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Category: Press Release

Faddy Cloudiets

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We have seen a vast number of predictions over the past 4 years about the direction that cloud technology is moving. For the ‘naysayers’ out there, who are only too happy to write-off these predictions as ‘fads’; here at ROD we have been sorting the fact from the fiction, to bring you our thoughts on the top four ‘fads’ that are here to stay. In no particular order….

1. First up we have the G-cloud or ‘government cloud’. As we seen the Cabinet Office coming under pressure to deliver more efficient systems, whilst cutting budgets and spending, so too are we seeing a sharp upturn in the g-cloud. Now entering into its second year, the g-cloud is already considered a great success by key departments, as the number one way for the public sector to procure their IT systems.

This is great news for ‘cloud technology’ and will only pave the way for those companies who need encouragement to adopt cloud systems.

2. Since this has been covered extensively over the last few months, we will only BLOGtouch briefly on ‘gamification’. Even though we are only eight weeks into the year, we have read numerous articles, that write-off gamification as a fad, which will disappear just as quickly as it arrived. They see it as a way to trick employees into thinking mundane roles are actually exciting.

Used in the right way, there is no doubt that gamification is a great tool to motivate those individuals and teams who work harder, which can only be good news for staff retention.

3. BYOD / Cloud Devices. I have been reading the latest reviews about cloud devices, such as the Chromebook Pixel, with great interest. Our professional and personal lives rely more, now than ever, on access to ‘cloud’ applications. So it makes sense that we use devices that make accessing the cloud easier, faster and safer, which is why recently we are seeing more focus on cloud-devices. Without delving into a full blown product review, the fact that Google has released their own laptop, shows how seriously and aggressively they plan to try and corner the market on cloud access devices, to go up against the likes of Apple. This is likely to mean that cloud-devices might replace smart-devices, as the ‘BYOD’ of choice.

4. Big Data, like gamification, has been covered extensively in previous articles. But, this year as enterprises start to realise that ‘Big Data’, really means all of their data; we are likely to see some serious press coverage. So expect to see this topic dominating the headlines throughout 2013.


Limbering-up for Dreamforce

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salesforceWith dreamforce looming on the horizon, what can we expect from this year’s gathering of salesforce.com experts. Well without a doubt, it promises to be bigger and better than previous years.

Amongst the ‘who’s who’ list of speakers we have our very own Sir Richard Branson; former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell and entrepreneur and life coach, Anthony Robbins, all there to inspire and impart some pearls of wisdom.

The sessions promise to deliver something for everyone, enabling attendees to get to grips with the latest technology releases, gain tips on best practice, helpful hints and real life case studies to draw knowledge from.

For IT Managers you will be able to connect with peers to discuss the advantages of using salesforce.com and how best to adopt it within your organisation.

And for those of a more technical nature, well you can get your hands-on Force.com, Heroku, Database.com, Chatter, and Site.com. You will also be able to bounce around ideas for your very own App, with other like minded developers.

So, make sure you’re limbered-up for this years event, with a comfy pair of shoes for a quick sprint between sessions; plus a book from our recommended reading list to find out what inspires the movers and shakers of modern business:

Recommended Reading:

Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson

Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement – Anthony Robbins

It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership - Colin Powell

 

Dreamforce: Tuesday 18th to Friday 21st September 2012. For the full itinery visit their website.


Six skills every employer is looking for

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Ensuring you have the right skills to get ahead in your job as always been a number one priority of ours. That’s why we would like to share this recent article by Todd Turner:

The days of landing a steady job, with a predictable workload, are over. The problem for today’s organisations is that few – if any – of them can predict what challenges they’ll be facing in a year’s time. This is actually good news for individuals.

One thing that’s certain, in our uncertain world, is that organisations will have to become more agile and more responsive to macro trends and factors beyond their control. Their success will depend to a large extent on whether they can recruit and develop employees who have the capability – and capacity – to work effectively and to take advantage of opportunities that arise.

In other words, they’ll be looking for people who are talented, resilient, adaptable, imaginative and trustworthy. These five traits, which form the mnemonic TRAIT, are the key skills that you need to highlight on your CV. You’ll also need to show that you have a positive mindset because that will impact on whatever job you’re asked to do.

Implications for leaders

With the sheer scale and pace of change, today’s leaders also need new skills. If you’re a senior manager, you should be asking yourself: can I demonstrate the following attributes and behaviour:

1. Personal credibility and integrity. Organisations want leaders who will behave in ways that are consistent with their vision and values. In times of maximum uncertainty, where no one has all the answers, the most effective leaders will be those who earn trust.

2. Resilience. Leading through constant change, takes stamina. Dealing with ambiguity, coping with stress and overcoming setbacks can be emotionally draining, psychologically demanding and intellectually challenging. Leaders will need to be resilient to cope effectively.

3. Agile thinking. Today’s leaders need to be brave enough to challenge conventional approaches and be adaptable to changing situations and circumstances.

4. The ability to inspire. In the absence of certainty, leaders need to be able to influence and inspire others, rather than relying on their hierarchical authority to get things done. Good communication skills are a given (the ability to listen, converse and present). Leaders must be able to create clarity and build confidence within the organisation through their actions and their demeanour.

5. A passion for learning. Leaders will need to learn, practice, reflect and improve as a repeating cycle. To do this, they must be committed to their own learning. They will also need to champion the learning of others.

6. A willingness to collaborate. Leaders will always need to build relationships and to collaborate effectively with others. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to express feelings, beliefs and thoughts assertively, not aggressively, are required.

Want to develop your leadership skills further, but are in need of inspiration? Then check out Onward, the inspirational book by Starbucks President and Chairman, Howard Schultz.


Social Media Monitoring is on the Rise

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As companies turn to social media to promote their services and products, so we are starting to see an increase in monitoring digital behaviour. In a recent report by Gartner it was predicted that 60% of corporations will look to implement formal monitoring programs by 2015, which will look at contributions by employees to external sites, for compliance, security breaches as well as brand management and marketing.

Whilst monitoring external output is essential for companies to ensure continuity in the promotion of their products and services, some organisations have come under fire for requesting personal social media log-in details to assess applicants’ suitability for a role within their company, which in effect could contravene equal opportunities and various discrimination acts.

Social Media MonitoringTheresa Durrant, Director at the UK’s leading cloud and salesforce.com CRM recruitment consultancy, Resource On Demand recently commented “As we see the growth of companies like Salesforce Radian6, the leading provider of social media monitoring tools and engagement platform, so too do we see more awareness within organisations to manage their social media output. Getting the balance between monitoring employees social media contributions for effectiveness and suitability to their official duties, without encroaching into their personal and recreational pursuits will be essential for businesses. The key is not to see social media as a means for making recruitment decisions, but instead encourage employees to participate in social media interaction with customers”.

Durrant went on to say “Setting clearly defined guidelines from the outset, as to the nature of what content is publishable, will enable employees to communicate effectively and confidently with their clients and customers, without the fear of a backlash from their employers”.

Additional information is available from Gartner’s website: “Conduct Digital Surveillance Ethically and Legally: 2012 Update,”

 

 


Salesforce.com leading the Marketing Cloud

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On the 4th of June 2012, the much anticipated announcement that Salesforce.com, inc would acquire Buddy Media was made.  By uniting Salesforce Radian6 and Buddy Media, we are now seeing the leaders of the Marketing Cloud fully emerge.

This is what salesforce.com had to say in their recent press release:

salesforce

By combining Buddy Media, the world’s leading social media marketing platform, with Salesforce Radian6, the world’s leading social media listening platform, salesforce.com will deliver the first comprehensive Marketing Cloud that will allow customers to listen, engage, gain insight, publish, advertise and measure social marketing programs. With the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, CMOs will be empowered to manage the entire social marketing lifecycle.

Buddy Media, the world’s leading social media marketing platform, enables the world’s top brands and advertisers, including Ford, Hewlett Packard, and L’Oreal, to connect with more than a billion customers on Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and more.

“Salesforce.com now has the number one players in social listening and marketing – Radian6 and Buddy Media,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. “With CMOs surpassing CIOs in spend on technology within the next five years, our Marketing Cloud leadership will allow us to capitalize on this massive opportunity.”

About Buddy Media

Founded in 2007, Buddy Media started as an idea to empower chief marketing officers (CMOs) and agencies to organize their teams and optimize their social media marketing programs. The Buddy Media platform allows customers to publish content, place and optimize social advertising and measure the effectiveness of social media marketing programs. As a result, customers can determine which content is driving the most engagement, test different strategies and understand which campaigns are delivering the greatest return on investment. Leveraging Buddy Media’s award-winning social media marketing platform, companies can connect and engage with more than a billion customers across Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and more.

With 8 of the top 10 advertisers as clients, Buddy Media is the clear leader in social media marketing. The company currently has nearly 1,000 customers, including major global brands like Ford, Hewlett Packard, L’Oreal, and the world’s largest marketing agency groups such as IPG (Interpublic Group), Omnicom, Publicis and WPP. Buddy Media is the only company to be named a charter Facebook Preferred Marketing Developer, Google Engagement Solutions partner and LinkedIn Certified Developer.


Press Release: Cloud Architects will become the new Investment Bankers

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Thursday 16th February 2012) London, UK. All eyes are on the cloud, as leading recruiter Resource on Demand today announces ‘Cloud Architects’ to be the hottest job role of 2012.

Resource on Demand Operations Director, Theresa Durrant, said:

“The job role that we believe can radically affect change in organisations, through their use of cloud technology, through their profit levels and through demand for their services, is the Cloud Architect. These individuals will be highly paid for their skill set, will be much sought-after and will bring great value and a pioneering spirit to their organisations.  2012 will be the year of the Cloud Architect.”

Resource on Demand MD, Lee Durrant, said:

“Cloud Architects will become the new Investment Bankers. Until late in 2011, many technology roles weren’t specific. There was a tendency to have a monolithic technological guru in place, rather than several well positioned individuals with different but overlapping skills. The trend, which we’re beginning to see, is less towards broad generic tech roles, and more towards very well defined tech roles.

Cloud Architect is the epitome of this trend. In the face of a double-dip recession, organisations are looking for individuals who can influence and radically affect outcomes. Cloud Architects are people who can revolutionise the way an organisation works, whilst fundamentally improving their bottom line.”

The role of a Cloud Architect differs from an Enterprise Architect. Cloud Architects would have all the skills of an Enterprise Architect, but would also have a fuller understanding of how to configure IT assets around the needs and demands of a business; as well as an in-depth grasp of service-oriented architecture.

Those wishing to be considered for Cloud Architect roles should also have full understanding of a myriad of cloud services, including Hybrid, Public and Private.

At the end of Q3 2011, Resource on Demand announced that cloud recruitment figures were up by 52.9%. More defined roles, such as Cloud Architects, Data Scientists and Social Media Architects will continue to fuel this growth well into 2012, where the Cloud bubble shows no sign of bursting.

Resource on Demand is a specialist in placing and training salesforce.com candidates, through working closely with salesforce.com and the cloud ecosystem.

ENDS


Press Release: Is Cloud Computing immune to a Double Dip Recession?

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(Thursday 29 September 2011) Leading cloud recruitment firm Resource on Demand (ROD) today announced that year-on-year cloud recruitment figures have increased by a staggering 52.9%. With ROD seeing over twice as many new roles opening up when compared with the same monthly period last year.

Widespread job losses in the public sector tell a tale of doom and gloom, but cloud computing is bucking the trend and seeing year on year job growth, reports cloud specialist ‘Resource on Demand’.

Operations Director of ROD, Theresa Durrant, said:

“These figures are proof that cloud firms are continuing to grow and invest in their work forces. This growth is in stark contrast to the public sector, which is sadly being chastened by government job cuts and stringent budget measures, with UK unemployment rising to over 2.5million as a result.”

These latest figures from ROD show the percentage increase in new jobs that the cloud computing industry has created; whilst for accuracy only jobs which have been filled count towards the percentage of growth. Durrant explains some reasons for this growth:

“The ‘tech bubble’ has been instrumental to the growth of the cloud ecosystem, growth that we believe to be sustainable. Many firms who rely on the cloud are heading towards, or have already made, an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and due to this are seeing initial and continued paths to investment, not least due to the sale of stock to the public that comes with an IPO.”

“We have seen a renewed confidence in the hiring of cloud professionals and the number of clients opening their doors to us. The buoyancy of the cloud ecosystem shows no sign of letting up and is an encouraging sign for the UK economy.”

The Office for National Statistics said the number of people out of work rose by 80,000 in the three months to July 2011, mainly due to a sharp rise in youth unemployment. Employment in the public sector fell by 111,000 in the second quarter of 2011, the biggest drop since recent records began in 1999.

Despite these official figures, ROD believes that the stable growth cloud is experiencing can make their industry recession proof. Durrant concludes:

“If there is one sector that can have immunity from a double-dip recession it is Cloud Computing. We are confident of this and are looking forward to another busy 12 months and reporting further growth in 2012.”

Resource on Demand is a specialist in placing and training salesforce.com candidates, through working closely with salesforce.com and the cloud ecosystem.

ENDS

 


Universities Encouraged to Embrace Emerging Technologies

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Resource on Demand, today sent out a press release encouraging Universities to embrace emerging technologies, like cloud computing.

You can read our press release below…

(London, UK) Leading cloud recruitment firm, Resource on Demand, is encouraging universities to introduce industry-recognised modules in a bid to increase the employability of graduates.

Theresa Durrant, Operations Director at Resource on Demand (ROD), said:

“Higher Education Institutions need to further their commercial partnerships with organisations and platforms in order to give under-graduates the edge in a crowded job market. Through offering modules in contemporary technology, such as cloud computing, graduates will enter the job market better equipped for the task in hand.”

From September 2012, universities in England will be allowed to raise tuition fees up to £9,000 per year and ROD are arguing that this presents a great opportunity for Universities to invest in emerging technology markets.

Theresa Durrant and ROD, are pioneers in the cloud recruitment market and are blazing the way for graduate opportunities, she said:

“We are currently seeing graduates enter the job market with no certification at all, which is the bare minimum they would need to work with a platform such as salesforce.com.  There is then additional training they need to undertake before they can begin to work, which we hope can be avoided in the future.”

One of the few universities to embrace Cloud Computing is Aberdeen University who offer a MSc/PgDip in ‘Cloud Computing’, but ROD is encouraging places like Aberdeen to expand their offering.

Theresa Durrant added:

“Universities can use recruitment companies, like ROD, to gauge the direction that technology is moving in, and adjust their courses accordingly – at the moment recruiters tend to be a dirty word – but we believe there is a strong partnership that if forged could help graduates, Universities and the job market.”

Lee Durrant, ROD MD, said:

“Our suggestion is that Universities take advantage of the free tools that salesforce.com offer, such as developer accounts, wide-ranging online training, and free social collaboration tools.  The culmination of this is the student undergoing the certification process as an integral part of their course and leaving University with usable and employable skills. Providing a vocational and work experience led qualification that meets both the industry and direct company employment needs.”

ROD launched in Feb 2009, and are now recognised as a leading light in the Cloud eco-system.  They were one of the first UK recruitment companies to focus purely on Salesforce.com and Cloud recruitment.

 


ROD warns of Cloud plateau

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In a press release sent out today, our Managing Director Lee Durrant warned of the need for increased numbers undergoing training with organisations like salesforce.com.

He warned that if more people don’t get certified, then we risk a ‘plateau’ in this vibrant and blossoming sector.

If we can help you get trained, or if you have the skills and are looking for a role please visit our jobs or training pages.

Press release:

Cloud Computing Plateau on the Horizon

(London, UK) Leading cloud recruitment firm, Resource on Demand, is warning of a plateau in the adoption of cloud computing, as the supply of trained Consultants and Developers drops by a staggering 139%.

Recent studies carried out by Resource on Demand show that although there is an increase in the number of companies adopting cloud technology, the UK is now suffering from a shortage of certified and experienced candidates.

This huge drop is mismatched by an increase in vacancies from Cloud partners and Independent Software Vendors, which has risen by 39% over the last twelve months, despite the economic downturn.

Resource on Demand MD, Lee Durrant, said:

“There is a concern that the cloud computing market could plateau, despite the Cloud entering the mainstream, and we are now experiencing a shortage of trained workers who are able to implement this technology.

This shortage has the potential to halt the momentum that Cloud Computing has amassed, which could be critical to the growth of this sector.”

Durrant believes that more needs to be done to bring people into the Cloud eco-system, with the key being affordable training and certification. One possible solution he suggests is training graduates in services such as salesforce.com, so that they are able to put their skills to use in a market where demand for them is high.

He adds:

“It is predicted that Cloud spending will approach US$100 Billion By 2014 in SME’s alone. So there are huge opportunities for those willing to be trained and certified in Cloud Computing.

I would urge gradates, untrained developers and I.T. consultants to get certified and enter into the Cloud.”

ROD launched in Feb 2009, and is now recognised as a leading light in the Cloud eco-system. They were one of the first UK recruitment companies to focus purely on Salesforce.com and Cloud recruitment.


More people will hand in their notice this week than during any other week

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Today we released figures to the National press showing that more employees will hand in their notice this week than during any other week in the year.

The full press release is below.  We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, or if you’re going through a similar situation yourself.

Press Release

Figures from Cloud Recruitment Company ‘Resource on Demand’ were released today and show that more employees will hand in their notice this week than during any other week of the year, with a staggering 37% of the years total transpiring this week alone.

Year on Year statistics gathered by Resource on Demand show that 37% of resignations occur in the third week of September and 24% happen during the first week of February. Both of these bouts occur 4-weeks after the end of traditional holiday seasons.

This research also shows that whilst many career changes are triggered following these key holiday periods, it takes candidates on average 4 weeks to job hunt and attend interviews, then a further 4 weeks to work their notice – meaning that the majority of post-summer resignations only start their new roles at the beginning of November.

Lee Durrant, MD of Resource on Demand, said:

“This week will see hundreds of thousands of people handing in their notice across the UK & Ireland. The catalyst is often the Summer break, people return from their time away looking to progress or alter their career path. After mulling it over on a beach, job hunting, applying, interviewing and working their notice, many candidates will naturally opt to this week hand in their notice and so a ‘merry-go-round’ of the jobs market will begin”.

A recent (July 2010) study by the Institute of Leadership and Management has revealed that 40% of workers do not in actua fact return from their holidays feeling more relaxed.

Lee Durrant added:

“It is incredible that over half of all new jobs are triggered by the two key holiday seasons, but in many ways it is also unsurprising. The time away from our desks helps us to consider our options and evaluate our careers. Our advice is that if you are not enjoying your job, maybe it is time to look for a role that you will enjoy. This may include training to reach that goal, but it is worth the time that you invest into it.”

Resource On Demand (ROD) is a market leader in providing recruitment services on a subscription basis to the salesforce.com and Cloud Computing industry. Assisting companies looking to recruit talented people with salesforce.com experience and certification on permanent, contract or temporary assignments.