Digital transformation has changed how businesses engage with information technology (IT) and, in the process, driven IT deeper and deeper into their core operations. It is perhaps not surprising then, that skills shortages are a growing problem – one which many are turning to external partners to help with.
Storm Technology has worked hard to stand out in a competitive hiring landscape, said Prateek Desai, practice director for D365 customer engagement and Power Platform.
Naturally, the company wants to attract people with the right technical skills to get the job done for its clients, but there is a lot more to hiring than that, Desai said.
“I think it’s less about technical skills. We are in the Microsoft space and attracting top talent is essential for us. Our approach is multifaceted. We focus on finding individuals who not only have strong technical expertise, but who also understand the softer side of things.
“You can find developers, but are they fitting into the mould of the culture we want to promote, not only writing the code?” he said.
Storm focuses on finding people who are passionate about continuous learning, as that makes adoption of new technology easier. New employees are then welcomed into an environment that is hybrid and flexible, and one that responds to their needs.
“In talent acquisition, the first thing is the environment. We are flexible, and hybrid has been instrumental in not only enabling our employees, but as being part of a technology community here. That has helped their wellbeing,” he said.
Technology professionals, like everyone out there, want to work on cutting-edge stuff
As Storm hires globally, from as far afield as Vietnam, India, and the Middle East, in order to get the best talent, it needs to support staff. “My team alone has more than ten nationalities on itand we also help with relocating them,” Desai said.
Storm’s goal is not just going in and delivering a generic product. Instead, the company has project engagements responding to customers’ business problems.
“Our value proposition to the client is very simple: we combine the technical knowledge with the soft skills, such as communication. Ultimately, we focus on understanding the unique challenges that our clients are facing.
“Ultimately, we need to look at the value proposition of what we are giving, and that value proposition is always on the business side.
Responding to business needs does not mean ignoring the cutting edge of technology, however, and Storm works to keep staff engaged with the latest developments. Again, this plays a role in staff acquisition and retention, and it means clients get the solution they need.
“Technology professionals, like everyone out there, want to work on cutting-edge stuff. That eventually translates to client success,” he said.
Given the low barriers to entry, it could be tempting to shift entirely to Azure, but Desai said the Microsoft ecosystem should be viewed more holistically.
“It’s not just about moving things to Azure, there are SaaS [software as a service] solutions for data analysis, CRM, every technology and business problem you have. Once you enter into the ecosystem, you can add more and they all work together,” he said.
One area of interest is low code, which allows domain experts to create their own code using a visual approach to software development, thus enabling faster delivery of applications.
“I’m a firm believer in, I wouldn’t call it no code, I would call it low code. If you have a scale of zero to ten in terms of the complexity of the use case, with zero to four you can do it drag-and-drop. When it comes to more complex things, some code will be needed,” Desai said.
Crucially, low code gives the power back to the user and, therefore, the business, rather than to external suppliers.
This is particularly important, because every organisation has different needs.
“No one customer is the same as another. We might be helping automate sales processes whereas, at the same time, we could be developing a cost-management solution for a public sector client or migrating from an on-premise system that has been on for a couple decades,” he said.