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I keep hearing of people leaving their Domino consulting companies to go back to full time work somewhere.

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Is this because there is a reduction in Domino consulting? Maybe a side effect of the confusion IBM created by bringing a product to market way before it was ready and before their whole strategy was worked out? Not focusing on or doing Domino work I don't know, but I'm interested to know what others think?

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Gravatar Image1 - I think there's a reduction in Domino consulting, yes, but it depends on what areas you're talking about. There's certainly a lessened need for admin/infrastructure. I think most orgs are comfortable with where they're at.

Side affect? That is probably possible in some ways, too. I don't think there are many who are abandoning Lotus Domino, but there are plenty who are waiting for the whole WorkPlace stuff to mature a little further.

Probably hasn't hurt IBM as much, since they only focus on customers who have craploads of money to burn on stuff like this. But the SMB market, where IBM wants all us BP's to play? They're not going to spend on this. Therefore, it hurts.


Gravatar Image2 - On the whole, I think consultancy in IT has dwindled quite a bit. I was a consultant for 8 years, but have now been permenant for over 2 1/2 years. I do like the security that comes with not having to worry about renewing every 6 months, but the reduction in pay SUCKS!!!! A family and responsibilities will make you take the certain thing over the what could be almost any time.

Sean---

Gravatar Image3 - Can't speak for consultancy as such, but the Notes / Domino developer job market has been all but dead for over five years now in the UK. There's more work for support / admin., suggesting that most organisations are just sitting on their investment rather than pushing it forward.

Personally, whilst I still think many aspects of Domino are fantastic, I'm not even thinking about whether I have a future with it. Clearly not, so time to move on to other things.

Gravatar Image4 - This is hardly due to a slowdown in Domino consulting. Some of these Domino developers, such as Rocky Oliver, you have been hearing about are taking jobs with IBM. With IBM! Why? Because they feel that the new technology is very cool and want to work with it, and have decided it is worth working for IBM to be part of it.

Let's be honest, the consulting market in general is weak in all areas, due mostly to the pressures of off shoring. But Rocky, as one example, has been overwhelmed with so much work he has been sending it to others. I know partly because he doesn't have time to work on the project he is doing with me right now. (Just had to say that in case he started reading this)

Rocky isn't leaving because business is poor, although with five kids a bit of stability might be good. He is going to IBM to learn new skills within the Workplace area, including Notes/Domino, and they want him there BECAUSE he has strong Notes/Domino skills (and because he is a really good developer and zealot).

In my view, the Notes/Domino market has been heating up for almost eighteen months now. I have customers starting new projects, customers buying products, customers moving back to Notes/Domino after moving to Exchange because they realize all the good stuff is going on back here. I don't know how that is effecting all Domino consultants, but this is hardly the time for doom and gloom. If it is time to get a full time job, that is only because the better offers are there right now than consulting in an age where cheap consultans are available. It certainly doesn't mean anything like the downfall and demise of Notes/Domino, whose future looks very bright indeed, albeit as part of a larger strategy which is sometimes a harder sell.

Gravatar Image5 - Timely topic! I added by comments on my blog.

Things do seem to be better in the last year or so, but it's all relative. If you're just noticing now that things are not as good as they were, consider yourself lucky - you've already slept through the worst part, a year or two ago.....

The rest at http://bbenz.typepad.com/softwaresoapbox/2005/05/notes_and_domin.html

Gravatar Image6 - Carl,

Not everyone's going that way !! Never one to follow a trend I decided that the 9-5 corporate job was not for me and I'm back (albeit a little slower than I would like) in the software consultancy business. For the last 18 months I ran the IT Services division of a healthcare consulting company. It was interesting work but only from the business side of things - the technology was pretty run of the mill and I longed to be working on innovative projects that were technically fun and that I felt I could make a difference on. The type of project I worked on (and hope to work on) in the Notes / Domino world. While people haven't been knocking my doors down to engage me the people who are talking about new projects are people who a couple of years ago were not moving on anything. So I think that things are coming about.

I do think that, more than ever, partnering is going to be critical to the success of small consultancies and this is an area where I have focused time and effort by "recruiting" people and companies that I feel comfortable working with as well as groups that would feel comfortable engaging me on their projects. Hopefully I will be successful - I'll keep you posted.

Neil.

BTW - I think you (and your April fools joke) are completely to blame for putting the idea into the minds of Rocky and others

Gravatar Image7 - What happens here:
The universities HAD Notes and Domino as part of their IT courses. No any more. So the influx of new developers and admins is drying up and companies feel it is difficult to find good developers, so they settle for something else where the supply of human resources looks more promising. And it is seen as uncool to be the "Domino guy".
We need to work on that
stw

Gravatar Image8 - Im back into consulting in Sweden and work is picking up. We have hired several developers from permanent positions. Infratructure is also picking up although slower, mostly cleaining up stagnated infrastructures after the rut in investment the last 4-5 years.

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