Mike Jerome

There's a certain pride in your business when you manage to stay in the race just being boot strapped and been flying under the radar. We're constantly underestimated despite leading the pack on integrations, implementing new software solutions and doing a whole lotta firsts. Only difference is, we don't pay to publicize it and make a big deal. Instead, we reach out to brands directly we feel are a good fit and offer the following: No fees to utilize direct integration with ezCater and Olo for catering and ondemand delivery. We are also working to implement other integrations upon request by a brand. No per location fees. No per order tech fee if utilizing UR delivery network. No monthly fee. No tablets. Free initial consultation to optimize and evaluate your catering setup with tips and pointers for partnering with us. No contracts demanding exclusivity or time period. In-house staff delivery support and dispatch/driver app. Cheaper delivery rates on average than ezdispatch options with a specialized and equipped fleet Empowerment starts with having the right tech and tools. After all, great service from a business doesnt require locking down clients. Try reaching out to UR Services and let's grow together. #restaurants #texas #catering #delivery #technology #smallbusiness

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Our world operates on terrible, outdated and clunky software. The place you take your car for repairs? Old diagnostics systems. The local shop? Old EPOS tech. The government? Don’t get me started! Your business? I bet theirs some cobwebs in your software. This is what we call “legacy systems”. Built with the best of intentions. But now far beyond their use-by date. It’s easily done: Software built and installed for yesterday’s requirements. Worked flawlessly - for possibly years. It starts to slow, break, crash - but still “works”. And we get stuck on “it still works”. We humans are exceptional problem solvers - and with our tech, we find ways around the bugs and issues. Ever started a job at a new company and wondered how on earth they are still using X and Y for this and that? It’s the dreaded “that’s how it’s always been done”. But legacy systems aren’t just annoying; they are riddled with risks: → They are no longer secure. → Data is fragile and sometimes not even backed up. → It takes weeks to train someone new on how they work. → The system could crash for the last time at any given moment. Replacing legacy systems is scary stuff for most businesses. But it needn’t be. 1. Backup everything, including the software itself. 2. Write what it does into Google: you are guaranteed to find something better. 3. Almost all big system providers have an “onboarding” process to take old data. Maybe take some time today to review what you’re using to literally run your business. And if you can’t find anything to replace it, we can build a custom solution (and maintain it for years to come, which is important!). Legacy systems need not run your business. — Have we met? If not, I’m Jackson, and I help businesses rid themselves of their tech problems once and for all. Drop me a DM, tell me what you’re dealing with. I’ll happily provide you with guidance.

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Software developers - take a break! 💥 Here’s an amazing story about freelance, releases and customer requirements that will make you smile. A cathartic tale of the freelance journey. 🔴 No dragons were harmed in the making of this film. 🐲 “Freelance” is a comedy that deals with themes of resilience, professional frustration, mental health and work ethic. Sources: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e9ppxifs 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e9VxsAGS © Video Credits: Luciano A. Muñoz Sessarego @lucianomunoz, Tumblehead #humor #sdlc #productdevelopment #aidevelopment #softwareproduct #productmanagement #softwaredevelopment #softwaredevelopers #freelance #freelancers #customerrequirements #saas #saasproduct #ai #airace #softwarerequirements #srs #AgileDevelopment #requirementsengineering #aiapps #softwareengineering #functionalrequirements #ProductRelease #Sprint #CraftTheProduct #resilience #professionalfrustration #mentalhealth #workethic #freelancing #wellbeing #wellbeingatwork #motivation #havefun #weekend #weekendvibes #saturdayvibes

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👉 In 1988, Carl Lewis won Olympic gold in the 100m with a time of 9.92 seconds. 👉 In 2024, Oblique Seville finished last in the 100m final with 9.91 seconds Amazing to see how standards evolve over time and this to me, reflects business and software development: 🧐Like Carl Lewis's performance, legacy systems were once the gold standard, serving their purpose brilliantly. 🤨 Today's Modern solutions, like Seville's 2024 time, are built on years of refinement. What was once cutting-edge is now baseline 🤔 Just as athletes push boundaries, businesses must evolve their tools and strategies. Legacy systems served us well, but staying competitive today requires embracing the latest technology. 😇 Keep striving to be better every day, just like the athletes who keep breaking records. #Innovation #Technology #ContinuousImprovement #BusinessGrowth #LegacyVsNew #TechnologyEvolution

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Lakeside Software's Simon Salloway explains why SysTrack will never cause a Blue Screen of Death incident and why SysTrack provides the best visibility for reporting on and recovering from BSOD outages in his latest blog post.

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Exploring user needs and the value chain of platform teams can be a hugely successful exercise to help members of the platform teams identify who their users are and how they might best deliver services that meet their users unmet needs. #fastflowconf #teamtopologies #userneedsmapping

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*** New Real-time Character Pipeline - Incoming *** We have some exciting updates to share next week, especially with Halloween approaching. Here’s a sneak peek of some development testing. I suspect one or two people may know exactly what this is. If you know, you know! We now have our XR-1 system driving these new characters in an updated Camera One streaming app. For the geeks, the facial data is being driven via a Meta Quest Pro. #realtime #streaming #liveevents

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komal koul of Currys plc talks risk and opportunity when it comes to embracing drop ship in order to extend one’s range They asked themselves the question: “Do we have permission to sell anything with a plug?” … there were lots of pros and cons but ultimately they realised ‘doing nothing’ was not an option Enter #ChangeManagement They went full throttle for incremental, profitable growth hand in hand with Virtualstock to make drop ship range extension a reality ergo no capital investment on stock / no impact or cost associated with space Key things on the way … - adapt and learn to fail fast - informality, not everything can be brand new, a bit of sticky tape is okay - PPT (my favourite - People Process Technology), need all three The future: conversational commerce (and the role of Gen AI) social, drop ship & stocked harmony, marketplace (tailored) and the circular economy … all hot topics for now Let us remember the Customer is still the king! And for those embracing Curry’s as a marketplace amongst other channels, just know Linnworks is here to help you with connectivity, automation and control. www.linnworks.com

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If I said #savoring or perhaps #savouring (in the UK) then you'd probably #think about #food. But, what if 'to #savour' was #bigger than food? What if you could savour #any #pleasant experience? #Savouring is a little #elusive, generally only happens in the #present moment, can be #automatic (but can #disappear if you notice it), can last but a #short time or be #extended with #practice. It can be felt in #retrospective thinking or in future #anticipation. It extends #fun, #excitement and #joy. What's not to like? Savouring is the exact #opposite of #coping with #stress. It's savouring a moment of joy and #extending the #feeling. It's coming from the field of #positive psychology. Historically, all doctors have ever done is study folks who have a #problem, negative psychology and #try to #fix them. Nobody ever bothered to look at #positive, #optimistic, #happy people and work out what makes them so happy? These #smiley exceptions seem to be only 2% of the population. The 2%ers Why not give it a go? It's #easy. Simply try to be fully #present in a #happy moment in the present time and start to #observe things around you. #Feel the #pleasure. The more #present the more you see. It'll build a #pleasant #memory that you can #revisit and #recreate the savouring feeling later. Anything #lost in giving it a go? I paid £30 for a second hand book to work this all out in my #search for #calm. The book is called 'Savoring' by Fred Bryant and Joe Veroff. It's worth a #google to see how #much this book #costs; it should make you #wonder #why the #expense.

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Interesting timing on the latest ONS #NEET data (eg #GCSEResults Day and VTQ Level 1 + 2 #ResultsDay): 📊 ONS NEET data: 12.2% of all 16-24 year olds are NEET, April to June 2024. An increase to 872,000 🚨 An estimated 13.5% of young men (up 1.7 percentage points on the year) and 10.8% of young women (largely unchanged on the year) were NEET. ⏰ Is it just me... or is this really alarming? We are at the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution... we have an increase in 16-24 year olds not in education and training. 🚦 GCSE results (out today) revealed students aged 17 years and over there was an increase by 25.8% for GCSE English language and by 20% for GCSE Maths. Erm... this is pretty alarming stuff Here is our sector reaction piece... but what do you think? 🤔 There are a lot of policy changes in the wings for #employability and #skills... but surely this should mean a link for Careers Advice and Guidance and support to help people navigate the early stages of the fourth industrial revolution?.. we are in the early stages of the fourth industrial revolution and 12.2% of young people are not in employment, education or training... is this just alarming to me? This is a crisis here! 🔔We train people for 11 years at school and there are still very high numbers of young people who can't pass English and Maths GCSEs.. this is a bit alarming! ❓ What is the fix and solution? https://lnkd.in/eAg9Qqzk #NEETs #Skills #Employment #LabourMarket #4thIndustrialRevolution #SkillsGap #SkillsPolicy #employmentsupport

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I met up with Dave a couple of months ago in Leeds to show him the latest bit of magic I created. It's just some creative use of Terraform, DevOps and some out of the box usage of existing Python libraries, but Dave thinks this stuff is otherworldly! So we're staring into my cauldron, skimming through my book of magic, and he says something to me like, and I'm paraphrasing here... "How do you handle being so unbelievably clever and having this much knowledge and capability?" To which I replied... "You know I'm only operating at about 20% in this job right?!" Which in hindsight is a ridiculously arrogant thing to say, I didn't mean it like that. And of course, folks out there would gasp "Oh only 20% effort, pay him less!!" but my point is that most days I don't even have to try. Even when I push myself to learn something new or do something in a different, more efficient way, working in tech just isn't that difficult. For me. And I still churn output that would make most folks in tech envious. I've been trying to think about why since that day. I still don't have an answer. All I know is that I absolutely love working in this field. I love working with tech, making computers go boop boop beep beep, solving business problems, wowing people every day without much effort. Although I still don't think I'm even close to a 10x developer, those guys...wow! But it's not all sunshine and roses, believe me! Often I find being efficient and highly impactive has a downside. Business people expect more. Too much. Imagine a task takes 8 hours and I do it in 1. The next task takes 12 hours and the business complains when it's not in done in 1. This is a regular occurrence for me. Even though for someone else it might take anywhere between 4 and 16 hours to complete, because I take 2 I get grief for the delay. I try to take it as compliment that people just don't like me if they just think I'm smug, arrogant, too clever, a girly swot etc. I wouldn't have it any other way, and I think at 43 I'm finally starting to accept that and stopping dumbing myself down just to be liked.

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Well worth finding out about, if you’re in the position.

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I’m you sure many of you know that selection of software when investing in a business system is important but that just gets you to the start line. Just as important is the selection of your support team - picking the correct partner that can support you when things aren’t quite working the way you would expect is critical to ensuring that you are running smoothly every day. That’s why we are so proud of our incredible support team’s performance - for example, in June, our team provided an initial response of 10 minutes or less for 47% of the support tickets logged. Just let that sink in - 47% inside 10 minutes!!! It shows just how effective they are, especially to hit that number across a large team and shows how our support team truly understand and appreciate how your Sage solution supports what you are trying to achieve as a business. That's why we're dedicated to resolving your tickets as swiftly as possible. Here is a flavour of some of the feedback that they have received from last month: 💬 "Life savers" 💬 "Went above and beyond to understand my issue and come up with a solution - thank you" 💬 "Top notch service and support" Our support team truly is amazing, consistently going the extra mile to ensure your success. #CustomerSupport #SageSupport

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St James's Place Strategy Overhaul: A Step Towards Future Growth 🚀💼 St James's Place recently unveiled an ambitious six-year plan to revamp its services and slash costs. This strategic move has already resulted in a significant stock price surge 📈. With goals like saving close to £500 million by 2030 and reducing annual costs by £100 million by 2027, the company is clearly committed to a transformative path forward. CEO Mark FitzPatrick's focus on enhancing digital services and better serving ultra-wealthy clients shows a keen awareness of the evolving market landscape. The decision to reinvest half of the savings back into the business signals a commitment to growth and innovation. It's worth noting the incredible opportunities that technologies like AI can bring to the table. In wealth management, AI offers unparalleled insights through data analysis, streamlines decision-making processes, and personalizes client experiences. Integrating AI can further enhance a company's strategic updates, ensuring they stay ahead in a competitive market. The future of wealth management is undoubtedly intertwined with technology, and those who leverage it effectively will likely reap significant rewards. What are your thoughts on the role of AI in financial services? Could it be the key to unlocking even greater potential? 🤔 #WealthManagement #StrategyUpdate #DigitalInnovation #AIinFinance #FutureGrowth #FinancialServices

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Interesting LNETM event at the London Stock Exchange last night - the topic was Unraveling (Future of) SAAS… Three great presentations and then a panel session on SAAS. Really interesting stats, one in particular talking about the average enterprise subscribing to nearly 400 apps!! That’s an amazing statistic, and almost unbelievable. I then thought about all the apps we use and subscribe too, and then wondered if that number was an understatement :) Interestingly no mention of how AI could change the SAAS landscape. SAAS apps and services are typically generalised services that process your data. They are generalised so they can appeal to a broad spectrum of potential subscribers, and so you often have to compromise on the functionality and service quality levels, and if you customise these services, you can end up in a world of pain, long backlogs, and costly future maintenance upgrades. AI features are of course being added to these SAAS services, but the real issue is more fundamental. These SAAS technologies have typically required massive investment to create sophisticated tooling at enterprise scale, engineered for hyperscale operation for use by thousands and millions of concurrent users. AI App Builders will allow you to create your own apps, not code snippets, but fully functional enterprise scale apps. These are apps are - Built to meet your specific needs and requirements - It’s IP you have created and own - An asset you can add to your balance sheet - You are processing your data without it being pushed into a 3rd party SAAS service - You can consolidate all of the apps you need into one enterprise platform - You now have access to all your own data to analyse and make actionable insights - Use TAAP’s technology and the apps are maintenance free and can run for 10 or more years, or until you need to make changes The cost of owning software will drop through the floor, as will legacy technical debt. The SAAS landscape will change significantly, why subscribe to something that’s a compromise, that you don’t own, and you can’t differentiate yourself against your competitors! AI App Builders will be the catalyst for significant change to the SAAS landscape, let alone how the future will look when we become gatekeepers of our data and our own AI machine built systems. One of the panel suggested this is the end of human ingenuity - it’s quite the reverse, it’s the dawn of a future that will allow us to do so much more, with AI technologies helping us shift mountains, doing things we just hadn’t even considered possible because of the scale and effort of the work involved. AI is going to elevate our thinking, broadening our ideas and potential, and that’s why you need to consider AI as a tool, the more you use it, the more proficient and awesome you’ll become. It’s a great time to work in IT and with AI, unless you work in a SAAS company with all this uncertainty! AI App Builders are a stepping stone towards AGI.

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💡 Techscaler First Steps - Week 6: Product Discovery & MVP Building with Sam Dickie from Skyscanner 🚀 This week was all about moving beyond early experiments and diving deep into building products that users love and customers actually pay for. 🔥 Sam shared incredible insights on Lean Product Discovery and how to prioritise the RIGHT tasks to keep that runway manageable (which, let’s be honest, we all need in the early stages 😅). Key takeaway: It’s not just about creating an MVP; it’s about learning what not to build! 🙌 Experiments, hypotheses, and constant validation—this is where your tech stack becomes absolutely critical. Get the right tools behind you, and the rest starts to flow. This is the first thing I do when I work with clients. Understand their current tech stack. Where the want to be. What their skill set is. And then offer a solution from there. It’s so great to see the no-code building becoming a priority- this is what Technology Coaching teach 🙌🏼! Thanks the lovely CodeBase team in Glasgow for hosting a great event - with lovely treats! Nice to be inperson!! What’s your go-to tech stack for building and testing? Let’s compare notes!👇 #TechScaler #ProductDiscovery #MVPBuilding #TechStack #DigitalMindset #EntrepreneurJourney #SmallBusinessTech

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"Graham, what's the one piece of advice you'd give to anybody working in sales" Is a question nobody has ever asked me. Which is just as well, as until now I'd have been as much use as a handbrake in a canoe. However, the last few weeks have been a fascinating learning experience for me and quite an eye-opener. I've been in and around sales for a lot of years now, and have enjoyed/endured an awful lot of sales methodologies; MEDDICC, SPIN, SCOTSMAN, GUSSET (I may have made that one up...). You get the point. Speaking of the point, I should really get to it. After all those years on the seller's side of the desk, I've recently been involved in a purchasing process for the first time. We're in the market for a PRM/ Portal platform*, so as "the partner guy", I've got to witness a software sales cycle from the other side of the desk, and it's fascinating. As sellers, especially trained in MEDDICC or whatever, we think in straight lines, assuming everything has a documented process and is purely objective. What we forget is we're dealing with human beings, with all their wonderful quirks and flaws. Yes, we have a written list of criteria for the new platform, however "I loved the demo but the seller's a bit of a dick", "What a dumb name for a company" and "I loved it but the CFO's gonna s**t bullets when he sees the bill" are all factors, whether we like it or not. Added to that, we've changed criteria on the fly at least once and are making up an awful lot of stuff as we go along. I'm 100% certain we're far from unique, especially as a rapidly growing organisation. So back to the question I've never been asked - My one piece of advice to all sellers is get yourself involved in a real purchasing process, it may just change your approach for the better! *PRM Vendors: If you spam me I'll find you, give your children a double espresso and tell them you've promised to buy a puppy!

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