The IT Services Industry is heavily dependent on skilled people to deliver services, generally in the form of Projects, to clients. So teams are formed and disbanded as projects are started and completed. To do this efficiently, most companies have a standardized structure for project teams with well defined roles. While each company has its own terminology, by and large the following roles are typical to IT /Software Services companies.
Business Development: A Business Development Manager meets clients (new or existing) understands their IT needs and makes Proposals to clients about how to solve their IT needs and problems. Usually this will involve "automation" of a process which is currently being done manually or improvement of an automated process. Very large company-wide solutions are ERP Solutions or CRM Solutions.
Business Development Managers are usually senior persons who have System Analysis and delivery skills and have developed the ability to work closely with customer managers. In many cases, business development teams are deployed to quickly study customer needs and prepare the Proposal which has to have not only suggested solutions but cost and time estimates as well.
Project Managers take over a customer engagement once an order is received from a customer for a solution to be implemented. Project Managers are usually persons who have worked in different projects and understand how projects are run. They manage Project Teams and work closely with the customer departments to deliver a solution.
Since cost, time and quality are very important, Project Managers need to have the ability to track the progress of projects very closely. Specialized qualifications from PMI (Project Management Institute) and knowledge of Project Management Tools like Microsoft Project are required for such jobs. For large projects with multiple teams project managers are assisted by Team Leaders who manage individual teams.
Project Engineers actually deliver the technical solutions. At entry level a project engineer needs to know a Technology or a Software Package well (example Java or a Specific ERP Package, a Test Automation tool etc.), understand Team Processes (like reporting, collaborative communication etc) and understand quality processes. Any candidate who can demonstrate at least two of these skills will immediately become a preferred candidate. There are many institutes which "teach" software packages.
An IT Services company will have several other functions supporting the Project Delivery Teams. For example you have IT Teams who look after the IT Infrastructure including Hardware allotted to a project and/or specific software required for delivery (in most cases, the IT teams establish a Secure VPN between the project computer network and the customer computer network), the Process Teams which ensure delivery quality and perform specific Software Engineering management functions like Version Control, Build & Release Management etc and establish a "Certifiable" Process (like CMM Level 5) of delivery to assure the customer about the quality of delivery.
In IT / Software Services companies, the HR department plays the crucial role of managing "Skill Inventories". They have to keep track of individual engineers skills and allocate them to projects minimizing the time between the completion of one project and the start of the next.
This is an "Overview" post. Please research and read up the meanings of highlighted terms to get a better understanding. This knowledge will help in selection and planning your career.
Business Development: A Business Development Manager meets clients (new or existing) understands their IT needs and makes Proposals to clients about how to solve their IT needs and problems. Usually this will involve "automation" of a process which is currently being done manually or improvement of an automated process. Very large company-wide solutions are ERP Solutions or CRM Solutions.
Business Development Managers are usually senior persons who have System Analysis and delivery skills and have developed the ability to work closely with customer managers. In many cases, business development teams are deployed to quickly study customer needs and prepare the Proposal which has to have not only suggested solutions but cost and time estimates as well.
Project Managers take over a customer engagement once an order is received from a customer for a solution to be implemented. Project Managers are usually persons who have worked in different projects and understand how projects are run. They manage Project Teams and work closely with the customer departments to deliver a solution.
Since cost, time and quality are very important, Project Managers need to have the ability to track the progress of projects very closely. Specialized qualifications from PMI (Project Management Institute) and knowledge of Project Management Tools like Microsoft Project are required for such jobs. For large projects with multiple teams project managers are assisted by Team Leaders who manage individual teams.
Project Engineers actually deliver the technical solutions. At entry level a project engineer needs to know a Technology or a Software Package well (example Java or a Specific ERP Package, a Test Automation tool etc.), understand Team Processes (like reporting, collaborative communication etc) and understand quality processes. Any candidate who can demonstrate at least two of these skills will immediately become a preferred candidate. There are many institutes which "teach" software packages.
An IT Services company will have several other functions supporting the Project Delivery Teams. For example you have IT Teams who look after the IT Infrastructure including Hardware allotted to a project and/or specific software required for delivery (in most cases, the IT teams establish a Secure VPN between the project computer network and the customer computer network), the Process Teams which ensure delivery quality and perform specific Software Engineering management functions like Version Control, Build & Release Management etc and establish a "Certifiable" Process (like CMM Level 5) of delivery to assure the customer about the quality of delivery.
In IT / Software Services companies, the HR department plays the crucial role of managing "Skill Inventories". They have to keep track of individual engineers skills and allocate them to projects minimizing the time between the completion of one project and the start of the next.
This is an "Overview" post. Please research and read up the meanings of highlighted terms to get a better understanding. This knowledge will help in selection and planning your career.
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