Viewing entries tagged with 'consulting'
The CIO Agenda: What's top of mind for NZ CIOs?
What is top of mind for New Zealand’s Chief Information Officers (CIOs)? At a recent ISACA event I attended in Auckland, three CIOs talked about some of their key areas of focus, including IT strategy execution, cloud strategy and cloud migration, and cyber security. The CIOs were Gerben Otter of Fonterra, Shane Ohlin of Paymark, and Wilson Alley of Delegat Ltd.
Unlocking the value of business analysis
What does it mean to be a Business Analyst (BA) and how does business analysis add value to projects and business initiatives? Although business analysis has been around for some time, it still seems to be considered by some to be rather loosely defined. While the majority of people agree on the importance of the BA role within an organisation, few truly grasp what it is a BA actually does. Perhaps this is because when a BA is good at their job, the benefits they bring are often masked. Nobody sees the time, effort and cost that has been avoided.
Preparing for DevOps culture change
DevOps is fast emerging as a better way to deliver quality software to customer expectations, on time and on budget, through processes of continuous deployment. Building on the success of SCRUM, Lean, and similar Agile approaches to software design and development, it brings agile philosophies to the realm of operations and infrastructure. DevOps and continuous deployment are a radical transformation from traditional ideas about how to manage operations and production environments. This requires a step change in cultural values, and it means that any successful DevOps initiative has to consider the impact on people and the way they work, as well processes, tools, and technologies.
Royal Australian Navy on managing assets and risk in a complex environment
Rear Admiral Adam Grunsell from the Royal Australian Navy was one of the keynote speakers at AMPEAK, the Asset Management Council's annual conference held this week in Adelaide, Australia. In this interview on the conference website, he discussed how the principles of good asset management are applied in a complex, large-scale context like defense. He also talked about the Interdependent Mission Management System (IMMS), developed with the help of Optimation’s Enterprise Awareness and Information Management consulting capabilities and using the ThoughtWeb platform.
10 ways to ensure technology partners deliver successful project outcomes
With resources tight and specialist expertise at a premium, most organisations need to engage external parties at some point to deliver specific outcomes. But we all know how common it is for IT projects to fall short of expectations or to fail altogether, and things can get very messy when multiple parties are involved. I recently attended an ISACA seminar where Hamish White, an experienced Managing Consultant and Senior Program Manager, shared some practical steps you can take in dealing with technology partners to ensure successful project outcomes.
How to use analytics to drive successful transformation
At the recent Wellington Analytics Forum I had the pleasure of making some opening remarks on behalf of Optimation as the event sponsor. The topic was Analytics in Government and featured James Mansell as the keynote speaker. If you're not familiar with James, you can get an insight into his approach by taking a look at this rather excellent piece of work for the Productivity Commission.
Top tips for ECM as a service
As many of you may be aware, the New Zealand Government has embarked upon a programme to deliver Enterprise Content Management as a service. ECM as a service is also growing in popularity across the private sector, as companies seek to increase efficiencies and focus on core business.
Air Sandwich Anyone? Closing the gaps between strategy and delivery.
In my few years back working in NZ, I've encountered a common theme that repeatedly surfaces, across most sectors and industries. It’s something that I think plays on the minds of all CEOs, Strategy Leads and CIOs. I'm referring to the giant chasm that divides strategy and delivery - or as we call it here at Optimation, the air sandwich. Put in other words, our country’s businesses seem to be guilty of devising business vision, goals and strategies, then haphazardly launching straight into projects that don't deliver what was expected, or worse, fail to deliver at all.
