Three Trends in Big Data Analytics

by admin | News & Events

Robert Mitchell of IT World recently reported on the top trends for big data. A significant problem for big data and analytics is the storage of data. Bill Loconzolo, Intuit’s vice president of data engineering, and Dean Abbott, chief data scientist at Smarter Remarketer both reference the cloud and data lakes. Storage technology is lagging behind and Hadoop, which had originally shown promise as a storage system, is not yet a reliable system for businesses. Companies must use immature, new technology or risk being left behind in the big data race. Technologies can now process cloud data, such as Reshift by Amazon and its BI data warehouse, BigQuery data analytics by Google, Bluemix by IBM, and Kinesis data processing by Amazon. Brian Hopkins, analyst with Forrester Research, states that big data will increasingly be processed by companies both on-site and in the cloud, simultaneously. Hadoop is expected to emerge as a data operating system that will manipulate, operate, analyze, and file data. Hadoop will function as a hub that is able to run different queries and operations, so it will be convenient to store data for analysis within a Hadoop system that can manage SQL, MapReduce, stream processing, and graph analytics. Data lakes or enterprise data hubs will hold data in a Hadoop Tools are being designed to analyze the data, but highly skilled individuals will be required to build the view of the data that is required with no pre-designed search or analytic record model. Companies are still working on capabilities such as monitoring access, securing data, and tracing the data from source to destination. Big data analytical...

Increase Productivity to Make One Final Push Towards 2015 Goals

by admin | News & Events

The holidays provide energy for one last boost in productivity. Certain rewards for employees can tie into the holiday season and provide motivation. Providing time off to prepare for the holidays, time with family, or holiday bonuses can be a much-appreciated boost to employees during the busy holidays and can benefit your company. Perks and benefits can inject energy into normal operations to increase morale and employee loyalty. Mashable reports on a survey by Seamless that found that 60 percent of survey respondents felt valued and appreciated when lunch or dinner was provided at work. Order in for your staff during the busy holiday season. Use lunches as an opportunity to interact with staff. Social interaction improves collaboration and communication. If you are open and at ease with staff and invite their feedback, you may glean valuable insights. Similarly, staff will appreciate the time to socialize with their peers. Give staff some autonomy. Try flexible scheduling in return for responsible performance. Chris Duchesne, Vice President of global workplace solutions for care.com, agrees that allowing staff more power over their working lives increases productivity, engagement, and loyalty. Treat the new program as an experiment. If your company finds that flexibility improves productivity, adopt the policy as a permanent one. Revisit the goals for 2014 and assess successes and failures. Prepare objectives for 2015 with the input of staff to obtain their buy-in and enthusiasm. Involve them in preparations for the coming year. This is a good time to introduce new policies. Balance the good news with the bad news and give staff time to process the new information before the...

Tips on Professionally Leaving Your Job | Quitting in a Positive Way

by | General IT, News & Events

Moving ahead with your career is cause for celebration. But those left in your wake may feel less jubilant. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that, on average, a worker will change jobs every four or so years. The contacts and relationships that you have established may prove valuable later in terms of networking, references, or as a source of knowledge for your new role. Protect and nurture your relationships and quit sensibly. The main concern for you and your employer is to find a suitable replacement. Provide plenty of notice and offer to help with the search and recruitment. Doing so will ease employer concerns. Consider if there is an internal candidate who is deserving and who might be quicker and easier to train. Michael Peggs, contributor to Careerealism, offers advice to make your departure a positive one. Prepare a job description and consider the most important aspects of your job and the skills required. Search for suitable candidates, screen them, offer to join the interview panel, and train the incumbent. Much of your knowledge is proprietary to the company and should not leave with you.  Don’t leave unfinished work. If there are any projects that you cannot complete, provide extensive instructions including a handover note. Consider writing “how to” instructions for any habitual tasks that might make an incumbent’s job easier.  Offer to provide constructive feedback to the company if you think it will be useful. However, provide it only if they ask for it. Providing unsolicited feedback could be risky and compromising good will is not advisable. Additionally, secure any references before...

Common Characteristics of Top IT Leaders

by | News & Events

Rich Hein of IT News recently discussed the characteristics of successful IT leaders. Certain challenges are unique to the field of information technology. The IT field is a highly competitive, dynamic industry and leaders are required to navigate unexplored territory such as cutting edge innovation. Excellent listening and communication skills are the core traits of any leader, but IT also requires other elements. Familiarity with business risk and security threats is required, and the balance between investment in security and available resources is a constant dilemma. IT News describes the characteristics that top IT leaders exhibit. IT leaders understand that their personnel are key. No one person has a complete skill set and human resources must be carefully managed to ensure adequate abilities and a team dynamic. Cutting edge coders are as important as purchasing officers. Organizational culture is determined by the leadership style. Few industries experience constant threats in terms of competition, but also cyber and privacy threats. A leader must balance the need to invest in new security technology with a willingness to take risks. There must be room for failure in terms of innovative efforts. Progress requires failure and employees must be provided the opportunity for mistakes to achieve innovation. Adhering to regulations and managing legacy issues can be frustrating but necessary. A leader must be prepared to take on all challenges, be self-aware, be willing to admit mistakes, and to realize personal weaknesses. A leader must be willing to delegate, to be personally accountable, and to hold others accountable.   Emotional intelligence is a leadership requirement and is more important than IQ. It involves being...

Are You Hiring Top Talent?

by | News & Events

The technology industry attracts mathematical and logical thinkers. Cerebral personalities are not always extrovert, people pleasers, able to dizzyingly charm an interviewer and appear the ideal candidate. Professional staffers and recruiters are experts at determining the real coding abilities of a potential programmer, the candidate’s personality and work ethic, and the candidate’s fit for your organization. However, the first step in finding top talent is to attract candidates to your organization. This requires a reputation as a stellar employer and reaching out to potential candidates on their terms. Entrepreneur reported that the reputation earned by Southwest Airlines as a desirable employer recently garnered them over 50,000 resumes in response to 500 available positions. A&A offers some ways to attract talent. Your company website might be the first point of contact with a prospective candidate. Upload short videos that introduce your company and its staff. Use marketing strategies that encourage interaction such as gamification. Showcase a company culture that is welcoming, interesting, and cutting edge. To attract top talent, your company must be a dynamic, industry leader. Passive job seekers are often among the best. Of course they are already working for your competitors; snag them, and you gain valuable experience and competitor insight. Approach them in the places where they like to hang out. For example, many companies such as Google and Microsoft advertise coding competitions in IT chat rooms and on social networks. The individuals who engage in such competitions are your target candidates. Ask your existing employees for referrals. Use LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus, and other social network platforms to initiate conversations about company activity and skills demand;...

How to Bring the Best Out of All Employees and Embrace Diversity

by | News & Events

The preferences and working styles of employees are diverse. The Wall Street Journal addressed generational differences in communication styles. Most millennials prefer to communicate via social media and texting, whereas older members of the workforce prefer more traditional channels. Similarly, some workers thrive under pressure and group dynamics, whereas others require time to work through a problem independently. According to the Center for American Progress, businesses with a diverse workforce are more competitive. A manager’s ability to manage and exploit such differences requires effective leadership. Managers and leaders must first understand their own personalities and working styles in order to appreciate those of others. They must model tolerance and understanding because no style is the right one. An effective leader provides an environment that is flexible and accepting of all working styles. Institute cultural sensitivity training in your workplace. Encourage a culture of tolerance and awareness for individual preferences in working styles. Encourage teamwork. Provide teams with autonomy in decision making. Let them organize themselves and have them review the project process once it is completed to identify ways to improve. Seek feedback from employees. As your frontline workers, they are a valuable source of information. Ask for ideas and keep them engaged. Provide regular educational and training opportunities to encourage their career development. Institute open communication forums using social media to encourage cross-functional interaction. Create recognition programs. Encourage staff to take on responsibility and reward them for it. Provide honest feedback to employees and provide a safe forum for them to reciprocate. Offer flexible working options such as telecommuting. Focus on getting the work done according to deadlines...