I’m sorry to have to tell you we’ve had to let six dedicated and diligent employees go today. I want to stress this isn’t about their work, but rather part of a broader plan to refocus and adapt Spheric to the changing economic landscape and we are doing everything we can to help them find new exciting opportunities.

In a turbulent economy we must remain adaptable to change.

“It is not the strongest, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

Right-sizing the business

Decisions like these are always very difficult but no matter how strong our long term projections are; we can’t remain rigid in an economy changing so rapidly. This is what “right-sizing” means and we are actively seeking to realign Spheric with the market.

Of course, the dominant considerations have been the Canadian recession and the overall global economic downturn. Alot of companies are feeling the effects of this and Spheric is no different. We know old business models need to adapt, and for Spheric this means moving from a “technology product” focused company to a solutions based company.

Solutions are our product

Spheric has a great track record of finding inefficiencies and solving the problem. Our team is strong and adaptable. The information technology solutions we provide tell the story. Our clients know we have the tools in house and we get the job done. We are confident that the new direction will allow Spheric to push forward with a strong commitment to our customers, associates and stakeholders.

What’s next for Spheric?

We are going to continue to provide a new brand of IT consulting and services. We know the same old IT ways don’t work and we’ve been successful at creating new and better ways to do business. In a few weeks we’ll have a significant announcement. We’ve already learned we need to be more flexible and I’m looking forward to sharing the next steps for Spheric with you – in about three weeks time.

Rapid Prototyping with Ruby on Rails Applications

Anyone with experience in traditional web design has experienced discrepancies between specifications, expectations, and the final product. It’s what you inspect, not what you expect, that determines the outcome.

How do you ensure all stakeholders are kept on the same page throughout the life of a project? In our experience you need more than specification documents to stay on track. You need an application prototype.

Rapid Prototyping

Software prototyping is the creation of prototypes, i.e., incomplete versions of the software program being developed.

Benefits of software prototyping include:

• The software designer can obtain early and frequent feedback from the users.
• The client and the designer can continuously compare if the software matches the specification.
• It also allows the software engineer to track the accuracy of project estimates and whether the deadlines and milestones proposed can be successfully met.

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We're very excited that Oracle has appointed former Director of Services Engineering and Plumtree alum, Brian Harrison, as the new Web Center Interaction (WCI) Product Manager.

Why Is This Exciting?
Product management's main focus is on driving new product development, gathering market requirements, and building product roadmaps. And Brian has a terrific history of adding great value to the Portal.

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Mission Accomplished: Launching spheric.ca v3

I think every company goes through it at one point or another, where you look at your existing website and wonder “Is this really what we want everyone’s first impression of us to be?” When we stopped and asked ourselves that question, the answer was a resounding “NO”.

We’re usually deep in projects for other people; no time for working on our own home. But, last year while attending South by Southwest, Spheric’s lead designer Teddy Hwang and I became acutely aware of the fact that our site didn’t reflect us at all. It didn’t tell our story, our personality was absent, even the technologies we’ve mastered were missing. Inspired by all the enthusiasm and creativity at the conference, we set out on a mission.

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Kiva: Valentina Obrucheva

A few weeks ago, Spheric helped small entrepreneurs by lending them money through Kiva. Kiva is a site that allows people to make micro loans to developing-world entrepreneurs. Check out how Kiva works.

One of the entrepreneurs that we helped is Valentina Obrucheva. Valentia has just received the loan money and in the next 12 months, she will be repaying the loan. Here’s a short description from her profile on Kiva:

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