mlryan blog

hile researching training options for some of my technical staff, I was surprised (but in retrospect why?) to see firms advertising to take your exams for you. Get the certificate without having to study or go through the stress of sitting an exam. The examples I saw appeared to originate from people located in India and China. I assume the test centres must be in collusion somehow, in order to waive the normal stringent photo-id requirement.

But then recently one of my staff came back from an ISEB business analysis aural exam (viva) in London and reported that no photo ID was requested.

So why is this worthy of note? Because it makes a mockery of the whole certification process. Don't rely on the paperwork - but we all knew this anyway.

CDC Software, owners of the Pivotal CRM software, have merged with (taken over) UK-based CRM software vendor Saratoga Systems.

As a consultant to one of Saratoga's biggest clients, I am in the unenviable position of having to advise my client whether they should be actively looking for a replacement. The new owners have of course issued reassuring messages about how the new acquisition's product set is complementary to their own and funding will continue for both.

But we all know of course that the reality is that running two development and support teams is more expensive than migrating customers from one product set to the other and then only running one development and support team.

So the questions are:- at what point will the investment drain from one of the products into the other, which product set will be preserved and will the official transition path be relatively painless?

If you have a strong opinion, let me know. I will tell you what I come up with later...