Tag: #EXPLEO

Over half of Irish businesses say IT skills shortages are negatively impacting plans

Expleo, a global engineering, technology and consulting service provider, today announces the results of new research, which found that IT skills shortages are negatively impacting the business plans of more than half (56%) of Irish enterprises. The research is published in Expleo’s Business Transformation Index 2022 Ireland report, which is launched today.

The global research, which included a survey of 111 business and IT leaders in Ireland, found that 77% of respondents report that talent shortages are a top barrier to digital transformation. In fact, more than two-thirds (67%) say they lack the internal skills and experience to manage emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality and virtual reality. Many believe this will have a far-reaching impact, with the same proportion (67%) of respondents saying that skills shortages are hindering Ireland’s ability to build its digital economy.

The survey also revealed the roles that enterprises in Ireland find the most difficult to fill and retain. Expleo’s research found that the most challenging, cited by some 82% of businesses, are development roles, followed closely by IT leadership and management positions (81%). A significant proportion (63%) of business leaders believe that development and DevOps talent is in critically short supply.

To solve their tech skills shortages in the short-term, half of Irish enterprises will outsource more functions and roles to third parties or consultants, while 44% will invest in staff training and 43% plan to avail of temporary or contract workers. Despite these efforts, some 65% of business leaders believe that organisations have underinvested in the skills base of employees.

In response to continued staffing issues and the greater demand from employees for flexible working, 54% of businesses in Ireland have now formalised a ‘hybrid working’ approach. Almost half (48%), meanwhile, have introduced a flexible location policy – allowing employees to work from anywhere. However, 33% of leaders stated that maintaining employee motivation and camaraderie has become more difficult due to remote working. And just 22% of business and IT leaders see hiring people from more diverse backgrounds as a long-term solution to skills shortages – compared to an average of 33% in other markets surveyed.

Phil Codd, Managing Director, Expleo Ireland, said: “We are delighted to share the findings of our Business Transformation Index 2022, which will provide valuable insights into the digital evolution of the Irish businesses landscape over the last year.

 “Although there has been a significant acceleration in digital transformation due to the pandemic, ongoing skills shortages are hindering many organisations in embracing new digital technologies. At a time when Ireland should be displaying its digital leadership, our business leaders and innovators are saying that the skills shortages have gotten so bad that it is negatively impacting our digital economy. It is crucial that businesses invest in both their internal and external teams to overcome this challenge. Many enterprises are now outsourcing certain roles in order to get quick and convenient access to a wider skills and knowledge base. As the battle for the best customer experience escalates across all sectors, we expect this trend to continue throughout 2022.

 “The competitive recruitment market has pushed employers to formalise flexible working arrangements and think about how they can create a working culture that will attract the best talent. Organisations that don’t see diversity as part of the solution will find that they lack the diversity of thought that their competitors benefit from, as well as the inclusive environment that will make people stay with them long-term.

“We are seeing that instead of taking the focus away from workforces, the rise of digital is in fact putting greater emphasis on the humans who make it work.”

Expleo invests €100K in free consultancy services for COVID-19 impacted firms. #Expleo #COVID19ireland

Expleo, the technology partner for innovative companies, today announces that it is investing €100K in helping businesses to get back on track following the disruption caused by COVID-19. The company’s specially-designed COVID-19 recovery package includes free consultancy services in areas that will be critical to business stimulation, including business strategy, digital transformation, change management and business agility.

Expleo’s investment will cover initial assessment of businesses’ needs, referral to a leading consultant and in-depth business analysis to establish a clear plan of action. Services will be offered to businesses of any size operating in all sectors including financial services, retail, manufacturing, travel, insurance and IT.

Irish firms continue to suffer from the fallout of COVID-19 and the disruption it has caused to day-to-day functions, supply chains and their ability to operate to full capacity. Business group Ibec anticipates that investment will fall by as much as 40% this year and the economy will continue to be impacted by the pandemic ‘well into 2021’.

With Government restrictions easing, organisations are now looking to the future and the key areas they need to address in order to limit the pandemic’s impact on their business. And with digital transformation expected to play a central role in economic recovery, Expleo believes its services can give Irish businesses a vital boost.

Phil Codd,pictured above, Managing Director for Ireland, Expleo, said: “At Expleo, we feel very strongly that the business community needs to work together to overcome the challenges set by COVID-19. We wanted to make sure that we played our part and believe that our experience in helping enterprises across all sectors to digitally transform and manage change will be of great assistance to businesses as they look ahead and prepare for a drastically more digitised world.

“Economic hardship can inspire great innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. We want to embark on that journey with Irish businesses to help them thrive in the years ahead and make our economy stronger as a result.”

Businesses who wish to avail of the COVID-19 recovery package and speak to one of Expleo’s leading digital transformation experts can register their interest here.

Expleo announces role in cross-border StopCovid NI app. #Expleo #StopCovidNI

Expleo, the technology partner for innovative companies, today announces details of its role in the launch of the StopCOVID NI contact tracing app, built to have interoperability with the COVID Tracker app deployed in the Republic of Ireland. Expleo carried out extensive quality testing on the app, the world’s first cross-border tracker device aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

The StopCOVID NI app was built using the same technology and design as the Republic of Ireland’s COVID Tracker app, which Expleo’s quality assurance team was also heavily involved in. For the Northern Ireland app, Expleo’s team carried out more than 1,000 hours of testing and was responsible for ensuring that it was user-friendly, reliable and capable of sending and receiving anonymised data to and from both the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland versions of the app. As a result, users will be notified if they have had close sustained contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, regardless of which application they are using.

Expleo’s expert team carried out multiple processes and strategies to ensure that a user’s surroundings did not negatively impact the performance of the app. Testing was also carried out on public transport to ensure that users only received notifications when appropriate.

Quality tests included:

  • Performance testing – Expleo’s quality assurance and quality engineering teams carried out load testing on the app to ensure that large volumes of people could download it at the same time without causing it to crash.
  • Exposure Notification Distance Testing – As devices have varying Bluetooth signal strengths, Expleo tested varying attenuation values to maximise compliance with requirements.
  • Database Validation – Testers ensured that users’ anonymised data, gathered from downloads and registrations, was populated in the database without interfering with the anonymised data of other users.
  • Graphical user interface (GUI) testing – Expleo tested the look and feel of the app, ensuring user-friendly navigation; the correct and reliable function of buttons; and that all content and text matched requirements.

Dan West, Chief Digital Information Officer for the Department of Health, Northern Ireland said: “The StopCOVID NI app is an essential next step to successfully reopening Northern Ireland. The fact that this application can operate in conjunction with the COVID Tracker app in the Republic of Ireland offers even more protection – particularly for those living in the border regions.

“With consideration for GDPR and privacy concerns, there was obviously a stringent set of requirements for both these apps. Expleo’s knowledge and expertise ensured that both applications were completed in compliance with all regulations.”

Scott Armstrong, Director, Expleo, said: “COVID-19 has caused havoc for people and communities across the island of Ireland. After our involvement in the successful launch of the Republic of Ireland app, we are honoured to have the opportunity to use our extensive experience in software testing and quality assurance to also support Northern Ireland’s fight against coronavirus.”

“We have been very pleased to see such high volumes of people downloading the Republic of Ireland’s version and we hope that the app will be similarly embraced in Northern Ireland so that we can all work together to stem the spread of COVID-19.”

To find out more about the StopCOVID NI app check out www.health-ni.gov.uk/news/new-mobile-app-stopcovid-ni.

Expleo announces its role in testing COVID-19 contact tracing app. #Expleo #Covid19ireland

Expleo, the technology partner for innovative companies, today announces details of its role in the development and launch of the HSE’s COVID-19 contact tracing app. Through quality assurance and software testing, the company was responsible for ensuring that the app was user-friendly, fast and reliable, which involved testing it to be able to handle one million downloads in an hour.

The app, which at the time of issue has been downloaded more than one million times, and we take a look at here was developed by the HSE and Department of Health, with input from An Garda Síochána, Science Foundation Ireland and private partners from Ireland’s technology sector. It notifies users if they have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, defining a close contact as someone who was within two metres of a confirmed case for 15 minutes or more. To find out more about the COVID Tracker app, or to download it, visit www.covidtracker.ie.

Expleo’s test team started work on the project on 17th March 2020 and since that date, carried out approximately 3,400 individual software tests before the app’s launch. The work totalled 4,727 man hours – the equivalent of almost 591 working days. A total of 26 Expleo employees were involved in the project, while a core team of 10 led and oversaw testing.

To ensure that a user’s surroundings, or large crowds, did not negatively impact the performance of the app – and to ensure the safety of the testers – testing was carried out in multiple simulated environments with multiple devices. Testing was later carried out on public transport to ensure that users only received notifications when appropriate.

Phil Codd, Managing Director, Expleo Ireland

Additional testing included:

  • Performance testing – Expleo’s quality assurance and quality engineering teams carried out load testing on the app to ensure that large volumes of people could download it at the same time without causing it to crash.
  • Exposure Notification Distance Testing – As devices have varying Bluetooth strengths, Expleo tested varying attenuation values that manage Bluetooth strength to maximise compliance with requirements.
  • Graphical user interface (GUI) testing – Expleo tested the look and feel of the app, ensuring user-friendly navigation; the correct and reliable function of all buttons; and that all content and text matched requirements.
  • Database Validation – Testers ensured that users’ anonymised data, gathered from downloads and registrations, was populated in the database without interfering with the anonymised data of other users.

Fran Thompson, CIO, HSE, said: “The COVID Tracker app is an essential addition to the HSE’s existing contact tracing work. For it to be effective, it needed to be easy to download and use, with highly responsive software that can cope with a very large user base. We chose Expleo due to their extensive experience in software testing and quality assurance. Their knowledge and commitment was invaluable in ensuring that the contact tracing app met all of the stringent targets and requirements we had set.”

 

Phil Codd, Managing Director for Ireland, Expleo, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has had – and continues to have – a devastating impact on people and communities across Ireland. We therefore felt honoured that in recognition of our experience and expertise, we were invited by the HSE to join the fight against COVID-19 by carrying out software testing on one of the world’s first contact tracing apps.

 

“Our team went through a rigorous, lengthy process to ensure that the app is fast, reliable and easy to use. We are delighted to see such high volumes of people downloading it and hope that this will continue so that we can all work together to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection for everyone.”