virginia, USA |
| Key people | Harry You, CEO |
| Revenue | US$ 3.5 billion (est. 2006) |
| Website | www.bearingpoint.com |
BearingPoint, Inc. (NYSE: BE) is one of the world’s largest providers of management and technology consulting services to Global 2000 companies and government organizations in 60 countries worldwide. Based in McLean, Va., the firm has approximately 17,500 employees and major practice areas focusing on the Public Services, Financial Services and Commercial Services markets. New York Governor's Office (2006-06-27). GOVERNOR PATAKI AND MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCE BEARINGPOINT.... Press release. Retrieved on [[2006-07-13]].
The company provides management and technology strategy, systems design and architecture, applications implementation, network infrastructure, systems integration and managed services. BearingPoint’s tailored solutions are designed to help clients generate revenue, reduce costs and access the information necessary to operate their business on a timely basis.
The company is among Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired” companies in its Information Technology Services sector and is also a sponsor of PGA TOUR golf professional Phil Mickelson.[citation needed]
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[edit] History
The company traces a nearly 110 year history in professional services. It emerged as KPMG’s consulting services, created as a distinct business unit in 1997. On January 31, 2000, KPMG formally spun off the consulting unit as KPMG Consulting, LLC. On February 8, 2001, the company went public on the NASDAQ market. With KPMG selling all of its shares, KPMG Consulting became the first of the “Big Five” consulting firms to achieve independence from its audit / tax parent.
Over the next year and a half, the company expanded by acquiring some of KPMG’s country consulting practices, as well as the addition of country practices and hiring from Arthur Andersen’s business consulting unit. On October 2, 2002, the company was re-named BearingPoint and the next day began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “BE.”
[edit] Organization
BearingPoint is organized around three industry business units – Public Services, Commercial Services and Financial Services – and two solution units – Management Consulting and Technology Solutions. It has three regional operations – the Americas; Europe, Mid-East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific.
Each industry group breaks out into segments.
Financial Services consists of Banking, Insurance, Global Markets, and Hospitality services. Public Services consists of Defense; Emerging Markets; Federal / National Government; Health Services; and State and Local Governments / Education / Nonprofits. Commercial Services, which addresses the widest swath of the market, consists of Automotive; Energy and Chemicals; Communications; Consumer Packaged Goods; Content; Electronics / Software; Life Sciences; Industrial Markets; Retail / Wholesale; Transportation; and Utilities.
While many of company’s solution offerings have historically emerged from the industry teams, it now has dedicated organizations for developing, launching and delivering core offerings. The Management Consulting unit develops offerings around such issues and disciplines as business strategy; customer relationship management; supply chain management; financial management; mergers and integration; human capital management; business process and performance improvement; growth and innovation; and business transformation. The Technology Solutions unit focuses on application services and integration; development of industry- and process-specific package-driven solutions; custom and large-scale systems integration; network infrastructure and managed services opportunities, predominantly applications management.
[edit] BearingPoint Infonova
BearingPoint Infonova is a wholly owned subsidiary of BearingPoint, and was founded in Graz, Austria in 1989. The company has been actively working with leading Telcos around the globe for more than 15 years.
The solutions portfolio of BearingPoint Infonova encompasses products and services in the areas of IP Telephony, Operations Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS), Internet Infrastructure Technology, Network Management, eSecurity, Interactive TV & Digital Video Broadcasting as well as technology consulting and training.
BearingPoint’s Infonova Service Management Platform (SMP) is a Carrier-Grade Next Generation OSS/BSS solution with a proven track record in live environments.
The Infonova SMP solution is a fully integrated system, delivering a full range of customer management, service provisioning, and billing functions for voice, Internet, data, TV, and content services. In addition, it incorporates an “umbrella” OSS which integrates COTS and network equipment provider’s OSS products into a single integrated solution delivering seamless network service management functions such as performance monitoring, fault management, customer problem management and service level reporting.
The solution was initially created in 1989 to deliver Videotex on a Unix server over an IP network, which soon became one of the first “nationwide IP VPN networks” worldwide. This network has a core IP backbone with dial-up and fixed access lines delivering services for consumers and businesses alike. It is a precursor to today’s vision of fully IP networks over fiber, copper and wireless links, and is completely managed by the Infonova SMP.
[edit] Alliances
On February 14, 2006, BearingPoint and Google announced a partnership to create a dedicated Search Solutions practice within BearingPoint. This team, the first in the industry partnering with Google, will help companies take advantage of Google’s enterprise technology, to make the information that’s locked in disparate corporate technology systems easier to access. Ultimately, the goal is to create more productive workplaces.
The company also works closely with software vendors Google, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP, and hardware vendors HP and IBM (BearingPoint works with IBM from both a hardware and software perspective) to create tailored solutions. In addition to these marquee names, the company has several dozen smaller partners that play important roles in solution innovation and development.
[edit] Financial position
Based on its most recent filing, for 2004, revenue for the year ended December 31, 2004 was $3.3758 billion. This represented an increase in revenue of $245.6 million, or 7.8%, from revenue generated during the twelve months ended December 31, 2003 of $3,130.1 billion.
The company has defended itself in several court cases concerning allegations of contracting irregularities and disclosures that its officials overstated its profits in 2003.
[edit] Economic development projects
Some of the company’s highest profile work is done in the field of emerging markets. In 2000, the company retained the Barents Group in its separation from KPMG. The Barents Group specialized in economic consulting in developing countries, usually through contracts awarded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Once incorporated into BearingPoint’s Public Services industry organization, Barents Group evolved into BearingPoint’s Emerging Markets segment and gained a reputation for doing economic project work in post-conflict regions.
One such project relates to a $240 million USAID contract for assistance in the development of a competitive private sector in Iraq, where according to a federal investigation the job specifications had mostly been written by BearingPoint itself, effectively excluding competitors from the bid. Ultimately, however, BearingPoint won the project in open competition.
On January 2, 2003, BearingPoint announced that it had installed and was helping to operate a financial management information system for the government of Afghanistan. The work was part of a $3.95 million contract the company won to help the government upgrade its accounting system.
In March 2003, the state of Florida retracted an $80 million IT outsourcing deal awarded to BearingPoint after complaints by the losing bidders. Critics pointed to the company's close ties to Governor Jeb Bush. On March 23, BearingPoint announced it had been awarded a three-year, $39.9 million contract from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help Afghanistan implement policy and institutional reform measures that will lead to an improved environment for economic development. The agreement includes an option for another two years, for a total award of $64.1 million.
