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Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for IT specialists. In this issue:
• The IT contract market
• Tech View: Virtualisation
• Specialist Profile: Chris Fletcher
• B & M staff member profile - Charmaine Ward
• Current vacancies
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The contract IT market - bull or bear?
Melanie Thompson, HR Manager at B & M, looks at the recent picture for contract IT rates and considers what the near future may hold
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Pay rates have peaked and troughed..
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Since the IT slump in 2002, which resulted in many IT contractors returning to permanent employment, the IT contract market has become increasingly buoyant over recent years. This buoyancy is largely due to many companies investing in new systems and technologies, leading to a raft of new IT projects and an increase in demand for IT contractors.
Although demands for IT skills have increased, the market pay rates have peaked and troughed in an unpredictable fashion. It was reported in September 2005 that rates were on the rise - but they unexpectedly fell dramatically in November 2005. They rose again in January 2006, only to be followed by yet another downturn in April. Summer 2006 brought a rapid rate rise and the best rates for some time were reported in September 2006. Alas, November 2006 showed the biggest drop in rates since May 2006, followed by the lowest rate in two years in January 2007. Some skills sets bucked this trend. Thankfully most rates took a rise in summer 2007 and are still looking generally healthy, although they do vary considerably for different skill sets.
As we move into the customarily languid end of the calendar year, the question on everyone's mind is "Will the rates rise or fall?" Without a crystal ball, it's impossible to say, but it is wise to ensure that you are working with a professional technical services company that is able to achieve the best rates on your behalf.
We are confident that the market is in good shape and are particularly encouraged by the trend in the financial sector, which is seeing many IT projects come to fruition, driving a healthy demand for contractors and for System Testers in particular.
To discus opportunities for your skills, contact people@bmeurope.com.
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It's Virtually all there
Paul Smith, B & M's Technical Manager, explains that virtualisation is nothing new
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Virtualisation is a very broad term that refers to the abstraction of computing resources. It is a technique that allows the redistribution of computing resources into multiple execution environments. Although the term still covers the subdivision of hardware resources, it is starting to become more generic. It is not a new idea, having its origins in IBM's System/370 hardware dating from the 1970s.
There are currently three sub divisions of Virtualisation:
- Platform
- Resource
- Application
Well known examples of Platform Virtualisation include IBM's mainframe Virtual Machine in the form of VM/SP, PR/SM and most recently z/VM; Microsoft's 'Virtual PC' and VMware Server.
Platform Virtualisation software allows you to make efficient use of unused server time and thus help to keep costs down. For example, instead of four physical servers being busy for only three per cent of the time, you can have one physical server busy for 12 per cent of the time. OK, the calculation is not quite as simple as that, but it illustrates the point.
Resource Virtualisation is where it starts to get interesting (and complicated). RAID architecture allows an efficient and resilient virtual mapping of data to physical disks. The technique of 'Grid Computing' allows the distribution of execution environments over wide geographical areas. The main benefits of these are for disaster recovery/network resilience, and it also has its uses for 24x7 service delivery, allowing multi-national organisations to roll their operational support window around the world, according to time zones.
Application Virtualisation is also something that we have been familiar with even if we didn't know it. Users of Apple MACs have been using the Rosetta virtual application for years; Sun's WABI, Microsoft's MS-DOS box (under Windows) and Linux in all its forms commonly use ABI (Application Binary Interface). The common thread here is that an application is acting as a system service, translating system calls between an end-user application and, typically, the operating system, thus allowing a wider basis for usage than originally envisaged.
Virtualisation is nothing new, but because it offers flexibility at reduced cost, we can expect to see the application of this concept permeate all aspects of our electronic daily lives.
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Specialist Profile: Chris Fletcher, AIX Systems Administrator
Chris Fletcher explains how he has added team leadership to his considerable portfolio of technical skills
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Chris Fletcher is currently on contract with a worldwide bank - having nominally started a 'three month' contract there in February 2006! During this time his role has changed, and his current project is building the multi-cluster AIX environments as part of a project to replace an IBM pSeries infrastructure for part of the bank's datawarehouse system.
But what was it that drew Chris to contracting in the first place. "For me there were several reasons really to go contracting", he explained, "I really liked the idea of effectively working for myself and for working for different companies in different locations, without being tied to one employer for the next 40 years". He concluded, "At the end of the day, I'd be lying if I said that the chance to earn more money wasn't a factor!"
One of the aspects of his current role that Chris particularly enjoys is that it enables him to project manage technical server builds from start to finish, with involvement in every phase from conception, to design, build and implementation. He is driven by a desire to deliver value to the clients that he works for and, over the years, has enjoyed developing his team leadership skills in different roles. As he puts it, "These companies are paying a lot of money for my services and I always try to make sure that they get my best work. Not least because they then have plenty of reasons to give me repeat business."
Chris has benefited from his relationship with B & M. "Ed Hopper has been highly supportive with every aspect of this placement and B & M has been very helpful in issuing a contract that takes IR35 issues into account."
Despite the demands of his current role, Chris recently managed to squeeze in a two-week break - to get married in Las Vegas, something he described as, "The best of times and something that I will never forget."
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Real Skills, Real People. B & M's Charmaine Ward
This month, we find how HR Administrator Charmaine travelled from care to HR
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After completing NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Integrated Care for the Elderly, Charmaine worked as a carer in nursing, residential and rest homes for 10 years. She decided to broaden her horizons by embarking on a CLAIT Computer Training Course, and on completing levels 1 and 2, moved into a new career as a Warehouse Administrator for a national catering equipment supplier.
Charmaine remained with the firm for several years and was promoted to IT Administrator for the Data Processing department, where she provided first-line support to over 300 employees. She also worked closely with the Finance Director, producing monthly sales figures and reports.
Charmaine held an administration role for a satellite and communications repair company before joining B & M in May 2007 as an Administrator in the HR team, where she provides vital support to the B & M Account Managers.
Charmaine and her husband are registered Kennel Club dog breeders and, together with her two children, work alongside the RSPCA to foster and re-home stray or neglected dogs into loving and caring homes. Charmaine has two Old English Sheep dogs of her own and enjoys taking them for long walks in the countryside.
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If you have AIX skills, you may be interested in an opportunity that we have for an AIX Systems Administrator, based in the South of England. Please contact us at people@bmeurope.com if you have experience of supporting AIX 5 running on large AIX Power 5 architecture and in-depth experience of Legato version 7 or above.
For other opportunities please visit current vacancies.
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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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