Coming off the back of a challenging few years with pandemic disruptions and skills shortages, large digital transformation projects are kicking-off again in earnest. So, with the big drive for new tech projects gathering pace, Cloudwerx Senior Sales Director, Jarrod Myers, caught up with Richard Wiltshire, CIO of the Australian Computer Society to get a read on what trends we can expect to see in the year ahead (and beyond).
As the IT industry evolves, new themes are constantly emerging. And it’s not hard to identify some of these clear trends if you seek them out.
For example, once seen as a project bolt-on, cyber-security led design is exploding and will continue to be a big part of present and future secure platforms.
And look at the pace at which data-led trends are being infused into modern business. Such is the uptake of machine learning AI and analytics, it’s obvious that it’s simply a matter of time until they become the new normal.
So, with digital transformation accelerating across global commerce and trade, the tech behind these advancements is following suit.
CIO of the Australian Computer Society (ACS), Rich Wiltshire, provides some informed perspective on what lies ahead in the world of digital transformation.
When we talk about digital transformation, we’re essentially talking about technology that needs refreshing and replacing at an organisational level.
“All too often you see digital transformations fail because they are very technology focussed, you need to take that whole-of-organisation perspective,” Rich explains.
This is why using the foundational approach of people, process and technology to build and redefine new capabilities across an organisation is a great way to start.
Capability-led digital transformation is all about delivering the capability at speed once the process is redefined and adding technology to enable that across the whole organisation.
And as Rich says, it’s something that sets you up for success in the long run: “Efficient tech enables people to be able to deliver what they’ve set out to achieve.”
With recent high-profile data breaches becoming almost a weekly event of late, the narrative around cybersecurity-led design is being rewritten on the fly.
By incorporating cybersecurity into the design process, organisations can create products that are more secure, scalable, and resilient to threats.
This prioritises the protection of data, assets, and systems and ensures that security is built into the product architecture from the get go as opposed to being an afterthought.
And beyond the micro-level application, the cybersecurity boom is creating opportunities at a macro scale too, with huge demand in areas such as government and defence meaning the need for skilled labour and migration is intensifying.
“1.2 million people over the next seven years is a fairly audacious goal to bring in or train tech professionals in Australia, but more and more organisations are tech led by their nature,” says Rich.
“We need to start thinking outside of the box.”
Successful businesses and organisations are always evolving. Focussing on how data can propel your business forward is the next big thing in making this a reality.
To gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviour and preferences, and use this information to provide better experiences and solutions, data is being used in almost every facet of tech-led businesses.
And as Rich reminds us, business is about profit — so the key is monetising data and AI to create better customer experiences that support financial goals.
The upheaval of working arrangements with the pandemic has changed things for good.
Hybrid work, for example, can provide businesses with even more opportunities to employ highly skilled individuals.
“Having the right people in the team is critically important,” says Rich.
“This allows you to employ a diverse range of people — neurodiverse people, people from different religious backgrounds, socially diverse people, they all create a melting pot of ideas and innovative outcomes.”
Incredibly, ACS has been around for over six decades in Australia. It’s not everyday that you find an IT-based legacy system spanning across multiple generations.
But ACS is not one to rest on their laurels, as they currently embark on their own digital transformation.
“We’re not different to any other organisation in that technology is quite cyclical. We’re driving a full-organisational transformation, and we’re tying in the people, process and technology to really build new capabilities across the organisation.”
Rich frames it as “challenging the status quo” across the organisation to reach these ambitious transformational goals, and keeping in mind the fact that ACS is a member organisation, UX and UI will play a big part in interface design.
With skills shortages being a reality for all across the tech industry, Cloudwerx has stepped in to help ACS move forward with their goals in digital transformation without having to wait to bring other resources on board.
ACS is partnering with Cloudwerx to flex up and redefine its organisational processes within the IT team. Prior to working with Cloudwerx, the ACS team had been working for 18 months to redefine and refresh their own internal structures, operations and culture.
This preparation allowed them to come to the Cloudwerx team with a clear direction of what needed to be done, and as Rich rightly points out, taking responsibility and accountability of this process is the key to its success.
“We can’t just outsource something to an organisation and hope that the problem goes away.”
There’s so much more from our chat with Rich to unpack, so if you want to find out more about ACS and their skilled migration project, check out our two-part interview.
And don’t forget to join us at the Salesforce World Tour in Sydney on 1 March to catch up! Register today.
If you are interested in working with Cloudwerx, please reach out to hello@cloudwerx.com. We offer free consultations, and would love to hear about your business.
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