Software Development Expert

Is Choice Good?

2010-08-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

What a difference a weeks makes, (or in my case and regarding my last blog, the last 8 weeks). As you know, I always like to keep you up to date on political and economic factors that may affect our industry, and the last 2 months has exceeded my expectations as we’ve witnessed a dramatic shift in political thinking.

Not in my lifetime have I seen any government go about there business with such vigour, the Con/Lib government are certainly getting on with the job whatever your political persuasion. The effects of this are still unravelling as the public and businesses struggle to adapt to this shift. My last blog commented on the positivity of this change and I still believe this to be the case, however, there is still a great deal of uncertainty as we come to terms with this new age of austerity. This current uncertainty is being reflected in the recruitment industry; this year is better, of that there is no doubt, but the governments restructuring, cuts and new policies are creating an uneasy feel. We’re all still finding our feet, and businesses are still cautious about releasing funds for big, ambitious projects.

The events of this year leads quite nicely into my blog's title, Is Choice Good? As you know, the software industry is host to many languages, techniques, strategies and methods; not a day goes by without hearing about a new technique or technology; my argument and concern regards the viability of all this choice and whether it is good for our industry?

As a company that’s looking to develop a new application or migrate to a new system, how do you decide what to use? And can you be certain the man power exists? You are bombarded with so many different choices that making a decision can be problematic and often lead to errors. So many times I've witnessed projects being cut or scrapped due to bad choices being made at conception and so many times the language or method employed failed to live up to expectations.

One school of thought is that there are just too many choices and businesses find it difficult to identify a solution that works for them. Many people feel that solutions should be provided by established providers such as Microsoft or Oracle as they posses the knowledge, understanding and skills to provide good software development. It can also be argued that the established players will always offer “life support” long after many smaller software providers have been consigned to history (often leaving projects marooned and struggling to stay afloat) and that the “established industry standard” will always be there to support your software needs.

As always, there are many counter arguments which I will explore in my next blog but as with the election, I find myself asking the same question: Is it better the devil you know or better the devil you don’t?

Times are Changing

2010-05-24T03:48:00.001-07:00

I've been finding it difficult to focus on the IT market with the recent election and it's ramifications. The general election results were predicted well in advance. We were ready for a hung parliament, even if the numbers worked out a little differently than expected. But the result, a Lib-Con coalition, still prompted amazement and ensuing confusion in Westminster.

However, we live in interesting and unprecedented times and I feel a positive change has occurred. The county can move forward, and business can start to trade with confidence as a new fiscal policy comes into play. This is surely good for us, the people who are at the coal face and feel the direct force of economic shift. Undoubtedly, we're not out of the woods yet and there will be hiccups over the coming months but on the whole I feel buoyed about the coming year and the next.

Bringing it back to here and now, the question I find myself asking is, have the last few weeks affected the IT industry and the recruitment process? The answer, I believe, is YES. The last few months had seen a real upturn in the market place, a number of large programmes and projects commenced and money was being invested in IT with a real noticeable shift from caution to commencement. However, in the weeks leading up to the general election we saw a slow down in this trend and the only conclusion I can draw is that companies were waiting to see what the outcome would be. This lead to uncertainty in the business community and has affected the decision making process.

The weeks in the run-up to the election saw the same problems that dogged the latter half of last year; companies drawing out the recruitment process, slow down on interview arrangement, slow down regarding feedback and ultimately projects being offered. We now have a new government and the indications appear positive, with major players in business and the Governor of the Bank of England endorsing the current stance our new coalition government is taking. I for one am hoping that there will be a steady surge of confidence from this that will allow our industry to grow.

Using IT Contractors could bring you Cost Savings, Expertise, Solutions and Flexibility

2010-04-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog but I haven’t forgotten about the counter arguments regarding my last post. However, there are a few bits of news I want to pick up on first.

The last couple of months have seen a marked upturn in the IT market, companies have started recruiting again and this has certainly helped the contract market after a barren 18 months. In addition, the General election has been called for the 6th of May and it will be interesting to see how the nation votes and whether we’ll see a slow in this small recovery during the run up to polling day and beyond - some interesting times ahead!

Right, back to the topic in hand:

As you know, my last blog covered the benefits of a large consultancy based solution, however, I do feel the contractor solution is often overlooked and can provide a level of service that equals it, sometimes with added benefits:

Cost savings, expertise, solutions and flexibility:

It is no secret that the independent contract solution holds cost saving benefits in terms of the price and work completed. The savings that this method provides is significant and can at times be 70%/ 80% cheaper. Large consultancies are also criticised for winning the project and brining in independent contractors to do the work, thus creating an additional layer of cost for the same level of service.

It can also be argued that independent contractors will bring a high level of expertise to a project, and significant experience that is not always available within a large consultancy.

This expertise is often instrumental in delivering a project or solving unseen problems that arise during the life of a project, a common outcome is that the independent contractor has drawn from a solution gained from a previous project.

In addition to the above, I also feel the independent contractor offers a flexible resource, they are not tied to religious working practices which often slow the delivery, and can work additional hours or flexible hours outside of normal time constraints. Whatever your view, there are pro’s and con’s to both arguments and in my experience I have found that a project which has a balance between both approaches and both parties find a common ground the outcome is normally successful.

All Comments Welcome!

Are large consultancies the best solution?

2010-03-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

Why do companies opt for large consultancy solutions to provide their software needs when an agency or contractor relationship can provide a significant cost saving, and many other benefits?

A tough question that will always rouse a comment or two. In my many years of recruiting within the software industry, I’ve always been surprised when companies opt for a large and expensive delivery vehicle, especially when the consultancy will often use an agency to source the relevant skills, charging them on to the client at a greatly inflated rate.

There are many reasons why this method is employed and the size and complexity of the project can often dictate and affect these reasons. A large project incorporating a number of partners or stakeholders will encounter hidden costs and problems that perhaps a direct contractor solution may not have the tools to deal with. A large project will also throw up certain challenges requiring a myriad of skills in order to provide a solution. It is perceived (by the industry) that these skills will only be available within a large consultancy and that they will also have the support function to drive this through.

I also feel companies opt for a consultancy solution because they feel they have the experience to deliver the solution, so they can agree a price and hand over all the responsibility. Large corporate companies make decisions based on balances sheets, a figure with just states ‘consultancy development’ is easier for the accountants to justify than a list of costs associated with an internal project.

Another factor is that of liability. With a contractor solution, the company will have one party to blame in the event of a problem and a large project built on contract resource could prove tricky in the event of a legal problem. There are many arguments to counter this and in my next blog I will discuss this counter argument. Suffice to say I’m frustrated by the blind enthusiasm modern business give to these consultancies when recent software history has shown dire consequences in terms of expense and time.

So will 2010 see a growth in UK software projects?

2010-01-29T08:12:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting topic of discussion and in my opinion the jury is still out. It will be very interesting to see how different companies respond and whether the annual IT budget will incorporate new projects.

Although the general consensus appears to be one of caution, there is a growing feeling amongst key stakeholders that work needs to be done; they know that there's a fine line between saving a bit of money for short term gain and affecting the future productivity and development of the business.

At the moment many companies seem to be maintaining the status quo and many development projects appear to be continuing in much the same way. For me the start of the financial year (for many companies) will be a key indicator. Most financial years start and end in the first quarter, this is the time that reviews are undertaken, decision made and budgets realised. The good news is that there has already been a marked upturn in the number of companies making enquiries in 2010.

Watch this space: the next few months will be key!

Software Shelved?

2010-01-14T05:44:00.000-08:00

I’ve been working for Sanderson Recruitment for nearly 11 years now, recruiting for all things software and providing numerous resource solutions for applicants, contractors and companies alike. The software industry is diverse and it’s growing all the time, encompassing many technologies, which continue to bring challenges to industry as well as the individual.

Over the years, this industry has been subject to constant change; government legislation, outsourcing arrangements and new technology have all played their part. Hopefully (he says with a smile) this blog will begin to provide a source of information covering these issues and initiate discussions about the topics that matter to you. As a recruiter I have a unique insight into what’s happening and I am often asked for my opinion. So here’s my blog guaranteeing plenty of opinions!

First Up:

Has the recession driven companies to look elsewhere for their software solutions or are projects simply being shelved?

2009 has been a tough year for everyone and I don’t want to start preaching about the reasons why the banking crisis has lead our economy into recession, I want to talk about how it has affected our industry. The UK unemployment level reached a record high last year and there is no doubt that IT departments across the country have suffered the effects of this, and prompted businesses to completely review their software strategies. Many companies were committed to new projects or continuing established developments at the beginning of 2009 but the onset of the recession has seen a marked change in attitude.

This year for the first time in a number of years has seen a dramatic reduction in IT spend and in some cases budgets have not even been agreed. Software development has been severely scaled back or stopped. In essence, I don’t believe that companies have moved their software development for a cheaper or different solutions, I simply believe projects have slowed, been shelved or postponed until confidence returns. A lot of software professionals have reported delays in project starts and extensions of work into next year. One thing has been quite clear - last year there was a distinct lack of new exciting projects. The term “Greenfield” has appeared about as regularly as Gordon Brown’s smile….

Next Blog: Will 2010 hold a brighter future for software professionals?