With the opportunity the Internet of Things (IoT) offers, a new generation of engineers has emerged and, as a consequence, the role of the design consultancy has changed.
Noting the focus on IoT, Fen Technology, a design consultancy based in Cambridge, which was recently acquired by the Spanish development consultancy Inspiralia, held its first ever IoT focused product development surgery at the end of last year. According to Business Director, Ciaran McAleer, who devised the idea of a ‘surgery’, this was an event with a difference.
“We didn’t tell our engineers to follow up with anyone afterwards,” he said. “We just told them to help them. If the engineer is interested, they will get in touch with us. That’s how we run our business.
“We weren’t there to do a ‘hard sell’. The idea behind the event was to get some world-class engineers from Fen and our valued partner companies together in one building and offer advice and help.”
Despite its surgery’s IoT focus, McAleer also expressed the importance of the company’s “broad-based offering”, explaining that Fen Technology would – and always has – offered expertise within a number of vertical markets.
“There are a lot more design consultancies today than when we first started back in 2002,” admitted McAleer. “But customers have told me that it’s difficult to get a consultant that is as dynamic and flexible. There are a lot of great companies in Cambridge, but one thing we pride ourselves on is that we turn things around very quickly and work in a very agile way.”
| “We have developed the skills to accomodate for ‘blue sky’ innovation” Ciaran McAleer |
So why is a design consultancy like Fen Technology so important? It’s impossible as an engineer to know everything, whereas a consultancy can provide a breadth of knowledge from its talent pool which it has developed and built up over the years.
“We used to receive specifications that were hundreds of pages long, now with the rise of ‘blue sky’ innovation, we’ll get five bullet points, but we’ve developed the skills and connections to accommodate for this new way of working,” explained McAleer.
When the company was first established, McAleer confessed that the founders – which included himself – discussed the possibility of having a more defined service rather than its broad-based offering. Born in the digital switchover era, he said they were tempted to specialise in the broadcast sector. “A lot of other companies setting up at the time actually did this. But, we recognised that all technology trends come and go – and I believe this decision is one of the main reasons why we still exist today.”
McAleer added that the same thinking goes for its surgery event. He explained the company is “dipping a toe in the water”, but there is potential to take this event on the road. He named places such as Oxford, London and Madrid as possibilities, but said that it remained to be seen whether the theme of IoT would remain a continued focus. “We need to reflect and see what the market is demanding.”
As for the future, McAleer said the company is seeing other markets take to the fore including wearables, GPS and battery technology. He noted in particular a current client, who had an idea on microturbine systems and drones. “There is great potential there,” he said.
“From our modest beginnings – where we literally started from nothing, doing everything ourselves – and now with our new colleagues in Spain, Fen has grown exponentially,” continued McAleer. “We are currently in a period of review and analysis – trying to understand the business. Saying this, we have growth plans in place for 2019.”
But, he emphasised, even after the acquisition Fen Technology still holds true to its original ethos and offering – that is customer-focused, flexible services – and pointed to its IoT product surgery as evidence.
