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Check out Eagle’s Job Centre for the best in IT job opportunities and The Eagle Blog for our CEO’s views on the industry, business, and life! |
In this issue: 4 Industry News |
Three years ago in September 2006 the big news was the purchase of Freescale Semiconductor by a group of investment firms for $17.6 Billion! Close on the heels of that deal, Motorola bought Symbol for about $4 Billion. RadioShack also hit the news in September 2006 for firing 400 employees by email! Two years ago in September 2007, we saw an investment group buy 3Com for $2.2 Billion and T-Mobile expanded its US marketshare, paying $2.4 Billion for SunCom Wireless Holdings. The busiest acquirer that year was Yahoo with three acquisitions: Zimbra ($350 Million), BlueLithium ($300 Million), and Participate Media (undisclosed). Last year, in September 2008, the collapse of investment banks and the potential bailout by the US Government filled the headlines. There was M&A activity but not on a grand scale. McAfee paid $465 Million for Secure Computing and Microsoft paid $485 million for Greenfield Online, a shopping comparison site. Perhaps the most interesting purchase was by Best Buy, who paid $120 million for Napster.
That brings us to September 2009 and while there were some interesting developments in the M&A world, there were not a lot of studies released, so maybe people are just getting fed up with the constant debate about the economy! Not everyone though. The OECD released a report suggesting that Canada is lagging other major economies in recovering from the recession, which is counter to what most Canadian economists have been saying. Certainly Canada has fared much better than the US, and signs continue to be positive but most of us are very cautious with our optimism! The latest word from the experts is that it’s time to spend and it will be consumer and business spending that will restore confidence in our economy!!!
So, “who was buying who” in September 2009? The big news of the month would have been that Dell’s $3.9 Billion purchase of Perot Systems. A very similar kind of deal as the HP/EDS deal a year ago and a sign that hardware companies are following the IBM model, by beefing up their services capabilities. THEN Xerox decided to buy ACS for $6.4 Billion, an even bigger deal and, while similar to the DELL situation, we now have a document management company (or do people still see Xerox as a hardware company?) buying an integration/consulting company. It continues a trend of consolidation and begs the question, who will be next?
There were some other very interesting and high priced deals this month. Ebay sold its majority holding in Skype to a group of investors for $1.9 Billion, which values Skype at $2.75 Billion. eBay originally bought Skype, amongst some criticism for some $3.3 Billion. Adobe also shelled out big dollars, $1.8 Billion for web analytics company Omniture, and had a second deal close, with no price disclosed, of Business Catalyst. Other deals this month include the continuing demise of Nortel, which sold its Enterprise Solutions unit to Avaya for $915 Million; EMC continues its quiet but relentless series of acquisitions, adding a couple of more this month Kazeon Systems and Fastscale technology; Raytheon picked up internet pioneer BBN, and CA shelled out $200 Million for NetQoS.
So, some companies are doing their bit to stimulate the economy by buying other companies. Not sure if that is what Mark Carney (Bank of Canada governor) had in mind. Maybe we should all get out and buy “stuff” this month, have fun.
For more stories and the details behind the above snippets, click here.
IT JOB MARKET ACROSS CANADA – Quarterly Update
Statistics Canada’s October Labour Force Survey tells us that Canada’s overall employment rose for the second consecutive month in September and the unemployment rate dropped by 0.3 percentage points. The IT job market across Canada is reflecting that trend with lots of positive signs; however, results vary by province and industry.
Just as Western Canada was a little late being hit by the recession compared to the East, it was also slower to start showing signs of recovery. Provincial governments in BC, Alberta, and Manitoba are still very tentative in their spending. Specifically, the Government of Alberta has slowed down due to a predicted deficit of over $4.5 Billion as a result of lost revenues from the energy industry, in addition to the effects the recession has had on business throughout the province. There are, however, positive signs that the public sector will pick up again in the new calendar year (post April 2010) as the economy and tax revenues strengthen.
The private sector in the West also had some disappointment this past quarter as it did not live up to the expectation of imminent recovery. Companies from regulated industries, though, seemed to have weathered the market turndown better than most, suggesting that they may be among the first to begin spending again.
Each Western province experienced its own trend in the past few months while dealing with the unpredictable economy. In British Columbia, companies have drastically reduced spending, with some increased interest in off-shoring solutions as a way to reduce costs. Hot skills in BC continue to be SAP and Networking/Infrastructure skills.
The recovery in Alberta is happening at a slower pace than one would expect due to low natural gas prices, although, pure play oil companies have gained an upper hand and are starting to be active again. Edmonton is seeing a demand for SAP skills as well as Project Managers and Business Analysts, while Calgary’s hot skills include Functional ERP, Agile Project Managers, and PM and BA resources with Upstream Oil & Gas experience.
Out of all the Western provinces, Saskatchewan, whose economy is still largely based on agriculture and other natural resources, has survived the recession the best, and even showed some growth over the past 12 months. Manitoba, however, saw a decrease in demand for many senior resources such as Project Managers, Business Analysts and Architects. Many of these professionals have been available for new work assignments for an extended period of time or have decided to take work outside the province. The biggest requirement in Winnipeg right now is for .NET Developers.
Overall, the top resource request in Western Canada continues to be for Project Managers and Business Analysts, with a growing interest in SAP resources, as projects begin to come back online. The demand for permanent resources is still very low as most of the new staffing activity continues to be on the contracting side, where rates seem to be holding steady.
At this time last year, the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) was seeing a noticeable shift in permanent job opportunities or contracts that would eventually lead to permanent opportunities. While contract work is rising, this trend does not seem to have gone away this year and IT professionals seem to be embracing it as they seek these types of long-term, stable placements.
Overall, the job market in the region continued to see some healthy signs of growth this past quarter, with both contract and permanent work showing positive changes. In the provincial public sector, there was a rise in contractor demand due to a number of government projects being kicked-off and many ministries have started extending existing contracts. This was somewhat tempered by the activities at eHealth which have caused some organisations to adopt a “wait and see” approach to staffing. We are seeing an increase in demand at financial institutions as they undergo large initiatives such as revisiting their credit systems.
The major event in the GTA this past quarter was Showcase Ontario 2009, the annual IT-based tradeshow geared towards the Government of Ontario. The show broke records this year, brining out participants from all levels of government and some notable keynote speakers.
Hot skills in the GTA include Business Transformation and ERP skills, specifically SAP Functional Consultants. Permanent staffing needs also continue to grow as companies look to fill Project Managers, Infrastructure Managers, and Business Analysts roles. While the overall feeling in the GTA is that there are more job opportunities, there are signs indicating that systems integrators are still not yet moving back to full speed.
In Eastern Canada, the economy has undoubtedly turned the corner with both positive job numbers, as well as other economic numbers. The surprising growth in jobs, however, is a tale of two stories – continued job losses in the private sector offset by growth or job gains in the public sector. There are other factors that can tip the direction of the economy either way. The surging Canadian dollar, although making for a cheaper trip to Disneyland for snowbirds, can effectively choke a Canadian economic recovery and translate into continued job losses, certainly in the manufacturing sector of Ontario and Quebec. Although indicators like the stock market and housing market show solid growth, the recovery in jobs still lags somewhat as employers and governments still do not seem to have the requisite confidence to fully commit to IT investment, nor the corresponding hiring effort. The overall good news, though, is something difficult to measure but is more a “feel” out there that, anecdotally, employers are starting to talk about hiring and make hiring plans. At least on the edges, a solid run of good news, barring an election, could be all that is needed to turn momentum in hiring in the East.
Public sector continues to be beset by other micro influences that have served to dampen spirits in the halls of bureaucracy. Looming elections, contracting scandals in Ontario, and an increase in industry challenges to contract awards federally by IT vendors are some of the influences that have all served to put a chill in the technology circles of the Federal Government. At the political level, no elected official wants to be associated with an IT project for fear of perceived failure or project governance issues and cost overruns. These concerns, along with the fact that most, if not all, Federal departments are in operational mode, mean there is very likely no big IT projects in the near or mid-term future. With revenue numbers down, the Feds will now focus on operational efficiencies and delivery, better transparency reporting, and doing more with less wherever possible.
In Montreal, we have seen a rise in permanent orders; however, closing cycles are long as employers do not feel the added pressure of a yesterday’s market of counter offers and competing offers. Candidates need to be both patient and thorough in their preparation as decisions are made.
While there has been a very significant drop in demand for Project Managers and developers, other hotter skills in Eastern Canada this quarter lean more to the infrastructure side with Network and System Analysts, Help Desk, as well as Business Analysts, SharePoint Developers, and Data Migration resources.
Social Networks “Leaking Users Personal Info” to Ad Companies
Researchers warn that major major Web 2.0 sites are leaking confidential user information that allows third party advertisers and firms to track the Web browsing habits of specific users. It’s possible that in some cases the leaks may be unintentional. More…
These are the Mobile Internet Devices of the Future
Mobile Internet devices, are they a non-starter or do they just need a little time to grab people’s attention? It depends on who you talk to. More…
Slideshow: Top Must-Have iPhone Business Apps
After throwing your laptop, charger, and spare battery into your travel bag as you head out the door, suddenly you don’t feel so mobile anymore. For road warriors, the iPhone isn’t just about games–it can be a powerful business tool. With Apple’s release of the iPhone 3GS, the handset gains better security and improved real-time e-mail delivery, both appealing features for business users and their companies’ IT departments. Who knows–maybe on your next business trip you’ll be able to leave that hulking ultraportable laptop behind. More…
The Mobile Worker’s Ultimate Travel Toolkit
Here’s how to put together wicked travel gear without breaking the bank. You’ll need some portable technology and a sure-fire way to power it. More…
Six Cheap and Easy Ways to Fix a Broken Laptop
There are some laptop problems that can be inexpensively and easily fixed with common tools, spare parts and a little effort. Many of these repairs are no harder than high school art projects. So follow along carefully, and soon your system will be good as new. More…
Computer Makers Aim to Banish Boot Up Blues
In the time it takes your computer to boot up, you can probably make some toast or a cup of tea before the thing is ready to use. In the near future, you might only have enough time to take a sip of that tea or check your watch. More…
**The articles above have been sourced from a number of different websites and are provided for informational purposes only. Eagle has no control over the content of these articles and is not responsible for the accuracy of the information provided.
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