it

Just recently projektwerk invited some IT experts for an interview, starting with Stephen Gullans, CEO of EMTEC IT-Solutions GmbH.

What was the most interesting project you have implemented?
The most interesting project in terms of location was a project implemented in Hawaii.
The most interesting project in terms of people was working with a demanding customer in Ireland. Although a number of other software vendors dreaded working with the project manager, we got along very well and the implementation of the software project fulfilled all expectations.

What was the most difficult experience you have had with a customer?
Probably one of the most difficult experiences was implementing a software project at a customer site where the customer had thrown out another system due to unfulfilled requirements. The software partner I was working with had just switched the data management from a simple database to a full-fledged database management system. There were some persistent problems during commissioning and the customer was exerting much pressure to get everything up and run the project to satisfaction. After an intense period of fault finding and software modification everything was solved to the full satisfaction of the customer.

What was the biggest challenge you had to face?
About a year after becoming self-employed business was bad due to 9/11. At the same time my main partner was trying to destroy my business in order to take it over. In the end I was able to find a new and better partner.

Are there customers you would refuse to work with?
So far I’ve been fortunate not to have worked with customers, who I would refuse to work with in the future. However if a customer is not willing to listen to good advice and insist on having things done in a way which I could not answer for, I would recommend the customer to work with somebody else. Also I believe in fair-play and if someone does not play according to such rules there is no pleasure in working with such people.

After slightly descending project postings on projektwerk.de in May, the overall positive trend continues. In particular, the number of SAP projects hit a record high in June: figures mount up to 296 projects in 2010 compared to 110 projects in June 2009.

This growth is due to an unexpectedly strong business year for SAP – as the German software developer was able to increase it’s turnover considerably in the first quarter of 2010. This significant upward development can be attributed to the after-effects of the economic crisis, which drives many companies to restructure operations. This, in turn, leads to heavy investments in the IT sector.

However, not only SAP projects on projektwerk.de show an upward trend.

According to BITKOM, the German Association for Information Technology, the expectations concerning the tendency of the ICT sector’s financial situation rose by 71 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

“The BITKOM-industry is expecting further growth”, says BITKOM chairman Scheer. This is partly due to the necessity of upgrading such infrastructures as electricity supply, government agency networks, and the educational system. Nevertheless, such improvements are only manageable with sufficient specialists available to get the work done. As part of this development, the demand for IT-professionals and freelancers will increase significantly. According to BITKOM there are about 20,000 vacant positions in the ICT sector – every third company listed in the BITKOM Index is complaining about a lack of experts, negatively affecting their performance and business development.

Managing Director of projektwerk GmbH, Dr. Christiane Strasse, sees significant advantages for IT freelancers: “Based on our figures, we can say with certainty that the recovery of the IT market will further continue as more investments will be made. Another important factor is the lack of experts. However, this deficiency can be optimally offset by utilizing freelancers.”

I just arrived in Berlin at the next10 and already got so inspired regarding projektwerk’s business:

I met an entrepreneur who is producing cars five times quicker than the automotive industry by applying the principles of coproduction and crowdsourcing:  John Rogers from  Local Motors.

From Louis Rossetto, who co-founded wired magazine, I learned that chocolate is healthy

Ola Ahlvarsson, a swedisch Entrepreneur who is serially internationalizing his startups, advised me to put a lot of management attention on the internationalization of projektwerk. I also learned a lot about the markets we are heading to…

What a beginning… and it’s only lunch time.

I’m really looking forward to the next hours. I’ll keep you updatet!

For the sixth time the Marketing 2.0 Conference (M2C) takes place on 22 and 23 March 2010 in Paris. The M2C is an international forum for marketing experts.

We bought 2 tickets to favourable conditions. After checking our calendars for the next weeks, we realized that we won’t make it to Paris this year.

We won’t let the tickets unused. And that’s your chance: we’ll sell our tickets for the price of 190,- EUR. You’ll nearly save 800,- EUR compared to the current ticket price.

Now you and your spontaneity are asked: Want to go to Paris? Write us an e-mail until March 16, 2010 (yes, that’s tomorrow) to feedback@projektwerk.de with the subject ‘M2C’, and describe with one or two sentences why you should definitely have one of the two tickets.

The two most persuasive answer will get an email from us on March 17, 2010.

P.S.: We would appreciate it if those who make the trip to the Avenue de la République begin to report your impressions – join us here in the blog

Some of the big IT trends turn out to also be the biggest risks concerning IT security in 2010:

1. credit card data
The loss of customer data will always imply a loss of confidence in the company.
Until now data is mainly protected by firewalls, but while hacker are becoming smarter, security features for data also need to improve.

2. social media
The simpler and faster information spreads online, the more harm it can do. In addition information can hardly be taken back once it’s out in the web.

3. cloud computing
Outsourcing data, next to all its merits, also involves a loss of confidentiality, integrity and availability of possibly sensitive data.

4. smartphones and PDA’s
More and more people using e.g. smartphones for business as well as private concerns, but at the same time handheld devices are not as well equipped with security features as the regular desktop computer.

Are there any points you would like to add to this list?
Go for it and share your opinion!

mashable compiled a nice list of sites for development information and inspiration that will help you keep up-to-date:

1. w3 schools

2. a list apart

3. webmonkey

4. dev shed

5. smashing magazine

6. developer magazine

7. ajaxian

8. dzone

9. ibm developer works

10. sitepoint

11. o´reilly

online workspace

virtual project management software like “wizehive” is becoming a new standard thanks to easy-to-use virtual workspace technology that connects remote users across from the world-wide-web. professionals can use virtual project management software to connect with other associates from anywhere a computer or mobile device can connect to the internet.

have a look @ this short youtube tutorial: wizehive

projektwerk.com/it starts into the new year with a multitude of new possibilities.
Thereby we are taking one step further towards being the easiest platform connecting people who are offering or seeking project-related work online.

Key points of the new release:
• Through one click on the welcome page you’ll see the amount of profiles and projects for your individual query.
• The entry mask was revised and is now easier to use.
• The workflow after login as well as the matching tool was optimized.
• Improvement of the design leads to distinctiveness and a clearer structure.

The active and complete use of projektwerk.com/it will be with costs from now on.
As known from projektwerk.de we will operate with a subscription model.

But this is not the only news: projektwerk is also going for new sectors and countries. We are now cooperating with our partners Tanja Weichenhain, Josy Liebetrau and Oliver Schlösser in order to provide you with fashion and automotive platforms.
Furthermore projektwerk is launching the new IT-platform for projektwerk Poland.

engadget is a nifty technology blog and podcast about consumer electronics, covering the latest tech and gadget news stories. it’s definitely worth a look.