Ideaca To Become Hitachi Solutions Canada!

Same people, same values, different name

On December 2, 2013, Ideaca was officially acquired by Hitachi Solutions and will become “Hitachi Solutions Canada.” As Hitachi Solutions Canada, we look forward to providing our customers with a wider array of proven industry solutions and access to global resources.

"Ideaca is extremely pleased to join a global brand with the outstanding caliber of Hitachi Solutions,” said Muneer Hirji, newly appointed president of Hitachi Solutions Canada.

“We look forward to integrating our experience and strengthening our synergies to bring great industry-focused solutions to both regionally-focused and multinational companies throughout Canada. With its long history of technology excellence, industry leadership and employee-driven culture, Hitachi Solutions will make a great home for our employees.”

Our name may be changing, but our people and our values will stay the same!

Click here to read more.

BYO...laptop?

BYOD..."Bring-Your-Own-Device" seems to be the biggest strategy that companies are now trying to master. Employees expect to be able to bring their own mobile phones, laptops and tablets into the office setting without having a "company device" to also manage but having the convenience of using their own device from home. Sure this seems quite convenient, and maybe cuts some costs here and there, but what does this really mean for companies?

We have outlined some new challenges that will come with this policy from The Globe and Mail's article that provides some more insight on how BYOD will change your business:

 Some issues that IT may run into:

- Employees expect the same degree of advanced technology and services integration in the workplace that they already experience in their personal life

- Employees may threaten you "give me the advanced technology that I know I can have, or I will do it myself"

Aberdeen Group found that the top 20% of performers (defined as Best-in-Class organizations):

- provide mobile access to almost all employees

- recover all but 5% of lost or stolen mobile devices
- improved their personal speed of decision-making by 14% over the prior 12 months, 3.5 times the improvement of Industry Average

Is your company in this top 20%?

If your business has not thought about BYOD or even a mobile strategy as a plan for the next coming months, you are sure to face some struggle with the new demands of the "tech savvy" employee.

To find out some more benefits and reasons to Go-Mobile, check out our previous posts on mobility and our event slides from a previous event we held in Waterloo based on building a mobile strategy NOW!

 

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Ideaca one of Canada’s top ICT Companies in the 2012 Branham300 Rankings

Ideaca have been listed in the 2012 Branham300 ranking of top Canadian ICT companies.  The Branham300 highlights the top Canadian and Multinational ICT companies operating in Canada, as ranked by revenues. 

“Ideaca managed to weather the difficult economic times by building and maintaining trusted relationships with our customers,” said Mike Alkier, Managing Partner, Ideaca.  “With the market rebound, we were able to grow our organization in 2011 and are poised for continued success in 2012 and beyond.” 

Check out the news release!

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Best Workplaces in Canada Second Year in a Row!

Today it was announced that Ideaca was recognized for the second year in a row as 2012's Best Workplaces in Canada - Medium organizations. Best Workplaces in Canada is ranked using the results from employee surveys and comments. This year, we ranked at number 17 surpassing last year's number of 69! What an amazing accomplishment and an outstanding achievement for Ideaca and our employees!

The full list of companies will be posted in today's Globe and Mail and also can be viewed here.

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The 2012 Professional Services Maturity™ Benchmark Report

Last week, Service Performance Insight released The 2012 Professional Services Maturity™ Benchmark. SPI puts out this report every year to help Professional Service Organizations compare their yearly results to their "benchmark of peers". There was significant growth in the last year, and the results show that the technology professional service industry is booming!

SPI mentions that some of the year's highlights include:

Revenue growth: the leading indicators for growth — annual revenue growth, headcount increases, size of the deal pipeline and percentage of revenue in backlog — were all up in 2011, almost recovering to the pre-recessions highs seen in 2007. Year-over-year revenue growth (13.7%) has consistently outpaced year-over-year headcount growth (10.1%) which means PSO’s are continuing to ratchet up productivity.

Salaries are up: After three years of layoffs, headcount and salary freezes, base salaries and incentive compensation increased across all major job categories. The average base salary for seven job titles (senior manager, project manager, business consultant, technical consultant, solution architect, account manager and training specialist) rose 4.8% in 2011 on top of an 11% rise the year before.

Productivity continues to improve: The percentage of billable staff compared to total staff has risen every year from 67% in 2007 to 73% in 2011. At the same time average billable utilization across all global geographies and verticals has increased to 70% in 2011 up from 65% in 2008

One of our Partner's Gord Smith, speaks in the article about how Ideaca benefits from using the PS Maturity Benchmark report:

“We have used the PS Maturity Benchmark for many years to measure key aspects of our firm and to gauge the progress we have made. We have made some fundamental changes based on the benchmark to improve our firm’s overall results. I have not been able to find data as comprehensive from any other source.”

Gord Smith
Partner

Have a look at the press release featured on Business Wire and check out

www.spiresearch.com for more details on The 2012 Professional Services Maturity™ Benchmark Report.

 

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Onshoring US Manufacturing - Strategies for the Future

A recent article published by The Globe and Mail indicates that large US manufacturers are reverting their offshoring business strategies. Larger manufacturers like Boeing Co. and General Electric Co. are now finding that the benefits of lower wages accrued through offshoring strategies are offset by higher material costs and logistics. Here are some interesting things to keep in mind:

• The US unemployment rate of 8.3% stands as a significant barrier towards full economic recovery from the economic downturn of 2007 - 2009;
• The resurgence of US manufacturing added 50,000 new jobs during the month of January;
• As some manufacturers begin transitioning their business processes by onshoring what was previously offshored work, CEO's will be looking to fill approximately 600,000 manufacturing jobs;
• According to The Institute for Supply Management, US factories grew in January at the fastest pace in seven months at a reported index rating of 54.1 (ratings above 50 indicate expansion).

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Labour Availability Top Issue for Oil & Gas Companies in Canada

In a recent Ernst & Young report, 47% of Canada's leading Oil & Gas companies cited that labour availability is the top issue facing their organization. With the Alberta government predicting a shortage of at least 77,000 workers within the next decade, the ability to attract and retain talent while creating efficiencies in operations will be critical. A few things to keep in mind:

• Organizations must ensure critical information and knowledge is passed on from one generation of workers to the next with document best practices
• Identify new approaches and strategies to manage talent
• Integrate people, processes, and technologies across the enterprise with composite applications
• Become more creative in attracting talent

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The Mobile Working Population Will Continue to Grow

The "Mobile Worker" will no longer be a thing of the "future", but slowly will become a very present reality. The portable freedom one has when working on their phone is enough to change the way we work, and view our working environments.

It has come to be a serious concern of most employees, as they are feeling that they are not getting the most out of their days, as they are stuck having to go into their offices for simple tasks. The mobile device however, has started to completely erase this process of "going into the office just to answer an e-mail".

This of course adds to the flexibility of the modern day worker to have the independence and ease to come and go as they please, as they are able to get their work done, wherever they are, and not necessarily having to be present in the office. People are suddenly given the freedom to do this anywhere, at any time, in the palm of their hands.

Does this cause any problems, or take away from being social and making face time with your company/clients? Or is this the way the world is going, and it is something that we have to come to accept?

Check out this article from IDC (International Data Corporation) about the predictions for our mobile future can be found here.

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Passion for Business takes Entrepreneur from Software to Cars to Music

Ideaca co-founder Mike Alkier is recognized by KW Record for his entrepreneurial achievements.
Check out this article and see what Mike has been up to!

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