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.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.ryltech.com

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

www.ryltech.com

This article was sponsored by Ryland Technology Ltd.. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng

This year’s Parliamentary Review reflects on a tumultuous and extraordinary year, globally and nationally. As well as being an MP, I am a keen student of history, and I am conscious that 2020 would mark the end of an era. It will be remembered as the year in which we concluded Brexit negotiations and finally left the European Union. Above all, it will be remembered as the year of Covid-19.

In our fight against the pandemic, I am delighted that our vaccination programme is beginning to turn the tide – and I pay tribute to the British businesses, scientists and all those who have helped us to achieve this. But the virus has dealt enormous damage, and we now have a duty to rebuild our economy.

We must ensure that businesses are protected. We have made more than £350 billion available to that end, with grants, business rates relief and our furlough scheme supporting more than 11 million people and jobs in every corner of the country, maintaining livelihoods while easing the pressure on employers. The next step is to work with business to build back better and greener, putting the net zero carbon challenge at the heart of our recovery. This is a complex undertaking, but one which I hope will be recognised as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Through the prime minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, we can level up every region of the UK, supporting 250,000 green jobs while we accelerate our progress towards net zero carbon emissions.

With our commitment to raise R&D spending to 2.4% of GDP and the creation of the Advanced Research & Invention Agency, we are empowering our fantastic researchers to take on groundbreaking research, delivering funding with flexibility and speed. With this approach, innovators will be able to work with our traditional industrial heartlands to explore new technologies, and design and manufacture the products on which the future will be built – ready for export around the globe.

And I believe trade will flourish. We are a leading nation in the fight against climate change. As the host of COP26 this year, we have an incredible opportunity to market our low-carbon products and expertise. Our departure from the EU gives us the chance to be a champion of truly global free trade; we have already signed trade deals with more than 60 countries around the world.

As we turn the page and leave 2020 behind, I am excited about the new chapter which Britain is now writing for itself, and for the opportunities which lie ahead of us.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy