<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>

<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">

    <channel>
        <title>Edge Services Inc</title>
        <description>Edge Services News</description>
        <link>http://www.edgeservices.com/</link>
        <atom:link href="http://www.edgeservices.com/rss.php" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
<item><title><![CDATA[10 Commandments for Succeeding as a Remote Professional]]></title><description><![CDATA[
Communicate, communicate, communicate! This can&amp;rsquo;t be reinforced enough. Communication is the key to succeeding as a remote professional. Setting up deliberate and regular avenues of communication (onsite, phone calls, email, conference calls, Skype) is crucial to keep you plugged-in.
Set aside a dedicated workspace and make sure you have the right tools. Working remote requires a mindset and setting up a professional workspace will ensure your success. A couple of must-haves - a high-speed, reliable internet connection and proper telephone equipment. Also helpful are a fax/scanner/printer and a video camera for teleconferencing.
Get dressed for the day. You don&amp;rsquo;t have to put on the business suit or even khaki&amp;rsquo;s and a dress shirt. But, by committing to the routine of &amp;ldquo;getting ready for the day&amp;rdquo; helps you mentally transition from &amp;ldquo;home&amp;rdquo; to &amp;ldquo;office.&amp;rdquo; 
Remove distractions. As a remote professional you will spend a great deal of time on the phone. When setting up your office space, take steps to eliminate distractions that will interfere with clear phone conversations - dogs barking, lawn mowers, kids talking, etc.&amp;nbsp; 
Be ready and able to show results. This starts by communicating with your manager when you come into the job. What defines success for them? What challenges are they facing that you can help with? As you work, document your progress, work processes, roadblocks and results. 
Look for ways to add value to your job, department and organization. You have a unique perspective, as a remote professional. Be open to identifying those opportunities and bringing ideas to the table.
Respect the fact that you aren&amp;rsquo;t in the office and may not have a complete picture of the environment. This requires you to listen more, ask questions, and then listen even more.
Protect your work product just as you would in an office setting. Follow your employer&amp;rsquo;s policies and ensure that your home office space is secure and protects proprietary information, including having the ability to shred documents and being extremely conscious of any code or information that includes identifiable data.
Commit to a work/life balance. Out-of-sight employees can sometimes cause managers to be a little uncomfortable with remote resources. That doesn&amp;rsquo;t mean you have to be a slave to your desk, but make sure you are available to your manager and co-workers, attend and participate in conference calls, and communicate frequently. You can still enjoy the benefits of working remote (flexibility, convenience), but ensure work commitments are met.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate! Did we mention this is the KEY to being a successful remote professional?

To download a copy of our 10 Commandments, click here. For more information about remote work opportunities with EDGE and our clients, please contact one of our Recruiting Team members. ]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/10-commandments-for-succeeding-as-a-remote-professional</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/10-commandments-for-succeeding-as-a-remote-professional</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 May 2012 10:51:51 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meet One of Our Consultants - LeeAnn Renneker]]></title><description><![CDATA[
LeeAnn Renneker has been an EDGE consultant for almost two years. But, her  experience with us goes back almost a decade.&amp;nbsp; We sat down with Lee Ann and  asked her to share her experience, so that others can see how they can fit into  our family of consultants.
How long have you been in banking?
I have been in financial services for 15 years, 10 of those directly in the  banking industry.
What are your areas of expertise?

Acquisitions and conversion
Financial/Accounting and Financial Reporting 
Cards &amp;ndash; Focus on Debit, but also Credit experience
Intranet and internet (my passion!)
Operations including Backroom such as Item Processing
Business and IT projects

How long have you worked for EDGE? Since October 2010,  working on an 11-month contract for a banking client in the Southeast.&amp;nbsp; Since, our interview, LeeAnn completed her 11-month contract and moved new a client site for another long-term contract.
What contributions do you think you have brought to our clients? 
I bring high-level&amp;nbsp;banking project management skills and banking expertise.&amp;nbsp;  Also, in my current assignment, I came into an organization I already had  experience with from several years ago. I was able to come in and quickly  connect with previous work partners and that gave me a jump start to adding  value quickly.
I am also very adaptable to change, while still being able to balance the  needs and uniqueness of the PMO and organization&amp;rsquo;s culture.&amp;nbsp;
I have a gift for working successfully with clients from upper management to  technical teams, plus everyone in between.&amp;nbsp; People enjoy working with me because  it is fun, yet they are confident in my ability to lead a successful project.&amp;nbsp; I  have found nearly everyone loves to be a winner (I always stress when the  project is successful each of us is successful too!), but also enjoy themselves  while working hard.&amp;nbsp;
I have a solid belief and track record that communication communication  communication is key to a successful project.&amp;nbsp; My teams learn quickly they can  count on me to make sure they are always &quot;in the know&quot; when they work with  me.
What have you gotten out of your experience with EDGE?&amp;nbsp; 
EDGE has been one of the best consulting companies I have worked with in  managing the fine line between allowing consultants the freedom to get the job  done while being involved and available to assist when needed. This is  especially important for me, since I am very experienced and I know so many  people at my current assignment.&amp;nbsp; It is best to let me do what I do best  without&amp;nbsp;too much guidance.&amp;nbsp;On the other side, I love knowing that the EDGE  corporate team is there when I need the support.
How did you hear about EDGE? 
I actually got to know EDGE about 10 years ago; when they were providing  consultants for a project I was working on. It was a 12 bank acquisition and I  was working for the bank, assisting with item processing. EDGE had several  consultants on the project and I found them all to be very capable, professional  and felt confident in working with them.
What would you say about EDGE to a consultant considering working for  us?&amp;nbsp;
I would absolutely encourage any consultant to join the EDGE&amp;nbsp;team.&amp;nbsp; They have  wonderful upfront folks on their recruiting team. I have also been really  pleased with the interactions I have with the administrative team, during both  the on-boarding process and in the months I have been working at the client  site. &amp;nbsp; The support EDGE delivers to their consultants is excellent.
]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/meet-one-of-our-consultantsleeann-renneker</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/meet-one-of-our-consultantsleeann-renneker</guid><pubDate>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:30:39 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dodd-Frank to bring major changes  to IT organizations]]></title><description><![CDATA[&amp;nbsp;As the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act enters its second year of implementation, the pressure to comply is expected to grow exponentially for IT organizations in every sector. According to International law firm Davis Polk, complying will not be easy: the law firm estimates that the Dodd-Frank will require 243 rulemakings, 67 one-time reports / studies, and 22 new periodic reports.
The impact to IT organizations in the financial sector will be particularly great, according to Wall Street &amp;amp; Technology. However, firms do not expect to increase their staff to meet compliance needs. Marty Leamy, president of the Americas at Orc Software, a provider of technology and services for the global financial industry, commented that, &quot;for the most part, firms are trying to meet compliance demands with the same amount of people.&quot;
Unfortunately, WS&amp;amp;T reports that &quot;IT executives, meanwhile, should not expect that a single expertise or piece of technology or off-the-shelf software will help their firms meet compliance demands &amp;hellip;. [since the Act] requires extensive reporting to improve transparency across many business units, compliance will be achieved only with a combination of data management, risk analytics and data rationalization.&quot; Each firm will have to find the best combination to suit their own needs.]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/dodd-frank-to-bring-major-changesto-it-organizations</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/dodd-frank-to-bring-major-changesto-it-organizations</guid><pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:02:06 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[IT Spending to Increase in 2012]]></title><description><![CDATA[InformationWeek&amp;rsquo;s annual Outlook 2012 Survey displayed a very bullish outlook on 2012. The report, which queries 605 business technology professionals on their plans for IT spending and hiring in 2012, found that 25 percent of companies are planning to expand IT staff and only nine percent will be cutting back. That's in stark comparison to two years ago when only 14 percent said they were expanding and 18 percent said they were cutting back.
Fifty-six percent of participants say they will be spending more on IT than in 2011, 28 percent said their spending plans are flat, and only 16 percent expect to shrink their IT budgets. Most encouraging is that 18 percent plan to raise their IT spend by more than ten percent, which is up from last year's response of 15 percent.
However, InformationWeek presents several reasons why growing project demand will not necessarily lead to more hiring. Despite only three percent reporting that the demand for new IT projects is dipping, almost one-third (30 percent) report there is a hiring freeze and &quot;won't be allowed to fill openings&quot; in 2012. &quot;CIOs continue to rely heavily on outsourcing as the variable component to their workforces, absorbing the peaks of IT demand as well as fulfilling specialized skills.&quot; The editors go on to report that,&amp;nbsp; there&amp;rsquo;s strong demand for mobile app development, but much of that work is outsourced and cloud computing allows companies to add IT capabilities without the same staff.&quot;
In comparison, CIO Insight also released a study with some interesting observations. CIO Insight's 2012 IT Investment Patterns Study used a random sample from parent company Ziff-Davis Enterprises. The 329 respondents in organizations with 50 or more employees were familiar with their company's budget and spending levels. They report three broad trends for 2012:

Areas that organizations may have given short shrift to in the past due to the economy are now being funded in 2012. Increased investments in security are an example of what the editors call &quot;Reversion.&quot;
Increased popularity for organizations in mobility and cloud-related spending, or what CIO Insight is referring to as &amp;ldquo;Innovation&amp;rdquo;. Most (91 percent) of organizations plan to spend 14.6 percent more on mobile devices, which is&amp;nbsp; the third largest spending category, surpassed only by servers and desktops / notebooks.
&amp;nbsp;Spending continues in existing areas such as infrastructure and software. CIO Insight calls this trend &quot;Integration&quot; to ensure established areas don't &quot;get lost to the newcomers&quot; (e.g. mobile and cloud).
]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/it-spending-to-increase-in-2012</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/it-spending-to-increase-in-2012</guid><pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:03:55 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[9 Hot IT Skills for 2012]]></title><description><![CDATA[Computerworld recently published a really good article on what is ahead for  2012.&amp;nbsp;
Slowly but surely, many U.S. companies are loosening their viselike grips on  IT hiring and looking to add new staffers to bolster business growth in the year  ahead.
That trend is reflected in Computerworld's annual Forecast survey.  Nearly 29% of the 353 IT executives polled said they plan to increase IT  staffing through next summer. That's up from 23% in the 2010 survey and 20% in  the 2009 survey. Altogether, it's a 45% increase in hiring expectations over the  past two years.
&quot;We're seeing [strong hiring] across the board,&quot; among organizations of all  sizes, says Mike McBrierty, chief operations officer for the technology staffing  division of Eliassen Group, an IT recruiting firm. He says there has been  pent-up demand for infrastructure upgrades and investments that had been shelved  over the previous three years.
The Forecast survey also revealed that IT managers may be thinking about  innovation, not merely keeping the lights on, as they plan their staffs for  2012. Respondents said these nine skills will be in demand.
To read more about the specific skills, click here.
]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/9-hot-it-skills-for-2012</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/9-hot-it-skills-for-2012</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:16:20 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Stay Employed During These Difficult Times]]></title><description><![CDATA[The economy is a bit sluggish and worries of another recession are very real.
Are you concerned about keeping your job in these tough times?&amp;nbsp; Are you looking for ways to boost your marketability? There are things you can do which will give you the best possible edge to stay employed now and into the future.
1. Flexibility &amp;ndash; It&amp;rsquo;s the name of the game in the consulting field. It is a benefit, but also a key marketability factor for our consultants. If you are open to some travel, as well as remote work, our recruiters have more options for presenting you to clients. Many of our clients are open to remote arrangements, but also ask for some onsite presence during a project. Consider what travel you are open to and communicate that with your recruiter.
2. Get Excited About Your Career &amp;ndash; People who enjoy their jobs and like sharing information to the betterment of their projects, teams and companies have a much better shot at sticking around.&amp;nbsp; Having a great attitude, a sense of humor and a competitive streak, makes other want to be around you.&amp;nbsp; But remember &amp;ndash; confidence is a must, arrogance is a showstopper.
3. Make a Niche for Yourself - In other words stand out in a good way.&amp;nbsp; Become an expert in an area. Educate yourself or go get a certification, so that you can become the &amp;ldquo;go to&amp;rdquo; person in the specialization. This could make you invaluable to an organization.
4. Become a Jack-of-all-Trades &amp;ndash; This is the opposite of number two above.&amp;nbsp; In this way, you become knowledgeable in several KEY areas.&amp;nbsp; By doing so, you can seamlessly float from one area to another or from opportunity to opportunity. When managers and senior leaders know you have two or three key skill sets and that you add value in unique ways, this will set you apart from others who may be looking at the same opportunity.
5. Be a Key Player &amp;ndash; Acting as a fundamental part of the company&amp;rsquo;s business can also help you be more secure.&amp;nbsp; Professionals are naturally drawn to those who are well informed and well connected.&amp;nbsp; Be sure to share with your network, new technologies, events, professional opportunities, and industry news.&amp;nbsp; Ask for more responsibility and take charge of important projects. When times get tough, management will look for people to downsize who will do the least damage to the organization.
6. Let Your Reputation Speak for Itself &amp;ndash; When it comes down to the decision about whom to layoff and whom to retain there is little else that speaks so loudly as your reputation. The key here is to know what the values and expectations are from your boss.&amp;nbsp; Do a periodic check by requesting an unofficial job evaluation to see how you are measuring up to expectations.
7. Have a Back Up Plan &amp;ndash; Even if you do all of the five steps outlined above, remember that there is no guarantee no matter what you do.&amp;nbsp; Be prepared.&amp;nbsp; Build and nurture a strong professional network during good times.&amp;nbsp; Make sure you provide knowledge and ideas freely to your professional network (especially your internal company network). The key is to build the network long before asking for anything in return such as a referral or job lead.
&amp;ldquo;One thing I am proud of is that our consultants have a long track record of being renewed over and over by clients and others are invited back by clients as projects develop. That ability to build solid, long lasting relationships with our clients comes out of the traits we talked about above. Our clients know our consultants deliver more than just a skill set,&amp;rdquo; said Kevin Clark, President and CEO of EDGE.
If you have other strategies to build your marketability, we would love to hear them. Or, as an employer, if there are key traits you look for in hiring or retaining staff, we would like to hear those as well. Leave a comment or share on our Facebook page (EDGE Services, Inc.)]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/stay-employed-during-these-difficult-times</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/stay-employed-during-these-difficult-times</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2011 09:27:07 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[EDGE Announces Staffing Changes]]></title><description><![CDATA[Kevin Clark, president and CEO of EDGE Services, recently made several announcements of staffing changes occurring within the organization.
Jason Smith, a member of our recruiting team, will soon begin a new role with the EDGE Client Relations team.&amp;nbsp; Jason will be focused on developing new business relationships for EDGE and providing support for several of our current clients.
John Ferrone has been hired as a new recruiter and joined the EDGE corporate team in August. John brings several years of recruiting experience to our team.
Victor Brown has also joined our recruiting team, effective in October.
&amp;ldquo;One of the things I&amp;rsquo;m most proud of at EDGE is the caliber and quality of our corporate resources.&amp;nbsp; I hear positive stories over and over again from our clients and associates out in the field.&amp;nbsp; I see how dedicated they are to supporting our associates and clients and they, repeatedly, go the extra mile to deliver,&amp;rdquo; Clark said.]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/edge-announces-staffing-changes</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/edge-announces-staffing-changes</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2011 09:30:59 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Staffing Changes at EDGE]]></title><description><![CDATA[Kevin Clark, president and CEO of EDGE Services, recently made two announcements of staffing changes occurring within the organization.
Jason Smith, a member of our recruiting team, will soon begin a new role with the EDGE Client Relations team. &amp;nbsp;Jason will be focused on developing new business relationships for EDGE and providing support for several of our current clients.
John Ferrone has been hired as a new recruiter and joins the EDGE corporate team on August 2. John brings several years of recruiting experience to our team.
&amp;ldquo;One of the things I&amp;rsquo;m most proud of at EDGE is the caliber and quality of our corporate resources.&amp;nbsp; I hear positive stories over and over again from our clients and associates out in the field.&amp;nbsp; I see how dedicated they are to supporting our associates and clients and they, repeatedly,&amp;nbsp; go the extra mile to deliver,&amp;rdquo; Clark said.]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/staffing-changes-at-edge</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/staffing-changes-at-edge</guid><pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:51:00 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Banking Projects on Track from Start to Finish]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your environment is complex. Your challenges change, sometimes daily, and multiple demands impact the direction and timelines of projects. EDGE understands what you are facing.
&amp;nbsp;&amp;ldquo;As a bank operations IT manager, I call on EDGE to help me solve real challenges, large and small. EDGE understands the business. From my client relations manager to the consultants, who walk on-site, they understand what I need, they ask questions that get to the heart of the problem, they deliver solutions, and they do all of that professionally and efficiently,&amp;rdquo; said one vice president at an EDGE client bank.
&amp;ldquo;Through several banks, I have utilized EDGE. I repeatedly draw on their expertise and experience because they are professionals who have been there and done that. They know projects and they know what needs to make them work.&amp;rdquo;
What does the EDGE difference mean for your project management?

We understand the issues you face every day; we have been on your side of the desk.
We understand banking systems, interfaces, and the funding and reporting processes that managers work with on each and every project. 
We have the advantage of knowing banking systems and experiencing how many other banks have addressed business requirements related to new products, functionality, regulatory policy, privacy, and other changes demanded to remain competitive.

EDGE works with banks, credit unions and financial service organizations in the delivery of many different kinds of projects, including in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, packaged software and compliance. A sampling of our work:
Mergers &amp;amp; Acquisitions:

Delivered multiple M&amp;amp;A/integrations on a fixed-price, 16-week conversion timeline for a mid-size bank. The projects utilized from 14 to 25resources, who were deployed on-site within 2-weeks of notification. Converted customer data included integrated Fidelity deposit and loans, in-house CIS, Safe Box Accounting, debit/credit cards, marketing mailings, and general ledger.
Analyzed conversion time-line over an eight week period for a large bank and documented streamlined processes, resulting in capability to complete a data conversion of an acquired bank in 90 days. 
Provided 15 PM&amp;rsquo;s and BA&amp;rsquo;s on two separate bank conversions for a mid-size bank, staffing much of the core processing application needs on the projects. Both conversions were completed on time and within budget and were regarded by the bank as highly successful.

Packaged Software Projects:

Turn-key upgrade on a fixed-price, 17-week timeline for Checkfree PEP+ and Safe Box Accounting (SBA) systems for large credit union using 1 BA and 2 technicians. Project delivered on-time and on-budget.
Provided PM and BA expertise to a regional bank supporting a revenue enhancement project, which resulted in more than 1.5 million dollars per month increase in fee income.
Completed initial implementation, conversion and integration of DDA, Mortgage, General Ledger and Customer Services systems. Application software was Fidelity IMPACS (IM), Real Estate (RE), Financial Management System (FMS) and Customer Service (CS).

Compliance:

Supplied 23 resources to complete successful data scrub to mask customer identification information on test data files for Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act compliance.
]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/banking-projects-on-track-from-start-to-finish</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/banking-projects-on-track-from-start-to-finish</guid><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:19:16 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Bane and Benefits of Social Media]]></title><description><![CDATA[Social media giants Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others may be keeping a lot of CIOs up at night due to security and privacy issues. IT World Canada recently reported that despite these drawbacks, companies should accept social media as an important means to innovation.
The panel of experts included Phil McBride, the head of global IT innovation and project management group at Procter &amp;amp; Gamble. &quot;P&amp;amp;G uses social media in other ways both internally to generate ideas and spread information, and externally to connect to customers,&quot; reported by IT World Canada. According to McBride, &quot;&quot;If we don't understand the tools they (customers) use, and don't use them ourselves to bring innovation, then we will never succeed as a consumer products company.&quot;
&quot;IT has made security objections to social media a crutch,&quot; says IT World Canada. There are myriad strategies for mitigating the risk that can be put in place for a company to embrace social media.]]></description><link>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/the-bane-and-benefits-of-social-media</link><guid>http://www.edgeservices.com/pages/news/the-bane-and-benefits-of-social-media</guid><pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2011 10:37:31 -0400</pubDate></item></channel></rss> 
