Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for IT specialists. In this issue:

 
•  Tech View: Service Oriented Architecture, by Technical Consultant Tim Crossland
•  Update on AWR and IR35
•  Specialist Profile: John Ward, WebSphere Specialist
•  Real People, Real Skills: Account Director, Seamus Hayes
•  B & M TechConsult – authoritative technical consultancy
Service Oriented Architecture
 Technical Consultant Tim Crossland explains how SOA can enable organisations to benefit from separating underlying technology from the user experience
SOA enables reuse of business logic
The goals of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) are ones that the IT industry has been striving to deliver upon for many years, namely:
  • Promoting reuse of business logic
  • Ensuring that the interfaces for services are clearly defined
  • Allowing any application to communicate with any other application
  • Use of open standards.
When implemented correctly, SOA can bring in many benefits and, as it evolves, businesses should find that they are regularly reusing existing services, rather than starting from scratch again. These services could be recently developed web services or legacy business applications.

In order to implement a Service Oriented Architecture, an enterprise service bus model is required. This should provide:
  • A broker component, such as WebSphere Message Broker and Fuse Message Broker, that performs the transformations required to expose technology-dependent services and combine data from different sources
  • An orchestration engine, such as Oracle BPEL Process Manager and WebSphere Process Server, to execute process logic.
In addition, a robust messaging platform is required, using technology such as WebSphere MQ, Apache ActiveMQ etc. The Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) model should support the following open standards:
  • Web services are defined using the Web Services Description Language (WSDL), allowing communication by providing a standard description of the interface for the service
  • The Service Oriented Architecture Protocol (SOAP) is used to define the format of messages between applications.
Using these concepts, it is possible to decouple the technical aspects underlying a service from the consumer’s view of the service. A consumer does not need to be concerned about the technology underpinning the service (whether it be SAP, mainframe COBOL, etc.). It is the responsibility of the broker component to transform data from the interface provided by the consumer to the format required on the specific technology platforms.

As a result, an organisation can then change the use of technology without the consumer having to make changes, thus reducing vendor tie-in and providing greater flexibility and code reuse - something most businesses need in the current climate.
Agency Workers Regulations update
 Jerry Smart, MD of B & M, explains how the latest AWR revisions are likely to affect IT contract workers
Since our previous article on the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR) in April 2011, the UK Government has both revised its guidelines and amended the legislation (the Agency Workers (Amendment) Regulations 2011). The effect of the recent changes is to tighten up definitions.

The AWR has been introduced to protect agency workers, but has little relevance to those relatively well-paid contractors working in the IT profession. Since the primary focus of these regulations is on Temporary Work Agencies you may not wish to read these (lengthy) regulations, but instead discuss them by talking to us at B & M.

The regulations state that “An individual is not an agency worker if the contract the individual has with the temporary work agency has the effect that the status of the agency is that of a client or customer of a profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual.” This means that, for most IT contractors / specialists providing their services through a personal service company, the AWR may not apply. In the case of a business to business contract in the IT profession this situation is likely to be the case.

The BIS has now updated its guidelines and has dropped the previous reference to IR35 (in respect of tests of business relationships). They do however refer to the issue of the working / employment relationship and the test as to whether you are under the direction and supervision of the hirer (client). This is a similar test as applied in IR35 cases, since the guidelines refer to tests devised by the courts (who have ruled on IR35 claims). However, with IR35 determinations many other factors are taken into account. One of the key IR35 exemption tests is not whether you are told what needs to be done but whether you are free to use your expertise to determine how it is done and to get on with that work. With AWR it is more likely that you are under the ‘direction’ (what to do) and ‘supervision’ (progress on work).

Those who have chosen to place themselves outside of the remit of IR35 will have some of the same arguments if they wish not to be encompassed by the AWR and only case law will determine the future application of the regulations. In reality the chances of a specific case in the IT industry coming before the courts is extremely low.

To discuss this further, please contact Matt Jones on 0118 981 1880 or email matt.jones@bmeurope.com.
Specialist Profile: John Ward, WebSphere Specialist 
 This month we talk to John Ward about living and working in Europe
John Ward is currently working on a long-term contract for a major European public body based in The Netherlands. With a total of 15 years experience in IT, he has spent the past six years working on a wide variety of WebSphere administration, installation and support roles in financial environments.

The organisation where John is currently working has a significant middleware element, with many of the software applications having been developed in-house. As John explains, this slightly unusual set-up means that he is expanding his knowledge rapidly, at the same time as bringing his own skill set and wealth of WebSphere knowledge to the customer: “There is quite a diverse set of applications here and I’m enjoying getting to grips with all the ins and outs. I’m learning new skills and getting exposure to different technical environments in a way that just wouldn’t be available to someone who’s been in the same permanent job for years”.

The high level of home-grown applications has meant that John and his colleagues on contract have had to be prepared to learn quickly. As he puts it, “You have to hit the ground running and that in itself keeps you sharp”. In his current role, John has seen a big push to migrate to open source middleware solutions based on JBoss and Linux, enabling him to expand his skills even further.

Having worked for many years close to home in Dublin, John is also enjoying the international aspect of his current position, where he is working alongside people from all over the world. He explains, “One of the main reasons I took my current position was the opportunity to live somewhere else - I had been living and working in Dublin for 14 years in a variety of permanent positions and it was time for a change. When the opportunity came up to live and work in the Netherlands I took it, as the rest of Europe is so much more accessible from here. And, of course, from a professional point of view, it has also given me an opportunity to add some new skills to my CV”.

John is hoping to gain exposure to some new technologies in his current role as well as continuing to improve his Dutch.

John’s Account Director at B & M is Seamus Hayes, with whom he says he has always had a good relationship. He concludes, “The process of getting my contract in the Netherlands was fast and efficient and Seamus has always kept me fully informed of developments”.
Real People, Real Skills - Seamus Hayes
 Account Director Seamus Hayes is an IT sales professional with over 30 years' experience - mainly in the services sector
Seamus began his career with a subsidiary of the Glaxo Group, training staff to use computer systems for such activities as telesales and stock control. In 1984, he began working in sales for Siemens-Nixdorf Computer, where he managed accounts in the government and financial sectors. He later worked in sales management for Omron Systems and Datalect Computer Services, before being appointed European Services Sales Director for Hitachi Imaging Solutions in 1998.

In 2000, Seamus moved to the Gartner Group and then to Allnet Limited (a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless) before joining B & M in July 2004. Here, Seamus manages our Dutch and Irish accounts as well as a number of high profile UK-based organisations.

Seamus enjoys sport and has played football at a senior amateur level. Nowadays he prefers golf, which he plays with a handicap of 12.

To contact Seamus or any of his colleagues, email sales@bmeurope.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.
 
 
B & M TechConsult
 authoritative technical consultancy
B & M TechConsult is a specialist technical consultancy service for large enterprise systems, delivering strategic advice and recommendations to enable projects to be implemented in a timely and cost-effective manner

We offer authoritative technical consultancy services for z/OS, AIX, HP-UX, Solaris and Linux environments and network connectivity, with consultancy projects typically including:
  • Strategic Reviews
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Audits
  • ICT Health Checks
  • Process development
  • Technical assurance services
B & M TechConsult delivers tailored services that enable customers to make the most of their large platform IT investments. Our consultants use their in-depth knowledge to make recommendations that can deliver dramatic improvements in an organisation’s IT infrastructure - typically delivering results in a short timescale. Consultancy is undertaken using best practice standards and objectives and deliverables are always agreed in advance.
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.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of B & M Europe Limited or any employee thereof.

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