Software and IT Solutions Specialist Ian Howlett Lends His Expertise to Entrepreneurs and Senior Business Leaders

CAMBRIDGESHIRE, England, July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Gifted with the expansive vision of an ambitious leader and the ability to tackle the minutest details, Ian Howlett, in his long career as a developer and an IT Solutions specialist, loves to connect his passion as a pianist with his work as a consultant to fellow entrepreneurs and senior business leaders.

Just as he seeks excellence in helping them achieve success and peace of mind with their IT and software projects, the multi-faceted software success expert – who has an MBA from the University of Oxford – is always seeking to improve his skills on the ivories and find bigger and better places to showcase them.

For his birthday in 2013, his girlfriend Victoria took him to Vienna, where Bosendorfer, the manufacturer of arguably the best piano in the world, is located. In their store, which is part of a world-famous concert hall, Howlett – in awe of and inspired by the 9-foot instrument's grand sound and rich craftsmanship – sat down and began to play Beethoven's familiar Moonlight Sonata.

Howlett is equally proficient as a software success expert, helping companies around the world to guide their software projects into successful ventures. Sometimes this is from the initial stages of writing the software, but is most often as an IT trouble-shooter, helping them get "unstuck" from a seemingly intractable problem and then maintain maximum efficiency as their business grows.

English by birth, he has had a natural affinity for computers and software since an early age, when he got an Amstrad computer for Christmas and, in addition to playing games, started writing programs on it.

He later earned a 3-year degree in computer science.

"I wrote my first program at the age of six," he says. "That's probably quite old now, given that kids seem to pop out of the womb and land on an iPad, but in the early 80s it was pretty rare!"

Howlett brings a unique array of professional experiences to his current work with individual clients. He began his professional career as a software developer for Unisys before starting up his first business as an IT contractor at 22. He then took a position at BUPA, the UK's largest private healthcare company, analyzing surgeons' performances and developing a then-cutting-edge "reverse auction" system for purchasing.

After going back to school for his MBA, he stayed on at the University of Oxford to work in the quantum computing laboratory, giving presentations to the European Union in Brussels and Bratislava, Slovakia about commercializing quantum computers.

All the while, Howlett has worked with various clients, including a major European airline and, via referral from a satisfied client, a prominent travel insurance company in Australia.

To help senior business leaders and entrepreneurs, Howlett has just launched his new book, with a long but perfectly chosen title: "How To Fix Your Software Project: The Plain English Guide To IT Project Turnaround For Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs."

He identifies 26 major root causes of IT project failure. At the top of this exhaustive list are: poor project management; scope is too wide; unrealistic expectations; unarticulated project goals; marketing failure; and wrong people on the project.

In the concise but comprehensive 169-page work, the author shows leaders how to turn their software projects from failure to success in seven simple steps. These essential strategies, explained in plain English rather than "tech geek" speak, are designed to help business people know exactly which questions to ask – and what actions to take – to get a sick software project back on track.

Towards the end of the book, Howlett offers his services to those who require more specifically tailored help and advice. Each year he works with a small group of private clients to provide them with guidance and practical support, helping ensure the success of their projects.

"When describing what I do, it really comes down to the phrase, 'I've got your back'. No matter what particular service I am providing to a client, they always know that I have their best interests at heart, and that I will deliver what they want most: results."  

Read more at http://www.ianhowlett.com/about-me/

SOURCE Ian Howlett