FDM Group

FDM Group Profile & Stats

Since being founded just a stone’s throw away from Brighton’s bohemian lanes, FDM Group has grown into an international IT services provider that currently services over 200 international clients from eight separate offices (including London, Manchester, New York, Frankfurt, Zurich, Luxembourg and Hong Kong) and pulls in a cool £83 million in revenues.

Starting out as FDI in 1991, FDM Group switched to its current appellation following the 1998 merger with Mountfield Software. The years since have seen international expansion as well as an outpost popping up in the City. Furthermore, the firm was floated on the AIM in 2005.

The majority of FDM’s clients are in the financial sector, with household names such as UBS, Credit Suisse, RBS and Barclays amongst its roster. But FDM are far from just banking specialists. The Group plays an integral role for a raft of different businesses in a range of industries. In the media and broadcasting sector, FDM has been providing its tailored services to clients such as BBC, BSkyB and BT Media for over 15 years. The Group has worked with marquee names such as Lloyds of London in insurance, and British Airways in transport and logistics. In the systems integrator sector, FDM has enhanced the operations of companies such as Detica. In retail, demand for FDM’s services has increased in line with the shift from high street to internet highway. As shoppers have turned to the web for their products, businesses such as Asda and John Lewis have turned to FDM for help with migrating their offerings online. In telecommunications, the Group’s expertise stretches from television to the internet, via telephones.

FDM has built its success by providing tailored IT services through its highly trained consultants. In fact, FDM is one of the largest IT graduate employers in the UK, with an Academy Programme that bridges the gap between university and employment. To date, FDM has trained over 3,000 individuals in Java, .net, application support, testing analysis, project management and infrastructure support. But the Group doesn’t just train anyone; only one in 400 applicants makes the cut into the Academy Programme. FDM currently employs over 835 permanent consultants, with its artillery augmented a further 385 by contracted staff. Each permanent consultant receives free training by FDM; the only stipulation is that they work for the Group and its clients for a minimum of two years in one of six specialisms.

Those interested in project management and business analysis can expect to be involved in any phase of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Using Prince 2 methodology, FDM can manage IT projects such as software development and business change programmes. The Group’s development arm can help ‘manage and minimise risk’ inherent in IT development projects, either on or off-site. In testing, accredited ISTQB test consultants work with clients to provide a maximum return on their investment.

FDM offers application support both on and off-site, including ‘the total outsource of an existing operation or a supplement approach’. Consultants tasked with working on clients’ IT infrastructure use their expertise to maximise operational efficiency and minimise reliance on contractors. The remit of infrastructure consultants ranges from server migrations to consolidations. In training, consultants look to build upon FDM’s strong track record in everything from analysis to delivery.