News, Seminars and Events

23^rd November 2011 - National Freelancer's Day.

The PCG Network - connecting professional freelancers and entrepreneurs with the business community.

Watch the freelance lecture and the webinars and interviews on various aspects of working as a freelancer.

See the National Freelancer's Day web site for more information.

The slide set from Colin's talk on "Running a Freelance Business" is also available for download here.

August 2011 - XDelta Limited - The Mission Critical Architects

News - XDelta expands to provide design, implementation and operational support of mission critical systems.

The core team consists of:

• Colin Butcher CEng FBCS, who has built an international reputation as one of the leading systems architects for mission-critical systems.
• John Foster, who specialises in commercial management and sales in complex IT environments.
• Derek Webb MBE, former Lt. Col. in the Royal Engineers, who specialises in programme delivery and project leadership.
• Euan Barker, who has built an international reputation as one of the best video, voice and data network architects.

XDelta also brings in additional trusted expertise as required to assist with the design, delivery and support of projects, thus providing a single point of contact for the design and implementation of mission-critical systems.

Tuesday 19^th July 2011 from 18:00 to 21:00 - BCS seminar, Birmingham, UK.

Seminar - "Delivering mission-critical systems".

The design and implementation of highly available disaster-tolerant systems requires a more disciplined approach to systems engineering than is common in the IT industry. It is important to have a sound understanding of the technology as well as the ability to lead and communicate effectively in order to see the project through to successful completion.

Please see the BCS Birmingham branch events pages for further information.

The slide set from Colin's talk on "Delivering mission critical systems" is available for download here.

Tuesday 28^th June 2010 from 18:00 to 21:00 - PCG seminar, Birmingham, UK.

The PCG Network - connecting professional freelancers and entrepreneurs with the business community.

"Successful freelancing" with Peter Sylvester (BNI regional director) of Business Unlimited, Chris Bell (PCG CC representative) of APT Response, Colin Butcher (PCG member) of XDelta and Iain McIlwee of PCG.

The slide set from Colin's talk on "Running a Freelance Business" is available for download here.

18^th November 2010 from 18:00 to 21:00 - BCS seminar, London, UK.

Seminar - "Delivering mission-critical systems".

Please see the BCS London Central branch events pages for further information.

The slide set from Colin's talk on "Delivering mission critical systems" is available for download here.

17^th - 18^th May 2010 - UKCMG TEC 2010, Oxford, UK.

Conference - UKCMG TEC 2010 - the UKCMG Annual Conference and Exhibition

UKCMG (UK Computer Measurement Group) is a user group association of Information Technology professionals, the purpose of which is to exchange information and share expertise about products, processes, services and issues affecting the management, planning, performance and administration of computer systems.

The slide set from Colin's talk on "I/O in a virtual environment" is available for download here.

5^th May 2010 - Connect webinar series - "Mission-Critical Systems"

Webinar - "Designing and Implementing Mission-Critical Systems" and slide set.

The webinar discussed the factors governing systems availability and performance, complemented by real-life examples of the design and implementation of all aspects of a system from hardware and infrastructure to the importance of good project leadership and management.

The main example used is the system described in the recent NHS Blood and Transplant case study by HP, which uses HP OpenVMS systems on Integrity Servers to run the world's biggest single donor database and blood product production control system.

Note: you may need the G2M3 codec from Citrix to play the GoTo Webinar recording.

6^th April 2010 - Connect webinar series - "Virtualisation in theory and practice"

Webinar - "Virtualisation in theory and practice" and slide set.

This session provided an overview of virtualisation, blades and the underlying principles that apply when designing and implementing virtualised systems and infrastructures. The context within which your business operates will help to determine to what extent and in which areas virtualisation may be applicable.

Note: you may need the G2M3 codec from Citrix to play the GoTo Webinar recording.

12^th February 2010 - Connect webinar series - "Networking with OpenVMS"

Webinar - "Networking with OpenVMS systems" and slide set.

This webinar covered how network infrastructures work, what protocols are available with OpenVMS, together with practical advice on how to design and implement networked systems and clusters using real-world examples.

• Part 1: Fundamentals of networking
• Part 2: Protocols in an OpenVMS environment
• Part 3: Network infrastructures, availability and performance

Note: you may need the G2M3 codec from Citrix to play the GoTo Webinar recording.

11^th February 2010 - PCG launches the "Britain's Brain Gain" campaign.

The PCG Network - connecting professional freelancers and entrepreneurs with the business community.

Read "Freeing Up Growth: How to harness freelance talent for business success". This document provides insight into how using talent on an ‘as needed’ basis is becoming a major competitive strategy (published Feb. 2010).

Watch "Freelancers and your business". This interactive resource takes you through the various stages of the setting up, engaging and managing a project with freelancers. The guide draws on the experience of both clients and freelancers, looking at common mistakes and providing key tips to ensure success.

Read "Case Studies" highlighting how freelancers can make the crucial difference between success and failure.

January 2010

News - NHS Blood and Transplant - case study published by HP

Read the NHS Blood and Transplant "Pulse renewal" project case study by HP.

It describes how the NHSBT made use of HP OpenVMS systems on Integrity Servers to build and run the world's biggest single donor database and blood product production control system. The disaster-tolerant system infrastructure was designed and built by XDelta on behalf of HP in collaboration with the application provider and system maintainer Savant. The database vendor was Mimer. The hardware reseller was OCSL.

Further details about the "Pulse renewal" project and its success in the 2009 Itanium Solutions Alliance Innovation Awards are available here.

29^th September 2009 at 19:00 - BCS seminar, Bristol, UK

Seminar - "Virtualisation in theory and practice"

This seminar gave a comprehensive overview of virtualisation and the underlying principles that apply when designing and implementing virtualised systems and infrastructures. There was a good audience with some good questions and discussion.

29^th Sep 2009 - Virtualisation in theory and practice

See the BCS Bristol Branch web pages for further information.

24^th September 2009 - Connect San Francisco Bay Chapter at HP Executive Briefing Center, Cupertino, USA

Seminar - "Designing and Implementing Mission-Critical Systems"

As part of his visit to San Francisco for the Itanium Innovation Awards event, Colin gave the following masterclass for the Connect San Francisco Bay Chapter.

24^th Sep 2009 - Designing and implementing mission-critical systems

See the Connect San Francisco Bay Chapter event pages further information.

23^rd September 2009 - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA

NHS Blood and Transplant "Pulse renewal" project gains an "Honourable Mention" in the 2009 Itanium Solutions Alliance Innovation Awards.

Watch the NHS Blood and Transplant "Pulse renewal" project keynote video.

Read the NHS Blood and Transplant "Pulse renewal" project case study by HP.

Read the NHS Blood and Transplant "Pulse renewal" project Availability Digest article.

The project was a collaborative effort between the following organisations:

• NHSBT - the end customer
• Savant - Pulse application provider and maintainer
• Mimer - Mimer-SQL database provider
• OCSL - HP reseller and hardware installer
• XDelta - disaster-tolerant system platform design and implementation
• HP - consulting & integration and HP OpenVMS Engineering

Video production by ArtGal Media