Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for IT specialists. In this issue:
• Why it pays to check out trading entities
• Tech View: reducing your enterprise footprint
• Specialist Profile: Martin Andrew, WebSphere MQ Specialist
• Real People, Real Skills: Senior Account Manager Seamus Hayes
• B & M TechConsult
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Taking care with trading entities
Jerry Smart explains why it pays to speak to B & M before settling on a new umbrella or management service company
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"Choose carefully… "
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Contract IT specialists who do not wish to (or cannot) operate through a private limited company of their own will need to choose a supplier company - variously known as a management service, umbrella or payroll company. But it's a choice that needs to be taken with care: there are many factors to consider (including terms and conditions, variety of services, fees, level of service, compliance, tax efficiency etc.).
B & M trades with a number of such supplier companies and we place great importance on protecting the specialists we work with by vetting these companies to determine their legitimacy, operational efficiency and service provision. Since there has to be a contract in place it is most important that the supplier company is agreeable to B & M’s terms and conditions to ensure that everything runs smoothly on the contract from the outset. Whilst certain matters are open for discussion, B & M is sometimes asked to change T&Cs that cannot be altered (for example where they reflect the customer agreement with B & M or where the supplier company is seeking to absolve itself from all liabilities).
So, if you are considering trading with B & M through a new supplier company, please let us know at the earliest opportunity, so that we can liaise with that company and let you know whether an agreement to trade can be reached. To discuss this matter, please contact people@bmeurope.com.
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Small is beautiful: Reducing your enterprise footprint
B & M Technical Manager, Paul Smith, explains how flexible servers can help when it comes to managing your data and energy consumption
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'Occam's razor' is the principle that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily - and seems to be very pertinent to today's IT infrastructures. However, as systems continue to grow inexorably, the quest for simpler data structures delivered by smaller, less power-hungry machines seems to have been rather left behind, driven by the need for more thorough, accessible backup, support for software, good practice and improvements in security to name but a few. However, these needs can be in competition with the quest to reduce or control running costs, energy consumption and the space needed for IT equipment.
The most obvious way to reduce the amount of hardware in your machine room is to virtualise, using a combination of hardware and software. The trick is to try to get the best value for money from the combination that you choose.
IBM’s z10 (introduced in February 2008) is probably one of the more flexible solutions, with the top end offering 77 Processing Units (PU), and up to 1520GB of RAM. You can have up to 64 IFL partitions which allow you to run Linux on the 'bare metal' - directly on a piece of hardware rather than in a virtualised environment - and make it possible to pack a lot of ‘servers’ into one physical box. SUSE, Redhat and now Sun all have zSeries Linux offerings. However at an estimated $100,000 to $30,000,000 the cost justification has to be clear.
The ever-popular Blade format servers from HP, IBM, Dell and others deliver a massive amount of processing power in a small, power-efficient system. Blade servers cost in the thousands - rather than tens of thousands, although they do deliver less processing power per cubic metre than IBM z Series.
Reducing the physical number of boxes offers:
• Reduced network infrastructure
• Lower power requirement and cost
• Less heat output
• Less air-conditioning (also reducing power need)
Virtualisation software also gives you more options: for example both Microsoft and VMware have free Hypervisor products. For an enterprise seeking consolidation, IBM's drawback has always been an inability to support x86 (Windows et al) software directly on the zSeries. Even this can be overcome with a little thought using for example VMware’s offerings (and Linux), or Mantissa’s new z/VOS product. It is possible to move all your PC-based (and Mac OS/X if using VMware) images onto your IBM z10. Maybe even the shy thin client will make triumphant return!
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Specialist Profile: Martin Andrew, WebSphere MQ Specialist
This month we speak to a relative newcomer to the world of specialist IT contracting, Martin Andrew
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Martin Andrew has spent the last 20 years or so of his career working in permanent roles at an international bank, latterly working as an IBM Certified Websphere MQ/Broker and Connect:Direct specialist. He moved into contracting with B & M last year, and is working as message broker support specialist for a global bank.
Although he is enjoying the world of contracting, it is not quite the 'meal ticket' that he had imagined when he was in a permanent position: "I viewed contractors as fabulously wealthy, devil-may-care individuals who never had to do a performance review, so they were a different breed. However, now that I've joined their ranks, I can see that life is a little tougher than I thought!"
Working in the banking sector, Martin is finding that the economic climate is discussed and deliberated at length, and although there have been no effects so far for his area of the business, he and his colleagues know that the next year or so will be tough. He comments, "I know of several contractors who have sought full-time jobs recently to see out the current storm".
Nonetheless, Martin firmly believes that moving into contracting has broadened his horizons, both in terms of the technologies he is exposed to and discovering new areas of the UK - his first contract position is some 300 miles from his home in the South of England. He is looking forward to increasing his experience with each new contract. "I am sure that I will get to work with a much broader range of technologies an am already meeting some great people and learning new things from them. Also, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a financial advantage to contracting - but rather than affording me a lavish lifestyle, this will hopefully allow me to plan for periods when I don't have to work or when I can stop work altogether". He is enjoying the social side of his new role too: "Let's just say there's a particular pub nearby that does particularly good food, and which sees quite a bit of our custom!"
With his experience on both the contracting and permanent sides of the fence, Martin feels that there are very tangible benefits for customers in using contract staff: "Customers can just feed in a their list of requirements, and very quickly have fully trained professionals who can hit the ground running working on their team. I honestly think that contractors are better value for customers too - there's no pension, insurance, training, sick pay or holiday pay and their admin is reduced too".
Martin was introduced to B & M by a colleague, and says, "Although I haven't had much experience of other agencies, I have always been impressed with B & M, and particularly with Account Manager Kevin Gill. B & M treats you like a person rather than just a 'name on their list'. I will definitely stay with B & M as long as they can offer me contracts and I think their success derives from keeping this personal contact".
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Real People, Real Skills - Seamus Hayes
Senior Account Manager Seamus Hayes is an IT sales professional with over 30 years' experience - mainly in the services sector
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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 Nixdorf Computer (now Siemens-Nixdorf), where he handled 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 13.
To contact Seamus or any of his colleagues, email sales@bmeurope.com.
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B & M TechConsult
authoritative technical consultancy
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B & M TechConsult www.bmeurope.com/techconsult.html 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.
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