November 2018 Blogs

The Henry Nicholas team caught up with Jonathan Brook, Head of Software Engineering for the UK’s leading provider of land and property search information Landmark Information Group to find out how software development has evolved and what its future might hold.   How have you seen the software development landscape change in recent years? When I started working in software development over 23 years ago, it was a niche sector; no one could anticipate how much things would change. The biggest shift has been in the last five years following the rise of cloud services (AWS, Azure and then Google). Since then, the mindset has switched from being purely focused on technologies to a much more business-outcome approach. The cloud environment helped this significantly because many tasks that we used to do, creating invoice and authentication systems etc., now are off the shelf Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. It means we’re able to shift our focus from operational tasks to always thinking about competitive advantage.  What talent are you looking for right now? At Landmark, we require engineers who not only understand the basics but who are ready to take on any challenge. It’s about much more than Java or .Net developers nowadays, we need professionals who are willing to use multiple languages in multiple cloud environments. Open source components are now prevalent in all software that is produced by software engineering teams and all our engineers should be prepared to embrace and contribute to open source projects. From a Landmark perspective we see real positives from our staff doing this, not only because it gives them professional development but it is a great recruitment tool for us when trying to attracting great candidates. What advice do you have for those considering a career in development? Graduates need to leave university with confidence. Landmark’s graduates are hungry to succeed, nimble and fast learners with many quickly becoming as good as our senior staff in a short space of time. I advise learning multiple languages across multiple environments where you can. Today’s professionals need to have a genuine love for tech and be ready to take on new challenges so they can continue to develop. What are your predictions for the future of development? On top of the continued evolution of agile companies there are two key areas changing at the moment: Artificial Intelligence (AI). If you’re not in cloud environments and using AI technologies, you can’t compete. AI should be in everything that you do and ingrained in all of your products and services. It’s about future-proofing your business, with image processing, language processing and bots playing a considerable part in this. The ethical challenge comes with ensuring these AI tools remove tasks without removing people, so staff are free to focus on gaining a competitive advantage. Security. Organisations need to protect themselves against data breaches and hacking in this post-GDPR world. There are great off-the-shelf tools, with SaaS for security products emerging all of the time, meaning your people don’t need to know how everything works, but rather how to assess risk. This is an especially important area due to an ongoing shift that sees engineers being accountable for the code they bring live and its security. For the latest news and insights from key figures in our specialist industries, stay tuned to the Henry Nicholas blog.

In a stroke of marketing genius, budget supermarket Iceland released its Christmas campaign online following reports it was banned from television due to breaching political advertising rules. Iceland made a deal with Greenpeace to use its animated short film featuring a baby orangutan wreaking havoc in a little girl’s bedroom. The story highlights the destruction of rainforests at the hands of palm oil producers, which has led to orangutans now being classified as critically endangered.  During a time when so-called festive ad wars are taking place between retailers, Iceland chose to use the opportunity to highlight the removal of palm oil from all of its own-brand foods. It’s a ballsy move from Iceland during a time when the aim of the December advert game is to drive footfall and Christmas profits. However, Iceland is far from the only brand that’s listening to consumers and prioritising sustainability in its marketing efforts. Tesco In May this year, it was reported that the supermarket giant would be banning all non-recyclable plastic, which includes plastic film, polystyrene and water-soluble bio plastic, by 2019. Tesco’s chief product officer Jason Tarry stated: “We will work with our suppliers to redesign and reduce all packaging materials and, after consultation with our leading suppliers earlier this year, we will remove all packaging that is hard to recycle from our business by 2019.” Along with Sainsbury’s and Aldi, Tesco signed the UK plastics pact, pledging to eradicate single-use plastics from packaging, with any remaining plastic having to be completely recyclable by 2025. Carlsberg The Danish beer company is on a public mission to cut its carbon footprint, water waste, irresponsible drinking and workplace accidents by 2030. In an interview with Ethical Corporation, Carlsberg’s sustainability chief Simon Hoffmeyer Boas discussed a number of initiative’s including plans to continue reducing the environmental impact of aluminium, glass and cardboard. The brand’s innovations include the green fibre bottle, which will be the world’s first bio-based beer bottle, made from sustainably sourced wood-fibre that is 100% biodegradable. In more recent news, Carlsberg reported it would be replacing the traditional plastic rings that hold together cans with glue dots to save on plastic. Levi Levi has introduced its Wellthread® Collection made from 100% recyclable cotton, as part of a major project that seeks to promote conservation and incorporate sustainability into every stage of the development process. The collection is the first ever to feature Levi’s Water Read More

If you’ve been following our social feeds over the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed that the Henry Nicholas team had a fantastic time at this year’s Bath Digital Festival! We’ve rounded up our top 10 talks and workshops that still have us talking and debating in the office.      1. AI vs Human Creativity: Rob McGowan and Toby Brown from Edit Rob’s topical take on the divisive nature of AI and how technology can stir emotion had HN’s Dan Carne questioning the rise of the machines and technological bias. Follow Rob on Twitter @Herd6 or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Toby on Twitter @Tobybrown01 or connect on LinkedIn.     2. Grow Your Agency: Janusz Stabik from The GYDA Initiative HN principal consultant Tony Allen got stuck into Janusz’s insightful workshop, talking to other business owners about differentiation and growth in agency land. He came away inspired and armed with fresh ideas to help further our internal brand into the future. Follow Janusz on Twitter @januszstabik or connect on LinkedIn.   3. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Kate Gorringe from Mr B and Friends We thought Kate’s insight into the creative industry from pre-Mac days through to the present day was fascinating. Tony commented: “I didn’t quite appreciate the impact that graphic design software had when Macs first arrived in the studio, with crafting roles like the Typesetter losing their place in the market almost overnight.” Kate proved that traditional creative and digital can still have a symbiotic relationship, as demonstrated by Mr B and Friends’ work for GB Basketball as well as Ikea’s Toy Box Project. Follow Kate on Twitter @kate_gorringe or connect on LinkedIn.   4. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Jamie Elull from Supple Studio Jamie’s journey from design student to setting up the highly respected design and branding agency Supple Studio was a fascinating insight into the depth of a creative mind. Follow Jamie on Twitter @jamie_ellul or connect on LinkedIn.   5. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Ben Steers from Fiasco Design Ben showed that passion projects are the way forward, showcasing Fiasco Design’s ingenious interactive map of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi which helped to win the agency a lucrative new client in Mexico. Follow Ben on Twitter @BenSteers or connect on LinkedIn. 6. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Ed Robin from Mytton Williams Ed showed some great examples of how a creative agency can take a corporate brand and make it stand out including how Mytton Williams helped law firm Rawlison Butler reinforce their reputation with existing clients and educate their target audience in the quality of their approach. Follow Mytton Williams on Twitter @myttonwilliams or connect with Ed on LinkedIn. 7. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Nick Ellis from Halo Nick told the story of Coke’s rebrand mishap (discussed in last week’s blog), and the great work Halo has been doing for Live Nation. Follow Nick on Twitter @Nickhalo01 or connect on LinkedIn. 8. Designing a Better World: Merle Hall and Craig Whiteman from Kinneir Dufort, Simon Miller from 3Keel, Matt Golding from Rubber Republic Our consultant Sam Kacher was blown away by Matt Golding’s approach to declining work from companies that he doesn’t morally agree with. Matt spoke at length about how to say no through asking questions, scoping out the ultimate purpose of the project and the company’s moral standing to maintain integrity. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattgolding or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Kinneir Dufort on Twitter @KinneirDufort or connect on LinkedIn with Merle Hall and Craig Whiteman.   Follow 3Keel on Twitter @3KeelLLP or connect with Simon Miller on LinkedIn.     9. Cultures not Vultures:  Ash Phillips from Yena, Bryony Farmer from Precious Stars, George Hart from Tobooka, Alicia Teagle from Socially Responsible Recruitment HN consultant Emma Whitting enjoyed this thought-provoking talk that gave insight into company culture and empowering people to think for themselves. Tobooka’s George stated: “Deliver flexibility and people will over-deliver for you.” Follow Ash on Twitter @TheAshPhillips or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Bryony on Twitter @preciousstarsYT or connect on LinkedIn. Follow George on Twitter @GeSiHart or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Alicia Teagle on Twitter @AliciaTeagleSR2 or connect on LinkedIn.​  10. The Secrets of Social Media: Paul Wickers from Huggg, Bruno Forte and Patricia Powell from Swoon Gelato Our Consultant Mark Trist was especially impressed to hear from Huggg and Swoon about their experiences of starting up and building a business, and the crucial role that social media and content engagement made to their success. Follow Huggg on Twitter @huggg_uk or connect with Paul on LinkedIn. Follow Swoon Gelato on Twitter @SwoonGelato or connect with Bruno on LinkedIn.  It was another fantastic year at the Bath Digital Festival, and we can’t wait to return next year for more interesting and exciting insights.