Number One Global Business Process Outsourcing Provider for the Utilities Industry Announced

PRESCOT, England, November 19 - Vertex, a leading global provider of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO),
Customer Management and IT solutions, has been ranked as the number one
Utilities BPO provider globally by the respected The Black Book of
Outsourcing (a division of Datamonitor).

The Black Book of Outsourcing industry survey investigated over 140
contracts held by 1,200 utility companies and agencies globally, and ranked
81 vendors against a range of key performance indicators (KPIs). Along with
the overall number one ranking, Vertex also ranked first in 11 of the 18
KPIs. Vertex also achieved "top vendor" honours in three of the four
"operational excellence" categories, including contact centre BPO, billing
and payment transaction BPO and field service operations BPO.

Dan Sullivan, Managing Director for Utilities at Vertex, commented,
"We're absolutely delighted to be recognised as the global number one BPO
provider in the Utilities industry. Our acquisition of Alliance Data's
Utility Services division last year clearly strengthened
our commitment to the industry and our ability to effectively fulfil our
clients' BPO needs to help them take advantage of opportunities in our new
'smart world'. This number one ranking validates the strong partnerships we
have established with our clients in this rapidly changing industry."

"Vertex has earned the distinction of being one of the most
customer-respected BPO companies in the world," said Doug Brown, co-author of
The Black Book of Outsourcing. "Vertex has earned top honours due to its
ability to deploy consistently across the full spectrum of criteria that
clients look for in their BPO provider. In addition, Vertex was
overwhelmingly praised by clients in the four

most important attributes clients look for in an outsourcing partner:
vertical expertise, innovation, customisation and reliability."

Paul Sweeny, Chief Executive Officer of Vertex, concluded, "While Vertex
today supports many industries globally, we got our start in the Utilities
industry well over a decade ago. Therefore, this number one ranking has
special significance for our 8,000 Vertex associates worldwide. Utilities are
undergoing rapid transformation, so we are pleased that our expertise and
strengths have enabled us to be the BPO provider of choice in this exciting
and dynamic industry."

For more information, visit www.vertexgroup.com

Media enquiries to: Anna Campopiano, (t) +44-7827-886991, (e) anna.campopiano at vertex.co.uk