TransGrid - September 2020

Driving the digital energy transformation TRANSGRID

DIGITAL REPORT 2020

Driving the digital energy transformation 02

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TransGrid’s Chief Information Officer, Russell Morris, describes how technology innovation has overcome COVID-19 challenges

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he role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) is one defined by change. For any organisation today, regardless of industry,

digital transformation is essential and the adoption of new, innovative technologies forms the core of any future-looking digital strategy. Russell Morris, 04

CIO at Australian electricity network operator TransGrid, is no exception to this. Morris has been at Transgrid for more than two years, joining the organisation to drive its technology transformation, oversee a complex modernisation programme and replace legacy technologies.

Change, however, is unceasing and circumstances out of Morris’ or TransGrid control have made the last 12 months particularly challenging for him and his team. The 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, now colloquially known as the ‘black summer’, saw a period of unusually intense bushfires throughout the country, which only ended in February this year. After those fires, which burned 13 million acres of land on which TransGrid’s vast $6bn electrical asset base resides, there was a brief respite. Then, however,

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“ There’s a really interesting shift in technology moving to being an enabler of a new way of working and a new way of doing things” — Russell Morris, Chief Information Officer, TransGrid

the global COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia and TransGrid like it did every nation and every industry sector.

Understandably, in such circumstances ‘business as usual’ ceases to be relevant. Morris, along with his IT department, were focused on balancing business continuity while still advancing TransGrid, and deriving business outcomes and transformation from any technology investments that were made. Prior to this, Morris had been in the midst of a technology

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transformation focused on replacing

Innovating with Goldwind – TransGrid | Business Growth CLICK TO WATCH

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1:49

07 legacy assets with new, digital inno-

essential business enabling func-

vations. The challenges presented

tion. From our perspective it’s a real

by the bushfires and COVID, however,

evolution in how we’ve approached

have seen both he and TransGrid

progress - so, which technologies

refocus their strategy on innovation

would be useful, which inform the

and technology adoption, as well as

broader strategy and so forth - and

the role that both it and the IT team

how they will play a completely dif-

plays within the organisation.

ferent function to that we considered

“There’s a really interesting shift

six months to a year ago. Take the

in technology moving to being an

bushfire as an example. You’d be

enabler of a new way of working and

hard pressed to say that technol-

a new way of doing things,” Morris

ogy alone enabled us to deal with

explains. “If, as an IT department,

it, but it’s absolutely given us the

you were a technology function

insight to understand our response

pre-COVID you’re now an absolutely

to these things, to better realise the w w w.t ra nsgri d. com . a u

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importance of data and algorithms,

drive value and improve customer

and how we can leverage data from

experience while reducing costs to

different sources to build a better

serve. “The need was to commit to

picture of our operations through

a next-generation operating model,

predictive analysis.”

moving away from the traditional Plan,

Technology has allowed TransGrid

Build, Run approach. The domain

to respond to the challenges pre-

operating model is a new business-

sented this year in an effective,

aligned way of running the IT function

innovative and agile way, says Morris.

that combines digital technologies

He attributes this largely to a major

with business strategy. There are no

restructure undertaken by his team

longer standalone vertical IT goals.

to align with business ‘domains’. This

They are instead replaced by business

was needed, he explains, to simulta-

outcomes that are shared horizontally

neously disrupt existing processes,

across the business value chain.”

C OM PA N Y FACT S

The shift to a domain-type model is beneficial as technology and

“At TransGrid, we are focused on delivering better outcomes for electricity customers and the community by working to deliver safe, reliable and affordable electricity and we do this by operating efficiently, bearing down on cost and through innovation. This guides our IT decision making.”

focus. Morris adds: “For TransGrid, it

- Russell Morris, CIO, TransGrid

has also represented the beginning

business functions become more entwined. In essence, in order to maintain pace with this shift in business direction, the operating model employed by the technology function should be more focused on agility, collaborative ways of working and a renewed product and customer

of a journey to leave behind its legacy single ERP system and replace it

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Russell Morris Title: Chief Information Officer Company: TransGrid Industry: Electricity transmission

Location: Australia

Morris is an IT Executive whose career with large, well-known brands, spans over 20 years. He has delivered technology enabled business change on a global scale. He was successively recognised as one of the top 100 CIO’s in the UK before moving to Australia. He is currently listed as one the 50 most innovative CIO’s in Australia, and is the only CIO from the energy sector to be featured in that list. Having significant international experience within multiple engineering or manufacturing organisations in the UK, Europe, USA and Australia, Morris brings a future facing, global outlook.

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“ The need was to commit to a next-generation operating model, moving away from the traditional Plan, Build, Run approach” — Russell Morris, Chief Information Officer, TransGrid

with distinct domains in the business. There are two distinct parts to the model: the technology and the people or the human element in the business. On the former, we decided to lose all our legacy equipment and use only the very best, tailor-made solutions from the outset, which would then work together under a MuleSoft microservices architecture.

This allows for the building of a much

with multiple, best of breed cloud

more intelligent business based in

based systems, whilst simultaneously

the cloud - instead of making system

implementing a best of breed micro

constrained compromise, you can

services architecture that allows

have exactly what you need.”

dynamic data reuse across the enterprise in real time.

This change has been fundamental in TransGrid’s dealing with the

“The move to the domain model is

challenges presented by COVID-

relatively common in a lot of sectors,

19, for example. Technology aside,

but in utilities it’s rare, we’re really

however, Morris is a firm believer in

leading the way in that respect,” he

collaboration and the placing of the

continues. “Embarking on such an

technology or IT function at the heart

innovative approach has already

of the business, and he is keen to

revealed opportunities to simplify and

highlight the importance of a col-

streamline journeys and processes

laborative culture across TransGrid.

that will unlock massive future value.

His team’s successful navigating of

The difference lies in that, instead

the COVID challenge has only served

of sitting centrally - like a hotel con-

to strengthen this trend. “The initial

cierge that looks to please as many

challenge of dealing with the bush-

people as possible - it works aligned

fires really built a camaraderie, not w w w.t ra nsgri d. com . a u

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“ We decided to lose all our legacy equipment and use only the very best, tailor-made solutions from the outset” — Russell Morris, Chief Information Officer, TransGrid

only in the IT team, but across the 12

whole business and that was important in how we were quickly able to meet the impact of COVID. “Before 2020, the highest number of personnel we had working from home in a single day was around 10% of the workforce,” he continues. “This had to rapidly scale to more than 80% now working from home, including the vital training and adoption of collaboration technology. The relationships between the IT domain teams and the other business units were crucial in understanding business needs as circumstances changed very quickly.”

An example of this, says Morris, is the establishment of TransGrid’s

business continuity kit - an offline information pack that was delivered to the desktops of every computer in the company’s network with important information around working from home. “From conception to agile deployment, it took just under a week to build and played a large part in the overall change management strategy. Our response really grew our reputation and standing within the organisation, and helped to build confidence in us so that we can carry forward the wider technology and business transformation with the full buy-in of everyone involved.”

Crucial to this work, says Morris, is the creation of the new TransGrid IT Ecosystem. This IT vendor ecosystem includes partners such as TCS, Capgemini, Tech Mahindra, IBM and more and will see the sharing of technologies, information and expertise to the benefit of all parties. “It consists of well respected partners that have a symbiotic relationship with us,” Morris explains. “Essentially, it works as a meritocracy where global brands can bring their expertise into the business, working with us to deliver w w w.t ra nsgri d. com . a u

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greater business outcomes that

“ COVID has made the world a lot smaller, and people more available so we’ve definitely learned new ways to leverage and maximise relationships” — Russell Morris, Chief Information Officer, TransGrid

would otherwise be possible with just an in-house IT team. Information gets shared reciprocally, and it’s the perfect way to show the power of collaboration. Of course, it’s helped by the broader shift to remote working and the use of new communication technologies - COVID has made the world a lot smaller, and people more available, so we’ve definitely learned new ways to leverage and maximise relationships.”

1995

Year founded

$300mn Revenue in Australian dollars

1,200 Number of employees

Thanks to the work of Morris and

and how we respond, and I think that

his team, TransGrid is in a robust

gives us a real edge looking further

position to take any further chal-

into the future. The challenges and

lenges in its stride. The shift to a

adversity we’ve faced have really

new operating model has placed the

benefited our forward-strategy, and

company in an environment where it

I think there is real potential to use

is able to maximise the potential of

technology to create the options and

any innovative technologies it imple-

environment for us to do the best

ments, while remaining dedicated

work we can - we’re creating the

to the overarching transformation

power of choice,” he concludes.

strategy. “We couldn’t predict COVID, but we can now predict what happens when the business is disrupted w w w.t ra nsgri d. com . a u

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