CRM Is On The Up!
Mar/100
Historically Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions were associated with large corporations with aggressive sales teams. Today the use of CRM is becoming more and more frequent as companies of all sizes are availing of this software-as-a-service. This increased presence is beneficial to companies as it leads to a higher level of customer service which enables companies to maintain their customers in these tough times.
This rise of CRM usage is due to the evolution of the “customer” in a client’s eyes. A customer no longer refers to someone who buys a product, but simply someone who makes contact with a company – whether they are buying something from them, making an enquiry or logging a complaint. Thus a relationship exists and therefore needs to be managed. With the rise of virtualisation and cloud computing, hosted CRM solutions are allowing smaller firms to avail of CRM solutions and thus opening up a bigger market for CRM providers to sell into.
Business Process Management: Simply a buzz phrase?
Feb/100
Business process management (BPM) is a management approach focused on aligning all aspects of an organization with the wants and needs of clients. It is a Holistic Management approach that promotes business effectiveness and efficiency while striving for innovation, flexibility, and integration with technology. Business process management attempts to improve processes continuously. It could therefore be described as a “process optimization process.” It is argued that BPM enables organizations to be more efficient, more effective and more capable of change than a functionally focused, traditional hierarchical management approach. (wikipedia)
By definition it would appear to be an essential part of the future of any business. However, last month’s announcement that Progress Software acquired Savvion for $49million on the back of the previous month’s acquisition of Lombardi by IBM would appear to mark a turning point for BMP.
Savvion and Lombardi were 2 of the 4 vendors at the forefront of BPM.
IBM and Progress have obviously identified the potential in this market and have taken advantage of the slower economy to take a large chuck of it for what will be considered at some point in the future, not a lot of money.
BPM is regarded by most to be a key driver in the future of Business & Technology and as Business & Technology continues to merge closer and closer it will only become more and more important. It is far from just a buzz phrase!
Most Sought-After Skills on the Web Market
Feb/100
Recently there has been a continued growth of online web agencies. This growth has stemmed from major companies outsourcing their web development and advertising campaigns to specialist firms. These companies are advancing at a rapid pace and are now sourcing the best and most highly skilled developers on the market. Currently there is a shortage of expertise to match this demand. What does this mean for developers and designers? Are there opportunities in the web market? The answer is Yes!! The best way to take advantage of these opportunities is through up-skilling!
Cakephp and flex are the hottest web skills on the market. Flex is an open source program for developers and maintains open source web applications while Cakephp is a framework that offers an extensible architecture for developing, maintaining, and deploying applications. It reduces development costs and helps developers write less code which is a valuable tool for online agencies.
The growth of online agencies will continue and this is a competitive market with high demand for specialised web developers and designers!
January 2010 – Ireland sees third consecutive month of job market growth
Feb/100
The latest Premier Group Irish Employment Monitor covering January 10 figures was published this morning.
This month’s highlights include:
- During January 10 the number of new job vacancies in Ireland increased by 15% compared to December 09 – the third consecutive monthly increase
- Compared to the same month a year ago, new job opportunities increased by 12% in January 10
- The number of professionals looking for a new role in January 10 increased by 67% month-on-month – following the seasonal dip in December 09
- There was a 6% increase in professionals looking for new jobs in January 10 compared to January 09
The full release can be viewed on the Verkom website
In addition, the Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor covering January 10 has also been published.
This issue generated a significant amount of media interest. This month’s highlights include:
- New financial services job opportunities in January 10 rose by 60% compared to January 09 a month when hiring in the sector was at one of the lowest points since the ‘credit crunch’ began.
- Following the typical decline in job vacancies in December 09 due to the Christmas period, January 10 registered a 105% month-on-month increase in roles as hiring resumed the gradual pattern of growth that was built up over the course of 2009.
- The number of financial services professionals starting their job search in January 10 increased by 54% compared to December 09
- January 10 saw a slight increase (3%) in the number of individuals looking for new roles compared to the same month of the previous year (January 09)
- The average City salary remained stable with a decrease of 1% on December 09 but an increase of 1% on the same month last year.
The full release can be viewed on the Morgan McKinley website
IT Still Strong Focus for IT Firms in 2010
Feb/100
Good news for IT professionals in today’s Business And Leadership news. IT is still very much an important part of Irish business with 47% of companies surveyed saying they will be maintaining their current level of IT staff over the next 12 months (survey by Irish Computer Society).
IT Budgets and spending, however, will be reduced in many companies with many planning to make reductions through contractor salaries.
Trends point to an increase in funding in 2010 to areas like Cloud Computing, Security and Social Networking. Bigger spend is also expected in data storage, network infrastructure and server hardware. Upskilling is also an area of interest.
Overall the IT sector remains positive with a high percentage of Senior IT Managers and Executives saying they are happy with their profession and that they would recommend a career in IT.
Premier Group: Appointed Recruitment Partner for D&B
Feb/100
We are delighted to announce that Premier Group has been appointed Recruitment Partner for US Firm, D&B.
Business information firm D&B is to set up operations in Dublin, creating up to 100 jobs over 18 months.
The US-based company, formerly known as Dun and Bradstreet, provides commercial information and insight on businesses. Its global commercial database contains more than 140 million business records in over 200 countries.
Recruitment will begin in the coming months and we are very excited to be a part of this new operation.
To read more go to http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0209/breaking38.htm
Ireland’s hiring market ends 2009 on a positive note
Jan/100
Monitoring the pulse of the Irish professional jobs market
Highlights
- During December 09, the number of new job vacancies in Ireland increased by 3% compared to November 09
- The year-on-year monthly comparison of new jobs showed an increase of 23% – the first rise since February 08
- The number of professionals beginning a new job search in December 09 declined by 30% compared to November 09
- The year-on-year monthly comparison showed the first increase registered throughout 2009, a small but significant rise in new candidates of 0.27%
Irish professional jobs market shows monthly and yearly improvement
The Irish professional jobs market saw a second consecutive increase in new jobs compared to the previous month with a rise of 3% from 4,432 in November 09 to 4,587 in December 09. A year-on-year monthly increase was also registered for the first time since February 08; the 4,587 new jobs in December 09 showing significant improvement from the 3,743 new positions in December 08. Bucking the usual trend for a decline in job vacancies over the Christmas period, these figures indicate that businesses in Ireland are starting to show signs of renewed confidence.
Seasonal factors did appear to have an impact on the number of new professionals looking for jobs in December. Compared to November 09, there were 30% fewer individuals looking for jobs across Ireland in December 09 with a decrease from 10,830 to 7,560. Compared to December 08, there was a small increase from 7,540 to 7,560 – which also suggests a cautious return to confidence in the hiring market amongst job hunters.
Brian Murphy, Managing Director of Premier Group in Ireland comments:
“Traditionally the number of new professional jobs in the month of December is lower than other months, so we were pleased to see that the number of job vacancies in December 09 held up so well and even showed a small increase on the November figures. As the year comes to a close many employers put hiring on hold until January so the increase was a very welcome and hopefully positive sign that 2010 may herald better times for professionals seeking new opportunities in Ireland”.
“The increase from December 08 to December 09 brought to an end a sequence of 21 consecutive months of year-on-year monthly declines in new job numbers. The last increase was registered in February 2008. The December figures provide further hope that the bottom of the market has been reached and we can look forward to the new decade with significantly more confidence than that with which we entered 2009″.
“The number of professionals entering the jobs market in December 09 showed a significant decrease on the November figure. However this decrease is consistent with the pattern from previous years and is reflective of the holiday period at the end of December and the
reluctance of many professionals to become active in the market when they perceive that activity will be less robust as Christmas comes closer. We expect these figures to normalise when the January 2010 Irish Employment Monitor figures are released”.
Chart: New jobs v. new candidates
About the Premier Group Irish Employment Monitor
The Premier Group Irish Employment Monitor measures the pulse of the Irish professional jobs market by tracking the number of new jobvacancies and new candidates within the Republic of Ireland each month. The first Premier Group Irish Employment Monitor was launched in May 2009 with data from April 2008 onwards.
Statistical methodology
Monthly new jobs and new candidates
Monthly new jobs and new candidate figures are based on Premier Group’s own monthly records of new permanent job vacancies and new candidates registering with the firm for permanent employment. Statistics for the full market are derived using Premier Group’s own market share.
Job classification
Job vacancies are professional level roles within the following sectors and functions; Banking & Financial Services, Commerce & Industry Finance, Insurance, Public Practice & Tax, Legal, HR, IT, Life Sciences, Engineering, Process & Manufacturing, Professional Services, Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Secretarial & Office Support.
Geography
The data is based on new job vacancies and new candidates registered with Premier Group’s network of Irish offices in Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford.
About Premier Group
Premier Group is Ireland’s leading recruitment consultancy with offices in Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford. Internationally, the Group operates from 24 offices across eight countries. Subsidiary brands within Premier Group in Ireland include
Accreate Executive Search & Interim, Brunel, la crème, Premier, and Verkom. Morgan McKinley and iQ selection also form part of the Premier Group outside of Ireland.
Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor
Premier Group currently publishes a similar monitor in London under its subsidiary brand name, Morgan McKinley. The highly regarded Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor was launched in 2004 and reports on the new roles, candidates and salaries within the financial services jobs market in London each month. Visit www.morganmckinley.co.uk for details.
Government planning PAYE crackdown on contract workers
Jan/100
Some of you may have read the recent article in the Sunday Business Post regarding proposed changes for contractors payment of PAYE. We would not be concerned at this stage that any proposed changes would have any affect on our current IT contractors. Those acting legitimately through a LTD company are unlikely to be affected.
The proposal is designed to ensure that contractors who are de facto employees cannot avoid PAYE by being paid through limited companies they establish.
The proposed changes are currently only in draft form and we will be keeping all of our contractors updated as we obtain additional information through the revenue in the coming months.
Changes were made in the UK a couple of years ago which had significant ramifications for IT contractors however we don’t anticipate the same level or amendments to legislation here.
http://www.sbpost.ie/news/government-planning-paye-crackdown-on-contract-workers-46695.html – Article from the Sunday Business Post
Contractors, how do you think this legislation could affect you? Do you think this legislation change will change the face of the IT Contract market in Ireland?
Positive outlook in the Support & Infrastructure Market
Dec/090
There has been a definite increase in job orders in recent times in the Dublin & Cork market, especially from October onwards. This upturn in registered jobs has been significantly noticed in the support and infrastructure market. This market collapsed at the end of 2008 as clients halved their infrastructure professionals on site and made a move towards outsourcing their IT support function. From a consultancy perspective, large contracts were cut and infrastructure projects were put on hold as clients budgets were squeezed forcing redundancies throughout the sector.
After a tough year of restructuring across all areas of businesses there has been a slight shift towards re-hiring in this market. Consultancies are slowly but surely bulking up their professional services team with high-end skills such as Virtualisation, Storage and Network Security. This will ensure that they are positioned correctly in the marketplace to secure any major upcoming contracts as IT budgets are slowly increased. From an internal prospective, IT support functions are growing again. Companies have begun to increase their operational staff, and as this happens it is being mirrored by the support functions.
Although it is a minimal growth, it is still a positive at the end of a very “taxing” year.
GxP Systems – Winners of Sustained Excellence – IT @ Cork
Oct/090
GxP Systems, WINNER, Sustained Excellence Company – IT @ Cork Leaders Awards sponsored by Verkom Recruitment
Laura Carroll Senior Consultant with Verkom Recruitment presents the award to John Wall from GxP Systems.
Other winners on the night included
Green Technology – EMC
High Growth Company – AMCS
R&D Project – Yougetitback
Excellence in Education - – Knockaclarig NS, Rockchapel, Mallow
IT Department Award – Musgrave Group
High Potential Start-up – Avego