In keeping with its decentralised management model, Vedior does not have a centralised approach to information technology. Each operating company is responsible for its own IT systems and technology staff. We believe this approach serves the Group very well.

• Relevance – we operate in many different sectors of the recruitment market and in many different countries with widely varying operating requirements. Our approach to technology ensures that the ICT we use is appropriate for each sector and market of operation.
• Ownership – companies have a strong sense of ownership and lines of communication are short.
• Risk is distributed – outside of the Group’s compliance policies and some limited procurement initiatives, there are few “grand projects” and, therefore, the cost and impact of project failure is contained.
• Agility – within their annual budget companies do not have to defer to a bureaucratic central authority for purchasing decisions or change requests. There is absolutely no “one size fits all” mentality. There is also freedom to innovate.

Despite this decentralised model, there are many examples of co-operation among our operating companies to either share back-offices, products, and technology expertise or to outsource technology services from one company to another. In markets such as the UK, Netherlands, US and South America, some of our smaller operating companies are leveraging the expertise of our larger companies to outsource part, or all of, their ICT provisioning.

The Group also facilitates knowledge sharing and promotes best practice on technology issues. Each year, we host a conference of CIO’s from our major operating companies with an agenda that includes project reports, risk avoidance, mitigation and management, disaster recovery and business process continuity, standards, best practice, governance and compliance. At approximately six monthly intervals, all CIO’s are invited to participate in a global teleconference to discuss contemporary issues. Furthermore, the Group’s intranet enables us to maintain an active dialogue with technical personnel via an eBusiness blog.

Proactive communication is underwritten by a number of corporate policies relating to technical matters which establish certain obligations and set minimum standards. In September 2006, we implemented a new software asset management policy, which included the introduction of a Group-wide audit of all software assets to be completed before the end of 2007. Auditing of our US operations was completed before the end of 2006. We anticipate that more effective management of software assets should lead to lower costs of licensing, better control and better security.

Vedior also works with operating companies to create Group-wide agreements or preferred vendor arrangements that provide substantial discounts for common products and services. In June 2006, we finalised the negotiation of a global enterprise agreement with Microsoft for the supply of their desktop pool of products. This agreement provides our operating companies with a number of cost, administrative and technical advantages including the right to upgrade to the latest versions of Microsoft products at our convenience.

During 2006, a number of operating companies were engaged in high-level ICT projects to upgrade products and services and provide greater operating efficiencies. These included investment programmes to update core business applications such as ‘front-office’ software, the development of new and more efficient means of processing temporary time and attendance records, payroll and billing, improvements to networked data services, and the development of web-based applications.

A number of the Group’s technology initiatives have been offshored to our Indian operating company, Ma Foi, to take advantage of cost-effective and highly skilled software development expertise in that country. Vedior companies continued to migrate to MPLS data networks, and our global networks are now generally of a very high quality, with low cost broadband access to the vast majority of offices. These traditional networks are very stable and generally more reliable than newer Voice over Internet Protocol networks (VoIP). However, in a number of markets, where there is a compelling economic case, VoIP has been implemented to take advantage of greater flexibility and lower cost.

In 2006, IT Security continued to be a priority for all companies. While there were no reports of major virus outbreaks during the year, our operating companies remain vigilant to ensure personal data remains well protected.

Vedior operates over 200 active websites providing the Group with a diverse and targeted presence to attract candidates. The Internet continues to be an increasingly valuable and efficient tool for sourcing personnel. Collectively, Vedior operating companies now receive approximately 1.3 million unique visitors to their websites every month.

The Group’s DOVA system, which consolidates the online vacancies of our operating companies, has achieved a high level of productivity and is now one of the largest online databases of international job vacancies. During 2006, we experienced a dramatic rise in online job applications via online marketing campaigns, partnerships and the use of sophisticated search engine optimisation techniques. DOVA is available to all Vedior operating companies either to provide increased visibility for their online vacancies and/or as the core job-search facility within their own website. Plans to upgrade and enhance DOVA in 2007 are underway.

The trend to use the Internet for wider HR-related business transactions continues including vendor management, master vendor, and specialised candidate sourcing and background checking services.