UPDATE: My pal in Brasil, Trodn Eirik Haavarstein invited me to speak about my new position on his excellent Podcast, ‘Ask Eric’. You can listen to that HERE
Last week, Algiz Technology issued a press release announcing that I have joined the team. A press release is cool and all BUT I’m a much less formal type of guy, so I believe it’s only fitting for me to also address my appointment on this humble little blog.
If you read the press release, which you can find HERE, you will see that my colleague William Jansen and I will be working together to help Algiz Technology expand to the Americas. Algiz Technology has seen some great success in the UK, providing invaluable application packaging\sequencing as a service with a unique twist.
I state the service is with a unique twist because we deliver a high volume output early in the project. Ensuring you can progress in a timely manner. This is because we are using automation tools and ACTUAL experience. With the help of the awesome AutonoWare ConversionBox tool.
We take all of your applications and analyze them for App-V suitability and which can be automatically converted. We don’t just export a report and use it as gospel. We use our ACTUAL experience to apply our logic and know-how to review the report and vet the results. This helps us streamline the automation process and maximize the number of applications that can be automated. We waste less time stumbling around and more time delivering applications that work.
My fellow techies may read the press release and wonder, why somebody who is so heavily invested in application packaging and sequencing would sign up to a position which sets out to automate the very work he has been paid to do?!
As stated above, when using ConversionBox, I still need to use my experience to get the best results. Application compatibility and automation tools are blunt force instruments. I do not see these technologies as a threat. I see them as an aide, a weapon in my arsenal, a major time saver that separates us from the crowd.
In my career thus far, I have experienced life working for service providers, working for vendors, working as a consultant and even working directly in companies in-house IT teams.
During my time working for service providers, I have seen how these services have been strategized for better or for worse. Seeing the efficiencies and inefficiencies of each.
I also worked for companies internal application packaging teams who outsourced part of the packaging efforts to service providers. So, I’ve also been a ‘customer’ who has worked with and received package. I’ve experienced the pain points that can occur when trying to work with these outsourced teams.
Often times, these service providers base their service off dealing with a certain load of applications and a certain rate of output. You submit your applications for packaging and they disappear down a rabbit hole. You might submit an application on day 1 and you won’t receive it for months with no status update to explain why it has taken so long.
Many companies charge you more for the peace of mind of having some on site resources acting as liaisons with the off-shore teams. Promising that this will lead to a greater level of communication and transparency, when in actual fact, you just add an extra layer of communication and at a significant cost to yourself.
Some companies even have the gall to claim expertise in automation technologies and virtualization technologies but then end up using your project to train inexperienced packagers on your time and money. This is why I attempted to emphasize the words ACTUAL experience, as with our service you will have experienced packagers and sequencers on the job!
I believe the Americas currently lack expertise in application packaging. Particularly in application virtualization. In the past few years, I have been tasked with interviewing candidates for App-V positions in the United States and have found it quite challenging to find people whose knowledge lined up with what they claimed on their CVs. Hiring inexperienced people for this kind of work leads to significant delays and potentially complete failure of the project. I believe we have an excellent opportunity to deliver a service which will be unmatched by others. I can’t wait to jump right in.
If you have any queries about our service. Feel free to reach out to my colleague:
William Jansen
Director, Americas
+1 612 229 9499
