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Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for IT specialists. In this issue:
• Why have Professional Indemnity Insurance? Melanie Thompson explains
• Tech View: Intrusion detection systems
• Specialist profile - Sue Daws, Senior DB2 Database Administrator
• B & M staff member profile - Melanie Thompson, Human Resources Manager
• Work opportunities
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The value of Professional Indemnity Insurance
How do you assess whether professional indemnity insurance is worth having? HR Manager Melanie Thompson explains what to consider
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Are you covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance?
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Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) is a liability insurance cover which protects professionals such as IT contractors against third party claims that could be made against them following an error, act of neglect or omission whilst on contract and for a period after the contract has ended.
The question is do you need it or don?t you?
Many specialists feel that PII is simply an additional cost for something that is not mandatory. However, there are benefits to having PII. It will provide you with protection should you find that a claim is made against you for defective work; also, in taking out PII, you are demonstrating that you are in business in a professional manner and it is one of the factors that may minimise your exposure to IR35.
Many larger employment businesses require that you take out PII so that if a claim is made against them by their customer, their premiums do not increase as a result, as your IT business would be covered under its own policy.
PII cover is available from many sources and need not be expensive (prices for PII start from £250 per year). However, one thing to look out for is the level of cover that is provided. A cheaper option may help your bank balance, but you may find that it covers you for very little. PII cover of £1 million per event is considered to be a minimum level for IT services. Most Managed Service companies offer PII as a standard part of their fees and most Umbrella companies offer PII at an additional cost to monthly service fees.
B & M has its own comprehensive PI insurance. We expect to see an increasing demand for PII as a condition of doing business as our customers become ever more demanding about the conditions of supply.
For more information about Professional Indemnity Insurance contact people@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 which 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.
For opportunities using your security experience, contact people@bmeurope.com
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Specialist profile - DB2 database administrator Sue Daws
This month we find out what has made DB2 DBA Sue Daws stay with contracting
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Sue Daws has over 20 years experience as a designer and administrator of DB2 and other databases, working in z/OS, Unix, Linux and NT environments. She is currently on contract with B & M working for a global bank - a role that she started in February 2005.
The majority of Sue's career has been working as an employee for various software houses, but when she was offered voluntary redundancy in 2001, she decided to try her hand at contracting - initially just for a year. Five years on, she is now a successful contract specialist and has worked almost without a break.
But what was it that made her decide on a contract career? As Sue explains, "There were two factors which influenced me in taking the contracting path: my length of service and breadth of experience meant that my only way to get further up the career ladder was in management and I am basically a technical person. In addition to this, the software house I worked for was not concerned with finding me the type of work or experience that I knew I needed to progress, but wanted me to do any job, in any part of the country, in order to fulfil their headcount - regardless of the needs of my career plan or home life".
As an established contract specialist, Sue now enjoys the flexibility of this way of working: she can take long holidays if she wishes or opt for a gap between contracts. She enjoys being able to decide where to work and says that she always chooses not to work away from home for extended periods.
Sue also believes that using her skills on a contract basis is beneficial to clients. For example, she was originally contracted to the bank where she currently works for just 6 months to cover for a permanent employee on maternity leave. However, when the employee returned to work, there was a need to expand the team, so her contract was extended for a further 6 months. Once that extension was finished, further work was identified on the Data Warehouse team - with a need for skills in distributed databases that matched Sue's skills profile very well - so her contract was extended again.
Sue has also ensured that she has maintained her training over the past few years and has completed the IBM Certification in DB2 Database Administration version 8 and the three AIX system administration courses. And with version 9 of DB2 being released later this year, she is committed to ensuring that she won't get left behind!
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Real Skills. Real People - B & M's Melanie Thompson
This month, we profile HR Manager Melanie Thompson
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It may seem a long way from running a restaurant to human resources, but for B & M HR Manager Melanie Thompson, it has been a logical progression. As she explains, "I spent 2 years training as a chef and running a restaurant in Cornwall, but realised that I preferred the area of business operations more and embarked on a BA in Business Administration to develop my knowledge of how businesses worked".
Melanie began her HR career as an HR Officer for Manpower which employed the frontline call centre staff dedicated to ITV Digital, where she introduced operational and personnel procedures and implemented new policies and procedures which cut absenteeism and attrition.
After the collapse of ITV Digital, Melanie spent the following two years as an HR contractor for a variety of high-profile public and private enterprises. At the National Health Service, she was involved with the recruitment and selection of medical staff, including international nurses. In the private sector, she advised telecoms giant NTL on employment law issues and at Personal Pension Management, she registered approved staff with the Financial Services Authority.
Melanie joined B & M as HR Manager in January 2004 where her main goal is to use her skills to help specialists succeed in the right assignments. "My main focus here is to continue to improve B & M?s professional services and to provide assistance and support to our growing number of specialists ? using the best practice approach that is key to how we do business."
When she?s not in the office, Melanie still puts her culinary skills to good use by entertaining friends. And if she?s not in the kitchen, you may find her drawing in oil pastels, reading or cycling (providing it isn?t raining!).
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Current work opportunities
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B & M is currently seeking specialists with WebSphere expertise. Visit our web site for up to date listings of vacancies in the UK and Europe.
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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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