Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for users of contract IT services. In this issue:
• Age discrimination regulations in IT contracting
• Tech View: Intrusion detection systems
• 10 things to consider when managing change
• B & M staff member profile - Sales Manager Ed Hopper
• Security Healthchecks from B & M
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Avoiding age discrimination
Jerry Smart looks at the impact that new regulations against age discrimination may have for organisations wishing to take on contract staff
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"...you can ask for a recent graduate"
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According to the EC Framework Directive, member states must introduce national legislation to combat age discrimination no later than December 2006.
Belgium and The Netherlands are among the countries who have already adopted the Directive into their laws and, in the UK, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 came into effect from the beginning of October. It is now unlawful to discriminate against someone on the grounds of age in recruitment, promotion, training, retirement (up to 65 years old) and redundancy.
Whilst these regulations primarily affect permanent employees, the recruitment provisions in the legislation apply equally to contract workers. For example, if you are looking to take on a contract specialist and require graduate standard, you can ask for a recent graduate (one may graduate at any age), but it is probably not acceptable to specify a young graduate.
If you need a minimum of 5 years experience then this is likely to be OK since it is a requirement of being able to perform the job; but asking for 30 years experience could unreasonably discriminate against a younger person.
But what do you do if you have a young team and want someone who will fit into the company culture? This is where your contract specialist supplier should be able to help you by finding a person with the right outlook and attitude - regardless of their age. You can still ask someone for their date of birth without being discriminatory provided that this personal data is required for the verification of a candidate (such as you would find on a passport, for example).
Fortunately, in the IT workforce there is a wide range of ages. B & M knows of one IT technical specialist who is approaching 70 and still contracting!
For information about employing experienced contract IT specialists of every age, please contact sales@bmeurope.com
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Tech View: Intrusion detection systems
Paul Smith, Technical Manager at B & M looks at what organisations are doing to keep unwanted intruders out of their corporate networks
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Maintaining network security is tricky. Organisations need to strike a balance between keeping legitimate business traffic flowing across their networks and preventing unwanted intrusions.
Attacks can come from either internal or external sources, so organisations need an array of systems to protect their networks. An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) or Attack Detection System (ADS) could be described as “something proactive that goes out looking for trouble� - as opposed to simple Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) which are passive forms of defence, such as a boundary firewall or a virus scanner. An IDS can also fight back - injecting packets into invasive connections, deploying dynamic filters, automating disconnects and so forth, with the goal of pursuing the attacker to determine its location.
There is a wide variety of IDS packages for different platforms:
- Windows - IDS suppliers include Symantec, GFI and McAfee
- Cisco and Tripwire are among those offering products for Unix platforms
- IBM's Tivoli family, Computer Associates' eTrust Family and Vanguard all provide systems or components for z/OS, Windows and Unix platforms.
An IDS can be packaged with a network, host, application, signature or an anomaly-based system - each of these has its pros and cons. An ideal solution would be a combination of signature and anomaly-based techniques, operating in much the same way that a Virus Scanner does. However the technology seems to be not quite there yet.
IDS is not cheap, with systems costing upwards of $10,000. However in America, IDS is becoming part of the corporate world in the form of ‘due diligence’ corporate governance. It would seem therefore that this will soon become an additional cost of doing business for every organisation.
In the next edition of B & M Bulletin, we will be exploring the area of securing wireless networks.
For experts who can help assure the security of your corporate systems, please contact us at sales@bmeurope.com
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10 things to consider when managing change
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There is only one thing that is constant in business today: change. The way that managers behave during a period of change can make or break how successfully the business adapts to change in the future - particularly in the area of IT.
10 things to consider when managing change:
- Creating a relationship of trust between yourself and your managers, peers and staff will pay dividends if you need people to support new activities.
- Do not criticise the past - it is a waste of energy and extremely destructive. The future of the business is built on the foundations of its past.
- Create a belief in the change - once people can see the purpose of the changes, they are far more likely to engage in the activities that will make them happen.
- Listen to the views of those affected.
- Create a support structure that will help those who find change more difficult or who will need to work the hardest to make change happen.
- Deliver the support structure. Just talking about support and not providing it would undermine people's confidence in the change programme.
- Provide accurate, appropriate and frequent information to ensure everyone is up to speed with activities and to prevent the spread of potentially damaging rumours.
- Provide training for anyone who needs it.
- Watch out for timing: even in a change programme that is to run over months or years, every day counts. Where certain tasks require coordination then ensure that no-one is late in meeting their obligations.
- Be patient with others - particularly those who have not experienced much change in the past.
To find out how contract staff can provide support and knowledge transfer during a period of change, contact us at sales@bmeurope.com
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Real Skills. Real People - B & M's Ed Hopper
In this issue, we profile Sales Manager Ed Hopper
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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 specialists 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 the company builds on its 14 years' experience and continues to provide services that are relevant to customers in the UK and Europe. Ed has led the development of B & M's 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 manages the accounts 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.
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Security Healthcheck
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B & M offers a thorough Security Healthcheck which enables organisations to take better advantage of technology and - even more importantly - to ensure that key controls are in place. Our Security Healthcheck reviews the current security product implementation to ensure that:
- Appropriate global options have been selected
- The group structure accurately maps the organisation
- Interfaces to other systems are adequately controlled
- Adequate procedures exist and are followed
- Operational procedures are validated for all areas of security.
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