Ryland Technology Ltd.

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Ryland Technology Ltd.'s best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Ryland Technology Ltd. is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

The Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett, MP

The Rt Hon Lord Eric Pickles, MP

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

56 | RYLAND TECHNOLOGY

Based in High Wycombe, Ryland

is ideally located for clients in

London, the M4/M40 corridors

and beyond

Ryland Technology’s office

in Buckinghamshire

High Wycombe-based Ryland Technology Ltd provides

custom-built software services, taking on complicated and

diverse development work that client companies do not

have the expertise to do themselves. As an IT company founded in

1990 they preceded the launch of the worldwide web. Through

a policy of training and investment in new technology they have

moved with the times, taking advantage of new trends and

development techniques in the three decades since. As a result,

Ryland make an excellent and stable choice for clients looking

to tie together the various digital elements of their business.

Managing director Patrick Heighes here discusses the inception of

his company, how they have fared in a digital revolution, and the

values and skills that will see them endure any challenges to come.

Values

What distinguishes us from other software houses is the fact that we focus

primarily on custom development – we do not sell a product, we sell a service. Our

clients have complete authority over the systems we develop for them as opposed

to us retaining software ownership. Ryland Technology is open and honest when

it comes to discussing costs and what the client receives for their investment; we

have confidence in the quality of the service we offer, and the value for money it

represents. This is engendered in our policy of industry openness – we’re happy

for our clients to use specification documents we have written as the basis for

obtaining tenders from other companies.

FACTS ABOUT

RYLAND TECHNOLOGY

»Managing director: Patrick

Heighes

»Established in 1990

»Based in High Wycombe,

Buckinghamshire

»Services: Custom software

development for all industries

and sectors

»No. of employees: 10

»60 clients in a financial year,

10 major long-term clients

»www.ryltech.com

Ryland Technology

57RYLAND TECHNOLOGY |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

What we do

We develop contracted customised

web applications tying together

multiple elements of IT software and/or

hardware. As an example, we developed

systems for a car service company

having been subcontracted to provide

both the back-end administration

system and the mobile app used by

individual branches. The mobile app is

used to book cars in for a service while

at the same time updating the head

office system that stores all customer

information across all branches.

Meanwhile a web-based application,

used by the head office, accesses this

data and is used to view summary data

of the various branches and provide

top-level management reports.

Another example is a client for whom

we developed a uniform management

system. The system utilises RFID

technology, with microchips sewn into

uniform garments. We were required

to interface with large uniform

dispensing machines as well as RFID

scanners that track the uniforms

through their use cycle, and record

movements in a central database.

The system allows administration

of the uniform inventory and the

employees to whom they are assigned,

including interfacing with HR systems.

Anextensive reporting engine allows

crucial analysis of inventory to maintain

stocks and identify savings.

Our customers

Ryland has a wide and varied customer

base built up since its inception

in 1990. Customer satisfaction

and retention is a key ethos of the

company which has led to several

long-term clients who have used our

services over many years. For example,

the client to whom we supplied the

uniform management system has been

with us for over ten years and the

client in the car service industry has

been with us for nearly twenty.

Growing the business

At Ryland Technology’s inception, I

was the only member of the business.

We have grown steadily year after year

and are now a team of ten. This small

size enables us to give a personalised

service to our clients. Our reputation

has predominantly spread through the

word-of-mouth recommendation of

satisfied customers.

Recruitment challenges

Our greatest challenge has been with

recruitment – we work and provide a

specialised value-for-money service,

and we struggle to recruit people who

can do this job to the quality we expect

and promise. The ideal employee

would have to think outside of the

box, communicate well with a client

and be able to delve into the technical

intricacies of leading-edge systems that

are often not well supported – this is

a combination the average developer

often struggles with.

At a macro level, going forwards,

I want to see significantly more

investment in the teaching of the

computer sciences in school and

university, which would lead to greater

numbers of high-quality candidates

coming through into the workplace.

Incorporating computer science into

Ryland’s experienced,

UK-based developers

build long-term

relationships with clients

What

distinguishes

us from other

software

houses is the

fact that we

focus primarily

on custom

development

– we do not

sell a product,

we sell a

service

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

58 | RYLAND TECHNOLOGY

other subjects and involving the

industry at an early stage to provide

real-world experience would give the

UK a well-rounded computer science

resource. This would help improve

automation in many areas and as a

result help to improve the productivity

of the UK economy.

Three pieces of legislation

Over the years Ryland has witnessed

many positive developments in

legislation and policies affecting our

industry. But there is often a cost to

these changes, with small businesses

disproportionately impacted by

increased administrative burden.

There are three pieces of legislation

in particular that will continue to

affectus.

Firstly, pension auto-enrolment means

that employees must either contribute

to a pension or make an active decision

not to. While this has the positive

outcome of ensuring that employees

are thinking about their future pension

needs, it also imposes an extra cost

and administrative burden on small

companies.

Secondly, Making Tax Digital

includes the requirement to

report accounts more frequently.

Thisensures that the government

receives tax revenues more quickly,

but it also reduces cash flow and

imposes an additional accountancy

cost and administrativeburden on

smallbusinesses.

Thirdly, and finally, the new General

Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

helps to ensure that personal data

is protected and traceable within

organisations. This has had a big

impact on our clients, with the

new regulation forcing clients to

reassess data security, control and

processing to avoid potentially

big penalties if they are not GDPR

compliant. Whilethese are important

protections for consumers, for

many small businesses it has been

a confusing and time-consuming

exercise to revalidate systems and

processes that are essentially already

compliant. Consequently, Ryland has

experienced an administrative cost

fielding questions from clients on

GDPR issues, as well as ensuring GDPR

complianceourselves.

As a long-established technology

company, Ryland is well placed to

implement the necessary changes, but

I think it’s critically important that the

impact on small businesses is given due

consideration when legislation like this

is drafted.

Future aspirations

Going forward I would like to continue

to grow the company organically

by investing further in people and

technology and keeping abreast of the

latest innovations.

The key strength of Ryland Technology

is its longevity and the skills and

experience of its employees. We

want to build on that. We are well

established, and, with the financial

stability to invest for the future, we’re

confident in our current direction.

The key

strength of

Ryland

Technology is

its longevity

and the skills

and

experience of

its employees

“

Ryland develops custom

applications joining up

multiple elements of

hardware and software

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from the prime minister.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister