Consultant profile
Mr Fairman is an approved Associate Consultant at Appleton Greene and he has experience in information technology, management and e-business. He has achieved a Higher National Diploma in Electrical & Electronics Engineering and an EDP (Mini MBA). He has industry experience within the following sectors: Automotive; Defense; Electronics; Technology and Telecommunications. He has had commercial experience within the following countries: South Africa; United Kingdom; United States of America; Egypt and Turkey, or more specifically within the following cities: Johannesburg; London; Boston MA; Cairo and Istanbul. His personal achievements include: managed national roll-out of Tracker; facilitated handover of Egyptian EW project; managed Uplink project for LoJack; managed handover of SAAF project and designed BlueBox Home Energy System. His service skills incorporate: project management; technical management; SDLC; lifecycle management and technical leadership.
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Executive summary
ITC Development
High-tech developments have become more complex due to the high levels of integration required by clients, where the domain of the desktop must now be made available to mobile devices owned or not owned by the enterprise. This complexity leads to a wide range of problems as the IT solutions now have to be very agile, secure, accessible anywhere on the planet and usable on a wide range of devices. Developments have to be scrutinized in greater depth to ensure that what is being asked for by the client is achievable with the minimum of disruption to the business, but realizes maximum benefit.
This requires the ability to see the bigger picture and tailor the development to meet the exact needs of the business, not perceived needs. An alarming number of ITC developments fail or are abandoned due to overruns of time and cost, and an early indication that the requirements will fall short of client expectations. The most important key to success is the ability of the development to stay on track and stick firmly to the original requirements. This is easier said than done and requires a unique set of skills, honed over many years of witnessing how not to run and manage developments covering several industry sectors.
The key is being able to see the requirement from the outset and know what’s needed in terms of resources, technology choices and development partners. The service offering must have a clear vision of what’s required to analyze the requirement, communicate the design, and finally to develop and demonstrate the end result.
Service Methodology
Developments need three attributes to be a success: vision, pragmatism and experience. These combined form a very solid foundation for finalizing a development that not only endures but produces the expected results. The most important phase is the beginning, as it is here that the information we require to design the solution is gathered from the stakeholders who will benefit the most. The vision attribute plays a major role at this juncture as it enables us to see at an early stage what’s actually needed in the design that is absolutely necessary. While we recognize the importance of engaging stakeholders, we have learnt to be selective and avoid spending too much time on developing a ‘wish-list’ as opposed to a specification.
The pragmatic approach makes sure that we direct all our resource time to achieving the goals and meeting the requirements of the client through the design of the system. When the development forms part of a program, we make absolutely sure that we will not be spending our time being side-tracked on unrelated issues. We make sure that our development strategy is tabled at the earliest stage with the PMO or projects directorate so that they understand our roles and responsibilities so that we have consensus.
Ultimately our experience drives our success as it is this attribute that moves us forward in the right direction, increases our productivity and gives us a sense of what works and what doesn’t throughout the life-cycle. This experience has delivered high tech and mission critical systems in the Aerospace, Defence and Telematics industries internationally. We avoid the unnecessary and concentrate on the necessary. This methodology is a philosophy that works, because it keeps the design principles true to what the client wants, expects and is paying for.
Service Options
Companies can elect whether they just require Appleton Greene for advice and support with the Bronze Client Service, for research and performance analysis with the Silver Client Service, for facilitating departmental workshops with the Gold Client Service, or for complete process planning, development, implementation, management and review, with the Platinum Client Service. Ultimately, there is a service to suit every situation and every budget and clients can elect to either upgrade or downgrade from one service to another as and when required, providing complete flexibility in order to ensure that the right level of support is available over a sustainable period of time, enabling the organization to compensate for any prescriptive or emergent changes relating to: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Information Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing; or Production.
Service Mission
In the world of ITC development there is nothing more satisfying than sitting in front of a client with problems, and then going away and designing a solution that solves these and results in a purpose designed system, that delivers the client’s needs. There is a huge amount of knowledge and skill involved in getting from the start of this process to the finish, but it is as gratifying for us as it is for the client and the various stakeholders.
Companies supplying COTS solutions are a ‘dime a dozen’ and generally provide a solution that has a long list of features that the client neither needs, or will probably never use. True innovation comes from being able to provide a bespoke solution exactly tailored to the client’s needs and represents the businesses demands. The ‘vanilla’ approach to developments may suit many businesses, but occasionally a specific need arises that requires a targeted approach to address a unique set of circumstances.
While all developments may seem to follow identical processes and apply a common methodology, bespoke design is fundamentally different in that it solves real problems and directs its attention directly at the problem. We have seen and experienced the huge sense of satisfaction with clients that have taken this route as in the end the solution is not only generated by them directly, but solves a problem they have identified that will help their business grow. With a targeted solution the client gets exactly what they have paid for and can readily see and experience the return on investment, rather than trying to understand what has been achieved with a general solution.
Service objectives
The following list represents the Key Service Objectives (KSO) for the Appleton Greene ITC Development service.
- Strategic Evaluation
The objective of this first process is to investigate and evaluate the reasons behind the development and how it will fit into the overall business profile of the organisation. At the end of this process we want to see that the introduction of the new product or system will definitely benefit the business, justify the development cost and meet all the user expectations. This is done by developing two roadmaps one for the business itself and the other concentrating on the technology and making sure that there is consensus with both and that they are complimentary. These roadmaps will take into consideration the current state of technology in the business, how it is performing and the previous development strategies that were applied. This will provide us with a clear understanding of how the organization treats new developments and where we can improve the processes that may need to be changed or new ones introduced. The new development will be carefully evaluated in terms of ‘strategic fit’ so that it not only achieves certain benefits, but improves any business processes and outcomes it has been conceived to fulfil. Part of our objective will be to play ‘devil’s advocate’ and get the various stakeholders to justify to us that the development requirements have been researched sufficiently to justify the impending investment. In this way we are able to detect any resistance or lack of detail in the strategy and obtain verification from the decision makers in the organization before moving on to the next stage. Any new development has to complement the existing technology deployed in the business and improve productivity, ease of use and take into consideration what new technologies are being developed. The secret of innovative thinking lies in the belief that anything is possible, and is only restricted by lack of courage, mind-set or budget. The key to innovation lies in a deep knowledge of what restrictions are in place that act as barriers to success, and how we break them down. When we understand the problem with absolute clarity, innovation will come naturally. This means opening our minds to the possible while spending less time debating the impossible.
- Development Planning
Any new development irrespective of its purpose requires careful planning prior to the commencement of the actual design and development stages. This takes the form of an audit where the manner in which the development resources will be utilized is investigated, adjusted and configured to suit the overall objectives, budget and management expectations. Depending on the details of the development, the amount of forward planning will differ. With hardware development manufacturers of components, semiconductors, printed circuit boards and any mechanical components have to be identified at an early stage so that scheduling can take place to suit the project timescales. With software development the availability of resources, both internal and external needs to be assessed during this planning stage, and arrangements made early enough to retain them. In those cases, where the resulting development will be deployed on a wide scale over many locations, then users at these locations have to be informed and made ready for installation and training. If any deployments are cross-border, then all the requisite commercial requirements have to be taken into consideration and the relevant parties informed at the earliest stage. With large developments where several external sub-contractors are going to be used, these need to be factored into the development planning at the right stages and their particular operating circumstances incorporated into the planning process. The development audit must investigate and establish any legislative requirements, quality assurance, type approval and certification requirements that the new products or services need to comply with. Some type approval procedures take several months to plan, book and execute particularly those where hardware products are submitted to an EU or FCC approval agency.
- Solution Analysis
It is uncommon for us to arrive at a single solution at this early stage in the process. Usually we find ourselves with several ideas and solutions that may fit the bill. In order to eliminate these, we apply a set of analytical principles that help us define and ultimately decide on the best approach. Applied as a research discipline Solution Analysis will not only address the technical needs of the problem, but also consider any operational, planning, corporate policy and change management issues. Each of these major issues are analyzed as criteria for final solution selection and discussed with the client on an ongoing basis to ensure compatibility. Although similar to the Requirements Analysis as a typical process in project management, solutions analysis differs in that it concentrates on the use of technology solutions to solve business related issues rather than managerial processes. With bespoke technology developments it is important that the resulting design addresses the problem directly, and acts as a catalyst for any other related issues within the business that may influence the problem. Experience has taught us that it is easy to get side-tracked if too many unrelated issues become part of solving the problem. The solution will have to stand on its own once completed, but have the ability to accommodate other solutions in the future. In this way its value is better understood and the performance criteria more easily measured. During this process, we begin to develop a sense of the dimensions of the solution with regards to cost, infrastructure requirements, project magnitude and resource demands. The end result of this analysis will be the framework for a solution together with estimates of the resource requirements. These solutions are presented to the client in detail, showing how and why they have been chosen, their relevance and what the benefits and outputs will be once completed. This analysis will also address budgetary issues, ongoing support costs, training and recruitment requirements and any licensing requirements. Finally, the solutions will address security issues regarding data, hacking and cyber-attacks prevention.
- Design Process
It is always pertinent to advise a client how the design process will work, what will be addressed during this process, roles and importantly what it’s going to cost. The methodology used to arrive at a final design is an important factor as it has to match the magnitude of the development, should not fall short of the requirements, and should not be overkill. The methodology will demonstrate the level of competency expected by the client, and the ITC industry in general, by applying established standards, processes and compliance requirements. When we are engaged in the design of solutions that will incorporate both hardware and software components, we approach the design process differently to when we are only dealing with one or the other. This difference entails building in processes that ensure compatibility between both disciplines is managed throughout the design and eventually the development life-cycles. The firmware used to drive the hardware must be designed to be compatible with any operating systems involved in the overall system. This approach is known as Top-Down Design and we use it to identify each component or device in the solution and design these as individual items so that we can verify its functionality before we look at the complete system. In this way we avoid surprises when we start integrating and testing the final solution. There are many design tools, development platforms and simulators available to us today to speed-up the design process. More importantly these tools allow us to better predict performance criteria before we commit to manufacture and final development. This ability now happens early on in the design phase enabling the client to see what they are getting before the project spend gets costly and the development risk increases. Completion of the design process will result in the provision of design documentation including specifications, drawings, CAD files, Test Specifications, Training Requirements and certification requirements.
- Development
Development is the actual effort that converts the detailed design from concept to a finished system or product. During this phase prototypes are built to verify and test the various system architectures, software programmes and hardware designs. Where there are both hardware and software components being developed for a new system, activities that are common to both need to be carefully planned especially where the same development resources are used. The numerous tasks relating to the development are broken down into smaller workable components known as a work breakdown structure (WBS). This structure divides the overall development into discrete work modules and assigns personnel, costs and timescales to each one with routing information showing connections to other tasks. In this way a large complex development that can take several months or years is better managed and progress is more easily tracked. The bulk of resource effort in a development project is assigned during this phase. It is the culmination of all the design tasks and the coming together and integration of the proposed hardware and software components, outsourced equipment and integration with existing systems. The data models for the various software applications are built as mock-ups so that their results can be better monitored. This also allows a more meaningful approach for developing any user interfaces as these can be tried and tested in an almost live environment. Regular review meetings are held during this phase as this is the ideal opportunity for management to analyse progress and feedback. Experience has shown that it is vital to create an offline environment where all the software developments, hardware designs and integration components can be built and tested as the development cycle progresses. The problem with most business technology solutions is that they are directly responsible for maintaining and increasing the bottom line, so any disruptions will be costly. This offline approach also allows training programs to be developed for users and support personnel, prior to going live. The output of the Development phase will be products that are production ready and meet the original Scoping and Requirements of the business, management and the users. At this juncture the system is handed over to the testing team who will put the products through their paces and provide constant feedback to the development team to enable any changes or fixes to be carried out.
Achievements
BAE Systems
I was awarded the prestigious ‘Apprentice of the Year’ award during the second year of my 5 year engineering apprenticeship with British Aircraft Corporation (now BAE Systems). This was an achievement because there were over 120 other apprentices nationally in the UK that were considered. The award is based on the quality of work carried out during the previous year, attitude towards fellow workers and management, discipline and the ability to solve problems quickly and successfully.
Plessey Group
During my period of contract with Plessey EaE in Egypt, I was responsible for a team of 12 engineers and technicians working on an Electronic Warfare Project for the Egyptian Signal Corps. The project completion had been outstanding for several years due to mismanagement by several parties and lack of engineering leadership. Managing the team I successfully submitted all the outstanding projects for customer acceptance which resulted in a hefty Performance Bond amounting to several millions of pounds being released to Plessey. I was promoted to Country Manager.
Grinaker Electronics Group
I was hired initially as a Senior Systems Engineer to work on a large Ground-to-air communications network for the South African Air Force. The project had fallen behind due to the resignation of my predecessor who had been transferred to another project. I managed a small team of internal engineers and several external suppliers and handed over the completed project 2 years later. I was awarded the Grinaker Employee of the Year award the following year, and promoted to General Manager.
Tracker Network
Tracker was awarded the LoJack licence for Southern Africa. I was initially hired as a consultant to design the nationwide network and assist in writing the technical specification for the system as part of the licence submission to Government. After award of the licence, we were given 6 months to build the network, commission over 1000 Police Vehicles with Tracking Equipment, build a National Control Centre and recruit a team of 16 fitment technicians and other technical team members. I successfully completed all these tasks and was appointed to the Tracker Board as Technical Director.
LoJack Corporation
During my tenure at Tracker in South Africa, I developed the Uplink technology solution for them. This advancement resulted in the company achieving the highest stolen vehicle recovery rate among all of LoJack worldwide licensees, including the US. I was hired by LoJack in Boston to recreate this for the US and South American markets. I had to manage the design and development of various new hardware devices and software in conjunction with technology companies in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico. The upgraded network was commissioned two years later within the budget.
More detailed achievements, references and testimonials are confidentially available to clients upon request.
Industries
This service is primarily available to the following industry sectors:
Automotive
Private vehicle owners now have an array of software controlled systems fitted to production vehicles. These provide the driver with warnings about how the vehicle is being driven, its proximity to other vehicles, assistance with braking in a potential emergency, the ability to read and process road signs and prompt corrective actions, and the all-important interface with the Smartphone. The big tech companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google are all providing content and integrating versions of their popular operating systems so that all their mobile apps used in Smartphones, Tablets and Laptops can be integrated with the vehicle system. This has opened up a host of new content providers and advertisers who can push video and data into the vehicle environment, further extending the reach of Information Technology. Cars have become mobile computers, with high specification processors controlling all functions from speed, safety and comfort to climate control and vibration. Major FPGA manufacturers are delivering automotive specific accelerator processing solutions that integrate Radar, Pulsed Laser (Lidar), Infrared and Ultrasonic sensor technologies that deliver split-second information and warnings to the driver. These sensors provide 3D Surround View Video Processing, Rear View Cameras, Blind Spot detection, Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition, Forward Collison Warning and Pedestrian detection. Governments in various parts of the world are pushing for legislation to make many of these safety features a legal requirement on future vehicles. This will result in full connectivity within the vehicle systems, tethering of Smartphones and Tablets, and remote access to Cloud, Home Office and Enterprise based applications using public wireless networks like LTE and Wi-Fi. We have already seen gradual adoption of Android Auto and Apple Car Play operating systems by several auto OEM’s, with more to follow. Ford recently announced a technology partnership deal with Blackberry to standardise on the use of their ONX platform across their entire vehicle range. This demonstrates that the large tech companies providing desktop and mobility solutions are entering the automotive sector in a big way. The end result will be the fully connected vehicle that will offer all the advantages of the desktop environment for entertainment, driver and passenger safety, navigation and Internet access. Many manufacturers are already testing autonomous vehicles with legislation for their use on public roads becoming a reality in the short term. The whole issue of these vehicles will revolve around safety particularly on fast crowded multi-lane highways. There are certainly a few mountains to climb before we see a proliferation of these on our roads. One of the realities is that all of these vehicles irrespective of make or model will need to communicate with each other, not just the immediate space surrounding them.
Defense
Governments are forced to evaluate how they spend defence dollars, and where they direct Research and Development activities, and with whom. Systems development no longer needs large multi-million dollar budgets, or large teams of engineers and scientists to develop ground-breaking technology. Almost all of the IT developments currently are carried out by small private companies spread around the world. The cost of manufacturing what were military grade semiconductors, microprocessors and SOC (system on chip) solutions have decreased significantly, and are being made by companies the world over. The latest technology whether in hardware or software form is now within the reach of private companies and even garage engineers who can develop anything with the tools available on the Internet? Technology also plays a major role in the design, development and manufacture of sophisticated defence systems ranging from an aircraft carrier to an assault rifle in the form of CAD/CAM (computer assisted design/computer assisted manufacture) software applications. These allow a new design to be carried out within a computer networked environment, which sends completed designs to the machines that manufacture the end product. All the stages in the development and manufacturing life-cycles are fully integrated and stored in data files. There are no more blueprints, or drawings and no paper-trail. We have also seen the widespread introduction of 3-D printing in the R&D world where completed product designs can be printed on a specialist printer, cutting down development time and costs. The Internet and WWW is fast becoming the biggest threat to the defence of a country and its assets. There is a real problem with the ease at which a terrorist organisation, or enthusiastic individual can not only access sensitive information, but how it is just as easy to distribute it worldwide. The proliferation and sheer reach of wired, wireless, satellite and fiber networks makes it easy to create havoc in our society. It is estimated that the US DOD and other government defence organisations distribute over 90% of their voice and data communications over public networks. Weapons systems, missiles, aircraft, helicopters, warships and surveillance systems all use varying levels of embedded software controlling commercially available chips, processors and semi-conductors. This means that at some stage any or all of these systems can be hacked by individuals or organisations that know the device’s embedded code, which is available from the manufacturer, or is published on the Internet. In the past military and national defence organisations routed their sensitive information over point-to-point private networks to protect the content. What one once considered closed technology by Defence contractors, is now well and truly in the public domain. The problem with technology is that it has now reached critical mass. Everybody has it, or can get it, cheaply.
Electronics
Today the Electronics industry is being driven in many ways by digital convergence with more and more products becoming multifunctional, as opposed to one product for one function. Digital convergence is combining IT, Telecommunications, Consumer Electronics and Entertainment (ITTCE) under one banner with multifunctional products supporting VoIP, IPTV, Mobile TV and Smart TV capabilities. This has uncluttered technology in the home where the number of devices has reduced but the individual functionality is retained. This is possible through multiple services running under common operating software platforms making integration and device sharing easier. With the huge advances in recent years in the area of microelectronics development and the computerisation of manufacture, the time to market for new products has been reduced to months instead of years. Design engineers using CAD/CAM software can complete complex designs in a matter of weeks due to the huge database of circuit design files and software routines. Once the design is captured it can be sent electronically to the production line and manufactured almost immediately. This degree of automation has also brought down the price of finished products substantially, meaning more sales in more markets. Semiconductor manufacturers are already producing highly integrated System on Chip (SOC) solutions which further cut-down development times. These solutions take away the work engineers need to spend on integrating several functional blocks in a product. The SOC manufacturers also provide the firmware ready loaded on-board the chipset, further reducing the risk of development to almost zero. With the rapid developments we have seen with 3D printing it is not difficult to visualise design engineers printing complete prototypes on a printer within the next few years, and being able to run a self-test immediately thereafter. Within the semiconductor industry the momentum created by FPGA (field programmable gate arrays) devices will continue to grow and be used by more and more applications as the never-ending desire for processing speeds and fast data analysis increases. These devices provide 100 times more processing power than standard processors and 10 times the power of Graphics Processing Units (GPU). Unlike processors they can be programmed after manufacture and are therefore free of certain pre-programming restraints. These devices are directed at systems that carry out numerical and statistical computing where complex algorithms need to be implemented. Large investment banks are moving in this direction as they demand ever increasing processing speeds, to stay ahead of their competitors.
Technology
Every sector of industry has been computerised to some degree whether from an administration, production or manufacturing aspect, processors and software control, manage, configure, count, dispatch and secure goods and services. The healthcare industry has benefitted in a big way from computers in research able to run huge amounts of analysis in days instead of years. Computer technology is used to perform delicate surgery and completely automate the delivery of medicines in an intensive care ward. Modern X-ray machines and CT scanners are networked allowing doctors to view results within minutes, helping them make important lifesaving decisions. There is a big drive in the ITC sector to merge fixed, mobile, domestic, industrial and business services and make them and all their associated physical and logical objects accessible via the Internet. The rapid adoption of Cloud Based services, enterprise mobility and BYOD applications is evidence of this trend, and it is expected to keep growing for the next decade. This is being driven by the need for businesses to analyse customer generated data leading to a better understanding of purchasing habits and product selection preferences. The more collected about how business processes are working the more productive and profitable the business can be. If market researchers can accumulate huge volumes of data generated by client behavior, the better companies can tailor their services. To do this we need to be able to collect the data over a ubiquitous platform like the Internet and then analyse the contents. This means that every object or entity needs an IP address and a built-in ability to transmit and receive data wherever these objects may be, or whoever they may be. This technology has been labelled the internet of things (IOT) and is growing at an alarming rate. The commercial opportunities emanating from the IOT will be enormous as specialist companies will emerge to handle and process this data in the various sectors, and onward sell the results to existing vendors and marketing organisations. Further opportunities will be created in the network upgrading fields where faster broadband networks will have to increase access and overall capacity to meet demands. The majority of expansion will have to be around the fixed networks as wireless frequency bands are already congested with current services. Because of this factor we can expect a major breakthrough in wireless technology that will allow more users per channel than currently exists.
Telecommunications
There was one single great leap forward required in the telecommunications industry, and that came with the deployment of digital exchanges and the progressive nature of the rapidly expanding computer industry. The growth in voice and data services has exponentially with the digital revolution as more subscribers can be supported using the same wired infrastructure. Computer manufacturers are selling their hardware with wide-area connectivity like built-in cellular modems, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity so that PC’s can access each other and the Internet. The telecommunication networks in all countries are now connected to a backhaul gateway allowing mobile and fixed calls to originate and terminate in any country, and to be able to support mobile device roaming. Due to the huge increase in global communications volumes more networks of telecommunications satellites are currently in orbit than ever before, enabling services anywhere on earth. With network capacities reaching breakpoint we can expect a new breed of ‘supercarrier’ class of network operators to emerge who will build and own networks with massive broadband capability. These networks will be in the form of fiber-optic backbones providing millions of channels of voice, data and video capability to the existing telco’s and mobile operators. Without these measures to substantially increased bandwidth capacity the ITC industry faces information paralysis. There is a pervasive migration towards Cloud services, Big Data Analytics and IOT, all increasing bandwidth needs on a daily basis. The IT market is renowned for adopting trends, often blindly without analysing the effects on the business aspects. All of these ventures will be a success, and will, without a doubt, increase data traffic, everywhere. Mobile growth refuses to slow-down, and while new technologies and ‘next generation’ wireless protocols are launched every 5 years, we are running out of spectrum fast, to support these demands. Many countries have recently launched 4G LTE networks, with testing of 5G set for 2016. The 3 billion mobile subscribers on the planet is set to double in the next decade creating unprecedented problems unless we find a way to cheat physics and develop a wireless system that has no capacity issues. More use of bandwidth-hungry video is being made by almost all industries ranging from CCTV, Home Security, and Advanced Driver Safety Systems in vehicles, Traffic Surveillance, Drones, Military, Law Enforcement Agencies and others: all wanting to transport the data streams back to centralised or de-centralised locations. The list of inventions set to appear in the next 5 years that will generate data is undeterminable, but will be substantial. In summary, telecommunications will continue to play a major role in our lives and continue to deliver our voice data and video information. We are destined to see the growth of technological services ramp up exponentially with more new services and innovations introduced. If the past 3-4 decades are anything to go by then we are in for more exciting commercial opportunities, and as in the past it will be the innovative thinkers with vision that will come out on top.
Locations
This service is primarily available within the following locations:
Johannesburg SA
Johannesburg has become the most important financial and commercial hub in Africa and the gateway into the continent for both local and international businesses. Today the Johannesburg Stock Exchange ranks as one of the top twenty in the world and the biggest in Africa. Most of Johannesburg’s major corporates have extended their operational footprint into the rest of Africa and beyond taking well-known South African brands to the world, including SA Breweries, Dimension Data, Investec, Bidvest, Vodacom and MTN. The banking and financial sector has been going through somewhat of a technological revolution particularly with the introduction of a host of mobile applications and the roll-out of contactless cards. The Johannesburg suburb of Sandton is now the recognized financial and banking center of Africa, providing services to the continent. Established businesses in the Greater Johannesburg area are involved in: Transportation & Logistics, Pharmaceuticals, Heavy Machinery manufacture, Military Hardware & Systems, Fixed & Rotary Wing Aircraft, Agribusiness, Textiles, Iron & Steel manufacture, Electrical Distribution Equipment, Computer Hardware & Software, Consumer Electronics, Cables, Telecommunications equipment and Fiber Optics. The three mobile phone operators, Cell C, MTN and Vodacom are all headquartered in Johannesburg along with Virgin Mobile, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung, Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Oracle and LG. This industry has created thousands of jobs in the City and throughout the country, and is a big contributor to the country’s GDP. Both MTN and Vodacom have invested in other African, Middle East and Asian countries. The public transport network will have to be expanded as the City grows, and more businesses set-up. The African Free Trade Zone (AFTZ) treaty signed in 2008 should start opening up enormous commercial and trading opportunities for the whole continent and increasing the trade between African countries. Its success will hinge on the member countries ability to upgrade the badly maintained highways and border post infrastructure prevalent in most countries. These activities should expand the City’s manufacturing and industrial base and create much needed new jobs. Due to the 1st world infrastructure that exists in the City, foreign and local investment will continue to grow, provided the existing power supply problems can be resolved.
London UK
The City of London today is one of the largest and most important financial and commercial centers in the world. This City is also home to the world’s busiest International airport, at Heathrow which handles thousands of flights a day and night. It is constantly under development in an effort to keep up with the constant increase in passengers and flights. Connections with the Underground at Heathrow and the major train stations in the city make travel easy and quick. The London Underground is also constantly being expanded to new areas of the City and its environs. These large infrastructure projects create 1000’s of jobs in Engineering and Project Management and Telecommunications. The City of London, a small area surrounding the Houses of Parliament, is home to hundreds of well-known and lesser known banks, including the Bank of England, one of the oldest institutions in the City. This small area is one of the most important capital markets in the world, providing financial and business related services to customers and developments worldwide. In the 1980’s the government of the day declared that Britain needed to invest heavily in computerisation, as this held the key to the future of industry and commerce. This culture developed quickly and the UK government agencies, Ministries and State owned organisations adopted computers on a large scale, long before many other countries. Today there are many satellite towns near London like Bracknell, Reading, Slough, Basingstoke, Milton Keynes and Chelmsford that have spurned high tech industries designing and developing a wide range of high-tech solutions for Banking, Defence, Electronics, Aviation, Industry, Security, Telecommunications and E-commerce. Technology will continue to play a major role in the commercial development of the City and its businesses well into the future. As more companies migrate to Cloud based services, this should see the increase in the number of start-up tech companies, who will need financial and commercial investment. This drive to innovate will be met by the Governments of the future as a culture of technological development and support is already well embedded in the national psyche. Following on from the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent realisation that there was not enough legislation in place to prevent the banks from over-indulging; there will be more compliance regulations that will come into play. Financial institutions will have to re-engineer many of their business practices, transparency and reporting to meet these new requirements, or face large fines. This in turn means that IT departments will have to implement these compliance measures across complete networks, internal systems application software, and user interfaces and data storage. For large multinational financial institutions this will represent huge IT spend and projects that will run for many years.
Boston MA
The City of Boston is one of the most important educational centers in the world for the study of Law, Business, Medicine and Technology. The Universities and Colleges in and around the City generate billions of dollars a year from students from all over the world, and as is a major economic indicator for the City. The City remains a major financial and insurance center in the USA along with venture capital companies, Business Services, Legal Practices and Technology providers. The City is home to some of the biggest tech companies: DEC, Analog Devices, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems (Oracle), GTE, Data General, Raytheon and Autodesk along with many others. The growth in IT services will continue to outperform analysts’ predictions, with be Big Data, Cloud Services, IOT and Enterprise Mobility being the big earners in future. This being the case then the Companies already established in Boston will remain at the forefront of these technologies and future developments. The innovations in technology will continue to come from the smaller tech companies as opposed to the large corporates, who will concentrate on mergers and acquisitions. This insight is based on recent increases in the number of smaller concerns attracting venture capital. The Defence industry is sourcing more of its products and services from these companies, and outsourcing more and more development. The era of public and private sector corporates investing huge amounts of capital into long-drawn out projects will, eventually be a thing of the past. The financial, commercial and defence playing fields have changed; the emphasis in the future will be on intelligence gathering, platform agility and the ability to perform data analysis at hyper speeds. The companies who allocate 15% or more of turnover to R&D will be the ones to watch as this is typically the level of investment needed to stay ahead in the high-tech arena. The R&D culture in the Boston area is well established at University level, within the financial services and capital market, and the companies themselves. There is so much competition in this area that the stakes remain high and businesses need to be highly innovative to stay ahead.
Cairo EG
The Egyptian economy today is multi-disciplined with a broad industrial base that covers oil and gas production, manufacturing, heavy engineering, agriculture and tourism. The City itself is the most populated in Africa and the Arab world. Its businesses provide a wide range of manufactured products and goods to mainly Middle Eastern markets and North Africa. The international airport in Cairo is now a major hub serving all continents and airlines from around the world. Political unrest and social turmoil have slowed the economy forcing investors to look elsewhere. This unrest is part of a regional problem involving its neighbors and global markets in general. From an ITC perspective the development of technology and access in the country in general is low with less than half of the households having internet access. This low adoption rate of IT also stretches to Businesses and Government where there is a noticeable lack of usage and investment and consequently development. While mobile tariffs are affordable, access to bandwidth is hampered by lack of investment and a highly bureaucratic political and regulatory environment. The lack of an open market approach to ITC development and uptake has meant that access to private capital, venture capital is at a minimal, coupled to this the lack of ITC trained personnel will mean that adoption and widespread use of IT technology will remain low. Staff training is also low for those organisations that have implemented IT meaning that adoption of new technology and business processes is also below standard and needs heavy investment. The recent political unrest in the country has created a slowdown in the economy with investments at an all-time low, further exasperated by civil wars in neighboring countries the level of investor confidence towards Cairo and Egypt in general will remain low. There has been a massive clampdown on the use of mobile messaging, social media access and freedom of speech, all having an adverse effect on the spread of ITC technologies and the attraction of foreign investment.
Istanbul TR
Today Istanbul is one of the most connected cities and commercial centers in Europe and the near East. Continual investment into infrastructure, the tourism industry, electronics, mining, automobile manufacture and light industry have finally put the City of Istanbul and the country on the map, with Turkey now ranked as an emerging economy. There have been important changes and developments in the political and regulatory environment leading to less bureaucracy and government interference in the private sector which in turn has responded by investing more and more into the economy and creating jobs. The country has the highest level of mobile network coverage in the world providing access to 100% of its population, a singular achievement in a country of the size of Turkey. This has been partly due to a very liberal deregulated telecommunications environment allowing the best Internet and telephony competition ranking in the world, and driving down costs. The country has again demonstrated the important link between a deregulated telco market and economic growth allowing the private sector, businesses and government to take full advantage of ITC developments. The future for Istanbul as a center for industry and commerce looks healthy and sustainable despite recent political events. The population are seeing the benefits of economic growth and prosperity and will work to keep up the momentum. The country shows continued strong growth in ICT services due to a liberalised regulatory environment, but needs to increase individual access at household level. The government should continue to invest in more online services making it more transparent and accessible to the people, which in-turn instils confidence. More investment will be required in 4G LTE and emerging 5G technologies to improve broadband access as this becomes a major driver for business and commerce growth, and foreign investment. The ITC skills base needs to be improved so that more local content development takes place, further expanding the reach of IT access to the population. Local content is a very important online adoption factor in a market as it solves and language and cultural problems that may exist, particularly for emerging economies. This should encourage individual ITC usage which is extremely low for a country where mobile coverage is highest. This can only be improved by government pushing more educational and awareness information to the population, and attracting them to go online.
Clients
This service’s current clients or employers include:
BAE Systems
BAE Systems is a defense company with a long history of driving successful innovation in massively complex integrated systems. We have been helping to defend the largest nations and businesses in the world for over forty years against advanced threats. The nature of these threats is now changing and the threats have extended into cyber-space. Cyber threats no longer just come from mischievous hackers playing games. They come from organized, smart, stealthy criminal groups and nations, looking to steal intelligence and capital. Attacks pioneered by nation states are now being used to attack businesses of all sizes and standard security technology has dropped in effectiveness from 80% to 20% over the past 10 years. Additionally, criminals are taking advantage of modern communications and computing techniques to plan and conduct their crimes. The techniques and tools that enable business and law enforcement to detect, prevent and investigate crime – both in the physical and cyber worlds – are in the process of rapid adaption. At the same time, society is evolving the way we consume technology, putting more data out into the public arena than ever before, demanding that Governments, businesses, individuals and communities are all interconnected, and all with the expectation that our privacy is protected. We have been working with National Security for many years, helping collect and analyse vast quantities of data. This has enabled us to build a unique set of experience, systems and processes around the threat landscape. These, combined with our Cyber special forces – some of the most skilled people in the world, enable us to defend against cyber-attacks, fraud and financial crime, enable intelligence-led policing and solve complex data problems through analysing huge volumes of data. We offer a broad portfolio of on premise, managed and cloud-based products and services that are battle proven against the world’s most dangerous threats. As the leading provider of threat intelligence to the US and UK governments, we provide business defence no one else can match. And it’s not just cybercrime we defend against. We also help companies and Governments defend against increasing regulatory burdens and communication infrastructure changes. Intelligence is at the core of what we do. We employ over 4,000 people across 18 countries in the Americas, APAC, UK and EMEA.
BAE Systems – Click Here
The Plessey Group
The Plessey Company plc was a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after the Second World War by acquisition of companies and formed overseas companies. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 1989, it was taken over by a consortium formed by GEC and Siemens which split the assets of the Plessey group. The majority of Plessey’s defence assets were amalgamated into BAE Systems in 1999 when BAE merged with the defence arm of GEC Marconi Electronic Systems (MES). The bulk of Plessey’s telecommunications assets were acquired by Ericsson through its 2005 acquisition of Marconi Corporation plc, a successor company of GEC. The remainder of the communication assets went to Telent plc .In 1997 British Aerospace and Daimler-Benz Aerospace acquired the UK operations and German part of Siemens Plessey Systems, respectively. By 1997 GPT name disappeared in UK and the company was known by Siemens GEC Communication Systems (SGCS), which later became ‘Siemens Communications’. In August 1998 GEC acquired Siemens’ 40% stake in GPT (by now only exist as a legal entity); and merged GPT with the telecoms units of its other subsidiaries namely – Marconi SpA, GEC Hong Kong and ATC South Africa to form Marconi Communications. In December 1999, GEC’s defence arm – ‘Marconi Electronic Systems’ was amalgamated with ‘British Aerospace’ to form ‘BAE Systems’. The entity left out of ‘GEC’ was renamed to Marconi plc, and Marconi Communications became its principal subsidiary. The part of GPT which evolved into Siemens Communications would eventually evolve into Siemens Enterprise Communications in 2008. The GEC acquired part of GPT (August 1998) which became Marconi Communications in 1999, would be amalgamated into both Ericsson and Telent in 2005 when they acquire its parent company – Marconi Corporation plc, formed by 2003 restructuring of Marconi plc. GEC Plessey Semiconductors (GPS) was purchased by Mitel Semiconductors of Canada in 1998. After a number of downsizes, including the power semiconductor and silicon on sapphire operation at Lincoln, Lincolnshire being purchased in January 2000 by Dynex Semiconductor, the company renamed itself Zarlink Semiconductor in 2001. The GPS fabrication plant in Plymouth was acquired by Xfab and still houses a small Zarlink test facility.
The Plessey Group – Click Here
Grinaker Electronics (SAAB Grintek Technologies)
SGT is a turnkey solutions integrator specialising in the design, supply, deployment, commissioning and maintenance of multi – technology telecommunication systems for mobile broadband and converged solutions, through partnerships with our customers and technology providers. To achieve this all structures in SGT working closely with the customer to ensure a complete network ownership cycle: from analysing user requirements through concept design and planning, to implementation and operation if needed, as well as continuous optimisation of their network through its life cycle. We aim to market ourselves well and execute superbly. Specializing in integrated leading edge and comprehensive solutions across the entire spectrum of telecommunications. The company’s vision is to be the innovative systems integrator of choice for telecommunications solutions. “Your partnership to telecommunications success” SGT is a subsidiary of Saab South Africa, who own 70% of the shares whilst the remaining 30% is owned by Imbani Holdings. Saab South Africa is a subsidiary of Saab AB Sweden. Saab serves the global market with world leading products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents and constantly develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customer’s changing needs. Research, development and production are carried out in Sweden, South Africa and Australia, but thanks to its strengths and strategic partnerships, Saab has the world as its market. Saab South Africa consolidates Saab’s position as the leading SA defence, civil security and Telecommunications Company. Saab in South Africa has capabilities ranging from electronic warfare, sensor technology, command & control systems, training systems, radio communication equipment, aviation, telecommunications and support solutions.
Grinaker Electronics (SAAB Grintek Technologies) – Click Here
Tracker Network
Founded in 1996, Tracker South Africa is a cutting edge technology company which offers Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) and Fleet Management/Telematics solutions to both individuals and companies throughout Southern Africa. Over and above this core business offering we also have a host of products and services from usage-based insurance to mobile technology applications. Processing over 30 million messages per day, Tracker collects and processes data and turns it into knowledge which allows us to provide proactive information to our partners and customers ultimately resulting in smarter vehicle usage. With over 73 500 vehicles recovered and more than 14 200 arrests Tracker has cemented its position as market leader on the African continent. Tracker Southern Africa has a market share of over 40%; employs over 1550 people; operates in 16 regional offices and is a BBBEE level 2 company. Tracker is also present in 14 other African countries through a commercial distribution model and with our technology installed in over 950 000 vehicles, it makes Tracker the largest vehicle tracking company on the continent. At the center of our business you’ll find Tracker’s culture and values; the glue that holds us all together. We fully support learning and development and make sure that hard work is always rewarded. As you probably already know, Tracker endeavors to ‘Take back tomorrow’ for all South Africans, and as the leading vehicle tracking company in South Africa, it’s vital that we conduct ourselves with the utmost honor and reliability. Taking a walk through Tracker’s head office, you’ll notice these values have been physically woven into the fabric of our building. Every wall is a reminder of our commitment to the values that keep this company alive. We rate ourselves regularly to determine where our strengths lie and what areas need improvement. Our ratings are conducted within the business as a whole, as Tracker teams and as Tracker individuals. Every team member takes personal pride and responsibility in the company’s endeavors to ‘Take back tomorrow’ for all South Africans; an inspiring thing to see and a reaffirmation of why Tracker is one of the best places to work.
Tracker Network – Click Here
LoJack Corporation
LoJack Corporation (NASDAQ: LOJN), the company that has helped more than nine million people protect their vehicles in the event of theft over the past 25+ years, today provides safety, security and protection for an ever-growing range of valuable assets and people. Leveraging its core strengths, including its well-known brand, direct integration with law enforcement and dealer distribution network, LoJack Corporation is expanding into new areas across the continuum from theft deterrence to recovery. The Company is focusing on creating a new level of value for its dealer, customer and investor communities by delivering innovative offerings and multiple technologies in expanding geographies. The LoJack® Stolen Vehicle Recovery System operates in counties across 29 states throughout the US and the District of Columbia. LoJack® System activation is contingent upon the vehicle being located within LoJack coverage area. You may find the LoJack coverage areas at lojack.com/coverage or call 1-800-4- LoJack. LoJack has built its global business through a network of international licensees and company-owned businesses. Some of these companies operate under the LoJack brand name, while others have developed strong local brands. Today, LoJack is operational in more than 30 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe and Africa. The LoJack® Stolen Vehicle Recovery System uses Radio Frequency (RF) technology to track and recover stolen vehicles. Because RF signals are so strong and do not require line of sight with any satellites or cell towers, the LoJack® System can track vehicles within LoJack coverage area that spans counties across 29 states throughout the US and the District of Columbia, in places where other systems may not, such as when the vehicles are in garages, shipping containers or dense foliage. Since entering the stolen vehicle recovery market in 1986, 300,000 vehicles equipped with the LoJack® System have been recovered worldwide. In the U.S., there is a 90 percent recovery rate on cars, trucks and SUVs. The LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System is a silent tracking device hidden in your vehicle that is activated when you report your vehicle stolen to law enforcement and it is entered into the National Crime Information Centre computers, enabling the police to track and recover your vehicle. LoJack® System activation is contingent upon the vehicle being located within the LoJack coverage area.
LoJack Corporation – Click Here
Bronze Service
Monthly cost: USD $500.00
Time limit: 5 hours per month
Contract period: 12 months
Bronze service includes:
01. Email support
02. Telephone support
03. Questions & answers
04. Professional advice
05. Communication management
SERVICE DESCRIPTION
The Bronze Client Service (BCS) for ITC Development provides clients with an entry level option and enables client contacts to become personally acquainted with Mr. Fairman over a sustainable period of time. We suggest that clients allocate up to a maximum of 5 Key Employees for this service. Your Key Employees can then contact the consultant via email, whenever they feel that they need specific advice or support in relation to the consultant’s specialist subject. The consultant will also be proactive about opening and maintaining communications with your Key Employees. Your Key Employees can list and number any questions that they would like to ask and they will then receive specific answers to each and every query that they may have. Your Key Employees can then retain these communications on file for future reference. General support inquiries will usually receive replies within 48 hours, but please allow a period of up to 10 business days during busy periods. The Bronze Client Service (BCS) enables your Key Employees to get to know their designated Appleton Greene consultant and to benefit from the consultant’s specialist skills, knowledge and experience.
Silver Service
Monthly cost: USD $1,000.00
Time limit: 10 hours per month
Contract period: 12 months
Bronze service plus
01. Research analysis
02. Management analysis
03. Performance analysis
04. Business process analysis
05. Training analysis
SERVICE DESCRIPTION
The Silver Client Service (SCS) for ITC Development provides more time for research and development. If you require Mr. Fairman to undertake research on your behalf, or on behalf of your Key Employees, then this would understandably require more time and the Silver Client Service (SCS) accommodates this. For example, you may want your consultant to undertake some research into your management, performance, business, or training processes, with a view towards providing an independent analysis and recommendations for improvement. If any research and development, or business analysis is required, then the Silver Client Service (SCS) is for you.
Gold Service
Monthly cost: USD $1,500.00
Time limit: 15 hours per month
Contract period: 12 months
Bronze/Silver service plus
01. Management interviews
02. Evaluation and assessment
03. Performance improvement
04. Business process improvement
05. Management training
SERVICE DESCRIPTION
The Gold Client Service (GCS) for ITC Development is intended for more detailed evaluation and assessment that may require your Key Employees to have monthly meetings or interviews with Mr. Fairman. These meetings and interviews can be conducted over the telephone, Skype, or by video conference if required. The consultant can also attend your business premises, an Appleton Greene office, or another mutually beneficial location, but please note that clients are responsible for the costs of any disbursements separately, including travel and accommodation. This service enables you to integrate the specific skills, knowledge and experience of your designated consultant into your Key Employee management team. The Gold Client Service (GCS) can also incorporate training workshops, business presentations and external meetings with customers, suppliers, associations, or any other business-related stakeholders.
Platinum Service
Monthly cost: USD $2,000.00
Time limit: 20 hours per month
Contract period: 12 months
Bronze/Silver/Gold service plus
01. Project planning
02. Project development
03. Project implementation
04. Project management
05. Project review
SERVICE DESCRIPTION
The Platinum Client Service (PCS) for ITC Development is our flagship service and will be required if you need Mr. Fairman to facilitate the planning, development, implementation, management, or review of a particular project relating to his specialist subject, which would obviously require more time and dedication. This service enables you to reserve up to 12.5% of the consultant’s working month and provides a more hands-on service as and when required. If you need more time than this, then this can always be arranged, subject of course to the consultant’s ongoing availability. The benefit of having an external consultant involved in projects is they provide an independent perspective and are not influenced by internal politics, day-to-day responsibilities, or personal career interest. They provide objectivity, specific knowledge, skills and experience and will be entirely focused upon the tasks at hand. The Platinum Client Service (PCS) will provide your organization with a valuable resource as and when you need it.
