If you're looking for a way to save some money in the tough economy, you may want to look for some help from an IT staffing firm. Beyond typical staffing assistance, most IT staffing companies also employ IT consultants and software designers who can all combine to save you money, increase productivity, and increase your efficiency.
Believe it or not companies like mine, Star Base Inc., can do all of this. Over and beyond placing candidates for your projects, Star Base can help improve productivity by ensuring that your company is using the right software for the right application. If application development is not your organizations area of expertise IT staffing firms can recommend new software or write custom software that can meet your organizational needs.
Information technology staffing firms can help increase your efficiency. My organization has developed subject expertise over the past twenty years. We know all of the tricks and shortcuts that many people do not know. Not only can we develop business applications and process improvement we can train users how to do tasks faster and can help identify jobs at your organization that can be handled by a computer but are not. This usually saves companies time and investment
Finally, IT staffing companies can help reduce costs. Yes there will be an initial investment, which is a very tough decision these days. However, in the long run they will find ways to save money and more than make up for their initial costs. If the IT professionals can find ways to have software perform jobs currently being performed by company staff, they will free that staff up for you to use on company core competencies that can produce more goods and services while reducing payroll
When excess waste is minimized increased productivity follows. So you see, IT staffing companies offer much more than simply placing IT personnel. They have the expertise to help cut back on wasteful activities and help you focus on activities that are efficient and designed to maximize your margins. In a highly competitive marketplace, where all of us are stretched to do more with less, this is a competitive advantage that is worth having.
I read today that unemployment has risen to 7.6%. Yes, its official – we are in a recession. However, that does not mean there isn’t opportunity because there is. If everyone believed everything the press is saying our economy does not have a chance and the United States is going to cease to exist.
I also read today that the U.S. government is going to re-visit its parameters for H-1B Visas because they are being used by recruiting body shops rather than giving foreign nationals the real opportunity that they seek. This means that application developers and specialist are going to be able to make up ground that they have lost to foreign nationals in the past.
My suggestion is for developers to increase their skill-set now before the economy begins to get worse. Information technology consulting has never been a steady business it always has had peaks and valleys. When the economy is good projects are plentiful. When it starts to decline projects usually come to a grinding halt. But is you have multiple skills it decrease your odds of becoming a statistic.
Organizations try to do more and more internally rather than outsource it when the economy begins to falter. The more skills a person has the better chances one has to stay employed. This holds true for IT staffing, development and consulting. Additionally, when a developer or infrastructure architect can show an organization how to safe time, investment and people through the implementation of their solution they will endear themselves to that particular organization.
Good information technology strategy can more than pay for itself in this economy. Organizations everywhere are dependent on technology and they need processes to become dynamically automated so they can accomplish more with less while the move towards models of efficiency that will contribute to the productivity of the organization.
Make it your mission to learn more applications and methodologies that can greatly increase the productivity of any company. To do this is to build value for the organization and you by ensuring there will always be a job for those that are willing to innovate and create a better way.
This is your opportunity. Make it happen!
In Part 1, I introduced the concept of segmenting IT solutions providers. In this part we will look at the criteria on how you might do that. Now for the IT consultant’s favorite phrase, it depends. It depends upon the type of provider. For IT staffing, you may look at the ratio of resumes submitted to the number of candidates interviewed to the number of candidates placed. For an IT application development provider, you might look at project costs or more importantly overruns. For hardware service providers, you may look at time from initial call to response, the number of call backs.
Once you have established your metrics, the most obvious thing to me would be to communicate to the providers what your criteria is. But that’s not always the case, I know of a situation where a company was looking to eliminate some of their providers. When a manager at the company was asked how they would go about making the decision on who stays and who goes, the response was “we will use a scoring system on criteria that we have developed”. When asked if they could share the criteria, the answer was “no, we can’t do that”.
It’s critically important that IT solutions providers know what they are being measured on. It’s the only why a supplier can find out what they need to improve on. Every business should be interested in improvement. By segmenting suppliers, you have an opportunity to get great feedback from your strategic suppliers. It also gives you an opportunity to give feedback to your suppliers. I know that’s something I would appreciate!
There is trouble in the near future for talent needs and it is coming in various flavors:
- According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, in 2010 over 10M jobs in the United States will go unfilled – in 2022 it will be 30M jobs
- College graduation rates are down to 54% and 75% of new jobs will require a college degree
- Making the wild assumption that Baby Boomers (44 – 62 years old) will leave the workforce when they are retirement eligible (is that at 55 or 65?) – there isn’t enough Gen X (28 – 43 years old) to replace them (78M Boomers versus 40M Gen Xers). Gen Y (7 – 27 years old) is big (70M), but still lacks the experience (hello…most haven’t even graduated) to make an immediate impact
- The average time in a company for Gen X is four years; for Gen Y it’s more like two and while the Boomers have been pretty loyal in the past, but the technology market hasn’t exactly rewarded them for that loyalty.
- According to an AARP survey of Boomers - 31% of mature workers became responsible for a dependent parent; 23% had an adult child move back home; and 16% were providing child care or day care for grandchild. 50 to 80 hour work weeks, while tolerated by Boomers and some Gen Xers, won’t be tolerated by Gen Y and won’t be of interest to Boomers as they ‘mature’ in their careers and many take on the care of family members. So, since everyone knows that a 40 hour work week for technology professionals is a joke – who’s going to be doing all the work?
Well, I was thinking there are a couple of answers here but those answers will involve a major paradigm shift in the way we think about our workforce today.
Baby Boomers are learning very quickly that retirement will have to be postponed because of our current economic conditions. This wealth of knowledge can be instrumental in assisting those organizations that are struggling with Information Technology Staffing because these folks are going to be around a little longer than they planned!
Information technology departments will have to create a hybrid workforce model that will be made up of Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Gen Yers. Still another approach is to work closer with IT outsourcing partners to ensure you have the talent that you need. My organization, STAR BASE, Inc. makes finding superior IT talent for IT jobs a fulltime pursuit.
Finally, another emerging model that will be downsized IT department with only mission critical personnel and several part-timers that will be used from time-to-time. This model will be subsidized from time-to-time by outsourced to information technology staffing partners that can assist in bridging the gap.
The global economy is tanking, layoffs are everywhere but organizations need to remain positive and work through these difficult times. Information technology is no exception to this statement. Often times when companies decide to cut budgets the information technology department is a prime target to be cut.
So, what can a prudent CIO do to address budget cuts while still operating his/her organization at a competitive advantage? Here are some suggestions that may help:
- Ratios - Look at your ratio of onsite permanent IT employees. Perhaps you could reduce the number of permanent employees to only those that are essential to the mission. Outsourcing the rest of the work to a local firm often times is far more cost effective than permanent employees.
- Time-to-Market – If products and applications can be delivered faster, though a combination of in house personnel and outsourced talent then companies will reap the benefits sooner. Work closer with your outsourcing partners to save time, investment and even the dreaded budgets cuts.
- Revisit your Processes – By working closely with your outsourcing partner. If your team can find how to deliver applications an automated process with fewer touches and less defects there will be less time and money spent on re-works. IT departments must leverage knowledge, experience and tools to gain a competitive advantage while decreasing cost.
- Productivity Improvements – Your internal and your external outsourcing IT partner must embrace being able to accomplish more in less time and at a lower investment. The true business value of IT will be felt across the enterprise.
- Negotiate Your Rates – Any true business partner or business technology consulting firm, will be open to rate reductions if you are willing to negotiate a long term partnership. Dedicated consultants are looking for long-term business partnerships. If you are willing to commit to a set amount of hours they will br eilling to negotiate rates with you.
Application development outsourcing and IT staffing outsourcing can have many benefits in these times of economic challenge. Your organization still needs to operate on a day-to-day basis. Re-think your approach for the mutual benefit of your organization and your outsourcing partner.
Like everything else, the economic downturn is affecting IT Departments everywhere. Projects that were ‘earmarked” for completion are being put on hold and IT budgets are being cut as well. However, IT Departments can help their organizations by selling them on the idea that IT can be used as a competitive advantage.
The key to running a successful IT department is knowing how your organization makes money and not proposing or running projects that are counter productive. Until an IT department re-examines their current process and methodologies and puts together a plan that can transform IT into a competitive advantage for their organization - they run the risk of having budgets slashed and staff reduced. Application development services must be developed with these facts in mind.
Most people in IT use the MS Office applications the same way year in and out. For the most part, they only scratch the surface on what they can actually do with these tools. Additionally, every organization has developed specialty applications within their organizations to meet the needs of the organization. However, far too many organizations have not optimized their applications to enhance the overall value of the IT department. Projects and IT staffing cuts are made many times because organizations do not understand the impact and the value.
Making sure your organization fully understands the value proposition is more important than ever in these economically trying time. The Information technology department can be the outstanding spot for any organization because it can do those things that save money rather than those that make money. It’s not that you do not want to make money. It’s that cost-saving projects tend to be easier to measure and are more predictable than products or services that are dependent on how a customer is going to react to what your organization is offering during these tough economic times. I believe these cost-saving projects will assist any IT department in minimizing costs while maximizing value in these difficult economic times.
building and career advancement. Hey, I subscribe to that body of thought. A few years back I was with a company that held an annual summer picnic and prior to the picnic was a golf outing for those that wished to participate. The CEO, Sales Executives and almost all the management staff went every year on the golf outing. Knowing that was the place to be, I took up the game of golf. The following year there I was on the fairways with the best and brightest of our company.However, according to the “CIO Magazine Golf Networking Survey” conducted earlier this year not everyone sees it that way. Of 394 IT professional respondents, 55 percent say that golf has helped advance their career and 45 percent say that it has not. Maybe those 45 percent are playing it wrong, don’t have a low enough score or are golfing with the wrong people? Seriously, it could be any one or none of those reasons, but the one thing the survey does prove is that hitting the greens does not guarantee instant success.
One piece of advice that I will give is that if you do not enjoy the game, don’t frustrate yourself. There are other ways to do business networking, everything from the traditional professional organizations to the new ways of keeping in touch. I myself am a long time member of the Tri-State Midrange User Group (TSMUG) of the Southwest Ohio Information Technology Community and with my newly achieved CBAP® certification I am a member of The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®), of which there is a Cincinnati chapter. I have and will regularly attend meetings and events of these organizations for both the knowledge and networking value of their programs.
One method of networking that has propped up here in the past few years and is gaining wide acceptance in the business community is on-line networking via social media, such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. New on-line business communities are popping up all the time with a new groove on things. If this is your cup of tea, find one that suites your needs and join in.
CIO magazine also has advice for business networking. Whichever method you choose to expand your horizons, increase your influence and boost your career one thing is clear; in these economic times it would be a mistake not to invest some time and resources into this area. With Business IT Outsourcing and other influences that are reducing the number of Cincinnati IT jobs and IT jobs available across America, your social networking skills and efforts may mean the difference between whether you are employed or in the unemployment lines.
Information technology consulting enables me to observe many organizations and to determine what works and what doesn’t. In the past the one basic quality that an IT strategy consultant needed was to be technical and to have a skill in a given area. However what was true yesterday is not true today. Today, it seems this is a nice quality to have but it is not the only characteristic one needs to advance their career in information technology.
To succeed today as an IT strategy consultant, and to advance your career to the “next level”, you need some very basic skills or qualities that most successful IT consultants have. There is a commonality amongst successful IT consultants that I see that enable individuals to stand-out from their peers. Those traits include:
1. The ability to assess needs. Technology as s business moves at the “speed of light” and organization needs true business partners to assist them with good judicial decisions.
2. The successful IT strategy consultant must be able to create a vision. If you cannot articulate how an application or an integration solution should work, you cannot expect to have acceptance from the person or group you are trying to influence.
3. You must have the ability to create a plan and to create a map to carry out your plans. Plans cannot be approved if they cannot be understood.
4. Ability to pool resources. Focusing on how to identify the right resources at the right time greatly enhances the chances that your vision and plan can gain acceptance with your client or organization.
5. Must adapt to a “client service” mindset. A high level of client service is important for any successful IT organization. Make sure that you not only understand your department or clients needs, you also know how to meet them.
6. The ability to manage projects. It is well known that over 70% of all IT project failures are a result of poor project management. Make sure your projects do not contribute to this statistic.
7. Ability to accept and respond to change management processes. Getting things done by accepting the fact that things will change will go along way in advancing ones career in IT consulting.
8. Ability to communicate effectively. Many projects fail because visions and plans are not communicated effectively. Organizations and/or clients cannot endorse what they do not understand. Technology consultants that achieve the greatest career success are those that communicate effectively.
9. Understand how to prove return-on-investment (ROI). Organizations and managers in today’s marketplace must be able to provide a ROI for any project. Make sure that you can attach a clear picture of ROI for an application or project that you are a part of.
10. Be flexible. Things change in today’s IT environment on a regular basis. Make sure you are not so rigid that you are unable to “think outside of the box”.
The qualities that I have spoken about here are not etched in stone but they are qualities that I have observed to help and assist any IT strategy consultant that is trying to advance his or her career.
in spurts and goes through trends. The Outsourcing of IT is no exception. For all of those organizations that thought they had an “IT Strategy” they quickly learned that the strategy is only as good as the business model that it supports.Outsourcing IT is no exception to this rule.
For the past several years organizations have learned that outsourcing may not be the ultimate answer because “the playing-field” has changed and organizations need to adapt. In this period of downturn, the outsourcing of IT to foreign countries is no longer the bargain it once appeared to be. Since the U.S. dollar has been devalued it has had a direct effect on the pricing that organizations receive from off-shore countries.
I wrote yesterday in my blog, “Outsourcing and IT” that in India, a country that supplies and services a good portion of the U.S. outsourcing needs is starting to use third and fourth tiered personnel to supply services. The glaring problem with this is that it suggests that organizational projects can be put in jeopardy by continuing the same practices with less than qualified people. This costs a company time and investment leaving an organization questioning, “where is my competitive advantage?”
Insourcing is not something you hear about every day, and yet, it appears that the brunt of the American Corporation Outsourcing has tapered off and is on the decline, along with the US Dollar. Insourcing is when companies decide that they can afford to do the same jobs that they sent to other countries, in-house or thru local subsidiaries and technology consulting firms.
In the practice of information technology I would suggest that we have been hit hard by outsourcing and it has lead to massive lay-offs. Now some of those jobs are coming back or so we think. I believe there is a balance that can be struck. Companies may not be able to build massive IT departments like they once had, that is not cost effective, but they can partner with technology consulting firms to assist them when they need IT staffing talent or when they need IT expertise or mentoring from time-to-time. My organization STAR BASE actually has a program called "CIO Assist" which is a way to provide any organization with the IT expertise they need on a short-term basis
So, to answer the original question, “Can anything remain Stable?” The answer is no, but in this case, a combination of insourcing/outsourcing does just the opposite for the US Economy, it helps lower the trade deficit, provides more jobs for Americans and it means a more streamline process. Perhaps this is a start in helping to repair the economic downturn in this country. This pleases me as I hope it does my readers. Blog on!
The recent economic challenges that the United States and the rest of the world is facing has effected more than the loss of jobs. Organizations that were dependent on Indian community out sourcing are now faced with a new dilemma, inferior talent.
About 60% of India’s IT outsourcing business comes from the United States and 40% of the work is in the banking, insurance and financial service sectors. To ensure that they can maintain or at least keep pace with the downturn, these firms are taking steps to protect themselves from the problem. One of the first steps they are taking comes in the form of reduced hiring of entry-level engineers and looking at second-tier cities with lower labor costs. The Washington Post recently published an article on the effects of the economic downturn and the steps that the Indian community it taking to combat the downturn.
The outsourcing of IT has been driven by the insatiable appetite of the United States that will continue to drive the practice in hopes of reducing headcount. A word of caution would be advisable for the future. If outsourcing means getting second and third-tier resources what will that do for an organization that is seeking a competitive advantage? Clearly it will be hard to justify the economic benefits of untested staffers.
My organization, STAR BASE Consulting, Inc., tests and pre-screens every candidate that we place. We believe that a poor candidate is a reflection on our firm. My suggestion is that regardless of which firm your organization uses to produce IT staffing, do not choose a firm that does not test and who does not pre-screen. In this day and age of identity theft it appears easy for a person to represent themselves as someone they are not.
Do you want to risk the success of your projects and the reputation of your IT department to an organization that promises more with less?
Those of us that have been a part of the Web from the on-set, have witnessed 
various stages of web and Internet development. Web 1.0 was about Commerce, Web 2.0 is about community, and the next phase Web 3.0 is about connectivity.
This means we will need improved security, service oriented architecture (SOA), RSS feeds, bookmarking or tagging, crowd sourcing, crowd hacking, and user generated business applications that can be built by technical and non-technical people alike. It also means that there will be new career opportunities in web development because organizations of all types will need to improve the level of communication by utilizing technology tools that can automate and intelligently route information
This newly developed web connectivity will play a proactive role in getting multiple generations to adapt to new processes and tools for the purpose of creating more efficiency, which will lead to greater productivity. The next evolution of web development will improve the velocity of getting things done by using new Web based tools to coordinate, mandate, and route workflow. Organizations will need to embrace the fact that technology and web application development can make the impossible – possible. One is only limited by their own imagination because the next generation of web development applications is going to make connectivity to prospects, customers, and future customers a reality.
The fact-of-the-matter is, globalization is here to stay and organizations need to respect the fact that with the new push of connectivity through the web, mergers and acquisitions will move to a global scale and worldwide conglomerates will gain power.
Researchers have predicted that 3D immersive communities will be a part of Web 3.0 as well. In the business-to-business atmosphere, manufacturers, distributors and retailers will be able to put their perspective clients into a 3D immersive environment so that end-users can experience life-like environment right from their desktop. Is your organization ready for the next generation of web application development, or do you need some guidance to prepare for the next step?
"As any company looks to control costs, they look to IT people to become a jack of all trades in some respects," John Estes, vice president with IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology told CIO.com. "No one in IT can truly be that, but more companies are looking to staff to have broader, more diverse skill sets."
This coincides with what Michael writes, “Clients seek out individuals with multiple skill-sets that can multi-task, change and adapt as technology or market needs dictate,” in his blog.
The Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) reports that it has seen an uptake in certifications training, which indicates that IT solutions professionals see the need to update their skills to remain competitive. "Historically, we see that certification volumes rise when the economy is somewhat sluggish, and that is indicative of less jobs and more competition in the market," says Kyle Gingrich of CompTIA.
As you know I am all for obtaining IT certification and increasing your skill set. You can take on more responsibility and/or lead projects with real ROI to work toward becoming indispensable to your employer, but let’s face facts folks—true job security is an illusion. To be IT outsourcing proof and have absolute job security, you have to own the company. In one of my former lives I worked for a CFO whose father-in-law owned the company. Not long after I left the company I heard that the CFO was hitting the unemployment lines. So as one who has been around the block a few times, who has had the economy knock his feet out from under him and who has personally been downsized and outsourced—job security is an illusion; even if your title is CIO. Stay tuned!
No, I am not selling milk! I am talking about learning new technologies. For many application development team members, figuring out which technology to learn is even more daunting than actually learning one. Your starting point depends on technology you are currently using.
Foundational Technologies
The 2 key skills to learn, whether you are a new or seasoned application development team member are database modeling and XML. Nearly all of today’s technologies either use databases or database principles. These skills open doors to SOA, Internet application development, data warehousing, and of course database administration. Languages like JAVA, .NET, and PHP rely on databases to get their job done. XML has become the defacto transport file. XML files can transformed into HTML pages and documents, and are used like databases.If you don’t have these skills, start here first.
Recommendations for Procedural application development team members
Languages like COBOL, CICS, and RPG have been around for quite a while, and for the most part the people using these technologies have been in IT for over 10 years. You have accumulated a great amount of business knowledge, but the new technologies use new techniques for application development. As a former CICS developer, I understand the difficulty learning Object Oriented Programming. It took me a solid year to make the switch to Java (this was 1997-98). There are great books, IDEs, and tutorials at your disposal. There has never been a better time to learn new languages than now. The only stranger concept to procedural developers is Internet application development. Languages like PHP are a good place start because not only do you get exposed to new technologies; you can use them on a familiar platform like the iSeries.
If you just don’t know what to learn, try going to Tiobe. They monitor the internet "buzz" on 50 different languages.
My advice on learning any technology is to write an application that will help your personal life. For example my wife likes wine, but couldn’t remember which wines she liked or disliked. I wrote a wine rating and storage application for her. She uses the application to select wine, and over the years I have used the application to learn desktop technologies, JSF, and embedded databases. By writing something personal, you have a greater connection to its success, and less pressure than a formal application development assignment. You also have a tangible asset to show to prospective clients and employers.
A few weeks ago I met with a client that was looking for some business analysts to help them with business application development. One of our Cincinnati IT consultants just got his CBAP and he was going to be available in the right time frame, so I started to think this would be a perfect fit. While there are thousands of business analysts around, there are less than 500 CBAPs in the world and we are fortunate enough to have one on our IT staff.
This IT staffing position should be a slam-dunk, right? Wrong! The client also wanted very specific industry experience. While our consultant has industry experience, it was not in the right area. Fortunately we were able to recruit business analysts with the needed skills. As Michael points out as part of this post, “clients are very specific on what they need and they are unwilling to pay for “learning curves.” Pretty much seems like we have become a “risk adverse” society.
It seems that we have become a keyword driven society these days. I just got back from the annual NACCB show. This is where IT staffing and IT consulting firms gather to talk and learn about best practices going on in the industry. There were several Ohio IT services firms represented. Star base, Inc was the only Cincinnati information technology company attending.
One thing that is amazing to me is the sophistication of the résumé tracking software that is available. The IT staffing industry is becoming very automated just like other industries. All of the software is able to parse a résumé and extract the keywords to populate a candidate profile. This makes it very easy for the recruiters to do keyword searches. But woe to those that don’t have the right keywords. Seems like some are turning keywords into "buzz words" and job specifications.
I was talking to a fellow owner, who has been in IT consulting for many years. His firm specializes in Oracle data conversions and IT staffing. He was telling me about a staffing requisition that required Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle database skills. The client was going to convert from one database to the other. This is something that they have done many times and have extensive experience. But because the résumé they submitted did not have the same exact version number on it, the candidate was rejected.
Those of us in IT consulting know that conversion tools don’t usually change much from version to version and having experience with what the “got yas” are is critical to success. Apparently this customer was just looking at the keywords and couldn’t see beyond them.
It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks here in Cincinnati, OH. On September 14, 2008 it was windy in the morning. Little did we know that the wind developed from hurricane IKE would meet a cold front pushing down from the north. By the afternoon, these two fronts collided, power went out, houses were damaged, and trees were split and uprooted all over the area.
This past week, Cincinnati, along with the rest of the country, is struggling with the fallout from Wall Street and the financial crisis. As a result unemployment is pushing 7%, causing people and business to be concerned about the future. It makes me think of the 80’s song, Changes, by David Bowie. The one thing we can always count on is that nothing remains the same and changes are inevitable. http://www.metrolyrics.com/changes-lyrics-david-bowie.html.
It has never been more apparent that change is inevitable as it is in the IT industry. The global economy dictates that organizations must make themselves agile and lean to compete in today’s marketplace. Everything from application development, to IT infrastructure, to IT staffing must be scaled to a sustainable business model that ensures that organizations can move rapidly and not wait for time consuming business practice models that do not have the where withal to break down complex business issues into quick models of efficiency.
Likewise, IT application developers, infrastructure managers, and project managers need to face the reality that organizations do not have the time, patience, or money to invest in old bureaucratic processes and methodologies that take too long and cost too much. Clients need tasks accomplished in an interactive manner to ensure “speed to market.”
Michael Hugos talks about this very subject in a recent article written for CIO magazine. In his article: "Complexity, Agility and the Future of the IT Profession," he talks about how the IT industry has changed, how organizations struggle with those individuals who struggle with change and insist on doing it the same old way, and the real needs of the enterprise.
It is those individuals and organizations that can grasp hold of these concepts while empowering organizations to become nimble and agile that will become the difference makers in the IT profession of the future. Those are my thoughts. What do you say?
Did you ever notice that people like to give advice? It seems that everyone I talk to these days have some advice. As the chief executive officer of an IT consulting and IT staffing firm, I do a lot of listening. If I took everyone's advice and implemented it, I would need to change the title of CEO to mean Chief Everything Officer. Let me give you some examples of some great advice:
You need to be out building the relationships with your IT staffing customers. If you can get two or three meetings a day scheduled, that would be great. You need to spend more time in sales, meeting new prospects and diversifying your IT consulting business. You need to spend more time with your IT consultants. You need to spend more time looking at (fill in you favorite IT business solution). You need to build IT solutions.
I could go on, but the point is, I'm not the Chief Everything Officer. While all of these are important, no one person can do all of these things, all of the time. That’s why we have sales, marketing, CAMs (Consulting Account Managers), team leaders, administrative people and IT consultants. If you’re not getting the attention you need from the folks in those roles, I certainly want to know about it.
After looking at that list, I think I need a vacation. ; ) …..
I had lunch yesterday with a person that I had not talked to for a couple of years. One of the first questions he asked me was “How are things in the IBM world?” I sort of bristled at the question, because my friend’s perception was that we only work with companies that had IBM. The reality is, we are an IT consulting company and do a lot of work in the application development space. While it's true, we are an IBM software partner, most of our application development takes place on other platforms.
During part of the lunch we talked about some of the other areas of IT that we deal with. That includes IT business solutions, IT outsourcing and IT staffing. The problem is that people do not react to reality; they react to their perception of it. Therefore if you control how they perceive reality, which is easier than controlling reality, you control how they will react.
It also sometimes is said to point out to people that it's not enough to make something so for people to act like it is so; you have to make them know it too. Hopefully our marketing will start changing perception. Click here for a reality check.
STAR BASE, Inc. is passionate about the information technology industry and it prides itself on delivering the best solutions and the best professionals to implement those solution. As a full service provide to corporate America, it is understood that our business is one of ups and downs. When the economy is good and our clients are doing well, there is a need for our service. When organizations struggle, consultants must scramble to find suitable business.
The trend in 2008 is that the clients' business for the most part has maintained, but for the most part it has been less than stellar. That means the need for our services and placement of qualified individuals for application development or IT integration, has been less in demand as well. That means there are people “on the bench” and any consultancy cannot afford to have people on “the bench”.
It is no secret that the American economy is struggling today. Organizations of all sizes and types are trying to maintain a standard of business while we wait for the economy to improve. For our firm that means a couple of thing. First we need to offer new service to meet our client’s immediate needs while ensuring that we keep a healthy balance of qualified professionals for client projects.
In the placement business, it is no longer prudent to keep idle professionals on the bench. The individuals need to be part of a project or must be delivering some sort of IT solution. Regardless, at our organization we work at maintaining a fine balance between bench people and project people. Unlike many of our competitors we are a local Cincinnati IT consulting firm that sees the value of maintaining a constant bench of professional to serve our clients needs.
Sometimes, we do not have the right skill-sets for a client’s needs and we have to search for the best possible fit. When we do find the right candidate we make sure that we test each candidate to ensure they can meet our potential clients.
Most firms that provide IT staffing do not follow our lead they simply hire as clients need the personnel for their projects. Which model is better? We believe in testing all candidates first to ensure the client is getting the best possible candidate. To not do so cost any client time and money plus the risk of not completing mission critical projects on time and with-in budget.
Those are my thoughts, what are yours?
This article warns would-be IT Certification candidates that should you purchase illegal “study material” to take an IT Certification exam that the governing body of the IT Certification may “come after you” and punish you for your “cheating”.
Last week I sat for and passed the Certified Business Analysis ProfessionalTM (CBAP®) examination offered by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBATM). So as a person that now holds four IT Certifications I find it appalling that a company such as Microsoft or Cisco would go after the candidates for their certifications and attempt to “ruin” their career. I do understand that there are “real” cheaters out there that knowingly cheat to get a certification just to beef up their resume, but I also realize how easy it would be to unknowingly purchase some ill-gotten practice material. I can absolutely attest to how essential study material and practice tests are in preparing to obtain an IT certification. It is impossible to pass an exam, of any kind, without preparing for it; and study material and practice tests are important tools in preparing for a certification exam.
I do realize the difficulty of shutting down these “brain dump” websites that sell this illegal material as most of them are setup in third world countries that do not respect the U.S. copyright laws. However, going after the candidates for your certification is not the solution to the problem. This will just inevitably lead to reducing the number of candidates for your certification and eventually lead to a reduced perceived value of the certification. Not to mention the perceived “bully” impression that the company will inherit.
When it comes to IT Infrastructure, IT Business Solutions and Enterprise Application Development, professional certifications such as ITIL, CBAP®, PMP® or PgMP® demonstrate expertise in a particular subject area. When it comes to application software development certification in your chosen programming language(s) and/or platform(s) demonstrate subject matter expertise.
These certifications do hold value in the eyes of IT hiring managers, H/R professionals and IT Staffing professionals. A certification could be the difference of you getting a job or not getting the job. So get certified, but research the certification to verify its worth in the IT world and be careful of the study material you use.
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