CGI announced today that it is accelerating the Web-enabling of its solutions in view of its clients' strong demand for such services. CGI will make investments totalling $50 million over a two-year period, which will allow it to consolidate its leadership position across the fast-growing e-business sector.
In a speech delivered today in Montreal, at the Electronic Commerce Institute's business luncheon, CGI's President and COO Jean Brassard announced this acceleration of CGI's investments in e-business. CGI will invest to further strengthen its web-enabling capabilities and related intellectual property, including developing its portfolio of solutions and extending its network of centres of expertise. Today, CGI generates 20% of its revenues in e-business.
"We are very excited about this investment in our offering of e-solutions and in our people. This will allow us to help expand our members' knowledge base, skills set and tools to support our clients' e-business projects," said Jean Brassard. "Following their rollover into Year 2000, our clients across North America, Europe and elsewhere are embracing Internet-based solutions and Web-enabled solutions and one of their major concern is to further reduce time to market. This investment will allow CGI to better support their strategic and commercial goals by rapidly implementing e-business solutions tailored to their needs. In doing so, CGI reinforces its position as a leading North American e-economy enabler."
In the course of this plan, CGI will accelerate its investments in its overall e-solutions offering, which includes the following:
- The customer-facing component, which supports the customer relationship management function (CRM)
- The supplier-facing component, which addresses all supply chain requirements;
- the employee-facing component, which addresses issues related to the employee-employer relationship, including sharing of information and access to the knowledge
- The e-business infrastructures component, which is required to run e-business applications in a secure, reliable and performing environment
Each of these e-business components is supported by a variety of CGI centres of expertise and solutions, including the Company's solutions for the financial services sector, namely banking, credit unions and insurance, for the manufacturing to retail value chain and the public utilities sector. CGI plans to expand its portfolio of e-solutions and its network of centres of expertise.
Related technologies
In addition to its own offering, CGI will also invest in specific e-business projects and technologies, such as component-based development (CBD) and Application Service Provider (ASP) business, in which a company provides clients with specific solutions via the Internet.
This segment also includes CGI's commercial alliances with ERP providers such as SAP, PeopleSoft and Oracle. The Company will cooperate closely with these ERP companies, in order to further build on its capabilities in these technologies, and work with hardware and software vendors such as Microsoft Corporation, Compaq Computers and Sun Microsystems.
About CGI
CGI is the largest independent information technology consulting firm in Canada and the fifth largest in North America, based on its revenue run rate of CDN$1.6 billion. Its order backlog totals approximately CDN$7.2 billion and the company currently has proposals outstanding for an additional CDN$4 billion in potential large contracts. CGI has 10,000 professionals and provides end-to-end IT services and business solutions to 2,500 clients in Canada, the United States and more than 23 countries around the world. CGI's shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (GIB), as well as on the Toronto exchange (GIB.A). They are included in the Toronto Stock Exchange's TSE 300 Composite and TSE 100 indexes. Web site: www.cgi.ca
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For more information:
CGI
Ronald White
Director, Investor and Media Relations
(514) 841-3230
ronald.white@cgi.ca
