Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for users of contract IT services.
In this issue:
•  Hot skills: planning ahead to plug IT skills gaps
•  Tech View: The rise and rise of Linux
•  Top 10 service qualities to look for from a supplier
•  Real Skills. Real People - a profile of B & M's Ed Hopper
Hot skills: planning ahead to plug IT skills gaps Jerry Smart, MD of B & M explains that forward planning is key to resourcing a new IT project
The biggest challenge facing all of us in business today is finding and retaining staff with the right skills and interpersonal qualities.

In IT, the problem is even greater owing to the increasing shortage of key skills. This is partly due to the demographic changes (population decline, coupled with baby boomers now approaching retirement) and partly the change of emphasis in education (lower proportion of students studying sciences). On top of this is a reduced investment in training over the last two and a half years (budgets having been tightened).

Now that companies are releasing budgets and investing in IT projects again, many are finding it difficult to recruit the additional staff necessary to move the projects forward at the required pace. Consequently, many projects are starting late or with inadequate staffing levels - notably those involving WebSphere, DB2 and Storage Area Networking.

This climate means that IT managers are turning increasingly to contract staff to boost projects and to inject key skills. Like any forward-thinking business, at B & M we are working continuously to grow our community of specialists to ensure that we have the right skills, level of experience and personal qualities to meet our customers’ needs on demand.

Ensuring that business needs are met and that projects are delivered on time is key to gaining competitive advantage.

For advice about finding key skills, please contact B & M at sales@bmeurope.com
The rise and rise of Linux Paul Smith, Technical Manager at B & M, explains the rise of Linux - despite the uncertainty about which type of platform will predominate
In 1991, a student at Helsinki University, one Linus Torvalds, developed and released his version of Unix, calling it ‘Linux’. In conjunction with GNU Software (GNU is Not Unix), Linux was made freely available to the world.

Linux has since enjoyed a meteoric rise, particularly in the area of Internet servers. It now accounts for around at least 35% of all available ‘Unix’ systems supporting the Internet. Windows based (Internet) servers in comparison have a meagre 10%.

Linux leapt forward commercially when IBM started to promote it, having identified three major factors which make it a potent platform:
• zSeries can run Linux native giving it access to 64-bit platform architecture and there are hardware features explicitly aimed at Linux within the IBM z990 series
• Of the five Linux vendors, SuSE and RedHat have produced 64-bit versions of Linux, which gives it the ability to compete head on with Solaris
• IBM is marketing Tivoli, DB2, Rational, Lotus and WebSphere for the Linux platform; IBM is investing $1billion in Linux.
It will be very interesting to see where Linux goes from here, bearing in mind that it is effectively competing with IBM’s z/OS.e (Unix based) operating system.

To source specialists skilled in Linux, contact B & M at sales@bmeurope.com
Top 10 service qualities to look for from a supplier
There are certain qualities that your IT contract supplier should be able to demonstrate if the project is to be a success
1. Availability
Your supplier should be able to show that they will consistently have the right candidate available to provide the expertise and skills you need, when you need it.
2. Loyal specialists
Specialists with in-demand skills will put a higher priority on working with an established, trusted supplier than through someone they don't know.
3. Understanding team dynamics
Finding someone with the right kind of skills and personality to fit into an existing team can only happen if the contract supplier knows the specialist they are providing in person - not just on paper.
4. Skill fit
Your supplier must demonstrate knowledge of your business sector and the technologies you use. They can then ensure that they propose specialists with exactly the right skills for your business.
5. Replacement guarantee
A supplier should be able to provide another expert at short notice if the person originally proposed becomes ill, for example.
6. Flexibility
Large, complex organisations are naturally subject to change, so it is vital that both the supplier and the specialists they provide are willing to accommodate changes to customers' plans wherever possible.
7. Delivery
However great the promises, unless a supplier can deliver, the project is likely to falter. They should be able to demonstrate a track record of consistently delivering on their promises.
8. Meeting deadlines
The timeplans for large IT projects are invariably complex and fragile, so it is essential that suppliers give a realistic timeframe for delivering the necessary skills and stick to it.
9. Value for money
A contract specialist should, of course, deliver the work they are contracted to do on time and on budget. But they should also add value by passing on their knowledge to in-house IT staff and be willing to go beyond the constraints of the contract if this will improve delivery.
10. Peace of mind
When there is trust between specialists, the contract supplier and the customer, everyone can focus better on the job in hand.
Real Skills. Real People
Get to know more about our people and find out that their expertise ensures that our customers get exactly the right skills, when they need them
Ed Hopper joined B & M after graduating from Durham University in 1997, since when he has developed wide-ranging expertise in the provision of technical support services and consultancy. His particular specialisation is in providing specialists for projects within the banking and insurance markets, where his knowledge has been instrumental in providing highly experienced professionals for a variety of projects with customers such as the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Abbey (formerly Abbey National) and Norwich Union.

Ed is also responsible for helping to develop new business markets for B & M, growing our business to ensure that we build on our twelve years' experience and continue to provide services that are relevant to our customers in the UK and Europe. Ed has led the development of our business in France - notably with SNCF; in Luxembourg - with Credit Agricole and in the Republic of Ireland where we have worked with organisations such as Allied Irish Banks and the Bank of Ireland. In the UK, Ed is the B & M Account Manager for five of the UK's 'big six' high street banks and some of the country's largest insurance and retail organisations.

In his leisure time, Ed spends his time freestyle kayaking and represented Great Britain at the 2003 Freestyle World Championships in Graz, Austria. He has also retained a link with his alma mater, providing advice and helping to fundraise for the Durham University Canoe Club.
B & M Europe Limited
B & M has specialised in delivering skilled ICT specialists to meet the needs of leading organisations throughout Europe since 1992. We focus exclusively on providing consultancy, technical services and support for z/OS, UNIX and Linux enterprise systems, including third-party systems software, open systems and networking connectivity. We add real value for HR and IT professionals by taking the time to understand their needs and applying best practice methods to deliver results.

To find out more about our approach to providing the best skills for each business, go to www.bmeurope.com

B & M Europe Limited
www.bmeurope.com
+44 (0)118 981 1880

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