home

Thinkronization Newsletter – March 2011

Thinkronization Newsletter – March 2011

 

This month’s edition of “THINKRONIZATION”, a REMEDI semi-monthly eNewsletter, examines what has transpired so far in 2011 and what is on the horizon for the reminder of the year.  Integration and supply chain professionals are used to being confronted with change, particularly where their internal organization and business network is concerned.

There has been an abundance of change this quarter in regard to global events. We have seen Democratic uprisings against suppressive governments across the Middle East and Northern Africa. There has been a natural disaster in Japan with multiple, and devastating, outcomes that are still unfolding. Air strikes in Libya to institute a no fly zone. And these are just three events that have overshadowed many other relevant global events.

Not to disregard the tragic death, destruction, and emotional toll these events have taken on those close to the situations, but these events show just how “integrated” we are as a global economy. Through these events we have seen higher oil and other commodity  prices, increased product costs via component and transportation pass throughs, and resulting inflation from variety of decisions and circumstances. We also see output from the third largest economy in the world severely restricted, which stands to impact the flow of products and services in and out of Japan. We are aware of one organization that stands to have production down for at least 10 days due to delays in receiving a $5 component sourced from Japan that is part of a $30K assembly. Additionally, Governments and companies in impacted nations are often creditors to, and trading partners of, our Government and companies, and there is a distinct possibility of a credit / investment shake up that stands to impact the cost of capital here in the US.

Given all of the above, what is the day to day impact to integration professionals and their organizations for the rest of 2011? With recent inflation numbers and a fragile recovering economy, we are sure that using technology and integration for efficiencies and cost control will continue to be a theme for the year. Also, if your organization sources components, materials, or finished goods from affected areas, integration and supply chain groups no doubt will be asked to use supply chain visibility and collaboration systems to determine the operational and economic impact of a given event(s). If  Governments or companies in impacted countries are customers, you may find significant challenges in regard to orders, fulfillment, payment, cancellations, etc. These challenges will involve integration groups and the systems they build / support. Look for these “special projects” if you have not seen them already.

With all the gloom and doom globally we do believe in the human spirit and have been enlightened to hear of the lives that have been saved due to the heroic efforts of many,  the lack of looting and criminal activity in Japan, and finally the honorable manner in which people look out for one another making sure food, water, and shelter are shared as such scarce resources are available.

On a business front, as we outlined in the January edition of “THINKRONIZATION”, we continue to be cautiously optimistic about the year ahead and look forward to the ongoing economic recovery and prosperity for our clients, partners, and associates.

Given this reflection and correlation drawn between global events and how they impact our integration work, let’s get to the newsletter.

In this edition, you will find:

An Increasingly Competitive Marketplace

We have posted in past Blogs the different challenges that exist when seeking full-time or contract talent in a competitive, or less than competitive, environment.  In our experience, the market for integration professionals became decidedly more competitive in November of 2010. From our position, client demand rose significantly around this time given confidence that we had emerged from the Great Recession and that delayed integration projects could simply be delayed no longer. Financial positions of many organizations had also gotten better and many began seeking resources for 2011 project starts. This time period marked the beginning of the recent competitive cycle that we contend exists today.

From the integration professional’s perspective, many endured a tough Great Recession that was filled with joblessness, under employment, and lower compensation as compared to the “good old days”. Talent availability was plentiful and some employers got great deals. So, as you can imagine, as recovery began the tides changed but changed slowly until Q4 2010, where most integration professionals were gainfully employed or looked to be by Q1 2011.  Since then we have observed reduced resource availability and increased competition among employers for top notch talent. In regard to top notch talent, our managers recently polled our integration professionals and they report as many as three availability inquiries a day.

So what can hiring managers do to ensure they get, and keep, the talent they need?

  • make sure the position is outlined with the exact skills necessary to get the best fit for both parties, ideally avoiding the over/under qualified
  • make sure to interview, select, and onboard your candidates in a timely manner before someone else gets your talent, competitive environments offer a great candidate many options
  • make sure compensation is competitive taking into consideration the ebbs and flows of the marketplace, consult peers at other companies or your recruiting/consulting partner for benchmarks
  • make sure to utilize your recruiter/consulting partner to parse desirable talent from the rest of the population, reputable niche firms are speaking with hundreds of candidates a week
  • make sure to utilize your recruiter/consulting partner who has relationships, networks, databases, and resources that allow for them to be in tune with the very best active and passive candidates

Blogs Related To “An Increasingly Competitive Marketplace”

Regardless if you are the hiring manager or the job seeker these are 5 suggestions that will help you filter talent or increase your odds of consideration: 5 Common Resume Mistakes

Leveraging Your Professional Services Partner In A Competitive Environment: RDMS Versus Real Relationships

Leveraging Your Professional Services Partner In A Less Than Competitive Environment: Valuable Relationships In Tough Times

Technical Spectrum

As we assemble our editorial calendar for “THINKRONIZATION” we are often confronted with the question about how technical to make our newsletters.  We have readers with a variety of technical abilities across a wide spectrum of integration tools. For those with a thirst for more technical content we have case studies that profile a client/project, the business case, the solution/deliverables, and the outcome, by integration tool. We also have FAQs we often receive and these are also by integration tool. Link to those items below that are more technical in nature and that interest you.

Sterling Integrator & Gentran Integration Suite
Case Studies
FAQs

GENTRAN
Case Studies
FAQs

WebSphere DataStage TX & DataInterchange
Case Studies
FAQs

GXS BizManager, TrustedLink & Application Integrator
Case Studies
FAQs

Extol Business Integrator & EDI Integrator
Case Studies
FAQs

TIE eVision, Integrator, EDGE & spEDI
Case Studies
FAQs

REMEDI Electronic Commerce Group Finishes 2010 With Record Performance

Relevant highlights and milestones in 2010 include:

  • REMEDI completes its 16th year in business and expands its offering to include ETL, Data Integration & Warehouse, and Business Intelligence technologies.
  • The organization grew a key partnership with Sterling Commerce, an IBM Company, to include the ability to sell IBM Software Group B2B Business Solutions including Sterling Integrator / Gentran Integration Suite, Gentran Server, Gentran iSeries, Gentran Director and Pro, Sterling File Gateway, and more.
  • For the second consecutive year the organization hit new highs in terms of billable hours which increased by 18.5% over 2009. Revenue on an accrual basis hit a new high in 2010 growing 18.1% over the prior year. The average monthly number of consultants on projects increased by 26%.
  • REMEDI increased recruiting staff to expand capacity for consulting and full-time opportunities, and increased sales and marketing staff to extend its marketing and business development reach.
  • Offerings in 2010 that lead in popularity included: B2Bi / EDI managed services, large scale trading partner on boarding, X-link (Gentran to SI/GIS) map conversion service, and infrastructure upgrade / installation / quick start service. Q4 also marked a noticeable increase in recruiting and placement requests for full-time integration professionals.

VIEW FULL PRESS RELEASE

Seeking Integration Opportunities?

REMEDI has numerous contract and full-time opportunities available for integration professionals. If you or anyone you know is interested in exploring EDI / EAI / B2Bi opportunities, or are considering career change, please feel free to search jobs or upload a resume using the links below.  Searching jobs will give you a glance into the type of talent our clients currently seek.  And uploading your resume will get you into consideration for listed jobs, or future opportunities with our clients as they develop.

SEARCH JOBS

UPLOAD RESUME

Follow REMEDI on Twitter And Facebook

The place to get information and links to opportunities, company announcements, research, articles, blog posts and more…


(47 Followers)


(63 Likes)

Recent Facebook Posts Include:

  • REMEDI is in the process of using QR Codes, so we found this interesting, 50 Creative Uses of QR Codes in Marketing… http://ow.ly/4cHlf
  • REMEDI at Impact2011 Blast – http://p0.vresp.com/eGeEbp
  • For those with Extol B2B Integration solutions looking at TMW systems, or with TMW looking at Extol. TMW systems adapter http://ow.ly/4e7PX
  • Good Blog from a buddy of mine who owns an Interim CIO organization…”What CIOs Have To Get Right” http://ow.ly/4bZER
  • AS3 Certification…Drummond certifies 6 secure messaging products http://ow.ly/4fez4

Recent Twitter Posts Include:

REMEDI Electronic Commerce Group – Impact2011 Sponsor / Exhibitor

IBM Impact2011 is just around the corner, April 10-15 in Las Vegas, and REMEDI is proud to be a sponsor and exhibitor at the conference. Come see us at the Solutions Center, pedestal E16, to find out more about how we are serving clients with IBM and Sterling integration solutions.

Clients with IBM WebSphere DataStageTX, DataInterchange, PartnerGateway, etc., know Impact as the conference that brings technology and business leaders together to learn about products and solutions. This year Impact also welcomes users of Sterling Integrator & File Gateway, Gentran, Connect Direct, and other Sterling Commerce products, and provides an event similar to Sterling Customer Connections of years past.

As a frequent partner attendee at integration vendor conferences, we like these events for the access we gain to product roadmaps and enhancement plans, for understanding the future direction of our software partners, and for staying in tune with the evolution of the B2B and enterprise integration business. Outside the knowledge we gain from attending, sponsoring, or exhibiting at these events, they allow REMEDI personnel the opportunity to connect personally with clients, prospects, consultants, industry analysts, and software partner contacts.

Let us know if you will be attending Impact. We would enjoy meeting with you at the conference.

Upcoming Integration Events

Impact2011 IBM / Sterling Commerce – Las Vegas, NV
April 10 – 15, 2011 – The Venetian and Palazzo Hotels

Changing the Way Business and IT Leaders Work, Impact2011 brings together more than 6,000 technology and business leaders at a single event for a transformative learning opportunity. REMEDI is an IBM and Sterling Commerce Business Partner and will be sponsoring / exhibiting at the event. More details on where to find us will follow as exhibitor locations are announced in the coming weeks.

Convergence 2011 – Atlanta, GA
April 10 – 13, 2011 – Georgia World Congress Center

The premier Microsoft Dynamics event.

SapphireNow – Orlando, FL
May 15 – 18, 2011 – Orange County Convention Center

Event for SAP Users, Partners, and Integrators

U Connect LIVE – Orlando, FL
May 31 – June 3, 2011 –  Orlando World Center Marriott

An event that focuses on how value chain visibility – through GS1 Standards – provides opportunities for companies to reach consumers over new channels, win confidence and loyalty, and enhance experiences while improving company efficiency and trading partner relationships.

——————————————————————

We are interested in your ideas for future newsletter articles, research, or blog material. Please let us know your ideas.

Thanks.

Brad Loetz – President
REMEDI Electronic Commerce Group
bloetz@remedi.com
614.436.4040 Phone Ext. 108
www.remedi.com

REMEDI Electronic Commerce Group is a business integration services and staffing provider. We have served clients in the US and Canada since 1994. Clients come to REMEDI for our application-2-application (A2A) and business-2-business (B2Bi) integration niche, expert resources, engagement flexibility, quality / speed in resource placement, integration experienced account managers / resource managers, and our tenure in business.

The company installs, maintains, upgrades, and expands business/data integration and EDI solutions for its clients. Consulting Services provide temporary resources for projects such as integration infrastructure upgrades and ERP conversions, or staff supplementation to eliminate backlogs. Placement Services assist the client in finding the right full-time person for the client integration team.

Leave a Comment