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Observations & Trends in the e-Marketplace (e = EC/EDI/EAI/ERP/Everything IT) May 17, 2006 Wayne Marshall. Presentation Agenda. About EDI Specialists, Inc. National/Regional Employment Activity What Has Changed? What Will Change? Jobs – The Hot List Employer Challenges
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Observations & Trendsin thee-Marketplace(e = EC/EDI/EAI/ERP/Everything IT)May 17, 2006Wayne Marshall
Presentation Agenda • About EDI Specialists, Inc. • National/Regional Employment Activity • What Has Changed? • What Will Change? • Jobs – The Hot List • Employer Challenges • Employee/Consultant Opportunities • Changing Skills/Requirements Mix • EC/EDI/EAI/ERP Vendor Directions • Outsourcing & Foreign Resources • So How Might All This Impact You? • Q&A
About EDI Specialists, Inc. • Founded and began placing EDI technical professionals in 1994 • Headquartered in Raynham, MA • We are a small but growing company, working on a nationwide basis and in Canada • Company has doubled in size in 1 year – new IT division • IT and EC/EDI/EAI staffing – permanent and contract, consulting services, mapping, etc. • Thousands of direct clients from Global 2000 companies to SME’s, spanning all industries • 15 Account Managers and Recruiters working geographically, plans to hire several more • Our sales and recruiting engine is the envy of our competitors and industry firms • Remote and virtual offices in Maine, Texas, New Jersey and Pennsylvania • Largest,active database of EC/EDI and - soon to be - EAI professionals in the world • Other EC/EDI/EAI vendors come to us for help • We are a preferred vendor to integrators & other staffing/consulting firms
Nationwide/Regional Employment Activity • In the past year, IT and EC/EDI activity has increased tremendously nationwide • This is reflected/measured by numerous stats, surveys, industry numbers, etc. • EDI Specialists’ activity can be viewed as a microcosm of the national picture • Number of opportunities > number of available candidates/resources • Opportunities encompass both permanent and contract positions • Temp-to-perm situations have increased • EAI activity has blossomed nationwide • The NY/NJ/PA area is as hot as any region • New England has seen growth but lags the rest of the country, especially MA
What Has Changed? • IT is spending money and hiring again! • Past: Large ERP/EDI systems, PC’s, Y 2K, dot.com collapse, 9/11, Recession • Time for new a generation of EDI systems • Need to integrate so much information and present to executives = EAI • New technologies and services such as SOA • Mandates: Data Sync, SOX, RosettaNet, HIPAA, Electronic Records, etc. • Consolidations, acquisitions, mergers, etc. • New ERP systems are still being implemented • E-Commerce, XML and EDI continue to grow • The jobs market is now candidate driven • Staffing agencies are in vogue again!
What Will Change? • Tens of millions of Baby Boomers are beginning to retire – big wave 2011 • Many are middle managers and many entered IT during the “early” days • EAI is growing, adding layers to the infrastructure and people supporting it • The U.S. is near a “full employment” level • Congress reluctant to increase H1 Visa levels • Old AND new industries (health, biotech, nanotech) will add to the demand • New mandates are a certainty (RFID) • The number and type of transactions will grow proportionally to the economy • ?
Jobs – The Hot List • Architects – all types • EAI professionals – webMethods, Tibco, Seebeyond, etc. • BizTalk resources – Architects and Developers • ERP professionals – especially road warriors, PeopleSoft, JDE, SAP, etc. • EDI professionals – GIS, AS400 RPG, Inovis, HIPAA resources Influencing Factors • Geography is a major factor when it comes to the candidate pool • Market penetration of a specific product is another major factor • Consultant rates impact the candidate pool for permanent placements • H1 Visa levels
Employer Challenges • In a candidate driven market: Retention of key employees • Competitive salaries – working outside internal guidelines/structures • Acquisition of experienced resources • New technologies = new resources, as with an EAI implementation • Balancing opps for new skills vs. making someone more marketable • HR is inundated (cuts during recession)/budgeting for placement fees • Finding passive candidates – targeting local companies/competitors
Employee/Consultant Opportunities • There are many options in a jobs rich, candidate driven market • Sometime changing jobs/employers is the best/only way to move up the ladder • Determinants = timing, skills match, flexibility in salary, commuting, etc. • Road warriors are in high demand – especially with the big integrators • Opportunities to play outside your niche/industry • More remote/telecommute work options
Changing Skills/Requirements Mix • XML, AS2, Scripting almost always present in EDI job descriptions now • Java becoming more common • Lots of .Net skills needed • Newer platforms/technologies require: J2EE SOAP XPATH SOA EAI Integration Architecting Object Orientation UML SQL, Oracle, etc. Project Management BPML
EC/EDI/EAI/ERP Vendor Directions • EDI vendors want to play in EAI space & vice-versa(Sterling/Extol,webMethods) • ERP vendors like SAP and Oracle want to provide B2B platform • SAP & Seeburger, OracleAS Integration B2B for EDI • Consequently, companies are looking to consolidate platforms/capabilities • BizTalk 2006 gaining momentum and marketshare • GXS/Covast/MS partnership recently announced • Some vendors losing or maintaining status quo • Inovis & Softshare – will they incorporate workflow or process modeling
Outsourcing & Foreign Resources • EDI and ERP Hosting/Outsourcing is increasing slowly • Off-shoring & Near-shoring remain viable, limited options • Indians have penetrated s/w development, ERP, EAI products • Low cost, H1 resources may be a threat - or opportunity • With wages rising in India, is China next?
So How Might All This Impact You? • Exciting time to be part of the EC/EDI/EAI community • Enhanced job security • Leverage your position/strengths • More opportunities and paths available • Opportunities to increase your skill set and/or work in other industries • Opportunities to implement more advanced solutions • Consultants/Road Warriors should pick their spots
Q & A Wayne Marshall Vice President of Professional Services EDI Specialists, Inc. Raynham, MA 02767 800 821-4644 x216 wmarshall@edispecialists.com www.edispecialists.com & Sign up for our EC Newsletter