ConsultantNewsTHE MAGAZINE FOR HEAVYWEIGHT IT CONSULTANTS NO. 37/2014

Mobility appsself-servicetabletssmartphonesinternet &touchscreens

3ConsultantNews 37 2014

ConsultantNews 372014

A Magazine for IT consultantsISSN: 1604-878

Legally responsible editor: Søren Rode

Editors: Jeanett W. Skouredaktion@prodata.dk

Graphics and design: Jeanett W. Skoujmw@prodata.dk

Journalist:

Jakob Lund

Photos: Jacob Djurhuus

Publisher: ProData Consult A/S Circulation: 3,500

Printing: Lasertryk

ConsultantNews online

www.konsulent-nyt.dk

ProData Consult CopenhagenStamholmen 157DK-2650 Hvidovre

Tel: +45 43 43 11 71info@prodata.dkwww.prodata.dkwww.konsulenter.dk

www.prodataconsult.comwww.it-consultant.com

ProData Consult Norway

www.prodataconsult.no

www.it-konsulenter.no

ProData Consult Sweden

www.prodataconsult.se

www.konsulter.net

ProData Consult Poland

www.prodataconsult.pl

www.itconsultants.pl

ProData Consult Netherlands

www.prodataconsult.nl

www.konsulenter.nl

After a long, hot Danish sum-mer, the autumn has got off to a flying start for our consult-ants. In Q3, ProData Consult passed the mark of 400 con-sultants on assignments for our Danish clients alone. This is up by +30% from last year.

As we are also getting reports of some of the strongest ever pipe-lines from our key clients, the autumn season looks extremely interesting. Besides our faithful clients in the private sector, we have a steady influx of public-sector clients, and "public" now accounts for more than 20% of our total revenue. After a long and slow start, our SKI 02.15 (consultant) and 02.16 (project) agreements are beginning to bring in assign-ments.

If you do not already have an updated ProData CV and would like an assignment in the second half-year, I strongly urge you to go to www.it-consultant.com, update your CV and "report for duty".

This issue of ConsultantNews focuses on Mobility – a niche area that did not really take off until the iPhone was launched in 2007. Since then, its market share and significance have increased explosively and every-one in the sector has to consider Mobility and the many changes and opportunities that are fol-lowing in its wake. It is amazing to work in a sector where things move so much and so quickly.

We have also planned a forum evening on this topic. There are

further details on the back page of how one of our most skilled and experienced consultants in this area will be sharing his knowledge.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Søren Rode CEO

Busy autumn

16 The Mobility consultant must be a bridge builder and multi-tasker

8 Apps, self-service and touchscreens

ContentsPages 4-5 Statistics and trendsWhat do ProData Consult's customers want? Pages 6-7 Introduction to the Mobile workforceWhat is Mobility?

Pages 8-11 Apps, self-service and touchscreens at the Danish National PoliceThe Danish National Police are in full swing with the implementation of mobile technologies in their organisation. Interview with Michael Hans-en, IT Director at the Danish National Police.

Pages 12-15 Driven by a passion for MobilityMeet IOS enthusiast and ProData consultant Jesper Zuschalg in an interview about Mobility solutions and career choices.

Pages 16-19 The Mobility consultant must be a bridge builder and multi-tasker Working with Mobility bridges all the disciplines Interview with software developer and consult-ant Ruben Nørgaard.

Pages 20-21 News and consultants in demand

Pages 22-23 Consultants startingThey have begun new assignments.

Page 24 The next forum eveningMobility – what does it actually mean?

12Driven by a passion for Mobility

How do we find the right consultant to match a client's en-

quiry?

When ProData Consult receives an enquiry from a client, the resource department sets about finding a matching profile among the CVs in our database. The first search focuses on the specific competence required, the consultant’s availability, and their level of expertise in the area required. Then, the consultant's actual project experience is considered, and how his or her skills have been used. It is therefore important that consultants keep their CVs updated, with both their most recent project experience and their skills.

The resource department also advertises for consultants via www.it-consultant.com. At it-consultant.com almost 1,000 consultant jobs annually are posted.

StatiStiCS aNd treNdS according to Jan Wolff

Gartner, Computerworld and Version2 all write about major IT trends. Buzzwords such as BigData, BYOD and Cloud are often heard, but what do clients actually request from ProData Consult in terms of consultant services and competences?

Jan Wolff took a closer look at this by analysing all client enquiries for IT consultants from January 1st up to the end of August 2014.

62.5% of the assignments are on Zealand, and the remaining 37.5% on Funen and Jutland.

25.6% of the enquiries are for business consultants, while 74.4% concern technical consultants.

For technical enquiries, the breakdown on software providers is:

Microsoft: 49%

SAP: 4.2%

Oracle: 14.8%

IBM: 9.5%

Other: 22.5%

Microsoft: There is no doubt that a large proportion of our technical assignments lie in the Microsoft area, and the Microsoft System Center Suite is in particular making ground in terms of infrastructure and operation. In the CRM area, DYNAMICS CRM is in high demand, and we often need consultants with CRM competence. Last, but not least, ASP.NET MVC and Web API are on the way up and are often in de-mand for web development, as well as REST-based applications. There is no doubt that this is where the Internet is heading.

SAP: We are not really an SAP consultancy, so it is not surprising that our demand in this area is so low, but we do occasionally have SAP assignments and are al-ways on the lookout for more SAP projects and SAP consultants.

Oracle: Oracle has acquired SUN and therefore also covers our Java assignments. We generally have pretty good demand for both Oracle specialists and Java devel-opers. Within Java, especially Java SE 7 is the preferred platform, and Eclipse as IDE. The most commonly used testing tools are JUnit, Git for version control, and Jenkins for continuous integration services. Hibernate leads as ORM framework, with Maven as build tool. Tomcat is the most popular application server.

IBM: Primarily our Mainframe assignments that we sometimes receive from our bank clients. During the past eight months, almost 10% of clients' enquiries have concerned IBM. The trend is decreasing, however.

Other: Covers everything from OpenSource, SAS, Teradata and JavaScript to iOS. Especially mobile development is accelerating for our clients. We regularly have iOS projects in need of resources.

What will the future bring?WEB in general:There is no doubt that HTML5 was the "darling" in 2011, and both 2012 and 2013 saw high demand for consultants with experience in JavaScript and JS libraries. JavaScript is not only flexible and easy to use, but also cross-platform- and browser-friendly.

JavaScript libraries such as jQuery, Node.js, Knockout.js and AngularJS have become an integral part of web development, so that these skills are in high demand from our clients.

Requirements of websites optimised for mobile devices are increasing. Besides this, they also need to be responsive and interac-tive, which means that JavaScript has a key role to play now and for a long time into the future, whatever the platform.

Microsoft: As previously reported, ASP.NET MVC and Web API are making good ground as skills that are often in high demand. If you work with real-time web, check out SignalR. It is also worth taking a look at the Katana project, also called OWIN (Open Web Interface for .NET), which can disconnect web applications from the web server. The next release of Katana will feature support of MVC, Web API and SignalR.

Java future:Many Java developers have started to look at Java 8, and customers will probably soon start to upgrade. I am also looking forward to seeing whether Scala wins ground as the next major JVM language. Maven is popular in the market as a build tool, but Gradle is definitely on the way up and worth taking a look at.

Last, but not least, Intellij IDEA is winning ground and definitely an IDE that is worth checking out, if you are tired of Eclipse or NetBeans.

Mobile:We have virtually no demand for Windows phone developers from our clients. Android is at a reasonable level and iOS is increas-ing strongly. Especially with iOS 8 in the stores, I assess that more clients will use the new opportunities to support their busi-ness or offer new products, so that they will require consultants with professional iOS experience.

Distribution of business competences:

Programme and project management: 67.4%

Business and process consultants: 21%

Advisory services and management: 11.6%

Funen and Jutland 37.5%

Zealand 62.5%

Sven Majbritt PederMariann

74.4%

25.6%

Breakdown of technical competences:

Test and test management: 12%

Technical project management/Scrum Master: 6.8%

Architecture: 11.2%

Development: 49.5%

Infrastructure, dba, operation, network: 11.5%

Support: 9%

MOBIlITY nO. 1 anD 2 On GarTner's TOP 10Mobility not only headed analysis firm Gartner's annual Top 10 for the most impor-tant strategic technology trends in 2014, but also came in second; with "Mobile Device Diversity and Management" as number 1 and "Mobile Apps and Applications" as number 2.

6 ConsultantNews 37 2014

MOBIlITY Is Far MOre Than usInG laPTOPs, sMarTPhOnes anD TaBleTs In an OrGanIsa-TIOn. MOBIlITY Is a ChanGe OF MInDseT ThaT rewarDs raPID, aGIle anD FlexIBle ThInkers, anD Is a COrnersTOne In The DeVelOPMenT OF MOre MODern BusIness PraCTICes.

The mobile wave that has swept across the world during the last decade is best described as mind-blowing. It is hard to remember the time before smartphones, tablets and constant cheap – if not free – Internet access.

Before 2007, even though individual people and companies could call and text their networks, the mobile phone was still a relatively simple communication channel. But in 2007, there was a radical change. Before then, various manufacturers such as Nokia, Ericsson and BlackBerry had all experimented with phones that could go online to access e-mail. But the user interfaces were clumsy, so that users never really embraced these technologies.

At a conference in January 2007, Steve Jobs introduced Apple's first iPhone to the world. This was a pioneering step in several respects. Firstly, it was a software-based smartphone. All of the competi-tors' phones were based on the phone's hardware – including the obligatory keypad buttons that took up a lot of space. The iPhone, on the other hand, consisted solely of a large screen, operated using an innovative touchscreen technology. Shortly afterwards, Apple introduced the iPhone 2 and the Apple App Store, and with them an entire ecosystem of apps, which would lay the foundation for all technological Mobility innovation. Secondly, the iPhone was extremely easy to use compared with the alternatives in the market at that time. The iPhone made it fun to interact with your phone, and as soon as something is fun to use, it will be used more.

BOOsT TO PrODuCTIVITYAs Internet access became better and cheaper, more and more peo-ple acquired smartphones. An opinion survey by YouGov in January 2014 showed, for example, that three out of four Danes today have a smartphone. For the 18-49 year-old survey respondents, the ratio was as high as nine out of ten. The popularity of smartphones in the consumer market slowly began to spread to the business field.

Previously, company practice was for every new employee to be immediately allocated a corporate mobile phone and a corporate computer. Yet the new generation in the workforce – often called Generation Y – is by no means happy to accept this type of control. They want the freedom to decide for themselves which device they work on. On the other hand, they often pay this back by being online anywhere, at any time. This more flexible approach to working, which means that with the right devices and rapid Internet access we can work at home, at the office in Ballerup, or in a hotel in Beijing, has given an enormous boost to productivity. As a consequence, not many companies today complain about the new mobile opportu-nities and the security headaches they entail. These companies realised a long way back that a mobile workforce is an extremely effective workforce.

re-DeFInInG wOrk PrOCessesIn 2010, there was another vital new development in the Mobility market and, once again, Apple was the main architect. Since the early 1980s and throughout the 1990s and 2000s, various manu-facturers had marketed rudimentary versions of tablet computers. These were very basic, and therefore not very successful. Tablet computers did not become generally available until the iPad was launched in 2010. Like the iPhone, the iPad combined user-friend-liness with a world of customised apps that enabled individuals to define their own use. While the iPhone supported a world that was automatically becoming more and more mobile, thanks to the avail-ability of the Internet, in many respects the iPad not only supported the ongoing development, but also re-defined Mobility. With the iPad as a bridgehead, more companies started to become aware of new ways of working, and today tablet computers have generally helped to automate, streamline and ease the everyday lives of thousands of

Introduction to

Internetsmartphonestabletsappsself-servicetouchscreens

people in many different industries. It must also be said that, as was the case for mobile phone producers after the iPhone was launched, since the birth of the iPad many tablet manufacturers have also launched products that, as a minimum, challenge the "original" in terms of price, design and functionality.

wInners anD lOsersThe market for Mobility solutions has dictated a whole new agenda – for both the business community in general and internally within the IT industry. Giant players in the IT market never made the transition to a more mobile world, or made it too late, and have today, at best, lost significant market shares that it will take them many years to win back. At worst, this has lost them a place among the global IT elite.

For companies, the transition to a more agile organisation has in the same way helped to allocate the winners and losers to their respective sides of the mobile dividing line. The winners have already implemented mobile solutions in their IT infrastructure, enabling their employees to work faster and more effectively. The losers are embedded in the obsolete belief that their companies can man-age without Mobility solutions and that it is too expensive and/or uncertain to convert their work processes to a more mobile practice. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today's large companies quite simply cannot afford not to have a short-term and long-term mobile strategy that can facilitate new and better work processes.

hOP aBOarD The MOBIle TraInFrom a consultant's viewpoint, the mobile revolution is a big oppor-tunity to hop aboard a train that will just keep on running for the next many years. The development of customised apps for very specific purposes is an expanding area that demands sustained innovation, as more and more types of companies, and consumers, acquire mobile devices. Within just one or two years, these mobile devices will probably contain more functionality than we can imagine today.

The rIse OF The TaBleTA Gallup survey in 2013 showed that 44% of Danish households had at least one tablet computer, which was twice as many as the year before.

mobile workforCe

8 ConsultantNews 37 2014 9ConsultantNews 37 2014

The DanIsh naTIOnal POlICe are In Full swInG wITh The IMPleMenTaTIOn OF MOBIle TeChnOlOGIes In TheIr Or-GanIsaTIOn. COnsulTanT-news haD a ChaT wITh The IT DIreCTOr resPOnsIBle TO GeT InsIGhTs On a COnTInu-Ous PrOCess TO DeVelOP new InITIaTIVes.

Interview with Michael S. Hansen, IT Director, the Danish Police.

Like most other public- and private-sector organisations, over the last five years the Danish National Police has had a rationali-sation agenda. In just a few years, a deficit that ran to a treble-digit million-kroner amount in 2009 had to be turned into a balanced budget. Today, this goal has been reached, thanks to numerous restructuring and streamlining projects. "IT is often a key player in the streamlining game and one of the new elements is Mobility investments," says Michael Steen Hansen, IT Director in the Danish National Police's Group IT department.

"If I were to define what we mean by Mobil-ity, it is the right and opportunity to access and use data and services, whatever the time, place and platform. This applies to the general public, employees or partners. Many people would define Mobility as having a mobile device. But for me, the device is just a means or a platform. The vital aspect is what the device enables you to do," says Michael Steen Hansen.

selF-serVICe anD auTOMaTIOn are keYHe explains that the mobilisation wave reached the Danish National Police a few years ago, in the form of relatively simple functionality, but recently this development has been speeded up."Self-service and automation are two key concepts for us when it comes to Mobility," says Michael Steen Hansen. "For example, today residents can report

appS, Self-ServiCe aNd touChSCreeNS at the daNiSh NatioNal poliCe

will register all of the parked cars' number plates automatically, and it will not take many minutes for it to spot a car that is in-teresting for one reason or another," Michael Steen Hansen explains. "This is extremely ef-fective. Bearing in mind that last year 21,000 number plates were stolen in Denmark, this technology will put a lot of pressure on criminal elements." The other example is BIFROST, a touch-screen connected to a PC in the patrol vehicle, which is replacing and combining obsolete technology on a new platform. Using BIFROST, from their patrol cars police officers will be able to quickly and easily look up the information they need, so that they do not have to call into the control centre.

MOBIlITY PrOJeCTs are a JOurneYMichael Steen Hansen describes how an investment in Mobility solutions is an exten-sive outlay. There are many choices to be made and exacting security procedures to observe before new initiatives are ready for implementation."The first service is always very expensive to develop. After that, the organisation will find that each new application is cheaper and faster to launch," says Michael Steen Hansen, adding:"In overall terms, I would call it a journey. You cannot do everything you would like to from the outset. I think this is how it will always be, whether you are the Danish National Police, Carlsberg or Danske Bank. Mobility is constantly developing. You have to focus on what you can do right now and then be prepared to wait to take the next step until you are geared up for it, techno-logically and organisationally."

"If you could turn the clock back five years, what would you have done differently?""I have only been with the Danish National Police for two years, but if I had been able to give my colleagues a tip back then, it would probably have been to take a dif-ferent approach to the security model. Within the last two to three years, it has become generally known that not only individuals, but also national states, are actively engaged in cyber attacks. This has made it extremely difficult to prevent these attacks completely, so a whole new approach to IT security needs to be taken. Thinking as usual is just not enough. Security strategies must be developed continuously," says Michael Steen Hansen.

MOBIlITY COnsulTanTs wIll Be The sTarsHe also has some good advice for the Mobility consultants who are currently in such high demand in the market, because far more Mobility projects are being planned and performed today than just a few years ago.

"It is extremely important for the Mobility consultant to be aware that he or she needs to be far more skilled than ten years ago. They need

to be able to do more things – such as the three mobile operative systems, security, VPN, encryption, integration and back-end programming. When you develop an app, it is not enough to focus on the app – you have to include the entire food chain, right from the start. Security is a case in point. You can create the world's best app, but if it is not secure to use, it will never be used. Not by us at any rate," says Michael Steen Hansen, who concludes:

"On the other hand, Mobility also presents a lot of opportunities. The consultants who are good at Mobility will be the stars. I am sure that what we are doing at the Dan-ish National Police could be copied to any other company with a mobile workforce. The framework concept could be used anywhere."

10 ConsultantNews 37 2014 11ConsultantNews 37 2014

burglaries online, and do not need to queue up at the police station for a print of their police record. These are both examples of how citizens can serve themselves and the police can optimise its resources."

Based on the same self-service and automa-tion principle, the Danish National Police recently launched a police app for iOS, An-droid and, most recently, Windows Phone. This app can, for example, be used to look up a bicycle frame number to check whether the bicycle has been reported stolen, find the nearest police station, or tip off the police with a text and images if something suspi-cious is observed.

"So for you Mobility is all about service?"

"Definitely. There are two aspects to this. On the one hand, we are following the Danish Agency for Digitisation's strategy of enabling the general public to use as many digital services as possible. On the other hand, in some cases this increased Mobility enables us to work better and smarter.

For example, we would like to be able to do as much as possible at the scene of a crime. This will safeguard legal evidence, since manual processes will now be digital, and also improve quality, because registration at the scene of the crime means that more details are captured," says Michael Steen Hansen.

sTreaMlInInG VIa aPPsIn typical police fashion, Michael Steen Hansen cannot "go into detail" about all of the police's plans to introduce additional digital and mobile services in the organisa-tion. Yet he is happy to describe a couple of the solutions already announced.

"For example, we currently have a tender for a system for automatic number plate recog-nition in all police districts – so far this has only run as a trial scheme in certain districts, but with great success. I also see this as a Mobility project. Previously, an officer had to look up a number plate manually to check it. In future, there will be three scanners on the police vehicle, so when the patrol car drives past a car park, for example, the software

BIFROST BIFROST consists of a touchscreen that

is supported by a computer. It combines

look-ups in the central registers, the SINE

radio (SIkkerhedsNettet is a shared radio

system for the Danish emergency servic-

es, ed.), emergency calls, fleet manage-

ment and navigation in one simple tool.

BIFROST also provides a whole new data

search option. When a vehicle licence

number's data is searched, for example,

National Civil Register data and any data

from the Central Criminal Register for the

person who is the vehicle's main driver

will be displayed automatically. Danish National Police The Danish National Police is the highest

police authority in Denmark. The Danish

National Police sets the general frame-

work for the entire Danish police service,

i.e. draws up strategies, supports the

police districts' work and coordinates

police work at national level. The Danish

National Police is headed by the National

Police Commissioner and is structured

as four main areas: The four main areas

are the Police area, Group Management,

Group IT and Group HR. In addition, the

Danish Security and Intelligence Service

(PET) lies under the Danish National Po-

lice. The Danish National Police has a

total workforce of around 14,000 people.

12 ConsultantNews 37 2014 13ConsultantNews 37 2014

some might call it luck, and others, skill. no matter what, the wave of Mobility solutions has paved the way for a dedicated career as a developer for the platform he appreciates the most – and even admires. Meet ProData consultant Jesper Zuschlag. 45-year-old programmer Jesper Zuschlag is a good example of how far the combination of talent and interest can take a career. Since graduating as a computer scientist in 2000, he has worked with both embedded systems and back-end development, but for many years has focused primarily on mobile projects and especially the develop-ment of new apps. "I think that at a very early stage I could see the potential in always carrying a mobile phone, and how it could access the Web. This combination appealed to me – even before smartphones came into general use," Jesper Zuschlag says.

He explains how his first Mobility project took place at the start of the 2000s, when he developed a time registration system for one of the old Nokia Communicator models. "What I remember best from that time was that both the mobile technology and the network technol-ogy were very under-developed. Data communication via the mobile network was via what was called a 2.5G connection. It did not have much speed and was not particularly stable either. So even though there were visions of Mobility back then, they could not be realised," says Jesper Zuschlag.

IOs enThusIasTOver the years, network connections became better and better, and cheaper and cheaper. Yet mobile phone users were still disappointed with the functionality as soon as they tried to surf the Web. But this changed in 2007, when Apple launched their first iPhone.

"I have always been a big admirer of Apple and at that time had worked with development tools and programming language for Mac for many years. But that was on a private basis, for my own benefit and enjoyment. I could not put this interest to commercial use be-cause the number of firms engaged in Mac development in Denmark

driven by a passion for mobility

"I meet customers who ask me to transfer their current web solution directly to a mobile solution. Because, as they say: 'It's more or less the same.' I have to tell them that it most definitely is not."

14 ConsultantNews 37 2014 15ConsultantNews 37 2014

could be counted with very few fingers," says Jesper Zuschlag, explaining how the iPhone meant that he could suddenly mix business with pleasure.

"In software technology terms, the iPhone in principle functions in the same way as a Mac. The difference is that all the things that are too heavy or irrelevant on a mobile phone have been stripped away, while a new user interface has been added. Once smartphones came into universal use, I was able to use my knowledge professionally. Today, I develop primarily for iOS. I have had to acknowledge that a clear platform focus is necessary. To be able to keep up, and stay sharp on a platform, I can only cover one. There are sure to be mobile developers who are more skilled than I am, who can keep up with more than one platform, but I need to stay focused on just one," says Jesper Zuschlag.

DOes nOT haVe TO Be sO exPensIVeThe technol-ogy, users and market have all matured considerably since the first iPhones appeared, followed by Android's competitive pursuit and the establishment of both platforms' ecosystems of apps. Yet this does not change the fact that Jesper Zuschlag can still meet customers with a rather old-fashioned mindset when it comes to mobile development.

"I meet customers who ask me to trans-fer their current web solution directly to a mobile solution. Because, as they say: 'It's more or less the same.' I have to tell them that it most definitely is not. It is possible that a user can learn to use a web solution on a smartphone, but this will not be a good experience for the user. Instead of the full

system, you may perhaps only be present-ing the user with four to five use scenarios," says Jesper Zuschlag. He explains that it is still necessary to educate and teach some clients to understand that a mobile project requires the same financial and staffing resources as a traditional developer project.

"For many, there is still the psychological aspect of developing for a physically small device. The perception is that it cannot be that difficult, cannot take so much time, and does not have to be so expensive. But they forget that a mobile project requires the same programming work as for any other development project, with tests and review of the architecture so that it is scalable and can be changed and re-used."

TaBleTs were a GaP In The MarkeT"What did it mean for you as a developer

when the iPad appeared?""In technological terms, noth-

ing at all. Apart from a few aspects, developing for

iPad is exactly the same as develop-

ing for iPhone. Regarding iPad and tablets in general, you suddenly got a new device that in terms of use was a

cross between a smartphone and

a laptop. A tablet is too large to be small,

and too small to be large. There was a gap in the mar-

ket for this format.I also believe that we should not under-estimate that a tablet is a very 'intimate' device. A raised computer screen can cre-ate a barrier between two people, which a tablet does not. You can look at the screen together, and it is easy to point and visualise your message, which gives much better communication, in dialogue with customers, for example."

"Could you say that the tablet speeded up mobile development because tablet apps

were a better fit for companies than smart-phone apps?"

"Definitely. Tablets present many new ap-plication opportunities, especially in the busi-ness world. The tablet has definitely helped to open new markets."

seCurITY Is IMPeraTIVeWe also need to consider the security as-pect of mobile development. How big a role does this play in your development work?

"Security is a vital part of mobile develop-ment, since you have to be aware of this in a different way to what you may be used to. Today, many mobile solutions hold personal or confidential information. When you design a system in a shielded, protected, network environment, there may not be the same fo-cus on security. But on a mobile device, you must always take account of how and where it will be used. The user may be on a public WiFi, or the device may be lost or stolen. Things like that," says Jesper Zuschlag.

"In a team, is there typically one person that handles the security aspect?""Unfortunately not. It is the developer's task to include this." "That is a bit strange."

"Yes, you could say that. But this is related to how Denmark is a relatively small country. Mobile development teams are not large, and often just one person, or at most a handful. For web or server application tasks, you can see teams of 20-30 people. This is not very often the case for mobile develop-ment projects. In this respect the Danish market is actually still rather less mature," says Jesper Zuschlag.

Name: Jesper Zuschlag

Age: 45

Occupation: Programmer

Education: MSc, Computer Science

Bluebook

Good advice If Jesper Zuschlag were to guide pos-

sible new mobile developers, he points in just two directions: iOS and Android.

"You can just as well select Android as iOS. At any rate these are two platforms that are here to stay. I do not have as much faith in the Micro-soft platform. If you have a background within Java, which Android is based on, or you use Android yourself, you should naturally look

in this direction. Generally speaking, you must pick the platform to which

your entry barrier is the low-est," is his advice.

From bottom-draw-er project to App Store

In Jesper Zuschlag's words, all real geeks have a bottom-drawer project.

His own projects include the develop-ment of small visual tools for iOS, but also games development. In 2014, with two friends, he published the turning game Memorize in Apple App Store, since when it has been downloaded around

3,000 times. "This is not much, but it is okay," Jesper Zuschlag

smiles.

16 ConsultantNews 37 2014 17ConsultantNews 37 2014

the mobility CoNSultaNt muSt be a bridge build-er aNd multi-taSkerSoftware developer and consultant Ruben Nør-gaard has served as the link between different professional disciplines in several Mobility pro-jects. He describes this as a major advantage, pointing to how the cross-disciplinary approach is key when it comes to working with Mobility.

"Where are we off to?" This was a catch phrase of the Danish TV game character called Hugo in the early 1990s. A little troll figure, and an underlying technology, that was not only a Danish, but also an international success as an example of the new opportunities presented by interactive TV. A few years after Hugo first appeared, software developer Ruben Nørgaard moved from Aalborg to Copen-hagen and a company called Gonzoft. Even though he did not come to work directly with the inventors of Hugo, but "only" with people from the same organisation, the entire developer environment at that time was buzzing with the many new opportunities that had emerged in and with interactive TV, Ruben Nørgaard recounts today.

"It was a really great time. I worked closely with manuscript authors and graphic designers who were creating backgrounds and anima-tions. The focus was on all the content, while the technical side was just expected to work. This meant that I learned very early in my career that software and development are just one leg of the pro-cess, and have to support the many other legs before the product is ready. If I had served my 'apprenticeship' in the banking sector, for example, where you just needed to get the numbers to add up, my career would probably have been rather different," he says, highlight-ing the link between interactive TV and the mobile solutions that are his focus area today.

18 ConsultantNews 37 2014 19ConsultantNews 37 2014

"Like interactive TV, Mobility is about how the user experiences something on the screen. How it feels to use the solution. It is remarkable how little it takes to distinguish a successful from a failed application. Take the example of mobile payment apps, which exist in many different versions. In functional terms, they are all very similar, and they can all move money from A to B, but there is great variation in how they are experienced by the users. An example is Danske Bank's MobilePay, which has around 1.6 million users, outstripping its competitors by far. An understanding of the softer values deter-mines whether an app is a success or not."

DeCIsIOn-MakInG PrOCess OF JusT a Few MInuTesRuben Nørgaard says that the user experi-ence of the interaction with a website is naturally also in focus. Yet he emphasises that, despite the similarities, there is also very great variation between development for the web and development for mobile platforms."When you bought a telephone ten years ago, you were buying a feature phone. This meant that the phone had some fixed fea-tures, and you picked your preferred brand. Today, you have to choose a platform when you pick a phone or another mobile device, and then you add the features you would like," says Ruben Nørgaard, adding.

"Requirements are much tougher now in terms of whether you think an app is good enough to handle your e-mail, for example. This is a decision-making process of just a few minutes. If the user gets tired of your app, he can just delete it and pick one of your competitors instead. This is why the user's experience is so vital when it comes to apps and mobile solutions in general."

Ruben Nørgaard explains that a developer does not have to be an expert in every aspect of Mobility, since this area is far too complex for that. But it does mean that you have to understand terms like user interface and user experience, since as a software developer, you will increasingly work with experts in these disciplines.

"When an expert has spent half a week on creating a background in the right colours, you have to listen to him because he has probably tested that particular background in the market and found out that this is what people prefer. In the same way, it matters to the user's experience whether a button lies to the right or to the left in the interface. For many developers, working with details of this type will be a new experience. During their studies, they will have learned that if

the program adds up the numbers correctly, the job has been done. But this does not apply to Mobility solutions, as there is a lot of continuous adjustment."

"So for developers, working with Mobility is not just a question of professional skills, but also a changed mindset?"

"Exactly. Mobility is an area in which all the disciplines meet – usability, graphic design, security, optimisation, branding, etc. And each discipline has its own 'cook' wanting to be involved. You have to be able to navigate this chaos," says Ruben Nørgaard.

lOnG-TerM rewarDsAfter a period of self-employment, some years ago Ruben Nørgaard was hired by a firm of consultants for which he developed software solutions for major industrial clients. Here, he quickly spotted that there was potential to implement Mobility solutions. He could see how several of the company's employees already used tablet computers and installed a lot of different software in attempts to communicate with the factory's old IT systems. This was often in vain, and at best defective."But the interesting aspect was that the employees had embraced Mobility. They were ready. But the software developers that designed the systems just set up a server, a

database and stationary screens all over the factory for employees to use. In my view, the employees should instead have been able to access the necessary information when and where they wished to. Then they would, for example, have been able to load a produc-tion report directly to their tablets as soon as a conveyor belt failed, or they received an-other type of alarm," says Ruben Nørgaard.

He explains that his manager was very sceptical when he suggested investing in additional mobile solutions. This cost money and did not always give a profit with the first four to five projects. "But the first projects enable us to learn by doing, so we can then make a lot of money

on projects 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9."

COnTInuOus InTeGraTIOn Today, Ruben Nørgaard is a self-employed consultant again and part of ProData Con-sult's network. Here, he is currently working at TDC/YouSee, where among other projects he is helping to develop a new app, of which new versions are continuously being released."Release management is a bit of a matter of faith," says Ruben Nørgaard. "Some only have releases three-four times a year, while others believe in continuous integration, which is the model I work by, and which is also how things primarily run in the mobile market. Continuous integration means that

you work on your software on an ongoing basis, perhaps tweaking a single feature, and then release the new version imme-diately. The idea is that it is better to help the user with a quick bug fix straight away, instead of waiting. This is a more agile method of developing."As Ruben Nørgaard explains, this ap-proach is a good match for how IT is con-sumed today, compared to ten years ago, when users patiently waited for the next release of, for example, a major Microsoft package.

"There is a far more dynamic market today. If you are working on a large app, for example, the requirements can well change during the process because a competitor has just released a new version of its product. As a developer, this means that we can no longer expect to get a six-month spec for programming and release. You have to keep on trying things out. This also means that you may write some code which then has to be discarded because the project has changed along the way," says Ruben Nørgaard.

"Do you have any final advice for consult-ants that would like to take the Mobility path?"

"I have found out that it is good to have a second angle to your CV. Naturally, your basic technical skills must be in order, but if you can also offer supplementary skills in one area or another, you will have an advantage when assignments are handed out. For example, on several occasions there has been a lot of appreciation for how I can build bridges between the technical and the softer disciplines within software development, simply because for many companies this can often be a tough nut to crack. If you can find your own little niche, I think you will be well-placed;" Ruben Nørgaard concludes.

Name: Ruben Nørgaard Age: 37 Occupation: Self-employed IT consultant Education: Self-taught, with 18 years' experience

Bluebook

20 ConsultantNews 37 2014

In June, ProData Consult was contacted by the Danish Red Cross with a request for vol-untary IT consultants who could assist with an IT project in conjunction with the annual Red Cross fundraising campaign.

ProData Consult's HR department immedi-ately began to advertise within our network and soon after, the Red Cross was con-tacted by two highly-qualified IT consultants who were keen to assist with the project on a voluntary basis.

One of them is Finn Færgemann, who is still a voluntary IT consultant for the project. He is helping to update the Red Cross' IT systems so that the fundraising campaign on Wednesday, 15 October runs efficiently and smoothly by, for instance, making it easier for fundraisers to get feedback when they have submitted their data to the Red Cross.

"I am delighted to be able to help other peo-ple and this is a really great cause to sup-port!" says Finn Færgemann, who is looking forward to working with the Red Cross in the future, together with the other volunteers on the team.

Karin Bucholtz from the Red Cross says: "This will make a big difference for us, since with a better database we can have a more effective fundraising campaign with optimum utilisation of our resources, and the process towards the fundraising campaign will be much more rewarding for the other volun-teers."

ProData Consult would like to thank Finn and the other consultants who volunteered for this project for their great contribution and support for a good cause.

Consultants in demand ProData Consult is on the lookout for heavyweight IT consultants in the following roles and areas. If you have the skills we need, or know someone who does, please get in touch at: uf@prodata.dk

rOles Developer Front-end developerArchitectWeb developerMobile developerTechnical project managerScrum MasterProject managerBusiness ManagerManagement advisersBusiness developerChange ManagerProcess consultantSolution architectTester

Test coordinatorTest ManagerTechnical testerWebmasterWeb specialistDatabase specialist Database administra-torNetwork specialistOperations consultantInfrastructure consult-antSupport consultantSecurity consultantTechnical WriterUX consultantVisual Designer

areas: Microsoft /.NETJava/J2EEOracleOpen SourceMainframeWebMobileERPPublic sectorFinancial sector SAPCapital MarketsBank/Insurance/Pen-sionTelecom

Energy sectorIndustryTransport/LogisticsSharePointData Warehouse/BIPRINCE2SOAITILQuality CentreISTQBCloudCiscoMicrosoft DynamicsUNIX/LinuxEmbeddedAdobe Creative Suite

Get your CV ready! Check your ProData CV at it-consultant.com/cv, and update your competences, adding your latest experience/assignments. If we have a fully updated CV in our database with all your competences listed, this will make it easier for our sales staff to find new projects for you.

ConsultantNews online At www.it-consultant.com/advan-tages/consultant-news you can read articles online and download the magazine as a PDF file.

Summer party DHL Relay Race 2014 at Fælledparken in CopenhagenThe sun was shining and spirits were high when the ProData team took part in Europe's largest running event – the 2014 DHL Relay Race. Just over 50 people gathered in the ProData tent in Fælled-parken in Copenhagen on Thursday, 28 August. This year, ProData Consult had seven relay teams that included internal staff members, as well as energetic ProData consultants.

The weather could not have been much better for a 5-kilometre run and buffet barbecue. Both ProData consultants and internal staff members took part in the DHL Relay Race, with a total of seven relay teams.

While the relay teams did a grand job in the 5x5-km relay, the volunteer helpers were busy setting up the tent for a fun barbecue, with lit torches and snacks. Juicy steaks and sausages were served, together with lots of tasty accompaniments.

A big vote of thanks to all the runners and supporters for a fine effort. Everyone had a great evening at Fælledparken, and we look forward to participating again next year.

On the evening of Friday, 5 September, a summer party was held for all active ProData consultants, and more than 120 people took part.

Once again, the party was held at DARE2Mansion's inspiring prem-ises on Østerbro, which are the perfect venue for entrepreneurship, networking and new ideas. The weather gods smiled on us, so there was ample opportunity to relax and network outdoors in the warm late-summer weather.

The summer party was kicked off by futurist Anders Hvid, who gave an exciting and entertaining talk on how the future is being drawn

by the technological development and the exponential growth within biotech, artificial intelligence, robots, medicine and 3D printing. Anders Hvid has also just published a new book, of which attendees could get signed copies.

Before the barbecue was fired up, everyone had an opportunity to taste beer from different parts of Denmark, presented by the old Master Brewer from Carlsberg. Later in the evening, the bar opened, with live music and dancing.

Thanks to everyone for an enjoyable and inspiring evening.

Voluntary consultants at the Danish Red Cross