Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for users of contract IT services. In this issue:
•  Globalisation and the recruitment market
•  Tech View: Wireless network security
•  10 reasons to value your specialist supplier
•  B & M staff member profile - Account Manager Kevin Gill
•  Consultancy from B & M
Effects of globalisation on the recruitment market
 Jerry Smart explains why organisations need to think ahead to secure experienced IT specialists who can now work anywhere in the world
"..a global labour market"
The major concern for all businesses is their ability to recruit and retain capable staff. With overall UK employment growth predicted at 11 per cent, and Belgium and The Netherlands at 9 per cent in 2007 (source: Manpower), life is going to get harder. Indeed, Germany and Italy are now experiencing growth as a result of new government initiatives and this is placing further demand on the EU labour market. All businesses need a flexible workforce and many HR Directors will fix targets to define what percentage of staff are permanent and how many are on contract.

The contract labour market is now truly global. In Europe, we are now seeing IT professionals from the 2004 EU accession countries working in the UK and with other established EU countries relaxing their work permits in 2007 for these nationals, this migration of skills will increase. At the same time, European IT professionals now see their skills in demand in other parts of the world, particularly in China where there is a great shortage of the professional skills needed to keep up with the rapid economic growth.

In the past, much hiring of IT contract staff has been triggered from immediate demand; this situation needs to change and managers need to anticipate demand if they are to find the right calibre of staff to fulfil their projects on time.


To ensure that your organisation doesn't lose out to the increasingly global market, please contact sales@bmeurope.com
Tech View: Why you should worry about Wireless Networking
 Paul Smith, Technical Manager at B & M, considers the potential perils of Wireless Networking security
Until recently, the uptake of Wireless LANs (WLAN) was fairly slow. One reason was its low connection speeds (up to around 54Mbps), but September 2006 saw a step nearer to the introduction of protocol 802.11n, which is designed to offer maximum speeds of around 540Mbps by 2008. Combined with the growing availability of laptops with integrated wireless cards, this new protocol is helping to boost the growth of Wireless LANs - an area for which Gartner Research is forecasting a 42% growth in 2007.

 
The FBI estimates that 70% of Wireless Access Points in the US have no security at all. Of those that do, most are secured using WEP encryption, which offers only a low level of security, while relatively few use the more secure TKIP, WPA and 802.1X encryption standards.

 
At a security conference last year, the FBI demonstrated the detection and breaking of a WLAN secured by WEP - 128 bit keys in just 3 minutes - using freeware. It is clear that WLAN equipment is often deployed with little thought and planning - notably in the UK, where the prevalence of home working and VPNs put even secured networks at risk.

 
Organisations that don’t take steps to secure a WLAN may as well stick an Ethernet point into their network out in the street. In the US in 2004, two hackers accessed the Wireless network used by Lowe's hardware stores from one of its car parks. They installed a program that enabled them to capture the credit card information of customers conducting transactions through the stores, causing an estimated $2.5 million in damages. Today, the availability of freeware such as NetStumbler, AirCrack, WEPCrack and AirSnort means that anyone can emulate these hackers.

 
For access to IT specialists with exactly the right expertise to keep your corporate network secure, contact us at sales@bmeurope.com
10 reasons to value your specialist supplier
 At B & M, we pride ourselves on exceeding our customers' expectations when it comes to delivering value for money. Here are just ten of the steps we take to ensure that customers return to us time after time:
  1. We conduct in-depth prequalification and research into your requirements
  2. We spend more time standardising each specialists' profile to ensure that the information you receive is clear, complete and easy to understand
  3. We only propose the best candidates for the position - which will usually mean that you will only receive one or two proposals for each position. This saves you time in reviewing a pile of potentially unsuitable CVs
  4. Our screening process means that you have to spend less time in total interviewing to find the right candidate
  5. Our focused recruitment and selection activity means that you can secure the right resource to ensure that your project starts on time
  6. Starting projects on time means that organisations avoid the unplanned costs inherent with late-running projects
  7. Our market research of specialist rates means that we will always make a proposal at market value point thus ensuring that you pay neither too much nor too little (where quality is often compromised)
  8. Our research of specialists' particular needs pinpoints their rate history and expectation
  9. We negotiate the best price with the specialist prior to our proposal in order to deliver best value for money
  10. The best proposal delivers higher productivity from the best specialist.

To find out how our commitment to best practice can deliver optimum value for your organisation, contact us at sales@bmeurope.com
Real Skills. Real People - B & M's Kevin Gill
 This month, we profile Account Manager Kevin Gill
Kevin recently joined B & M as Account Manager and brings to the business seven years’ experience in the UK IT recruitment market place.

 
He began his career working with one of the largest IT recruitment organisations in the industry and benefited from its reputation of providing thorough, comprehensive training to its recruitment consultants. This training formed a solid foundation for the need to accurately identify a client’s needs and above all respond quickly and efficiently to their requirements.

 
Later, Kevin joined Aquent, the largest staffing organisation in America, working from a new ‘test’ office in Reading which was ultimately relocated to London. He spent some time in the US with the main core of the business in Boston MA, Washington DC and Omaha in the mid-West.
 
The commute to London became onerous and Kevin then joined a niche consultancy supplier in Newbury as Recruitment Manager supervising a small team that catered solely for the software industry. With his team he developed the recruitment arm of the business to become the main source of revenue by organic growth and, above all, by providing an unrivalled service to his client base.

 
Kevin spends his spare time with his baby son and renovating his Victorian family home. He also enjoys playing golf (badly) and is often shown up by one of his brothers, who is thirteen years his junior!
Consultancy
B & M offers a range of professional services providing strategic yet detailed practical advice and guidance to help customers improve their IT strategy, control and network protection. Our reviews include:
  • Network Integration
  • Capacity Planning
  • Managed Storage
  • Automated Operations
  • Systems Audit
  • Security
  • Disaster Recovery
For more details, go to B & M TechConsult or call us on +44 (0)118 981 1880.
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 technical services, consultancy 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 B & M Services.

B & M Europe Limited
Whitehouse Farm, Silchester Road, Tadley, RG26 3PY, United Kingdom

Tel +44 (0) 118 981 1880
Fax +44 (0) 118 981 1881

Registered in England and Wales
Company No. 02696668
VAT No. GB 591718218

Expert Technical Resourcing for Enterprise Systems
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