Synetec supporting #Movember

A couple of us at Synetec wanted to raise some money for #Movember this year, the money that was raised was matched by Synetec to support a worthy cause. 

1 month worth of growth below! 

#noestimates

Prior to the popular Agile era which started roughly in the late 90's, The waterfall model was widely recognized as the most popular, and involved a  sequential software design process, in which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, Production/Implementation and Maintenance.

The down-sides included time-lines and budgets.  A typical software build could take 6 to 9 months, during which time the stakeholder had little or no interaction with the product and what seemed to be business critical at the start of the build would often be deemed unnecessary or secondary months later. The client also realized no benefit from the project until the very end when the entire system was presented in one wave- not always the all-singing, all-dancing system it might have been sold as.

The four core values of agile software development as stated by the Agile Manifesto emphasize: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. Working software over comprehensive documentation. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.

The Agile Manifesto, above,  evolved processes somewhat and gives the stakeholder a greater level of control at a much earlier phase of the build time-line. As functionality is released, it can delivered incrementally, enabling some benefits to be realized early as the product continues to develop. This Speed-to-market can be beneficial for cost control and monitoring quality before it's too late to do anything about it. Should requirements alter, subsequent functionality and system design can be changed before being developed, saving large amounts of wasted development costs. The end result is optimum business Engagement and Customer Satisfaction.

Agile is not without its own challenges though... with daily stand up meetings not always being possible and regular involvement from stakeholders can be limited due to time and distance. Business Analysis, Requirements Planning and Estimates might not always be totally accurate and can change along the way, proving to slow down development and be seen by developers as a distraction.

Ask any developer using Agile, they would still rather not have estimates and planning around every corner and the #noestimates movement is gaining momentum, adding the need for even better tools to unsure that quality is not compromised by frequent delivery dates.The #NoEstimates hash tag on twitter has caused a whirlwind of discussion about the role of estimates in software development, with several books already writtenon the subject.

The basic idea, is that it is possible to do small chunks of work incrementally, leading as rapidly as possible to a desired usable product, and that when you do that there is no need to do much of anything in the way of estimating stories or the project. Estimates present another challenge all together. When requirements are vague — and it seems that they always are — then the best conceivable estimates could also be guestimates rather than estimates. Accurate estimation of complex functionality often requires a fair amount of work and quite frequently some initial coding to validate. It is still almost impossible to know how long something will take, without research and validation.

Estimation is challenging and we would be well off if we could avoid it, that’s why the #NoEstimates idea is so compelling, however there are many real business questions that will always need to be answered before they become obsolete. “When will it be ready?” “How much will it cost?”

“Accurate estimation is impossible for complex technical projects, but keeping to agreed budgets and deadlines is achievable by using feedback and change.” Seb Rose from Clay Snow

George Toursoulopoulos, CEO at Synetec Ltd, who delivers bespoke software to small and medium size hedge funds is aware of his development team shouting No Estimates, yet insists that his clients require commitment in terms of deliverables and costs and estimates are currently still essential.

George Toursoulopoulos is a technology specialist and CEO of Synetec, one of the UK’s leading providers of bespoke software solutions.

Tech trends in financial services

The UK’s financial services have entered a period of unprecedented turbulence, further enhanced by the Brexit vote. This has brought a sharper focus on to the wider challenges facing the more established players, namely driving down cost, increasing security and improving the client experience. All have technology as the key enabler.The tech sector , being dynamic and rapidly evolving, leaves a strong temptation to adopt the latest ‘breakthrough’ or ‘gamechanging’ application, but a key aspect of exploring digital business models and processes is understanding how technology can facilitate and streamline all aspects of the business, while supporting a longer-term strategy. Brexit makes this more imperative with the pressure on the financial services industry to diversify their USPs if they are to retain global pre-eminence. This diversification is key in before the potential regulatory impacts and talent outflow start to bite.

This risk of talent outflow is a focus of the Mayor of London. His office launched London’s Digital Future - Mayoral Tech Manifesto 2016 alongside the #LondonIsOpen campaign, to show international entrepreneurs and investors that London retains its entrepreneurial spirit and status as the top tech city in Europe.

Back to financial services - how should they monetise knowledge capital and innovation to ensure they stay profitable, technologically competitive and continue to pull in diverse international talent? Technology is the key enabler, particularly around providing a continually improving and seamless service no matter where the platform, staff and knowledge are based. As financial services companies are under cost pressure to run a more dispersed business, both through geographic footprint and 4-D teams (dispersed, diverse, digital and dynamic), clients’ requirements to feel safe are emphatic. Technology needs to ethically facilitate this. Recent incidents such as the hack of SWIFT and the loss of funds from a blockchain segment have an exponential impact on clients’ security fears.

Consumer driven demand for financial services to be innovative and shareholder demand for cost reductions have to be balanced against regulatory requirements. One can't afford to be left behind; there is absolute expectation that financial services are on top of the new technological themes, such as block chain, yet capital requirements have a direct link to operational risk, which includes IT and IT processes. If systems or processes are flawed, the capital requirement could increase. Hence technological innovation needs to be carefully balanced.

According to McKinsey (5 questions boards should ask about IT in a digital world, July ’16), executives should be routinely asking these five critical questions relating to the organisation’s performance: • How well does technology enable the core business? • What value is the business getting from its most important IT projects? • How long does it take the IT organisation to develop and deploy new features and functionality? • How efficient is IT at rolling out technologies and achieving desired outcomes? • How strong is our supply of next-generation IT talent?

To the last point, I would add ‘and ideas’. How are financial services firms staying on top of all the new ideas being developed? How are they building both interaction with external technology firms and investment, into their business strategy? There has been an explosion in the number of new technology entrants, each typically offering aniche, nimble and flexible solution to a particular area of inefficiency, rather than a full service offering. One useful piece of reading material is the newWorld Economic Forum report (http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-financial-services-2015/executive-summary/), which reviews what the future holds for the finance industry, drawing on interviews and workshops with industry experts, global financial institution strategy officers and high-flying fintech innovators. Their findings suggest that the upcoming innovations will encourage a fundamental review of business models in financial services.

There is disruption to come and it is going to shake the industry to its core

Rachel Barnes is a financial services industry adviser to Synetec, one of the UK’s leading providers of bespoke software solutions.

References: World Economic Forum report (http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-financial-services-2015/executive-summary/) McKinsey (5 questions boards should ask about IT in a digital world, July ’16) London’s Digital Future - Mayoral Tech Manifesto 2016

Permanent Role for a Software Developer

Synetec is a growing software development firm aimed primarily at the Financial Services sector. We cover most areas of .net software development. In addition we also provide support for new and legacy systems to a number of clients.

Synetec is expanding and we are looking for a mid-level developer to join us and as a valued member of the team, we will encourage, train and support you in keeping you up to date with the latest technologies.

Job Description 

• Minimum of 3 years experience
• Experience in the following is essential: MVC, Microsoft C# .Net, Microsoft SQL Server
• Experience in the following is beneficial: ASP.net Web Forms, Agile Development Methodologies
• Familiarity with the following software is essential: Visual Studio, Microsoft SQL Server Studio Manager
• Permanent position
• 6 Month probation period
• Based in London near London Bridge, Southwark and Waterloo stations
• Starting ASAP

Additional Points:

We are looking for an enthusiastic, energetic, ‘can do’ type of person that gets along well with others

All candidates must have UK work experience and the necessary passport or visas to work indefinitely within the UK.

NO AGENTS PLEASE

Applicants must register their interest and email through their CV's to careers@synetec.co.uk

Should you Buy or Build your Intranet

Every organisation that has more than a handful of employees can benefit from having an intranet. It offers a casual, multi user, easy to access, up-to-date means of communication. Communication is key in any business, therefore so is an intranet.

The big question for business decision makers is whether to buy ready-to-go intranet software or build your own bespoke software. The correct answer depends on your business needs, your combined technical ability and of course, budget. Because there are so many great intranet 'Ready to use' products available, it does seem wise to buy unless you have very specific requirements. Products such as SharePoint or Confluence offer intranet, document management and workflow systems with out-of-the-box functionality that you can quickly deploy and set up. Other reputable systems include Huddle and Slack.

Key considerations when making your decision include hosting and usability. Will you be hosting the intranet internally or on the cloud? Are you geared up for remote access over a VPN type connection or is the cloud better.

The standard functionality of any intranet includes integration with email and calendars, the ability to collaborate on documents and pages, company communications, How-To articles, People search or 'Who-is directory'. It should offer remote access, be secure and provide a user-friendly environment, even for non-technical users.

Less frequently required features include blogs, company workflow and integration with other in-house systems or programs. Some users might also require remote access from mobile devices.

Before deciding which way forward, you should also establish who is going to be maintaining the intranet. It should have a dedicated editor or curator that can ensure accuracy and keep pages up-to-date and relevant with easy-to-use page creation, widgets, notifications and comments. If users become swamped with old, out-of-date information that cannot be relied on for accuracy, your team will very quickly abandon the intranet and it will become useless. Before looking at any of the products available, the team should be considered. Who will be editing, who will be contributing. How much technical expertise do they have? Start with the team, not the technology.

If building a bespoke product is the only way you will get the full control offunctionality and the integration that you require or meet any other specific needs, you should still consider the team first, and then other key factors like time scales and budget. Should you require bespoke intranet software, Synetec can advise, build and integrate your intranet to ensure you end up meeting all your business needs. Alternatively, you might simply require advice on software selection and set-up which they will be happy to offer.

George Toursoulopoulos is a technology specialist and CEO of Synetec, one of the UK’s leading providers of bespoke software solutions.

Offshore Outsourcing

Choosing your IT partner is the business equivalent of choosing a spouse- you're hoping for a happy, long-standing relationship or perhaps like choosing a builder for an extension or renovation- an offering that can work with your style, needs and budget and most importantly, a contact that you have a rapport with. These kinds of relations assist in communications which are key to any IT project- be it enterprise scale or start-up. Considering that communication will be the single most important factor in success, it goes to show that choosing an off-shore provider, sourced through a trade directory, with project managers that you will never meet face-to-face, can be likened to choosing a mail-order bride. Risky at best.

There are key aspects that should be explored and considered when it comes to choosing the right company to supply you with IT services. It should be a 'partnership', not a 'contract', and you should aim for a long-standing relationship that will provide your company with what you need, when you need it, within the time and budget constraints of your organisation. You might not always know exactly what those needs will be at the outset... often this becomes apparent and is demonstrated only further down the road.

If you are considering offshore IT resources, consider why people are uncomfortable with the idea that their personal information is stored in another country where there are different cultural attitudes to personal information and different laws.  A lot of countries do not provide secure property laws which make it easy for economic espionage to occur and those with the most sought labour costs are the ones that are still busy developing their political systems and labour laws.

Offshore outsourcing also relies heavily on documentation needed to comply with certain policies and procedures and to increase the chance of IT projects meeting objectives. This could lead to a lengthy waiting period before you can actually start working and producing what you need to, not to mention the expertise and resource required to complete technical software requirements and specifications. Local software experts tend to specialise in specific industries reducing the need for such extensive specifications and usually offering added value in many areas due to specific, localised industry knowledge.

Another aspect to consider is time zones. Even though the offshore company you are busy forging a relationship with might not be a whole day ahead of you, even a few hours can make a difference. Say you request a task for completion at 8am in the morning and the country of your outsourcing is 2 hours behind, it will be 10am before they receive the request. They might only complete the task by the end of their day, which is already 2 hours after you might have left, making it a whole day of waiting on a simple task. Had you asked a local company, they could have received and completed the task within the day. Doesn't sound so bad waiting 1 extra night on 1 task, but multiply this by the number of tasks and queries on a complex IT project that runs for 6-8 months and what you end up with is basically just a waiting game.

It is true that cost reduction plays an important part in the decision to choose offshore outsourcing as an option. Most offshore companies usually offer competitive labour rates that can be very appealing, but most businesses that choose this option rarely ever look at the fine print or the hidden costs behind it. These costs are usually not calculated into the overall budget and should be analysed carefully. There are things like costs for long distance communication, training, and travelling. Any long distance relationship requires a large amount of effort, money, and time and it can become taxing on your everyday work situation.

More often than not these relationships are not always maintained. It's breakdown is so fast and severe that it can cause major damage to your business. Common causes for these breakdowns include an insufficient number of individuals involved, poorly designed policies, gaps or uncertainties in the contracts, and poor execution of roles between the two parties.

So the vital question that still remains is the following: is offshore outsourcing something to consider when delivering an IT solution? Evidence shows that it is not something that you should delve into blindly due to the factors that can hinder it. Onshore business will save you costs, time, and money, and the lines of communication will be open and easily accessible for all.

In short, it is acceptable to outsource certain elements of your IT function, and in certain situations can make sense, but it is better to use local companies in order to save in the long run and ensure seamless integration. Even if your local IT service provider does manage to successfully outsource some of the development to offshore resources, let them do the project managing and technical integration. The cost savings will still be passed on to you as the client. 

George Toursoulopoulos is a technology specialist and CEO of Synetec, one of the UK’s leading providers of bespoke software solutions.

Permanent Role for a Software Developer

Synetec is a growing software development firm aimed primarily at the Financial Services sector. We cover most areas of .net software development. In addition we also provide support for new and legacy systems to a number of clients.

Synetec is expanding and we are looking for a mid-level developer to join us and as a valued member of the team, we will encourage, train and support you in keeping you up to date with the latest technologies.

Mid-Level Developer

•         Minimum of 4 years of experience
•         Experience in the following is essential: Microsoft C# .Net, MVC, Microsoft SQLServer, ASP.net
•         Experience in the following is beneficial: Microsoft VB .Net, WPF, Windows Services, Test Drive Development
•         Familiarity with the following software is essential: Visual Studio, Microsoft SQL Server Studio Manager
•         Permanent position
•         6 Month probation period
•         Based in London near London Bridge, Southwark and Waterloo stations
•         Starting ASAP

Additional Points:

We are looking for an enthusiastic, energetic, ‘can do’ type of person that gets along well with others

All candidates must have UK work experience and the necessary passport or visas to work indefinitely within the UK.

NO AGENTS PLEASE

Applicants must register their interest and email through their CV's to careers@synetec.co.uk

Permanent Role for a Senior Developer

Synetec is expanding and we are looking for a senior developer to join and as a valued member of the team, they will encourage, train and support you in keeping you up to date with the latest technologies.

•         Senior Microsoft Software Developer

•         Minimum of 8 years of experience

•         Experience in the following is essential: Microsoft C# .Net, MVC, Microsoft SQL Server, ASP.net, Test Driven Development, Agile, Database Design, Use Case Creation

•         Experience in the following is beneficial: Microsoft VB .Net, WPF, Windows Services, VBA/Excel Development, Unit Testing

•         Experience in the Financial Services Industry would be an advantage, but not essential

•         Familiarity with the following software is essential: Visual Studio, SQL Studio Manager, JIRA

•         Familiarity with the following software is beneficial: Tortoise, XUnit, TeamCity

•         Permanent position

•         6 Month probation period

•         Based in London, Charing Cross

•         Starting ASAP

Additional Points:

•         The salary for this role is between 50K to 60K depending on experience.

•         This person should have the ability to lead a team of developers from a technical perspective, and be able to present and communicate clearly and concisely while providing  guidance to other developers in the team

•         They should demonstrate great problem solving ability

•         We are looking for an enthusiastic, energetic, ‘can do’ type of person that gets along well with others

Useful Info:

Our offices are based in Central London, near Waterloo although will be relocating to larger premises in the area shortly. All candidates must have UK work experience and the necessary passport or visas to work indefinitely within the UK.

NO AGENTS PLEASE

Applicants must register their interest and email through their CV's to careers@synetec.co.uk

Permanent role for a Project Manager

Synetec is expanding and we are looking for a Project Manager to join and as a valued member of the team, they will encourage, train and support you in keeping you up to date with the latest technologies.

• Project Manager/Scrum Master/Business Analyst

• Minimum of 8 years of experience

• Experience in the following is essential: Agile, Scrum Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Coordinating development teams , Interpreting research to create requirements, Use Case Creation, Business Process analysis and re-engineering, strong reporting skills, organisation of project meetings (retrospectives, daily stand ups and planning meetings), Business case & delivery proposal production, excellent organisational and communication skills, works well under pressure, strong documentation and process skills

• Experience in the following is beneficial: Waterfall Methodologies, Development Background, Test Function Management, Kanban

• Experience in the Financial Services Industry would be an advantage, but not essential

• Familiarity with the following software is essential: JIRA

• Familiarity with the following software is beneficial: Confluence

• The following qualifications are beneficial, but not essential: SCRUMMASTER, Prince2 Practitioner

• Permanent position

• Based in London, Charing Cross

• Starting ASAP

Additional Points:

• The salary for this role is in line with market rates and dependent on experience

• We are looking for an extremely well organised person, enthusiastic, energetic, ‘can do’ type of person that gets along well with others

• A professional manner and presentation is key

Useful Info:

Our offices are based in Central London, near Waterloo although will be relocating to larger premises in the area shortly. All candidates must have UK work experience and the necessary passport or visas to work indefinitely within the UK.

NO AGENTS PLEASE

Applicants must register their interest and email through their CV's to careers@synetec.co.uk

Are you making use of your data?

 

Is your company one of many sitting on Mega size excel spreadsheets, creaking with data, but no time or expertise to sort, report and analyse the mass to make it usable and worthwhile? Data is like gold, while it is in the ground it is worthless. It is when it has been extracted and polished that it becomes very valuable.

With a surge in rapid software development frameworks and improved data manipulation methodologies, comes the ability for companies to unlock the potential within their data and information about markets, trends, customers, potential customers, productivity and competitors far and wide. However, in order to use this data to tell a meaningful story and for it to affect actions and decisions in line with strategic planning, it needs to be moulded into nuggets of information relevant to the business goals and objectives.

Synetec had a client that ran most of their operations on a combination of a Back Office System, CRM system and very functional Excel spreadsheets. Across these three technologies they had terabytes of data that they were not realizing any value out of. Through consolidation and interpretation of these data sources,  the resulting data set, very accurately pinpointed ‘sweetspots’ and indicated where there processes and teams were achieving the greatest results. Just as valuable was the ability to identify where things could be improved on and what was the differentiator. This in turn brought about some minor adjustments to their processes, some training in very specific areas for individual team members and over a very modest time period an increase in performance across the board. It was all in the data.

As well as key business drivers, it appears that employees are better motivated when individual efforts and actions can be traced, rewarded and acknowledged, even when functioning as part of a team. Employees can also benefit from USEFUL data. If a certain team member is outperforming his peers, a dynamic report that highlights to management and leads to recognition and reward, would be beneficial to business goals. Or in greater detail, data may show that certain salespeople are stronger or weaker at selling a particular product or in a certain stage of the pipeline. You know software is really unlocking the value of your data when you are being informed on how to enhance processes for improvements and when its based upon YOUR data, then it’s worth listening.

What good would any of this data be if it's all stuck in a swamp of excel or dispersed amongst various database non-coherently? 

With a surge in technology that supports the financial industry and decline in the cost of gathering and storing data, the likelihood and reality of sitting on heaps of raw data is growing. The need for high level, almost instant reporting requires new and updated technologies that are not only bullet proof, secure and resilient, but also accessible to the non-technical user.

Synetec offers bespoke solutions with expertise in designing and managing the transition from legacy systems to updated technologies which can assist you in unlocking the value of your data.  While this process can often be problematic and expensive, Synetec can ensure that your business mines the gold instead of just spending it. 

George Toursoulopoulos is a technology specialist and CEO of Synetec, one of the UK’s leading providers of bespoke software solutions.