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What Makes an Effective IT Recruitment Agency?
Posted on Monday 11th February 2019 10:27
It goes without saying that tech people are crucial in today’s world. And UK businesses have a real need to boost their digital skills in order to stay competitive, studies show. That’s where an IT recruitment agency can make the difference.
However, not all IT recruiters are equal. Clients expect measurable results, fast. There’s no room for confusion when critical systems are at stake.
That makes it important to choose the right IT recruitment agency. More than just relaying the client’s needs, the recruiter has to understand them. In-depth knowledge of the client’s technical requirements and the candidates’ skills is key to a great result.
In this sense, Influential People has a unique advantage. Born out of tech services provider Influential Software, we aren’t recruiters who work with IT people – we’re IT people who excel at technical recruitment.
So what advantages does that confer on our clients?
Expanding Talent Network
Having worked in IT for over 25 years, Influential Software has a UK-wide network. Influential People’s recruitment team can draw on in-house experts as well as freelance contractors.
There are no limits to the roles or technologies we place. Within Influential Software, we have resources for integration, business intelligence, DevOps, support, infrastructure, consulting, cyber security, payroll, and front-end development. Our external network is even wider.
Tried and Tested People
Having already sent our in-house team and external contractors to major clients, we know the strengths of each person.
Even so, we run a proficiency test on every candidate to check their real-life skills. That means our clients get only the best, with no need for lengthy searching.
If you’d like to join our talent network, why not send us your CV?
Bespoke Tools for You
Our software services are all about making business faster and more transparent. And recruitment is no exception.
Using bespoke dashboards and collaborative software, we help clients track their people at every step of the way.
Source the Whole Project
It’s simpler and more cost effective to source all your people from one agency. Our varied network covers every stage of the lifecycle, from architects through development to support. That gives you the freedom to think big while we deliver.
Not Your Typical IT Recruitment Agency
Hundreds of UK clients rely on our services to fuel their digital transformation. A dedicated IT recruitment agency with in-depth knowledge is key to making your tech investments count.
If you’re looking for an IT resource, why not visit our dedicated site?
Five Reasons to Upgrade from TM1 to IBM Planning Analytics
Posted on Friday 8th February 2019 3:24
With a company history going back 108 years, IBM knows how to move with the times. The latest leap from IBM Cognos TM1 to IBM Planning Analytics is no exception. After listening to customer feedback, IBM has added capabilities for faster and more powerful planning, budgeting, forecasting and analysis.
What’s more, the unified experience for web, Excel, and mobile lets your users get started faster. And IBM’s new cognitive capabilities speed up your ability to glean predictive insights directly from internal and external data.
To show the new solution in action, we’ve rounded up the top five reasons to upgrade from TM1 to IBM Planning Analytics.
IBM Planning Analytics Workspace
Workspace is the customizable interface that is the new face of TM1. It supports reporting, analysis and write-back with an interactive viewer that makes it easy to navigate multi-dimensional cubes and share results with others. This interface has been praised by customers and analysts alike for its ease of use. And with more than 25 different images, charts, maps, and scorecards, Workspace lets you create compelling visualizations quickly. It’s also mobile, so you can work with Workspace books at your convenience, on an iPad or other tablet device.
IBM Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel
The IBM Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel add-on is the successor to IBM Cognos Analysis for Microsoft Excel (CAFE). It gives you Excel access to the IBM TM1 database with superior performance over wide-area networks. It lets you retain full Excel functionality and formatting when moving data between TM1 and Excel, and integrates smoothly with Workspace, sharing a common UX, Cube Viewer, and Set Editor.
New Hierarchies
The “hierarchies” capability in IBM Planning Analytics provides both technical advantages and business-user benefits. With hierarchies, you’re not limited to the traditional definition of cubes. You have the flexibility to perform in depth, granular analysis, exploring data by attributes such as customer, product, sales program and more. You can model attributes and drill into them without having to create a new dimension or add elements (members) to the hierarchy. You can also see the intersections of several hierarchies within the same dimension, so you can drill down to find data points never before possible.
Ready for GDPR
The European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is another very good reason to upgrade. GDPR takes effect May 25, 2018, and it’s important for all of your business processes to be ready. IBM Planning Analytics will be GDPR-ready when the regulation takes effect.
Fast Migration Process
New capabilities notwithstanding, upgrades are still a headache, right? Nope, not here. In spite of the solution’s new name, the upgrade to IBM Planning Analytics is not really a migration. You just install it and go, using your current model and mode of operation.
Getting Greatest Value from IBM Planning Analytics
IBM Planning Analytics is your enterprise’s nerve centre. For the whole body to work together, you need it perfectly configured and aligned with your business. As a decades-long IBM Partner, Influential Software has the expertise to give the results you expect from Planning Analytics.
If you’re interested in upgrading your solution, why not speak to our IBM Cognos experts?
*This content has been adapted from https://www.ibm.com/communities/analytics/planning-analytics-blog/top-5-reasons-to-upgrade-from-ibm-tm1/
Plugging the UK’s MuleSoft Recruitment Gap
Posted on Thursday 3rd January 2019 12:22
Last year saw growing anxiety about a “digital skills gap” in the UK. Studies by both Deloitte and Barclays highlighted the need to close that gap or risk losing our business edge. As digital transformation experts for over two decades, the Influential Software team is deeply aware of the need for continual learning. And this passion is the basis for our MuleSoft recruitment and MuleSoft training services.
The Growth of MuleSoft
Just like digital skills in general, MuleSoft certifications and hands-on experience are in higher demand than ever. To prove that we need only look at the London MuleSoft Summit, which drew 2,500 people in 2018. That’s compared with only 40 people at the first summit three years before!
As a MuleSoft Partner, we know exactly why MuleSoft has grown so quickly. MuleSoft integration solutions are vital for the opacity and agility that businesses need in the new digital economy. But however smart your software is, you still need people to understand it. That’s where MuleSoft recruitment and MuleSoft training come in.
MuleSoft Recruitment Wanted
Matthew Dunne, our MuleSoft recruitment specialist, says about the relationship between product and people, “MuleSoft is selling more software than ever. But the number of good MuleSoft candidates hasn’t changed very much. We’re still looking at a candidate pool of about 250 people in the UK.”
Considering that Influential Software has a network of around 200 internal, contract, and permanent MuleSoft experts, that gives our clients an excellent spread of those elusive 250 UK candidates.
Our success is about much more than numbers, however. As Dunne explains, “We also have a wider Java team that can support. Plus we do .NET development, which comes around MuleSoft. And we have a wider network of contractors that we meet regularly for coffee and at MuleSoft meetups.”
Muleys You Can Trust
Ultimately, that one-on-one approach to recruitment is key. “When I recommend a candidate, I can say that I’ve met him face to face, had a coffee with him, and know he’s a good guy. That matters. We’re not sending a CV, we’re sending a person,” says Dunne.
While MuleSoft recruitment provides the current need, the only way to close the skills gap in future is through MuleSoft training. Staying ahead of the game as always, we recently launched a new MuleSoft training site. With training routes for developers, operations, integration partners, architects, managers, and admins, our courses cover all aspects of MuleSoft technology.
Looking to plug a MuleSoft gap? Ask our team to get started.
Why Move to SAP SuccessFactors HR Cloud?
Posted on Thursday 13th December 2018 3:43
Businesses live and thrive on their people. That means that as generations change, businesses have to change with them. Creating a fast, smooth, and engaging experience is what modern employees have come to expect. At the same time, businesses are increasingly turning to the cloud for the most agile and cost-effective software. At the meeting point of these two trends is SAP SuccessFactors – a cloud solution for the modern workforce. So what are the most compelling reasons to move to SAP SuccessFactors?
The Millennial Factor
Over half of your workforce will be millennials by 2020. These youngsters have grown up with flexible working, digital collaboration, and slick user experiences as the norm. Making the move to SAP SuccessFactors brings your HR into line with those expectations. You can encourage employee learning and development wherever they are, while removing the delays and paperwork that turn them off.
OpEx Model
Cloud solutions are perfect for when budgets are tight. The monthly subscription model of SAP SuccessFactors is a powerful argument for small to medium sized businesses. On top of that, the modular SAP SuccessFactors licences mean you can add any functions as and when you need them.
Maintenance Not Required
As an SAP-hosted solution, customers don’t need to think about maintenance. Administration is also simple, as many functions can be learned from free training videos on the SAP SuccessFactors Community site.
Mobility Included
SAP SuccessFactors includes a mobile platform as standard, unlike many on-premises solutions. Your HR team can work with recruiting, to-do list management, and performance and goal management on the go.
Integration as Standard
The preconfigured options in SAP SuccessFactors offer fast integration with other SAP solutions and many non-SAP providers in payroll, benefits, time and attendance, and document management.
For more complex SAP SuccessFactors integrations, Influential Software’s clients benefit from our partnerships with Dell Boomi and MuleSoft.
Stable and Upgradable
SAP SuccessFactors receives upgrades four times a year, ensuring you always have the latest innovations. For customers who want to upgrade in their own time, we can assess your needs and perform targeted mini-implementations.
User Friendly
The user interface of SAP SuccessFactors is a huge improvement over on-premises HR solutions. This means you can keep your HR team just as happy as the workforce they’re serving.
Refresh Your Processes
Like any HR solution, SAP SuccessFactors is only a tool. It’s up to each business to define its HR strategy before implementing it with the best software. Making the move to SAP SuccessFactors is a great chance to review your current HR strategy and air fresh ideas.
SAP SuccessFactors & Influential Software
Getting the most out of these benefits is a matter of experience and expertise. As an SAP Gold Partner with 25 years of success in the software domain, Influential Software provides the SAP SuccessFactors services to make your move a breeze. Our partnerships with leading integration providers Dell Boomi and MuleSoft also ensures that HR is perfectly aligned with all your systems.
Interested in learning more about SAP SuccessFactors? Feel free to visit our dedicated website.
What We Learned at MuleSoft Summit London 2018
Posted on Wednesday 14th November 2018 11:05
The Influential Software team were among 2,500 people who attended MuleSoft Summit London 2018.
That makes this the biggest MuleSoft summit to date. And as we heard from the fantastic speakers, MuleSoft has even greater things in the pipeline.
To start with, we heard from MuleSoft speakers including CEO Greg Schott, EMEA Head Raj Mistry, and founder Ross Mason.
The recurring theme was how to take a mix of enterprise applications that looks like this…
…and turn that opaque, hard-to-manage group of applications into something like this.
The good news is, this transformation isn’t magic!
As MuleSoft’s UK Partner, Influential Software has wrought this change for thousands of businesses.
Visit our dedicated MuleSoft site to find out more.
The core MuleSoft proposition is this: with integration and APIs, you can move from mud to crystal.
What’s more, you can make the shift reliably and at your own pace.
But before we get technical, why is this transformation so important?
The Challenges of Opacity
Over the years, many enterprises have taken on layer upon layer of applications to meet different needs.
The difficulty of managing these opaque layers creates extra strain on IT resources.
Your staff may resort to “shadow IT”, breaking up enterprise data among insecure SaaS platforms.
On top of this, issues quickly arise when you need to apply new security policies across these applications.
There may be data hidden within your “ball of mud” that could be turned into intelligence or services – but you can’t see it.
As MuleSoft’s Ross Mason put it at MuleSoft Summit London 2018, “For the modern enterprise, it isn’t about the large eating the small, it’s about the fast eating the slow.”
Can your enterprise afford to sacrifice its speed to unconnected systems?
The Benefits of Transparency
MuleSoft’s API approach solves all of these issues. By creating APIs throughout your application layers, you gain a 3D view of everything.
Now you can react quickly to cyber threats and manage any group of applications easily.
You can ringfence areas to respond to changing data regulations, or swap and change elements without disrupting other applications.
In short, you can leverage your existing architectures with transparency, security, and agility.
At MuleSoft Summit London 2018 we heard from Amitabh Apte, director of digital foundations integration at Mars, how APIs are transforming this global enterprise.
Without “big leaps” in architecture or infrastructure, Mars has expanded its APIs from initial piloting to a re-usable library of increasing value.
MuleSoft Sneak Peek 2019
Mark Dao, MuleSoft chief product officer, began with the inspiring words, “There are no legacy systems – only legacy mindsets.”
The moral: every enterprise has a wealth of unmined applications, and you need MuleSoft to bring them to the surface.
And MuleSoft Summit London 2018 presented a raft of new products that are making this easier.
Dao introduced:
- Advanced API Business Analytics, for analysing your API traffic and performance
- Advanced API Portal, for driving engagement and conversion to API programs
- Machine-Learning Based Automapper, for automatic data mapping suggestions
- Anypoint API Manager, for tokenisation, applying policies across APIs, and setting up “edge domains”
While MuleSoft innovations coming in 2019 include:
- threat detection
- machine-to-machine protection
- Anypoint monitoring
Introducing Your MuleSoft Integration Partner
Is your enterprise ready to turn that ball of mud into crystal?
Ensure a reliable transformation with the guidance of an integration expert and MuleSoft Partner, Influential Software.
Visit our dedicated MuleSoft site to find out more.
