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Yep, we've had enough. We've been working hard for 10 years and now we're all having a day off this Thursday and closing the office!

No Sales, No Support, No Consultancy, No Accounts, No Training and you know something is definitely up when there's NO CODING going on in Snowflakeland.  Yes for one day only we're downing all our tools so all you'll find at Snowflakeland is tumbleweed rolling down the open plan.

To celebrate Snowflake's 10 year anniversary the entire company is having a day off together. We could lie and say its a team building exercise or some master strategy day. But its not! We're just all going to head out, do some cool things together and have some beers and good food along the way! As for what we're going to do ... well I'm afraid I can't tell you! Myself and the Office Management team (Sonia and Sheila) have been keeping the days activities a secret from the wider Snowflake team. 

Curious???? Well I'll give you some criptic clues ...

1) We'll be wearing some interesting gear;

2) Taking a vote on a few things;

3) Eating some very rare food (there's only 1 restaurant serving this type of food in the whole UK);

4) Finally we will end the day with a 'little' tour

On the day you'll get to find out as we have strict orders from Marketing to make sure we keep Facebook and Twitter up to date.

I hope you don't mind us all taking a day off, after all it is our first day off in 3673 days of business. During that time we've worked really hard to look after all of our customers.

Come Friday we'll be back to normal ... that said its probably best to phone about 10am onwards as we may be a little thick headed in the morning!

Ian

Long before I joined Snowflake, training courses were being carried out here, on "basic" GML and "hands on " GML . They have always been successful and widely talked about around the world. Up till now Eddie Curtis was the only person we could spare (and he wrote the courses) to carry out the training, with increasing demand from new markets we found the need to carry out more training. To provide these new courses we needed more trainers and we have great people in our Pre and Post sales team with fantastic  industry knowledge so who better than these guys to deliver industry focused training. Eddie embarked on a "train the trainer" course for the guys with the result that we have 2 more trainers in Ballal Jogleker and Richard Rombouts, raring to go.

Then two things happed. A customer wanted to know the value of training  so they could sell that to the boss to get the permission to come on the course. That got me thinking, well actually that got Sheila Drake ourTraining Manager thinking, because she runs all the courses, what is the value of training?

We did our investigation and these are our thoughts:

We are in the midst of a global recession and training is one of the first budget lines to be cut when the need to drive out cost is critical. But good companies taking the longer-term view recognise the value training brings to an organisation on both a corporate and individual level.

Successful companies train successful people.

In other words companies are successful because of fully trained people.

From an organisational perspective professionally delivered, relevant training delivers this value:

Reduced management costs - It is cheaper to train existing employees than to recruit new employees.

With a fully skilled workforce, good shared knowledge and skill base, managers are better equipped to manage the risk to their business of long term absenteeism or loss of key employees.

A trained workforce will make succession planning easier for managers.

Training and qualifications will strengthen your employees commitment to your company.  They'll stay longer and you'll save money on recruitment costs.

From an employee perspective you understand that professionally delivered, relevant training delivers:

Employees feel motivated, confident and are better able to do their jobs thereby gaining greater job satisfaction. 

With greater skills levels, employees benefit from increased salary, greater responsibility and possible promotion.

Skilled employees are more likely to have a successful career path.  

Training can give employees a strong sense of feeling valued by their employer increasing morale and enthusiasm. Attending training courses is not just about what is learnt but sharing ideas and experiences with other professionals ? that leaning is then reabsorbed back into the business.

The next thing that happed was that we had to run two courses simultaneously. Not only that but one held in the UK and the other in Europe! That's a first for Snowflake Software.
So major achievements for the team in such a short space of time and it will only get better as we have a new programme of courses coming up (please check out the Website) and a possible move to bigger premises due to demand.

Training in recession for survival is a requirement and essential!

Are you a Data eXchange business looking for new opportunities?

Snowflake Software is activity looking to recruit new Business Partners to sell its software, consultancy services, training and maintenance programme solutions.

The growth of data eXchange and usage of GML across the globe is increasing and in markets such as Data Providers, INSPIRE, Defence and Aviation. We are building such a high level of demand that we require new Business Partners to help fill that business need.

If you have experience in Data eXchange or the Geospatial market or have experience of handling GML or you are currently working in the above markets then we would be interested to talk to you about exciting opportunities we have now.

You will need to have an experienced sales team, technical support, a good infrastructure to accommodate a demanding but rewarding market segments.

We are looking for partners worldwide so please send you enquiry to:

info@snowflakesoftware.com

or post to:
Phil Lines Sales Director
Snowflakesoftware Ltd
Alleyn House
23-27 Carlton Crescent
Southampton
SO15 2EU

Telephone +442380386577

Due to Snowflake Software's continued growth the company has appointed a Marketing Executive in the form of Emma Williams, an ambitious marketing graduate with bags of creative potential and talent. Emma will be working alongside Phil Lines Sales Director, to help grow Snowflake Software, raise awareness and push adoption of Snowflake products in existing and new markets.

Emma previously worked for a leading supplier in standby power solutions as a Marketing Manager and played a key role in growing the business from £1m turnover to £12m turnover. Emma says ' I am really excited to be joining such a dynamic company in a strong state of growth. I will be looking to bring my experience in Marketing strategy, online marketing and product knowledge to the role to push the company forward."

'As Snowflake continues to grow and starts to open up new markets we require excellent new talent to help position our products and help the customer make the most of GML and now increasingly XML' says Phil Lines. ' Emma brings to Snowflake great experience from a different industry which will strengthen our outlook and provide us with a new approach'.

Snowflake continues to grow to meet customer demand here and abroad and Emma is just one of three new employees this month to help with the work load.

For more information please contact Snowflake Software on +44 (0) 23 8038 6577 or www.snowflakesoftware.com or info@snowflakesoftware.com

Snowflake is looking for a senior software developer to join its team of Java developers. Working as part of the Software Development team, you will develop new software functionality, improvements and bug fixes to Snowflake’s products. The role covers all aspects of the software development lifecycle with specific focus on Design, Development and Test.

The main functions of this role are:

1. Liaise with the Technical Architect and Chief Technical Officer, helping contribute to the software designs and ideas for new functionality, improvements and bug fixes.
2. Develop software from approved designs and/or requirements, adhering to all relevant standards and making efficient use of Snowflake’s software development environment.
3. Design, develop and perform Unit, System and Integration testing of software components.
4. Fully document any developed software and ensure code quality is in line with the relevant coding standards.

Mandatory technical skills include:

• Object Oriented design
• Java
• Web Services and SOAP
• RDBMS
• XML

Click here for a detailed job description

To apply for the position please send your CV along with a cover letter stating the position you wish to apply for and highlighting the experience you bring to the position.

Email your application to jobs@snowflakesoftware.com

or send a copy to:

Snowflake Software Ltd
Alleyn House
23-27 Carlton Crescent
Southampton
SO15 2EU