Gigabit Magazine – September 2019

INNOVATION AND INCLUSIVITY THROUGH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION www.gigabitmagazine.com

SEPTEMBER 2019

Transforming the partner experience

The existential business of transformation

INSIDE COLOGIX’S ONGOING DATA CENTRE EXPANSION The interconnected, f lexible approach powering the data centre revolution CLOUD COMPUTING COMPANIES

MEET OUR SPEAKERS Inderpal Bhandari Global Chief Data Officer, IBM

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WELCOME

H

ello and welcome to the September issue of Gigabit magazine!

For this month’s cover story, Gigabit magazine speaks to data centre provider Cologix. Sean Maskell, President and General Manager Canada at the company, speaks to us about the ongoing revolution in the data centre space.

Elsewhere, Laura Mullan speaks to Alex Gledhill, Technology Specialist at Intel, to discover how the company is enabling a new 5G-powered era.

“At Intel we’re involved in every step of the 5G journey, collaborating with industry partners to develop the technologies that will drive the adoption of 5G networks,” he says. “Our 5G strategy is underpinned by our overall business model as a customer-centric business.”

Maskell stresses the vital nature of interSean Maskell, Also featured are exclusive Cologix Canada connectivity to securing reports from the likes of Cologix’s place in the IBM, PwC and Arizona State market. “It’s fantastic to have University, while in our Top 10 a massive state-of-the-art facility we count down the leading cloud with an endless supply of power computing companies. and cooling, but can it be interconnected? Is there a way for data to Enjoy the issue! move in or out?” he asks. “It would Harry Menear be similar to building a beautiful fiveharry.menear@bizclikmedia.com star resort on a remote island without a ferry service. Regardless of how nice it is, no one’s going to come!”

w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

03

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CONTENTS

HOW IBM IS REIMAGINING THE WAY WE WORK WITH IOT AND IBM MAXIMO

64 Inside Cologix’s ongoing data centre expansion

32 POWERING THE 5G REVOLUTION

The rise of insurtech: a new dawn for the insurance industry

: WHAT CAN PROGRESSIVE ROCK TEACH US ABOUT DIGITAL NETWORKS?

42

74 TOP 10 Cloud computing companies

92 EVENTS

96 CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICE

110

Nova Scotia Power

128

St. John Ambulance Canada

140

KEMET Electronics Corporation

158

Arizona State University

180

Prime Healthcare

198 PwC

212

Four Winds Interactive

226 IBM

256

Pentahotels

Semen 240 PT Indonesia

274

Millennium Services Group

288

SKYCITY Entertainment Group

12

Inside Cologix’s ongoing data centre expansion WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

SEPTEMBER 2019

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COLOGIX CANADA

Sean Maskell, President and General Manager at Cologix Canada, discusses the ongoing data centre revolution and how the company is remaining flexible and interconnected at the hyperscale level

T

he planet is awash with information. Every day, humans generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data – reports, selfies, text messages,

high definition videos, infographics – in an (almost 14

equally) staggering number of ways. One of the most remarkable things about this ocean of bits and bytes is that 90% of it was created in the past three years. Our ability to move, scan, parse and store this data is fast becoming essential for the maintenance of a functioning digital society. At the core of this is the data centre, essentially a high-tech storage facility for servers that allow vast quantities of data to be remotely processed, stored and distributed. The data centre industry, predicted to achieve annual market values of around $174bn per year by 2023, according to MarketWatch, has undergone a radical evolution in the past decade, and the pace of change is showing no signs of slowing. Having worked in the data centre space since 2004, Sean Maskell, President and General Manager of the Canadian arm of Cologix, Inc, has witnessed SEPTEMBER 2019

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COLOGIX CANADA

“ When I started in the industry, these were, I would say, not so cool places.

That’s evolved and continues to evolve” 18

— Sean Maskell General Manager Canada Cologix Inc.

SEPTEMBER 2019

this transformation first hand. “When I started in the industry, these were, I would say, not so cool places,” he recalls. “These were spaces overrun by massive amounts of copper cables, DS3 mux’s, DSX Panels and crusty old Telecom technicians – that’s certainly evolved over the years and continues to evolve even faster. We’re now witnessing sizeable growth in the industry, lead particularly by the hyperscale and Cloud Service providers. Enterprises are heading down the path towards digital transformation in a big way, as

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘COLOGIX LAKELAND / TAMPA DATA CENTER’ 19 they continue to move workloads to

are closer to the end user. This trend

the cloud, and their consumers expect

aligns tightly with the new methodol-

always-on connections with low la-

ogy, which involves multiple intercon-

tency to the internet of things (IoT). To

nected facilities built around central

make this happen, our clients require

carrier and cloud hubs, like spokes

robust interconnection and cloud on-

on a wheel.

ramp locations that push this consum-

“That’s really pushed the providers

able data closer to the edge, meaning

in Canadian and US markets to ensure

closer to the users that are demanding

sites are strategic for carrier and cloud

that information.” The major trend that

interconnection, which is something

Maskell identifies is the industry’s shift

that we’re very conscious of when we

away from the traditional conception of

build or expand our facilities to include

a single large data centre in a technolo-

hyperscale capacity,” Maskell explains.

gy hub like Los Angeles or Chicago, to-

“Our facilities are strategically located

wards capacity in tier two markets that

interconnection hubs, that allow our w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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customers extensive carrier and cloud

tion, cloud on-ramp and colocation

choice within close proximity to their

services organization sees it work with

consumers.” With over 28 interconnec-

some of the largest technology com-

tion hubs and 5 hyperscale capacity

panies in the world. “Our client base

data centres across the US and Cana-

is one of the best,” Maskell enthuses.

da, Cologix is one of the leading tech-

“The five top technology companies

nology agnostic colocation service

in the world are in our facilities.” To at-

providers in the region. We sat down

tract and maintain relationships with

with Maskell to discuss Cologix’s four

that calibre of customer, Cologix has

impressive new data centre projects

become a preeminent source of exper-

across Canada and the US, as well as

tise when providing space, power and

the strategies and trends at the heart

cooling in locations that give clients the

of the company’s vision for success.

maximized opportunities for intercon-

Cologix’s identity as an interconnec-

nection. As an agnostic data service

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Sean Maskell Sean Maskell is President General Manager of Cologix Canada and a veteran within the Canadian telecommunications industry. During his 20+ years, Sean has founded and developed two start-up organizations within the ITC industry and merged the Telehouse Canada business with Cologix in 2012. Sean has a broad range of core competencies including; leadership, sales, business development, data centre design, and operation. He has focused and specialized in legacy data centre retrofitting, and innovative future proof designs. Sean has a remarkable history and remains passionate about the Canadian data centre landscape.

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provider, Cologix has reinforced to

Facilities now have to scale to meet

Maskell the importance of accommo-

those challenges and demands in order

dating customer needs as they evolve.

to allow the client’s business to succeed

“One of the biggest lessons I have learned

over three, five or even 10 years. I do not

is to remain agile – that covers agil-

have a crystal ball that can predict what

ity from executive management, and

those changes and demands might be,

sales, but more importantly it’s agility in

but our facilities need to be designed,

terms of operations, construction and

constructed and operated in a way that

design,” he says. “Our industry is alter-

allows us to quickly add, remove and

ing rapidly: deployments are moderniz-

change the capacity for power, cooling,

ing, business plans are being reshaped

interconnection and so on.”

by emerging technologies and new

Embracing the industry-wide

innovative ways of delivering services

movement towards a dispersed and

are continually being rolled out.

interconnected data centre model that w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

COLOGIX CANADA

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improves client experience and success is central to Cologix’s competitive advantage. “Each core data center in the markets Cologix operates encompasses an important and strategic interconnection site – that’s our focus,” Maskell explains. “But, as these interconnection facilities begin to fill up, we need additional capacity to stay ahead of our clients’ demand. To accomplish this, we construct that additional capacity outside of those interconnection hotels and connect the expansion facility by high-count fibre. This allows our clients seamless, low latency con-

“ Our industry is changing rapidly: deployments are changing, business plans are being reshaped within 18 months by new technologies and new ways of delivering services” — Sean Maskell General Manager Canada Cologix Inc.

nections, while enabling them to have the carrier and cloud choice that’s critical to our business.”

This is the methodology and mindset with which Cologix is building and upgrading new facilities in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ashburn, Virginia. “Cologix is within weeks of releasing an impressive and largest of its kind 40,000sqft, and 5MW of power in Vancouver (VAN3). Then, in Toronto we’ve just brought on-line an additional floor at our 905 King Street West facility (TOR2) – that encompasses 20,000sqft with 4MW of total w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

25

COLOGIX CANADA

“ Our facilities are strategically located interconnection hubs, that allow our customers extensive carrier and cloud choice within close proximity to their consumers” 26

— Sean Maskell General Manager Canada Cologix Inc. power.” In Montreal, the city where Cologix’s footprint is the largest (10 facilities) following its 2018 acquisition of Colo-D, the company continues to grow its offerings in one of the most favorable data centre climates in Canada. “When you look at our growth in the Montreal market, it in part comes down to a greener power delivery system and ideal weather conditions.

The cost of power, which is the lowest in the Canadian market, also helps.

This enables Cologix to pass along those savings to our customers,” SEPTEMBER 2019

Maskell explains. “We’ve just added 15 MW ready for service at our MTL10-H Longueil campus, and acquired an adjacent building to this campus to respond quickly to strong customer demand in the market. Additionally, we began engineering the utility for our MTL8-H Technoparc campus, which will offer 36MW.” The Ashburn project, which will be built on a plot of land at the core of Data Center Alley, will be something of a special project for Cologix. “We’re looking to build a 100MW hyperscale data centre,” says Maskell. Currently, for most companies that aren’t Google or Amazon Web Services, a 100MW data centre is a rare thing. Maskell sees the project as an embodiment of Cologix’s ongoing growth strategy. “It not only strengthens our commitment to the hyperscale market and the business that’s out there, but I think it’s a sign of demand for space that’s growing with it,” he says.

Looking to the future, Maskell doesn’t see the pace of data centre evolution slowing any time soon, and is confident Cologix has the right mixture of infrastructure and flexibility in order to rew w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

27

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“ The biggest lesson I’ve learned is flexibility” — Sean Maskell General Manager Canada Cologix Inc.

spond. “I think one of the biggest shifts I’m seeing is the physical connection between the carrier or cloud provider and customer. This shift has evolved into a software defined network platform (Cologix Access Market Place), where the customer is in control. Clients have access to a robust network of providers and can initiate almost real time changes to their circuits and workloads as they see fit,” he says. As

29

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31 hyperscale growth continues to accel-

maintain its commanding position in

erate, Maskell believes that the need

the market. “We’ve got one of the best

for increased interconnectedness will

balance sheets in the industry,” en-

only grow with it. “It’s fantastic to have

thuses Maskell. “We’re the number one

a massive state-of-the-art facility with

data centre provider in Canada and

an endless supply of power and cool-

we’re going to continue to protect and

ing, but can it be interconnected? Is

strengthen that position.”

there a way for data to move in or out?” he asks. “It would be similar to building a beautiful five-star resort on a remote island without a ferry service. Regardless of how nice it is, no one’s going to come!” By continuing to expand its capacity and ensuring that capacity is interconnected, Cologix intends to w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

POWERING THE 5G REVOLUTION 32

Speaking with Alex Gledhill, Technology Specialist at Intel, Gigabit uncovers how the technology giant is helping to usher a new 5G-enabled era WRITTEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN

SEPTEMBER 2019

33

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D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

W

hat does 5G mean to Intel? Can you give me an overview of the firm’s 5G strategy?

Where is Intel concentrating its efforts?

At Intel we’re involved in every step of the 5G journey, collaborating with industry partners to develop the technologies that will drive the adoption of 5G networks. Our 5G strategy is underpinned by our overall business model as a customer-centric business. Everything we do as a business – from solutions that get the most from existing technologies to innovation at both a hardware and software level – is done side-by-side with our customers and their

34

needs in mind. This is especially true of 5G. We want to deliver solutions for existing technologies to shape the future of connectivity from cloud to device, from smart homes to smart cities. At Intel, we are focusing our efforts on network transformation. Network changes at the access layer, along with virtualisation and new architectures, can bring about new services on their own, along with creating demand for new devices. Our expertise combines our experience within PCs and data centres with computing to scale and innovate solutions across healthcare, ultra-high resolution 4K 360° video, and immersive AR, VR and cloud gaming. Intel is transforming purpose-built networks to become more agile, flexible and scalable with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), setting the stage for 5G. SEPTEMBER 2019

35

“At Intel we’re involved in every step of the 5G journey” — Alex Gledhill, Technology Specialist, Intel

w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘INTEL 5G WIRELESS NETWORKS’ 36 In a recent report, Intel explored

companies that are first to embrace

how 5G will transform the media

those new business models that will

and entertainment business. In your

be the winners. In addition to this, 5G

opinion, what are the key takeaways

is set to substantially transform video

from this report?

consumption. The report states that

All industries and businesses will

“mobile revenues over 5G will grow with

evolve as 5G opens up new possibilities

a compound annual growth rate

for businesses and consumers. Our

(CAGR) of 85% between 2021 to 2028”.

report ‘How 5G Will Transform The

Beyond this, I’m interested in how

Business of Media and Entertainment’

5G will bring major changes to areas

conducted by Ovum, forecasts that

aside from the network: mobile edge

annual mobile media revenues will

computing (MEC). MEC brings

double in the next 10 years to $420bn

network computing capabilities closer

in 2028 ($124bn in the US). During this

to the network edge, enabling lower

period of adoption, it will be the media

latency and better distribution of

SEPTEMBER 2019

network content. On top of this, 5G

that will provide consumers with

will unlock new immersive interactive

a whole new universe of devices,

experiences through AR, VR and

performing infinitely faster with new

cloud gaming thanks to the improved

immersive capabilities.

speed, latency and capacity.

Additionally, another interest of mine

In what ways will 5G disrupt the media

is around the competition that 5G will

and entertainment business?

drive in the industry. For businesses

What new business models/customer

to survive, they must adopt disruptive

experiences can we expect?

changes or risk alienating consumers

5G is already disrupting and

who want live streaming of sports,

transforming the entertainment

interactive video calls and effortless

industry. The super-fast network has

streaming of VR games and content

unlocked capabilities in VR headsets

anywhere. Intel is uniquely positioned

to make viewing sport a completely

here with its end-to-end 5G solutions

immersive experience. We already

“Intel is transforming purpose-built networks to become more agile, flexible and scalable” — Alex Gledhill, Technology Specialist, Intel

w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

37

D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

know that the appetite for immersive

in turn could create a whole new

fan experience is substantial, just look

category of media. The possibility of

at Intel’s partnership with the English

interactive cloud gaming can be made

Premier League as an example.

both technologically and economically

Intel True View technology is being

affordable with 5G.

deployed by three of the leading

38

Premier League clubs to put fans at

What other trends or opportunities

the heart of the action by producing

do you expect to see in the future

a detailed 3D replay of football,

regarding 5G?

so viewers, commentators, and

5G will be all about connectivity at the

broadcasters can relive critical game

edge and the big opportunities will be

moments from a 360-degree

found through the new machines on

angle. Low latency will make content

the network with significant computing

such as virtual and augmented reality

capabilities. We already know about

and gaming more interactive, which

drones and autonomous vehicles – but

SEPTEMBER 2019

they’re just two examples. The most

Where do you hope to see Intel in the

interesting piece will be the machines,

next five years? What’s your vision

ideas and solutions we haven’t even

for the future of the company?

dreamed up yet which could

The next five years will see a lot of

potentially solve problems that don’t

Intel’s big bets in technology start to

yet exist. Intel is accelerating data-

really pay off in terms of innovation and

driven experiences facilitated by cloud

widespread adoption. We’ve spent the

intelligence, where data being

last few years turning the business

crunched at the ‘edge’ realises the full

from a company that makes PC

potential of next-generation use cases

components into one that is building

and services. We know our customers

the data-driven, smart and connected

and the world will use our innovations

world. Intel is a data company, heavily

to create new business models and

invested in 5G, artificial intelligence and

inventions – and I can’t wait to find out

Quantum computing, as well as the PC

what they are.

and data centre technologies we’re known for. Back in 2017, we joined forces with Mobileye to deliver cloudto-car solutions for the automotive

“Our vision for Intel is to grow as a customer-centric business and to collaborate as much as possible on the solutions we bring to the world” — Alex Gledhill, Technology Specialist, Intel

market, and we are working towards a future where autonomous vehicles powered by Intel technology will be a thing of the future. So, contrary to what you might think, your first ride in an autonomous car might be a robotaxi powered by Intel! Our vision for Intel is to grow as a customer-centric business and to collaborate as much as possible on the solutions we bring to the world.

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39

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CRM

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The rise of insurtech: a new dawn for the insurance industry Gigabit dives deep into the disruptive world of insurtech and examines some of the up-and-coming firms set to change the way insurers do business forever WRITTEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN

SEPTEMBER 2019

43

w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

CRM

A

t least 86% of insurers think their revenues will be at risk from future technological disruption – and perhaps nothing

demonstrates this better than the rise of gamechanging insurtechs. It’s clear that the insurance

industry is now on the brink of change. Whilst some traditional insurers are more than 300 years old, many fledgling insurtechs may be less than 300 days old – and this clash of old and new is producing massive benefits. Just as the advent of fintechs shook up the financial sector, there is 44

growing recognition that the insurance industry will benefit greatly from the surge of innovation brought by insurtech firms. People are putting their money behind these disruptors too: investment in the insurtech industry doubled between 2017 and 2018, according to FinTech Global.

Speaking at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Australia last year, Juergen Weiss, managing vice president at Gartner, outlined how insurance CIOs could learn a lot from insurtechs.

“Insurance CIOs need to expand their market insight concerning the innovation and disruption potential of insurtechs,” he said. “Start by identifying the areas where insurtechs could add value; then evaluate potential collaboration or investment opportunities.”

SEPTEMBER 2019

45

“Insurance CIOs need to expand their market insight concerning the innovation and disruption potential of insurtechs. Start by identifying the areas where insurtechs could add value; then evaluate potential collaboration or investment opportunities” — Juergen Weiss, Managing Vice President at Gartner w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

CRM

Incumbent insurance companies

46

and efficiency of services, insurtechs

are beginning to cop on to the merits

are using artificial intelligence (AI)

of insurtechs. In fact, Accenture’s

machine learning, the Internet

Technology Vision 2016 revealed that

of Things (IoT) and other tools

44% of insurers across the world

to reimagine the way insurers do

intend to pursue digital initiatives with

business. Using this years’ Post

startups from the insurance industry

Insurtech 100 rankings, Gigabit takes

over the next two years. Offering more

a look at some of the top insurtech

personalisation and greater speed

firms you should watch out for.

“ It’s clear that today, the insurance industry is on the brink of change”

SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SHIFT TECHNOLOGY’ 47

SHIFT TECHNOLOGY

LEMONADE

Shift Technology has made a name for

Gained the 4th spot on the Post

itself by providing AI-native solutions

Insurtech ranking, Lemonade claims

for the global insurance industry. The

to be the “world’s first open source

Parisian firm offers a Software-as-a-

insurance policy”. Headquartered in New

Service (SaaS) that uses data science

York City, US, Lemonade offers home-

to detect networks of fraudsters in

owners and renters insurance powered

insurance. With a team of around 90

by artificial intelligence and behavioural

developers, data scientists and

economics. In 2016, the firm claimed to

project managers, Shift Technology is

set a world record for the fastest claim

headquartered in Paris, France. Its

handled at three seconds. Lemonade is

sister offices are located in Singapore,

certified B-Corp — a for-profit business

London, Madrid, Zurich and Hong

dedicated to making a positive impact on

Kong. The company gained the 5th

society, workers, the community and the

spot on the Post Insurtech ranking.

environment — and so it takes a flat fee. w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

NETWORKING

OSCAR HEALTH Aiming to be a health insurance company centred around the patient, Oscar Health has over 700 employees serving around 350,000 individual members and small businesses. The American firm offers insurance services in nine US States: New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Arizona, Michigan, and Florida. Gaining the 3rd spot on the ranking, Oscar Health points out how it has “the highest mobile engagement of any insurer” with 43% of its 48

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ACKO GENERAL INSURANCE’

SEPTEMBER 2019

“Offering more personalisation and greater speed and efficiency of services, insurtechs are using artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT) and other tools to reimage the way insurers do busines”

49

members’ first visits to the doctor

ZHONGAN

being routed through its technology

Touting itself as “China’s first complete

and customer service teams.

online insurance company”, ZhongAn has claimed the top spot on the Post

ACKO GENERAL INSURANCE

Insurtech leaderboard. The company’s

With investors including Amazon, SAIF

CEO is Jin “Jeffrey Chen” but it was

Partners, Accel Partners and Catama-

initially cofounded by some of the

ran Ventures, Acko General Insurance

country’s most renowned business

is digital insurance firm based in India.

magnates including Alibaba’s Jack Ma,

The company raised a total of $42mn

Tencent’s Pony Ma and Ping An Insur-

in funding and earned the 2nd spot on

ance’s Mingzhe Ma. In 2017, the Chinese

the Post Insurtech 100 ranking. The

insurer raised $1.5bn in its IPO in what

Mumbai-based startup was founded

the Financial Times described as “the

in 2017 by Varun Dua.

world’s first insurtech public offering.” w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

AI

52

HOW IBM IS REIMAGINING THE WAY WE WORK WITH IOT AND IBM MAXIMO With Industry 4.0 in full swing, Stephan Billar, Vice President Watson IoT at IBM, outlines how sensors, AI and IoT are set to redefine asset management and worker safety WRITTEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN

SEPTEMBER 2019

53

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AI

A

ny company will tell you that its people are at the heart of its business – yet workplace injuries still remain a pervasive

problem. Each year, over 350 million workers get hurt – some even fatally. In fact, every 15 seconds

a worker dies from a work-related accident or disease, according to the International Labour Organisation. Despite mounting safety regulations and procedures, workplace accidents are still an all too common occurrence, which can have a devastating impact on an employee’s health and livelihood. As well as the distress 54

of an employee suffering injury, employers may also have to contend with a slump in productivity or significant financial losses.

Companies need to advance worker safety and – by using cutting-edge technologies like wearables, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) – IBM is hoping to offer a helping hand.

One technology in IBM’s repertoire that’s helping to aid worker safety is IBM Maximo.

“It’s arguably one of the best enterprise asset management systems,” enthuses Stephan Billar, Vice President Watson IoT at IBM. “Essentially, it can help businesses schedule maintenance in a factory, reducing unplanned downtime.” On top of this, when combined with IoT data from wearables, environmental SEPTEMBER 2019

55

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AI

“ Software is just one piece of any digital transformation.

The most important thing is the cultural transformation that goes with it" — Stephan Billar, Vice President Watson IoT at IBM

out how the firm has “an iron-clad” policy whereby it will “never access the data unless clients ask us too”. On top of this, IBM also encourages clients to work closely with trade unions and employees to ensure they understand the merits of the technology and that they’re included in the journey. Just like any technological shift, culture change is key if you want to drive innovation. Billar outlines this view, noting that ‘software is just one piece of any digital transformation.' The most important thing is the cultural transformation that goes with it.

56 sensors and other sources, the soft-

So, how do you ensure that the people

ware solution highlights issues that

aren’t left behind? How do you empower

workers may face such as overexposure

your workers and make them more pro-

to heat, injury from falls, or overexertion.

ductive? “It’s about creating the optimal

When you visualise wearable tech-

solution for both the business process

nologies, you might think of FitBits, the

and the employee,” explains Billar. “Let’s

personal wristwatch that measures your

take the example of a machine that

heart rate or the steps you’ve taken that

needs to be maintained at all times. Per-

day. However, it’s clear that wearables

haps the machine uses sensors and IoT

are making their way into the industrial

to collect data about the temperature,

sector – and they’re here to stay.

for example and visualises this data. The

Yet, when data privacy has become

machine may suggest three solutions

such a hot topic in the technology space,

the employee could take but the worker

IBM doesn’t underestimate the chal-

can still say yes or no to this because

lenges that may arise from wearables

they usually have a lot of experience.

and IoT. With this in mind, Billar points

Over time, you may want to do more

SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘IBM MAXIMO HAS THE ANSWERS’

automation but you shouldn’t do it for

the factory and decide whether the LCD

the sake of it, you should do it because

screen is good or not, then afterwards

the person on the factory line thinks it’s

you could still have a by-hand

a good idea and that it will make them

inspection as a backup. As you’re do-

more productive.”

ing that, the software will improve –

Billar points to quality control as

because it’s AI it’s continuously learning.

another area where IBM has flexed its

I think this is a good example because

muscles. Imagine an operator in an LCD

it’s aiding the operator, making them

factory inspects LCD screen’s eight

more productive and helping to derive

hours a day. The employee might suffer

better quality.”

from eye strain after monitoring screens

IoT and AI can not only help safeguard

all day and this is where AI software

worker safety and boost productivity,

could be a useful aid. “AI could analyse

but it can also help to retain generational w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

57

AI

“ The key to success is knowing your client’s business problems and knowing how you can use the right technology to solve that” 58

— Stephan Billar, Vice President Watson IoT at IBM

SEPTEMBER 2019

knowledge and train new staff. “A lot of the maintenance workers, especially the experienced ones, are close to retirement,” explains Billar. “This means we’re going to see huge brain drain walking out of the factories, and the question is, how do you capture that knowledge?

How do you make sure that the people who are coming in can actually benefit from the knowledge of their more experienced peers who are retiring?”

With this burning question in mind, IBM has put forward Equipment Maintenance Assistant.

“We've taken all the maintenance manuals, looked at all the historical cases of when a machine fails, examined the maintenance the technician did, and how the machine performed afterwards.

Then we’ve used article intelligence to create a solution which can help a lessexperienced worker by offering three or four examples of how the failure can be best fixed.” IBM has also enhanced this solution with what it calls ‘augmented collaboration’. You can think of this as a sort of phone-a-friend” says Billar. “If the maintenance technician believes the automated solution isn’t sufficient, they can call someone remotely to ask for w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

59

AI

— Wael Elrifai, VP for solution engineering, Big Data, analytics & IoT, Hitachi Vantara

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘USING THE INTERNET OF THINGS TO BOOST EMPLOYEE SAFETY’ 60

“ Because of the industrial experience it has gained over the decades, this is where IBM has a leg up on the competition” — Stephan Billar, Vice President Watson IoT at IBM

SEPTEMBER 2019

advice. They then can and use a camera

truly understands the challenges and

to highlight the issue and the worker can

opportunities facing its clients. “I'm

solve the issue remotely.”

a technology guy,” he adds. “But the

Before joining the team at IBM, Billar

key to success is knowing your client’s

cut his teeth at firms such as General

business problems and knowing how

Motors and General Electric and so

you can use the right technology to

he’s all too aware of the importance of

solve that. Because of the industrial

proper asset maintenance and worker

experience it has gained over the

safety. With this in mind, he believes that

decades, this is where IBM has a leg up

IBM positions itself as the ideal partner.

on the competition.”

“Thanks to our vast industrial knowledge we have a huge advantage over the competition,” Billar says, noting how IBM 61

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Determining the role of analytics, CRM, ERP, sales force automation and other marketing solutions which can shorten the sales cycle.

MEDIA PARTNERS

CLOUD

: WHAT CAN PROGRESSIVE ROCK TEACH US ABOUT DIGITAL NETWORKS? 64

Sean Thompson, Senior Vice President of Business Network and Ecosystem, SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass , examines what rock prodigies can teach us about digital networks and supply chains WRITTEN BY

SE AN THOMPSON

SEPTEMBER 2019

65

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CLOUD

“ What could businesses learn — about themselves,their suppliers, their stakeholders — if,not unlike Zappa,they cross-referenced the source material already in their possession?”

— Sean Thompson, Senior Vice President of Business Network and Ecosystem, SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass

66

I

n the 1970s, the composer Frank

origin. Yet Zappa, a shrewd entrepre-

Zappa pioneered a technique called

neur, might never have imagined the

xenochrony, where he superim-

same principle would hold true in busi-

posed an element from an existing

ness decades later. Today, businesses

recording, such as a guitar solo, onto

capture vast reservoirs of data on a

that from another, such as a drum track,

regular basis — about their customers,

typically of a different time signature.

their trading partners, and their own

To his legion of fans, the convergence

operations. But this data often resides

of rhythm and tonality brought out

on information systems that don’t “talk”

unexpected — and often pleasing

to each other. As a result, many busi-

— musical patterns.

He understood that in music, innovation can arise through the detection of latent patterns in sources of disparate SEPTEMBER 2019

nesses fail to extract the insights hidden away in them.

What could businesses learn — about themselves, their suppliers, their

67

stakeholders — if, not unlike Zappa,

as inventory turns, cycle times and

they cross-referenced the source

utilisation rates, but also into socially

material already in their possession?

relevant questions such as: does a

Thanks to cloud-based digital net-

potential partner have the governance

works, many are discovering insights

structures in place to root out forced

aplenty, reaping value from them, and

labour from its supply chain? Has it es-

extending their competitive advantage

tablished a track record of responsible

in the process.

stewardship of the environment? What

Through digital networks, business

is its history of awarding contracts to

leaders gain visibility into the inter-

firms owned by historically underrepre-

connected operations of buyers and

sented groups of people?

suppliers. These networks, powered by

Armed with this newfound visibility,

the cloud, offer transparency not only

businesses can size up their potential

into traditional business metrics such

trading partners on these and dozens w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

CLOUD

“ Through digital networks,business leaders gain visibility into the interconnected operations of buyers and suppliers” 68

— Sean Thompson, Senior Vice President of Business Network and Ecosystem, SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass

of other criteria. The result is a supply chain where not only do operations align, but brand values do too. When businesses, across their commercial relationships, live true to the causes held dear by customers, they earn the greatest asset available to any firm: enduring loyalty.

As businesses embrace digital networks, they also realise opportunities for collaboration with their trading partners. Working together in real-time, buyers and suppliers can spur innovation, optimise operational costs, and procure with purpose. Connecting legacy systems to the cloud is like flipping

SEPTEMBER 2019

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

Sean Thompson Sean Thompson is a Seattle-based information technology and services executive with over 20 years experience in both large F500 companies and startups. Sean spent the first decade of his career at Deloitte Consulting where he managed service line delivery in areas such as ERP/CRM (SAP), Business Intelligence, Process Reengineering, Risk Analysis and M&A advisory. Sean was rated in the top 1% of his class and was a member of Deloitte’s Senior Management Advisory Committee. Sean then spent three years with two startups. He was part of the pre-IPO team at drugstore.com where he was director of M&A integration. Sean then moved to Nimble Technology where he was Vice President of Sales and Services prior to the sale of Nimble to Actuate. Sean then spent almost 10 years with Microsoft half of which was spent managing product marketing teams and half spent architecting joint ventures with Microsoft’s largest enterprise partnerships. Sean was rated top 3% of his class at Microsoft and was a member of Microsoft’s senior leader bench program. Sean then Co-Founded a Natural Language Software, Nuiku, that uses natural language processing and data intelligence to power a revolutionary new, natural user experience. Nuiku was sold to Nortek to drive Nortek’s home automation voice experience. Sean received his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University and his Bachelors of Business Administration with high honors from Gonzaga University. Sean holds a CPA in the State of Washington. Sean has also served as VP of both Gonzaga and Harvard University Northwest Chapter Boards and is the Founder and past Vice President of the Northwest Chapter of the Montana Ambassadors.

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69

CLOUD

Ariba Network is the world’s largest business network

4.2mn Companies

$2.9trn

In annual commerce

70

76%

Of Fortune 2000 companies registered on a light switch, illuminating the supply chain in all directions. Meanwhile, the advent of cognitive technologies lends cloud-based networks greater insight than ever. Applying machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence, a digital network can augment an organisation’s strategic planning with sophisticated predictive analytics to avoid bottlenecks, shortfalls and other operational disruptions.

Yet for all their transformative effects on the supply chain, digital networks’ SEPTEMBER 2019

“ The human element in music and business alike is irreplaceable” — Sean Thompson, Senior Vice President of Business Network and Ecosystem, SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass

most sweeping benefit may accrue to procurement professionals themselves by taking on many of the tactical, paper-based tasks traditionally associated with sourcing, contracting, purchasing and payments. Relieved of these activities, procurement professionals can refocus their talents on more strategic activities such as shoring up the supply chain, collaborating to create mutual value, and fostering an ecosystem where innovation thrives.

For businesses, where should technology end and human leadership begin? As it turns out, here too Zappa proves prophetic. The guitar virtuoso (and early adopter of the synthesizer) once said: “The computer can’t tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what’s missing is the eyebrows.”

In other words, the human element in music and business alike is irreplaceable.

Technology unleashes human creativity in both pursuits by detecting patterns instantaneously — and then leaving the orchestration to the professionals.

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71

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T O P 10

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SEPTEMBER 2019

Cloud computing companies It’s no secret that cloud computing adoption is on the rise. Gigabit takes a closer look at 10 of the top cloud computing companies blazing a trail in the technology sector WRITTEN BY LAURA

MULLAN

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75

T O P 10

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10

CenturyLink

Monroe, Louisiana

CenturyLink offers a range of solutions spanning communications, network services, security, cloud and more. The firm has 72 data centres located around the world and in the past 12 months it has released 36 major features and products. One prominent client is software firm HighJump. The company wanted to position itself as a leading provider of cloud-based warehouse management software (WMS) without having to develop, host and manage a cloud platform internally. The company selected CenturyLink Cloud and was able to take its existing WMS software to the cloud.

SEPTEMBER 2019

77

09

Virtustream

McLean, Virginia

A subsidiary of Dell Technologies, Virtustream is a leading cloud company that strives to deliver the advantages of cloud computing to the enterprise market. “Like our customers, we are driving a transformative and modern multi-cloud strategy to support our dynamic business needs,” said Scott Pittman, senior vice president, Dell Digital’s Office of the CIO. “Virtustream provides the flexibility and scalability needed to quickly extend our cloud, as well as the deep SAP experience and knowledge we need to make timely decisions with our critical ERP systems.

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innovation in practice Sprint and Amdocs have been key partners for over two decades, delivering together innovative solutions to make Sprint the success it is today.

Our joint accomplishments include modernizing billing support systems, introducing a groundbreaking customer care system, providing cost-effective payments processing and the optimization of current and future network capabilities.

This strong Sprint-Amdocs partnership has won widespread industry recognition, including the 2017 Global Telecoms Business Award for Consumer Service Innovation.

Visit www.amdocs.com to learn more about how you can partner with Amdocs to innovate successfully.

www.amdocs.com Š 2019 Amdocs. All rights reserved.

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08

Rackspace

San Antonio, Texas

Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Rackspace is a prominent cloud computing and hosting platform with over 100,000 clients.

In April, Rackspace announced that it has appointed Kevin Jones as its new Chief Executive Officer. Commenting on his appointment, Jones said that he has “always admired Racker’s passion for providing customers with an unparalleled experience.” He added. “Rackspace is the best partner in the marketplace to help any company decide how to utilise the cloud and get the most out of its cloud applications.”

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T O P 10

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07

Fujitsu

Minato, Tokyo

Japenese technology giant, Fujitsu, has a broad cloud portfolio that offers everything needed to enable cloud or hybrid IT strategy.

The firm is the world’s seventh largest IT services provider and the top in Japan. Beer and soft drink manufacturer, Asahi Group, for instance, used Fujitsu’s cloud offering to co-create a cloud-based sales visualisation system for three of Asahi Group’s Chinese sales centre in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Dalian.

SEPTEMBER 2019

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06

IBM

Armonk, New York

IBM Cloud offers a vast suite of over 180 products covering everything from data, containers, AI, IoT and blockchain. According to the firm, 47 of the Fortune 50 companies trust IBM Cloud to be their enterprise-grade cloud. In July, IBM closed a landmark deal to acquire Red Hat for $34bn to accelerate its hybrid cloud capability.

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How AWS is helping create a future-ready Australia We are at a fascinating point in the history and evolution of Australian organisations, where they are using technology to transform and enhance the experiences they bring to their customers.Transformation touches everyone, from government agencies including the ATO, Australia Post, and ABC, digital natives like Atlassian and Xero, start-ups like Baraja and Whooshkaa, to established players like Qantas, Woodside Energy, NAB, Linfox, and Fonterra. Having the right skills in place to drive digital transformation is critically important, as is a willingness to embrace change and shift to a more agile, collaborative culture.AWS help organisations of all shapes and sizes with their most critical issues and opportunities. Together, we create enduring change and results.

Let AWS help create enduring change and strategies for you.

NAB’s Cloud Guild drives new tech skills NAB is watching a new approach to learning develop inside of the bank as it approaches the first anniversary of an ambitious program to train its workforce in the ways of cloud. The program, called the NAB Cloud Guild, was intended to enable “more than 2000” NAB employees to acquire or build cloud skills in support of the bank’s $1.5 billion “digital-first” transformation.Inside of the first year, the Cloud Guild is already tracking well ahead of that goal.“The results of the NAB Cloud Guild have been outstanding,” NAB’s Manager Engineer and Cloud Guild Founder Paul Silver said. “Within the first 10 months, we’ve had about 4000 people who’ve gone through the program so far in a one or three day course. “When we started, we had seven people in the whole organisation who were certified in AWS cloud. There are now over 400 people who are certified”.Silver can already see change as a result of the program.

“What we’ve found after people have done the three-day associate courses is they’re becoming self-learners, which is fantastic,” he said. “AWS has great digital content we can consume and use inside our organisation. After people get their first certification, they’re actually going off and selflearning this content with the outcome of getting more certifications, in-turn leading to better outcomes for NAB.” The learning culture is expected to have a strong impact on NAB’s project, which includes a target of moving 35 percent of its 2500 IT applications into the cloud within the next three-tofive years. “With AWS’ help we’ve been able to drive outcomes incredibly fast. This is helping us meet our customer expectations a lot faster than we have been able to in the past,”

Silver said. NAB’s Chief Technology & Operations Officer Patrick Wright said the battle for technology talent in Australia is “fierce”. Wright sees the NAB Cloud Guild not only as a way to create opportunities for employees to learn new skills and grow their career in technology, but also as a means “to attract top talent in the industry.” “We’re embarking on a transformation that we think is fundamentally changing our ompany, fundamentally changing the way we work, and launching us into a new era,” Wright said. “If you want to build a company of builders, you have to have technology career pathways.”

NAB is also taking some cues on best practices from AWS as it continues on its digital transformation journey.

The bank recently tackled the AWS 50 in 50 program, which involves getting 50 applications into the cloud in just 50 days. It was a clear signal of the speed and agility that NAB now wants to operate. “AWS’s passion for customers aligns well with what we are doing at NAB and we’re also learning from them along the way as well,” Silver said. “It’s been a really good partnership to work with them.”

How AWS is helping create a future-ready Australia

Woodside Energy leveraging data to seize growth opportunities Woodside Energy is the pioneer of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry in Australia, and the largest Australian natural gas producer. Woodside’s producing LNG assets in Australia’s north-west Pilbara region are among the world’s best facilities, renowned for their safety, reliability and efficiency.

Now, Woodside is seeking to create an integrated LNG production centre – the Burrup Hub - that would see new Scarborough and Browse gas resources processed through the Woodsideoperated Pluto LNG and Karratha Gas Plant. To help realise this vision, Woodside is leveraging gains from its data science and intelligent asset work programs over weeks and days, instead of months and years, allowing the company to make decisions sooner, using richer data. Innovation has always been part of Woodside’s DNA. Applying cloud technology is helping Woodside accelerate the traditional oil and gas project innovation cycle from years, down to months. Woodside uses AWS cloud as the foundation for optimising production in real time, by running high -speed algorithms to uncover new insights and opportunities to deliver extra value. Woodside can run 10,000 algorithms per hour, taking data from over 200,000 sensors attached to its Pluto LNG plant. The company remains focused on reaching all Woodside employees with this work.

Digital at Woodside is not just about ‘gear’; it’s honing and changing the way people work, with collaborative partnerships playing a key role.

Learn more

Visit awsinsight.com.au to find out more how AWS is able to help you thrive in today’s digital economy.

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05

Oracle

Redwood City, California

Oracle has also made its mark on the cloud computing space. In June, the American firm reported better-than-expected results for Q4 2019, noting that Cloud Services and License Support revenues were $6.8bn, while Cloud License and On-Premise License revenues were $2.5 bn. In the same month, Microsoft Corp and Oracle announced an agreement to bridge the gap between Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which “will only help accelerate the transition from on-premise database to the Autonomous Database service,� said co-Chief Executive Officer Safra Catz.

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04

Alibaba Cloud Hangzhou, China

Grappling with some of the largest behemoths in the cloud computing industry, in China, it’s Alibaba Cloud which reigns king. In fact, today, the firm is China’s largest public cloud service provider. Yeming Wang, General Manager for EMEAN, Alibaba Cloud, told Gigabit that because it’s vast experience in retail, finance, logistics and more, Alibaba Cloud can show, not just tell, its customers how they can digitally transform their industries with cloud computing. “At an infrastructure level, we can prove we’re reliable,” explains Wang.

SEPTEMBER 2019

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03

Google

Mountain View, California

With customers including Bloomberg, Ticketmaster, Deloitte and eBay, Google also holds its own in the cloud space. Its Google Cloud Platform (GCP)is considered to be the third biggest cloud provider in terms of revenue behind AWS and Microsoft Azure respectively.

In July, Google announced that it will soon acquire Elastifile, a provider of scalable, enterprise file storage for the cloud. After the deal is closed, Elastifile will join Google Cloud.

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02

Microsoft

Redmond, Washington

Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Microsoft Azure, was first launched in 2010 and it’s now a crucial revenuegenerator for the firm. Microsoft says that 95% of

86

Fortune 500 companies use the Microsoft Cloud.

For instance, in 2018, automotive giant Volkswagen announced that it was partnering with Microsoft to develop the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud, powered by Microsoft Azure. “Volkswagen is harnessing technology to digitally transform and deliver innovative new connected car services to its customers,” explained Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “The world’s leading companies run on Azure, and we are thrilled that Volkswagen has chosen Microsoft.”

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01

Amazon

Seattle, Washington

Standing as the cloud computing arm of technology behemoth Amazon, Amazon Web Services has earned its stripes in the cloud computing market. This year,

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the cloud computing business generated $25.7bn in bn, up 45.3% from the same period a year earlier.

Today, it’s customers include Capital One, Expedia, General Electric and Airbnb. Speaking exclusively to Gigabit magazine, Darren Mowry, Director, Business Development at AWS highlighted how the firm’s customer-focused and long-term approach gives it an edge. “We’re building relationships and a business that lasts, and you do that by doing right by customers over a long period of time,” he said.

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EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S

We round up the biggest and best technology events and conferences from around the world… EDITED BY LAURA MULLAN

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06-11 SEPT 2019 IFA BERLIN

12 SEPT 2019 Tech Leaders Summit

[ BERLIN, GERMANY ]

[ LONDON, UK ]

The IFA (or Internationale Funkausstel-

Promising to be the UK’s largest sum-

lung Berlin) is one of the oldest

mit for tech leaders, Tech Leaders

industrial exhibitions in Germany. It’s

Summit will bring together over 40

also known as one of the world’s lead-

speakers and 500 senior IT execu-

ing trade shows for consumer elec-

tives. The summit plans to explore

tronics and home appliances. At the

four key streams: Cloud and IT Strat-

event, more than 1,800 exhibitors are

egy; Data and Security; Diversity,

expected to showcase the latest devel-

Recruitment and Staffing; and AI and

opments in consumer electronics and

Technological Innovation. In doing so,

home appliances. Therefore, visitors can

it hopes to offers a 360-degree view

get a close look at some of the latest

of the technologies and trends shak-

devices long before they hit the shelves.

ing up businesses across the globe.

SEPTEMBER 2019

04–08 NOV 2019

09-10 OCT 2019

GITEX Technology Week

SecTor 2019

[ DUBAI, UAE ]

[ TORONTO, CANADA ]

Claiming to be one of the biggest

Held at the Metro Toronto Convention

technology shows in the MENA and

Centre in Toronto, SecTor is a must-

South Asia region, GITEX Technology

attend event for any IT professional.

Week plans to investigate the latest

The event claims to be ‘Canada’s

technology trends, present high calibre

premier cybersecurity conference’

speakers and showcase product

and will help IT professionals strength-

innovations from across the globe.

en their corporate defenses and

Over 111,000 visitors and 4,800

mitigate security threats. The two-day

exhibitors attended the five-day show

event will offer the latest technical

last year, making it a must-attend

research, hands on practical experi-

event for any technology professional.

ence, and more.

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EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S

94

28–31 OCT 2019

04–08 NOV 2019

Cisco Live Cancun

Microsoft Ignite 2019

[ CANCUN, MEXICO ]

[ ORLANDO, FLORIDA, USA ]

Cisco’s annual customer and partner

Microsoft Ignite is Microsoft’s annual

conference, Cisco Live, aims to help

meeting created for enterprise

businesses prepare for their digital

professionals, services and products.

transformation journeys. Attendees

Offering everything from deep product

will be able to immerse themselves in

dives to hands-on labs and immersive

five days of sessions, hands-on train-

experiences, Microsoft Ignite will cover

ing and 1:1 meetings. Additionally, at-

a wide range of topics such as deploy-

tendees will be able to learn about

ment, development, architecture security

Cisco’s products, technologies and

as well as operations and management.

services which could help them grow

At last year’s event, the keynote speaker

their business.

was Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

SEPTEMBER 2019

04–07 NOV 2019

VMworld 2019 Europe [ BARCELONA, SPAIN ]

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Touting itself as “the preeminent digital infrastructure event of the year”,

24-27 FEB 2020

VMworld is a global conference for vir-

MWC

tualization and cloud computing hosted

[ BARCELONA, SPAIN ]

by VMware. Attendees will learn from

With thousands set to descend on

top VMware and industry experts about

Barcelona for the event, MWC (formerly

what’s coming next in IT. Additionally,

Mobile World Congress) promises

attendees will be able to network with

to be an unmissable technology

peers, make new connects, get direct

congress. Hosting groundbreaking

experience and training with hands-on

innovations from almost 2,500

labs and discover new product break-

companies and over 100,000 dele-

throughs. Last year, 13,000 attendees

gates, MWC stands as one of the

and 3,500+ companies from across the

largest conferences in the world

globe gathered to attend the event.

centered around mobile technologies.

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Inside Canadian Blood Services’ risk management driven data center migration WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

JAMES BERRY

SEPTEMBER 2019

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CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES

David Grant,Associate Director, Enterprise Services at Canadian Blood Services, discusses his role in the organization’s recently completed data center migration and ongoing digital transformation

T

he ability to gather, interpret and protect its data is increasingly becoming the metric by which a company survives or

perishes. Data has become, in short, the lifeblood of the modern organization. However, in the past 98

five years, the staggering speed at which IT advancements have swept across every industry has placed pressure on enterprises looking to house IT systems and data in onsite legacy infrastructure. “The sheer volume of IT services and the explosion of data means that it all has to be stored somewhere, and if it’s not in your own data center, it needs to be in somebody else’s. It’s led to enormous growth in capacity across the commercial space, and those new data centers have been built with the latest technologies which can quite often put your own in-house data center to shame,” explains David Grant, Associate Director, Enterprise Services at Canadian Blood Services. “When you look at the needs of the modern digital workplace, then attempt to retrofit your own data center real estate to give it the same capabilities as some SEPTEMBER 2019

99

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CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES

of those commercial ones, it becomes

“ Canadian Blood Services is the first place where I’ve had the opportunity to make a difference to somebody’s personal life, as opposed to just improving the bottom line, or increasing shareholder value.

It’s a nice feeling” 100

— David Grant, Associate Director, Enterprise Services, Canadian Blood Services

enormously expensive and, in some cases, just isn’t feasible.”

With a career spanning more than 20 years in the data center space, Grant came to Canadian Blood Services in 2016. We sat down with him to discuss his role in the organization’s recently completed migration from two legacy data centers in Ottawa to commercially operated colocation facilities, a move calculated to ensure the safety and resilience of Canadian Blood Services’ vital IT operations.

Founded in 1998, Canadian Blood Services is the country’s lifeline, providing a link between the generosity of over 410,000 annual blood, plasma and organ donors from Vancouver to Newfoundland, and the patients that need it. “We drive the donor experience so that it’s as pleasant as possible in order to encourage people to continue in their generosity. At the same time, we continue to innovate and improve the products we offer, so that we can improve patient outcomes and ultimately save lives. It’s quite a mission to be involved in,” enthuses Grant.

“I’ve worked in IT for a long time, but Canadian Blood Services is the first

SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘THERE ARE LOTS OF REASONS TO JOIN #CANADASLIFELINE’ 101 place where I’ve had the opportunity

transformation at the front end, we

to make a difference to somebody’s

have improved that donor experience.”

personal life, as opposed to just

However, as in most aspects of

improving the bottom line or increasing

industry, Grant admits that the

shareholder value. It’s a nice feeling.”

attention paid to upgrading systems at

Canadian Blood Services has

the front end had outstripped that paid

already taken steps over the last three

to the internal workings of the organiza-

years to improve its front end customer

tion. “That front end user experience

experience, digitalising booking

stuff tends to move pretty fast, but

processes and streamlining workflow.

not so much the back end plumbing.

“Donors generously give not only their

But, without that plumbing, the front

blood, but also their time,” notes Grant.

end isn’t really much use,” he explains.

“The last thing that we want to do is

In 2016, Canadian Blood Services

waste that time chasing bits of paper

engaged Gartner to review its data

around our clinics. By doing this digital

center strategy and the results w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

The Trusted Healthcare

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“ By doing digital transformation at the front end, we’ve improved that donor experience” — David Grant, Associate Director, Enterprise Services, Canadian Blood Services

one in our HQ and one in a building that houses most of the IT team. The distance between the two buildings was less than four miles,” Grant says. “In terms of disaster recovery (DR), that’s basically next door to one another.”

In September 2018, while Canadian Blood Services were midway through their migration, an unprecedented total of six tornadoes swept across Ottawa and Quebec, causing damage in excess of $300mn and leaving

revealed a particularly worrying

hundreds of thousands of residents

vulnerability. “We realized that our data

without power. “It was a timely reminder

centers were both located in Ottawa –

that the ongoing change in weather

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

David Grant David Grant is an enthusiastic IT professional with over 30 years’ experience in the provision and support of IT services in both private sector and government organisations. Focusing on Data Centers and IT Infrastructure he has led several successful initiatives around data centre migrations and consolidations, and IT infrastructure transformation. David has a successful track record in developing IT strategies to take advantage of new and emerging technologies and delivering success through strong leadership and effective team building.

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CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES

patterns we’ve seen over the past five to 10 years is going to continue, and having two data centers that were literally next door to one another was probably not a good idea,” says Grant.

The review of Canadian Blood Services’ systems not only exposed areas in the organization’s data centers that had single points of failure – areas which would have been both costly and disruptive to upgrade to Uptime Institute Tier Three certification – but also the threat posed by the state of its DR plan. “Our contingency at the time 104

was a cold site about four hours to the south in an IBM data center. In the event of the loss of data centers in Ottawa, the DR strategy was to drive down there, collect the necessary hardware and then restore our systems from backup tapes. The estimated recovery time for an event like that was between one and six days,” Grant explains.

“When you’re a digital business, being down or out for 24 hours is a major issue. Being out for five or six days – well, you’re lucky if you survive.”

The need for revision of Canadian Blood Services’ data center strategy was, to Grant, clear. Change, however, needed to be effected as safely as SEPTEMBER 2019

possible. “We are a risk-averse organization, as suits people who are in the business of saving lives,” says Grant. “So, we adopted the colocation approach and went looking for a partner who could provide facilities in locations that were geographically diverse.”

Canadian Blood Services eventually settled on Rogers Communications, which now provides data center services in Calgary and near to Toronto (both locations are near one of the organization’s major manufacturing sites).

A veteran of more than a few migration strategies, Grant is well aware that each has its own unique challenges. “We’re regulated by Health Canada, so there are a lot of protocols around testing and validation, which all had to be embedded into our strategy,” he explains. “We broke it down into a series of overlapping waves based around business capabilities: our blood management system, our donor management system, etc. Then, we further subdivided those into our non-production and production-based systems.” The process saw a huge number of careful, methodical tests, warranty periods and planned outages, that allowed the migration to be carried w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES

“ When you’re a digital business, being down or out for 24 hours is a major issue. Being out for five or six days - well, you’re lucky if you survive” — David Grant, Associate Director, Enterprise Services, Canadian Blood Services

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107 out effectively and with minimal risk.

“We did stretch our team quite a bit just to stay on top of the overlapping waves, but they were real troopers and they came through for us,” Grant recalls.

Another key metric in the success of the migration is the increased resilience of Canadian Blood Services’ DR plan. “It was calculated that the business could only tolerate four hours of downtime,” says Grant. To shrink the process of getting the organization’s IT infrastructure back on line from six days to four hours, Canadian Blood Services bought enough capacity in w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES

its new colocation sites that the entire business can be run from either one.

“We replicate our VMware workloads from one data center to the other continuously. Should we lose a data center site, we use Zerto to reactivate those VMs in the other data center.”

Zerto is a Tel-Aviv-based virtual replication software company that specializes in providing operational continuity in the direst of circumstances.

The company’s duplication software was also, according to Grant, a key tool in the migration itself. “We used 108

Zerto replication to move the data from our Ottawa data centers to our new Rogers partners data center site,” he explains.

10 years ago, if a company embarked on a digital project, or bought a new piece of software, the expectation was that there was a finite price tag and completion date. In 2019, if executed correctly, a digital transformation project will cost an unlimited amount of money and take an unlimited amount of time. With the completion of the migration, Grant at the team are preparing to immediately begin reevaluating Canadian Blood Services’ SEPTEMBER 2019

“ We did stretch our team quite a bit just to stay on top of the overlapping waves, but they were real troopers and they came through for us” — David Grant, Associate Director, Enterprise Services, Canadian Blood Services

data center and DR strategies. “When

years, we’ve seen a lot of development

we were first doing this, a lot of the

in that space. I think our next data center

options and ideas getting thrown

strategy will look at what we’re still

around were things like, ‘Why don’t we

running in-house and in our colocation

move DR to the cloud? Why don’t we

facility, and determine what’s the next

move this to the cloud? Why don’t we

step for these systems.”

move that to the cloud?’ Even three years ago, a lot of those services were in their infancy and weren’t really to be trusted, and certainly not by blood operator - somebody who is committed to patients and donors and saving lives wouldn’t want to risk that,” Grant explains. “In the intervening three w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

109

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NOVA SCOTIA POWER’S TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY WRITTEN BY

DANIEL BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

JAMES BERRY

SEPTEMBER 2019

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N O VA S C O T I A P O W E R

NOVA SCOTIA POWER IS MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF TRANSFORMATION WITH A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. OPERATIONS TECHNOLOGY LEADER MIKE GREENE AND SENIOR TECHNICAL ADVISOR ROB MACNEIL EXPLAIN HOW THE LEADING UTILITY EMBRACES CHANGE

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ova Scotia Power (NSP) is a fully-integrated power utility proudly serving 500,000 residential, commercial and industrial

customers across the province as its primary electricity provider since the early 1900s. A 1,700 strong team help manage $4.1bn worth of generation, transmission and distribution assets producing more than 10,000 gigawatt hours of electricity each year.

To keep up with an ever-evolving industry which is increasingly focused on sustainability, the power giant is embracing radical change with a move away from coal and oil-based generation. The shift to renewables prompts the need for significant transformation across the business to meet its 40% renewables target by 2020. Utilising a fuel mix of hydro, tidal, wind, coal, oil, biomass and natural gas to generate electricity, its facilities can produce as much as 2,453 megawatts of electricity delivered across 32,000 km of transmission and distribution lines throughout Nova Scotia.

SEPTEMBER 2019

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N O VA S C O T I A P O W E R

“ CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ARE A BIG PART OF THE EQUATION” 114

— Mike Greene, Operations Technology Leader, Nova Scotia Power

SEPTEMBER 2019

Mike Greene, Operations Technology Leader at Nova Scotia Power, is spearheading efforts to develop more flexible systems to manage its assets and both modify and optimise maintenance strategies. Preventative and predictive maintenance, along with surveillance activities and a more holistic and repeatable approach, are being leveraged to determine the company’s ongoing investments in its assets. Since 2010, NSP has been building an asset management function to care for all areas of the

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘POWERING OUR COMMUNITIES. EVERY DAY.’ 115 business under the same philosophy and regime. “Our goal is to understand their criticality to the business and put in place maintenance strategies that deliver intelligence about our equipment’s condition or health, so we’re able to risk-profile all of our major assets,” explains Greene.

NSP’s quest is to implement a sophisticated approach towards the application of technologies capable of condition-based maintenance and monitoring with predictive techniques to gather intelligence about its assets.

Greene aims to bring them into a single w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

N O VA S C O T I A P O W E R

116

environment to develop rules, rule

intelligence – from preventative and

engines and algorithms, applying

predictive maintenance to predictive

pattern recognition tools to better

analytics and operator surveillance –

understand asset health and guide

into the rules engine to offer an

decision making on maintenance and

improved real time view of our assets.”

investment. Greene’s colleague, Senior

The positive impact on efficiency

Technical Advisor Rob MacNeil, reveals

has been felt across the business.

more sensors are now being deployed

Previously the technical team would

in the field. “We’re able to instantly see

spend time searching for and managing

impending health issues,” he says.

information but less time actually doing

“Pattern recognition that absorbs

high-end analytics. One of the goals for

our sensor information and applies

NSP’s asset management program has

principles to find anomalies and give

been achieved: to provide intelligence

us early alerts, is rolling up all of our

capable of delivering actionable

SEPTEMBER 2019

insights from good data. The challenge lay in making sure the program’s deployment was smooth in providing a platform its users could trust.

“We didn’t want to deploy the technology first and then hope to get value from it later,” maintains MacNeil, who notes the importance of defining objectives first and then shaping technology to meet them once trials have proved the solution is scalable. “Mobile technology would be a good example of that.

Deploying in one plant, getting it right, and then moving on to other plants and minimizing organisational churn.”

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Mike Greene Mike Greene has over 25 years of experience with Databases, Information Systems and Plant Automation. He is currently the Operational Technology Lead for the Enterprise Asset Management Office of Nova Scotia Power, the utility for the province of Nova Scotia. He is responsible for the integration of NSP’s many OT systems with existing IT systems. He is actively involved with piloting new technology initiatives and expanding the NSP computer network. Greene has a BSc from Dalhousie University and diplomas in Business Computing and Petroleum Resource Technology from the Nova Scotia Institute of Technology.

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N O VA S C O T I A P O W E R

118

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1972

Year founded

1,700

Approximate number of employees

SEPTEMBER 2019

119

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“ DIGITAL APPLICATION IN OUR INDUSTRY IS STILL RELATIVELY NEW, SO FINDING MAJOR PARTNERS WHO SHARE OUR PHILOSOPHY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US” — Rob MacNeil, Senior Technology Advisor, Nova Scotia Power

Greene echoes the need for experimentation with pilot schemes to achieve lasting results from a range of vendors. “In the new world of cloud deployment and software-as-a-service, it’s easy to find software to fill certain niches,” he says. MacNeil notes the importance of evaluating providers, so that NSP does not just purchase an off-the-shelf solution but looks at broad fleet-monitoring tools. “Digital application in our industry is still relatively new, so finding major partners who share our philosophy 121

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Rob MacNeil Rob MacNeil is a Sr. Technical Advisor with Nova Scotia Power (NSPI) and manages the Asset Management Office.

He was responsible for the design and implementation of a comprehensive Asset Management approach for NSPI’s f leet of generating units, and is presently leading the design and deployment of the Asset Management Program within NSPI’s Transmission and Distribution business.

MacNeil has been in the utility business for 30 years and has experience in Operations, Maintenance, Production, Engineering and Management. Born in Nova Scotia (Canada) he received a BSc from Dalhousie University and an Engineering Degree from the Technical University of Nova Scotia.

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N O VA S C O T I A P O W E R

“ IN THE NEW WORLD OF CLOUD DEPLOYMENT AND SOFTWARE-AS-ASERVICE, IT’S EASY TO FIND SOFTWARE TO FILL CERTAIN NICHES” — Mike Greene, Operations Technology Leader, Nova Scotia Power 122 is very important to us… We’re often pushing the boundaries of their own technical capabilities, so we’re both investing in the future together.”

Across the industry, platforms are evolving into the cloud, which need to integrate within existing infrastructures.

“With some of the vendors we’re now looking at apps that we can deploy on iOS devices as we look at the tools of the future for our mobile workforce,” reveals Greene.

Greene and his team are keen to drive operational intelligence. “Do we need to do something now? Can we wait six months? Can we ignore it and SEPTEMBER 2019

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N O VA S C O T I A P O W E R

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C O M PA N Y FACT S

• 10,000+ gigawatt hours of electricity produced each year • $4.1bn worth of generation, transmission and distribution assets • 500,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers

SEPTEMBER 2019

just monitor it until it is taken offline permanently? Because within our industry in Nova Scotia and in some of the North American utilities we have the ultimate aim of reducing our coal fleet,” he explains.

In working towards that, MacNeil highlights the need to be systematically flexible as the use of assets change.

“Where some units would have been base-loaded in the past, now they’re cycling, so you cannot maintain them in the same way. They have new failure mechanisms that need to be considered, and therefore your maintenance strategy and activities need to change.”

By taking a holistic approach to asset management, unlike more traditional environments where each plant makes its own decisions, NSP are able to make portfolio decisions. “We’re confident our investment dollars are going where they need to be,” says MacNeil. “We’re meeting the mission of each unit… It might be a base-load unit, a two-shifting or a flex unit. It might be a unit that needs to retire in a short amount of time. This process of detailed risk understanding enables us to function in those variety of realities for various generating assets, and therefore we’re hitting the w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

125

N O VA S C O T I A P O W E R

126

“ WE’RE CONFIDENT OUR INVESTMENT DOLLARS ARE GOING WHERE THEY NEED TO BE” — Rob MacNeil, Senior Technology Advisor, Nova Scotia Power

right risks.” That positive impact can defer outages to the end of the life of a unit, saving millions of dollars.

Continuing its asset management mission has been vital for NSP and is transforming the way it uses all of its generating units as deep operational experience is applied to change. How has the process helped with Nova Scotia Power’s renewables goal?

“It’s part of our corporate philosophy to develop a greener portfolio of generation,” says MacNeil, who finds the tools, systems and processes

SEPTEMBER 2019

127

designed for NSP’s traditional generation

Change management and continuous

also fit well in the renewable world with,

improvement are a big part of the

for example, wind farms. “Our distribut-

equation. For us, they’re not just

ed-generation assets lend themselves

add-ons. It comes back to the

to the digital technologies and commu-

dedicated nature of our team. We’re

nication tools we’re deploying. We’ve

not doing this part-time; we’re fully

learned that the infrastructure we’ve

invested in sustaining these processes

established is well suited for renewable

and reaping the rewards.”

assets and that’s a win for us.”

For Greene, the right combination of people, processes and technology is paramount to future success: “There’s no one aspect that can be ignored so we put equal emphasis on all factors… w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR VOLUNTEERS AND LEARNERS AT ST. JOHN AMBULANCE CANADA WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY

JAMES BERRY

SEPTEMBER 2019

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S T. J O H N A M B U L A N C E C A N A D A

JAMES WILLIAMSON, DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY, AND SHAWN MCLAREN, CHIEF LEARNING OFFICER, DETAIL THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OCCURRING AT ST. JOHN AMBULANCE CANADA

A

cross the globe, organizations are employing technology to find new and improved ways of conducting their

operations, with benefits on offer to both the 130

newest startups and the most venerable institutions.

St. John Ambulance Canada (SJA) can trace its lineage back over 900 years, with the modern Canadian organization founded in 1883. The charity is dedicated to helping Canadians via health and safety training courses and first aid volunteers.

“We have two different aspects to what we do,” says Shawn McLaren, Chief Learning Officer.

“One is first aid training. We train over 500,000 people a year in first aid and CPR. There are various advancement courses – anything from a basic one-day course to courses that are 80 hours long teaching advanced first responder skills. The other side of what we do is our volunteering. We train people to become medical first responders. They still hand over to paramedics when necessary, but they receive upwards of 40 to 80 hours of training SEPTEMBER 2019

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S T. J O H N A M B U L A N C E C A N A D A

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ST. JOHN AMBULANCE CANADA – LEADERS IN FIRST AID AND CPR TRAINING’

132

to act as a bridge.” To fund its activities,

program of digital transformation

the charity relies on the first activity to

inside the organization. One of the

fund the latter, as Director of Informa-

challenges of operating a national

tion Systems and Technology James

charity, especially in a country as vast

Williamson explains. “We sell first aid

as Canada, is ensuring the smooth

training, and that is then turned into

communication of its constituent parts.

community service via volunteers and

“We are a federated organization where

first aid representatives at, for instance,

each provincial chapter is its own legal

sports venues, conventions, and other

entity, and our national office serves to

outdoor and indoor events. We also

supply the shared enterprise applica-

give back through therapy dog programs

tions. Right now, they are all hosted at

and similar services across the country.”

a data center run by a third party, but

To further support such activities, Williamson has helped to institute a SEPTEMBER 2019

as part of the digital transformation we are moving to cloud-based services.

“ FIRST AID IS A TRICKY THING IN THAT YOU CAN NEVER HAVE A FULLY ONLINE FIRST AID CLASS BECAUSE THE SKILLS HAVE TO BE OBSERVED” — Shawn McLaren, Director of Operations and Learning, St. John Ambulance Canada

That allows us to get away from expensive, cyclical hardware and capital costs and constant upkeep and maintenance.”

Williamson is seeking to build a strong base from which the charity’s activities can be supported. “We’re focusing primarily on foundational changes. We are moving to Office 365 and Dynamics 365 as a core platform since we already had experience with Microsoft’s existing legacy applications.

Then, we’re building upon that with a new website integration where we’re

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Shawn McLaren As Chief Learning Officer, Shawn leads the development of all curriculum as well as the educational process for the organization. In addition to this role, he acts as a national liaison for all matters related to first aid training. Shawn holds a Master’s degree in Adult Education with a specialization in Corporate Development and Knowledge Management. He has over 15 years experience in a variety of roles in learning and development environments in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining St. John Ambulance, Shawn was the VP of Learning & Development for Citibank, overseeing the Canadian consumer lending division.

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S T. J O H N A M B U L A N C E C A N A D A

building a learning management system. Ultimately, we want to look at volunteer management, fundraising, and automating manual workflows.”

To support that work, SJA has also been implementing upgrades to its network. “We’re working with Rogers to increase our bandwidth from a 50 Mbps connection to a gigabit. With everything being based in the Cloud, having a stable, symmetrical fiber connection is important.”

From these strong foundations the charity can perform its critical functions.

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On the teaching side of the equation, opportunities have been found to introduce technology to benefit learners, as McLaren explains. “Our new learning management system that we’re planning to bring in will allow us to provide digital badges and an online presence for people to note their certifications, which will speed up the process.

We found a partner in D2L that meets all of our external and internal training needs.” An upgraded website is also aiding learning. “We’re reworking our website to a modern UI/UX, making it easier for people to search for courses, providing higher rankings in our SEO for the website and the ability to see SEPTEMBER 2019

the correlations in the courses people take,” says Williamson.

It remains important, however, to ensure a balance is struck between the digital and the physical, particularly in the realm of first aid training. “First aid is a tricky thing in that you can never have a fully online first aid class because the skills have to be observed,” says McLaren. “I’m not certain that we’ll ever see a fully automated online course. We can, however, with the inclusion of our state of the art LMS system, enhance the blended learning experience, and make it more appealing for people to take classes. Our typical first aid classes are two days, but a blended approach allows them to do eight hours of online training at their leisure before attending a full day course.” Such blended learning takes a number of forms at SJA, including a move towards using e-books for teaching. Another advancement takes advantage of an upgraded manikin.

“We’re slowly moving towards what are called feedback manikins. They measure the depth and speed of your push, and we’ve been piloting ones that will display that information onto a whiteboard for the whole class. w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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S T. J O H N A M B U L A N C E C A N A D A

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“ THERE’S SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY TO DO GOOD FOR BOTH THE ORGANIZATION AND PEOPLE OUT THERE” — James Williamson, Director of Information Systems and Technology, St. John Ambulance Canada

Adult learners like the idea of gamification, and having races is one of the functions we can do with it, which really engages people.”

The future for SJA sees the charity bring its work to new and exciting areas. “We’re expanding to law enforcement, military and aboriginal first aid programs,” explains Williamson.

“The goal is not only to be the biggest, but to be the best and to turn that revenue back into community service.

We’re also trying to refocus on engaging youth to become lifelong first 137

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

James Williamson James brings 25 years of experience in government, political and private sector IT: House of Commons/ Federal NDP (12yrs), The Bradford Group (5yrs), Disus Software/Atos Canada (5yrs) and Bell Canada (3yrs).

James brings a passion for people and end users and sees IT as a customer service role as the foundation to enable departments to meet their needs and focus on core competencies. James has managed many successful software development projects ranging from a $3mn voter outreach system, a successful cloud transformation project as well as development and integrations for several $30+ million ERP projects for US & Canadian multinationals.

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S T. J O H N A M B U L A N C E C A N A D A

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“ THE GOAL IS NOT ONLY TO BE THE BIGGEST, BUT TO BE THE BEST, AND TO TURN THAT REVENUE BACK INTO COMMUNITY SERVICE” — James Williamson, Director of Information Systems and Technology, St. John Ambulance Canada SEPTEMBER 2019

aiders.” To coordinate that ever-growing stable of volunteers, future innovations will also focus on volunteer communication, as McLaren explains: “There are tools to allow self-check-in and mass communication to volunteers, top-down and bottom-up, that we’re looking to hopefully leverage in 2020.” Ultimately, the transformation occurring at St. John Ambulance is

139

always in the service of improving the scope and reach of the functions it provides. “There’s so much opportunity to do good for both the organization and people out there, which is what excites me about my position,” says Williamson. “Success is its own reward, and I look forward to seeing what version two, three and four of our transformation will look like.” w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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KEMET ELECTRONICS: WORKING WITH PARTNERS TOWARDS A DIGITAL FUTURE WRITTEN BY

SOPHIE CHAPMAN PRODUCED BY

MIKE SADR

SEPTEMBER 2019

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KEMET ELECTRONICS

CHRIS HALL, VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT KEMET ELECTRONICS, EXPLAINS HOW THE COMPANY’S WORK WITH PARTNERS HAS IMPROVED ITS EFFICIENCY, AGILITY AND FLEXIBILITY

K

EMET Electronics is a leading manufacturer of capacitors, inductors, magnetics and various other passive components critical

to circuit board assembly,” explains Chris Hall, the company’s Vice President of Global Information 142

Technology. The company operates more than 23 manufacturing facilities and 33 sales offices worldwide, predominantly in Asia and North America. In the last fiscal year ending in March 2019, the company shipped an estimated 54bn components to 188 countries and approximately 180,000 customers. KEMET components meet the needs of fast-moving market sectors including the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and the electrification of the powertrain and other systems in automotive.

As the company is celebrating its 100-year anniversary, Hall reflects on how far the business has come. “KEMET is very proud of its lineage of innovation and pushing the market and our industry into the next realm of innovation. In light of that, one thing we really try to be innovative about is how we use technology, which will drive our position going SEPTEMBER 2019

143

$1.4.bn Approximate revenue (FY2019)

1919

Year founded

15,000

Approximate number of employees w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

KEMET ELECTRONICS

“ THE COMPANY IS VERY PROUD OF ITS LINEAGE OF INNOVATION AND PUSHING THE MARKET AND OUR INDUSTRY INTO THE NEXT REALM OF THINGS” — Chris Hall, Vice President of Global Information Technology, KEMET Electronics

forward and make us the vendor with whom everyone wants to do business with because of our ability to deliver.

We want to be the emotional favorite of our customers; even if we’re not the lowest price. This mindset is reflected

by KEMET’s mantras: ‘Easy to Design In’ and ‘Easy to Buy From’, the foundation of the company’s strategy.”

Hall joined KEMET in December 2017 to drive the technical transformation required to ensure the company comes out on top as the ‘emotional favorite’ of its customers. He made a point to say it was his role to insure IT

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SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘THE KEMET STORY’ 145 was aligned with and supporting the

business with technical capabilities;

overall business strategy. In order to

IT is becoming easier to buy from.”

meet this goal, technologies have been

The company has also seen the benefit

introduced to improve efficiency,

of mitigated costs as a result of its

productivity, flexibility and quality to

digital transformation strategy. “The

support the business into the future.

goal is to utilize technology’s ability to

“Digital transformation is bringing us

help manage capacity and make it more

into the 21st century and enabling us

visible in real-time. This will enable the

to not only catch up with digital change,

company to be more productive and

but leapfrog into the future and take

improve quality.”

the lead,” Hall explains. “We’ve become

KEMET is also working to ensure

more agile, and this has allowed us to

it better harnesses its data: “It’s no

respond to and complete projects in

secret that, in order to be a digital

hours or days rather than weeks and

company, you’ve got to be able to

months. We’re able to delight the

capture, harness and analyze data and w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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KEMET ELECTRONICS

148 use it to make decisions as near

quality, delivery and service,” reveals

real-time as possible.” Concurrently,

Hall. “The new smart, stable and

KEMET is researching ways to use

secure wireless infrastructure from

data to drive a lot of its projects;

Aruba, which we’re deploying in more

striving to find ways to operationalize

than 50 locations globally, will allow us

broad, enterprise-wide artificial

to leverage gigabit wireless connectivity

intelligence (AI) and machine learning

to streamline operations, support

(ML) projects.

enhanced collaboration and innovations

“As KEMET looks to the future, we

in customer service as well as being

know that secure, pervasive mobility

prepared for technological advances.”

and IoT technologies will be key to

By utilizing Aruba Central and Clear-

maintaining our position as the

Pass Policy Manager, KEMET can unify

preferred global supplier of electronic

network operations and assure a

component solutions for customers

security platform that simplifies the

demanding the highest standards of

deployment, management and service

SEPTEMBER 2019

assurance of its wired and wireless environments through a single pane of glass. Similar to Aruba enabling its LAN for the future, the company’s partnership with Open Systems is revolutionizing its ability to ensure QoS throughout its WAN and provide the needed performance levels users expect of the cloud. These partnerships in KEMET’s new infrastructure will allow the company to build upon its 100-year tradition of enabling some of the most significant technological advances in history and continue 149 E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Chris Hall Chris Hall has spent 19 years in the after-market services and electronics manufacturing industries. Rising through the ranks at JABIL, Chris developed a strong understanding of supply chain management, lean manufacturing, and cross-functional leadership principles. After 14 years at Jabil, Chris was part of the iQor acquisition of JABIL’s After-Market Services division and was promoted to Vice President of IT Solutions for the newly combined IT department. He spent three years developing new technology to support iQor’s joint ventures and general corporate strategy to become a Digital Enterprise. For the past 18 months, Chris has led KEMET Electronics Corporation’s IT transformation as VP of Global IT, where he oversees all aspects of IT strategy including infrastructure, systems architecture, and development.

w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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KEMET and Open Systems— True Partners in Digital Transformation Driven by a rich history of innovation, and an unwavering commitment to excellence, KEMET manufactures the electronic components that power our world. Under the leadership of Chris Hall, Vice President, Global IT, KEMET is executing the cloud-first strategy that provides a true strategic advantage.

Together, KEMET and Open Systems are architecting a digital transformation— working collaboratively to design a managed SD-WAN infrastructure that provides the capacity, speed, and visibility needed to best support current and future network demands.

The Open Systems platform provides KEMET’s 15,000 employees better access to global data and intelligence and delivers secure cloud-based apps to the entire organization.

“Open Systems gives us visibility to network traffic and the ability to

control quality of service into various clouds in our environment,” said Chris Hall. He continued, “In working with Open Systems, we’ve been able to experience the significant cost savings and reduced IT capital expenditures that SD-WAN in general promises, but a lot of companies aren’t able to realize.”

As the company considers the “smart” technologies of the future like blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), KEMET’s newly optimized infrastructure is poised to deliver a connected workplace for years to come.

Hall continued, “Open Systems has enabled us to expand our perimeter.

As we deliver more applications to the cloud, we look forward to working with them as true partners in our digital transformation.”

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘KEMET – DRIVING INTO THE FUTURE’ 153

“ FOR A CENTURY, KEMET HAS REDEFINED THE POSSIBILITIES OF ELECTRONICS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO FOR OUR NEXT 100 YEARS” — Chris Hall, Vice President of Global Information Technology, KEMET Electronics

driving toward our goal of being the reliable partner our business needs.

KEMET has also worked with Sirius to help with local area networks (LAN) upgrades in order to transport data from individual test devices to clients’ machines. The company must certify the data is appropriately monitored and traffic is segregated, enabling quality performance of services that are necessary to drive enterprisegrade IoT projects. “It’s very important that we get the infrastructure foundation of our digital transformation correct,” w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

KEMET ELECTRONICS

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SEPTEMBER 2019

“ IT’S NO SECRET THAT, IN ORDER TO BE A DIGITAL COMPANY, YOU’VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE, HARNESS AND ANALYZE DATA AND USE IT TO MAKE DECISIONS AS NEAR REAL-TIME AS POSSIBLE” — Chris Hall, Vice President of Global Information Technology, KEMET Electronics 155 says Hall. “However, as well as infrastructure, we must also address how we actually move data and make it available to disparate applications, including AI. This is where Software AG comes in – the company is the information highway through which all that data integration is going to happen.

Whether it’s collecting data from our shop floor, pulling in data from our ERP systems, or being able to utilize data coming in from customers and vendors, it must be reliable. Software AG’s Webmethods platform gives us the ability to work in real-time.” w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

KEMET ELECTRONICS

156

“ WITH THE EXPLOSION OF DEVICES, OUR PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS WILL FUEL THE TECHNOLOGIES AND INDUSTRIES OF TOMORROW” — Chris Hall, Vice President of Global Information Technology, KEMET Electronics

As the company continues towards its digital future, Hall reveals what to expect: “For a century, KEMET has redefined the possibilities of electronics and we will continue to do so for our next 100 years. With the explosion of devices, our products and ​solutions will fuel the technologies and industries of tomorrow.” As one of the world’s most trusted partners for innovative component solutions, KEMET will be at the forefront of the manufacturing

SEPTEMBER 2019

157

industry’s digital revolution. “Leading

technologies. I’m privileged to be part of

into the future and the next five years,

KEMET, and excited to lead the digital

we have a continued focus on our

transformation that’s being prioritized

mission in making the world a better,

to make this vision possible.”

safer and more connected place to live,” he adds. “This will be achieved through our technologies and materials science – these will be critical in redefining industries, such as the electrification of automotive, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Industrial Automation, AI and alternative energy w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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Driving innovation and inclusivity through digital transformation WRITTEN BY

MARCUS LAWRENCE PRODUCED BY

ANDY TURNER

SEPTEMBER 2019

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A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

Dr Jess Evans, Chief Operating and Digital Transformation Officer at Arizona State University (ASU)’s University Technology Office (UTO), discusses the tech and strategies that have defined ASU’s modern, inclusive and prestigious reputation

A

rizona State University (ASU) has enjoyed a remarkable uptick in reputation in recent years, and its success comes

down to the efficacy of its digital transformation.

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“Over the past several years, specifically the last six, the university has grown exponentially in terms of improving both its academic presence and innovation schedule,” says Dr Jess Evans, Chief Operating and Digital Transformation Officer at ASU’s University Technology Office (UTO).

“Case in point: over the last four years, US News and World Report has rated ASU as the most innovative university in the country, ahead of giants like Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford.” Evans credits this meteoric shift to the vision of ASU President, Michael Crow. “He has set forth a strategy to truly transform the entire university, both in the way we do business and how higher education works,” she says. “The vision looks to change the model of institutions fundamentally grounding themselves in exclusivity.

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A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

“ At ASU, we are proud of who we include.We are looking to give every student an opportunity” — Dr Jess Evans, Chief Operating and Digital Transformation Officer, ASU UTO 162

SEPTEMBER 2019

At ASU, we are proud of not who we exclude, but who we include.

We are looking to give every student an opportunity.”

This strategy – which has involved the introduction of new course program structures, remote study options and partnerships with companies such as Starbucks and Uber – has led to a surge in the university’s student headcount.

“We’re now climbing above 40,000 online students, and this puts the entire ASU student count at above

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘EMPOWER – HIGHLIGHTS OF ASU IT PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY DAY’ 163 111,000 in total,” says Evans. This

is not a simple ‘lift and shift’, noting

growth would not have been sustain-

that the transition has involved the

able with the university’s traditional

establishment of a DevSecOps

infrastructure, and tackling this

methodology, the use of automation-

challenge is the crux of Evans’s work

based tech and a people-oriented

at the UTO. “We need creative and

focus on reskilling existing staff

innovative ways to address this

to make the most of the changes.

demand, deliver excellent customer

“We have 300 code-based robots

service and keep a mindful eye toward

transitioning many of our on-prem

fiscal responsibilities.” To meet the

resources to the cloud without the

computational demands of such

need for human intervention, and this

a large student body, ASU is in the

frees up our staff to start developing

process of transferring most of its

new skills.”

on-premise infrastructure to cloud

Realigning existing staff with new

solutions. Evans stresses that this

processes is vital to the wider change w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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“ Bringing our teams together and having them vested in this transition has been as crucial as some of the technical projects we have delivered” — Dr Jess Evans, Chief Operating and Digital Transformation Officer, ASU UTO

management strategy, which Evans earmarks as the keystone of the digital transformation. To that end, ASU Chief Culture Officer, Christine Whitney Sanchez, has collaborated with her throughout their transformative efforts. “She and I have partnered to align our strategic goals and objectives, as well as give the organization a vehicle of empowerment,” says Evans.

“Bringing our teams together and having them vested in this transition has been as crucial as some of the technical projects we have delivered, if not more so. Through this cultural

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Dr Jess Evans Dr Jess Evans leads the Operations and Digital Transformation (ODT) team within the University Technology Office (UTO) at ASU. Through a transparent and collaborative approach to servant leadership, Jess works with her team to advance the mission of the university. The ODT portfolio spans multiple UTO departments that includes; network, server, storage, data center, public and private cloud services, identity and access management, enterprise architecture, enterprise systems, project and portfolio management, experience center (help center), desk-side services, customer engagement teams, training and event services, classroom support, new construction design, all budget and HR within UTO, and UTO service management systems.

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A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

166

transformation, we’ve given multiple

be enabling short-term success.

teams a voice and empowered them

“Sustainable success comes from

to assist with shaping how they work

working on culture, being credible,

in a truly agile way. We are iterating,

and leading in an intentional way.

we are learning, and we’re doing it

We, the UTO executive leadership

together as a group.” Evans says that

team, have made great strides

the effectiveness of ASU’s digital

in transforming how we operate,

transformation hinges on the strength

and we’re seeing the results permeate

of its cultural transformation. Any

throughout the organization.”

organization seeking to leapfrog a

Part of the challenge of effective

potent change management strategy

change management at ASU is

must address culture or they will only

reflected in a significant technological

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167

opportunity: the vastness of the

an ever-expanding student body and

university’s network. In Arizona,

the Internet of Things (IoT) devices

ASU’s core footprint is comprised

comprising a growing smart campus

of four major campuses in the greater

infrastructure, has necessitated the

Phoenix metro area with an expanding

advent of ASU’s NextGen Network.

campus in Lake Havasu. In addition

Evans inherited an environment

to this state-based presence, the

whereby network operations were

organization has a range of small

wholly outsourced to a service

satellite academic areas in Washington

provider, and bringing that network

DC and California, with a another one

into direct control offers myriad

due in Hawaii soon. This geographic

benefits. “With the goal of having a

range, coupled with the demand of

hybrid model, ASU will have traditional w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

strategy, technology, transformation.

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169

engineers back on the table to lead

functions of the network to manage

architecture and design while

the workload of the university’s

collaborating with multiple partners

smart campus ambitions becomes

to hone our strategies and ensure our

significantly easier. “FY2019 was a

larger portfolio of services is enabled.

busy year for the network operations

The unique difference of this collabo-

teams,” Evans elaborates. “ASU

rative structure contractually requires

embarked on a very aggressive and

all parties (external and internal to

innovative approach to soliciting

ASU) to hold each other accountable

vendors through the RFP process.

for SLAs and performance metrics.”

The creative restructuring of how we

By bringing the network under

ask vendors to collaborate with other

the UTO’s influence, tailoring the

competing vendors to package the w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

£500.mn+ Total research expenditures 2018

1885

Year founded

17,000+

Approximate number of employees 170

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connecting and protecting

h y e t e c h n e t w o r k s . c o m

“Our goal is to have a completely infrastructure-free network in the long term, and that is truly radical” — Dr Jess Evans, Chief Operating and Digital Transformation Officer, ASU UTO

ultimate solution was a first for the procurement and technology disciplines. Through meticulous rigor, ASU selected the top solution and transitioned to new service providers within one fiscal year. A monumental amount of proposal reviews, contract negotiations and transition planning occurred through a large team of ASU members, along with many team members from our new partners. New service providers took control on 28 June 2019.”

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A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

The vision of the NextGen Network doesn’t end there, however. “If your network isn’t designed to handle that influx of traffic, you’ll come to a crashing halt, so we are going to design a software-defined network (SDN),” says Evans. “We’re holding a proof of concept ‘bake off’ between vendors to see who has the best SDN solution in the market, and we intend to elect a provider and put the first instance into production by January 2020,” she explains. In the long-term, 174

Evans says that the aim is to achieve something that no other known higher education establishment in the world has yet managed: a fully-fledged, serverless architecture. “Our goal is to have a predominantly infrastructure free footprint in the long-term, and that is truly radical: we will leverage our code and developer power to provision hardware both in the cloud and within strategic local physical locations. These goals are reliant on a well-designed and robust network that will handle the influx of large data traversing over the network.

We plan to hire engineers to help us develop and build these NextGen SEPTEMBER 2019

175

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trust a leader with global presence and local touch

technologies in partnership with whichever SDN partner we select.

Through this, we will become the first full-fledged higher education SDN on the planet. This transformation is truly cutting-edge.”

The breadth of ASU’s smart campus achievements and ambitions will grow exponentially with the establishment of the robust NextGen Network, but thus far they are well encapsulated in the organization’s smart stadium.

“We will become the first full-fledged higher education SDN on the planet.

This transformation is truly cutting-edge” — Dr Jess Evans, Chief Operating and Digital Transformation Officer, ASU UTO

Anyone attending games at the stadium must have ASU’s mobile app, 177

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘INSPIRING FUTURE EXPLORERS AT ASU’

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A R I Z O N A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

powered through a partnership with Ticketmaster, for ticketing purposes.

This monumental relationship saw Ticketmaster open its API to ASU, revolutionizing the ticketing operations at the stadium and entirely removing paper tickets from the process. More widely, the app has been integrated with Canvas, ASU’s learning management system, to offer students quick access to their schedules, campus maps, information regarding financial aid and more. Under the leadership of Chris Richardson, Deputy CIO 178

for Development, Mobility and Smart Cities, the app has been a resounding success: it has thus far enjoyed over 80,000 downloads from students, with an expanding focus to include faculty and staff features in the coming year.

Not only that, but preliminary IoT solutions have been prototyped in select suites at the stadium to monitor trash volume, stadium footfall and the frequency of guests sitting and standing.

Looking forward, this breed of intelligence and data gathering will be expanded in earnest across ASU’s locations. “The development team will help us with more IoT capabilities,” says Evans. “They have built a facial recognition program that will, in the SEPTEMBER 2019

“You need to transform your culture, your people,your back office processes.You need to be creative, and those changes must be made as a group” — Dr Jess Evans, Chief Operating and Digital Transformation Officer, ASU UTO

long-term, be combined with IoT

services,” concludes Evans. “You

programs to improve safety and

need to transform your culture, your

security on campus.” A greater

people and your back office process-

degree of smart lighting, vehicle traffic

es. You need to be creative, and those

and parking monitoring and more are

changes must be made as a group –

also in the works, and each piece of

a holistic end-to-end approach –

tech is set to upgrade the campus

in order to be sustainable.”

experience in a meaningful way.

Ultimately, this quality applies to ASU’s digital transformation across the board. “Digital transformation is not just transforming your digital

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180

Saving hospitals Saving jobs Saving lives SEPTEMBER 2019

Prime Healthcare’s digital transformation WRITTEN BY

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS PRODUCED BY

CRAIG DANIELS

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P R I M E H E A LT H C A R E

Will Conaway is the Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Technology at Prime Healthcare. Here, he shares with us how Prime Healthcare saves hospitals through digital disruption

“I 182

’ve been fortunate to work with several large organizations and with many remarkable people,” opens Will Conaway,

Prime Healthcare’s Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Technology. “Prime Healthcare’s hospitals have received hundreds of awards for clinical excellence, including more than 200 in the last year alone. Prime’s hospitals have ranked among the “100 Top Hospitals” 47 times, according to IBM Watson Health. This is a reflection of the commitment and dedication that our hospitals and clinicians make to our patients every day.”

In addition, Prime Healthcare has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients for four consecutive years (2016-2019) than any other health system in the country, according to Healthgrades.

Before his move to Prime Healthcare, Conaway worked with several more of the largest healthcare systems in the United States. “A little over a year and a half ago, I decided to join Prime Healthcare SEPTEMBER 2019

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P R I M E H E A LT H C A R E

“ To say the sky’s the limit for healthcare technology would be limiting” 184

— Will Conaway, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Technology

SEPTEMBER 2019

because it was a good fit both professionally and culturally,” he says. “I had a plan to become CIO of a large and distinguished healthcare organization, and I’m delighted to be part of Prime Healthcare.” Since Conaway arrived at Prime Healthcare, he has overseen significant growth of the IT department: “There is a renewed positive attitude, an increased vigor, a desire to be a celebrated department.

The entire IT leadership team has internalized the goal of becoming a world class IT department.”

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PRIME HEALTHCARE - WE’LL BE BY YOUR SIDE’ 185

THE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY THAT SAVES HOSPITALS Conaway states that Prime Healthcare is adept at saving hospitals, and that expertise is at the center of IT and the organization as a whole. “When you consider that Prime Healthcare has gone from one hospital in 2001 to 45 in 2019, you can clearly see this is part of the organization’s culture and DNA,” he explains. Though Conaway is unsure when the next acquisition will be, he says that IT is integral to this decision-making process. He strongly feels that technology should be w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

Digital transformation calls for bold moves.

Be bold. Go Digital @ Scale Visit us: www.atos-syntel.net

“ We are very fortunate from a corporate level to have CMOs who are very interested and active in technology” — Will Conaway, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Technology

considered a part of all strategies, as do his fellow C-level executives.

“We are very fortunate to have corporate CMOs who are very interested and active in technology, along with divisional Presidents and CEOs who are engaged.” He goes on: “IT strategies only work when IT and other executive leaders communicate well with each other and establish agreedupon goals and objectives lucidly.”

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Will Conaway Will Conaway is the CIO and Vice President at Prime Healthcare. Having held two long-term positions with Providence Health and Services and Dignity Health, he has extensive experience working with executive leaders across the country to identify and tackle current and future industry trends and challenges.

Concurrent with his executive roles in healthcare, Conaway is an adjunct professor at Cornell University’s ILR School, working with masters-level students in leadership, psychology, and negotiations.

He also serves on the Forbes Technology Council as well as an extensive number of boards across the Industry, and has participated in several Forbes Healthcare Summits.

w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

Digital Healthcare IT that’s always on call CenturyLink supports Prime Healthcare along with 9 of the 10 largest hospitals in the country to deliver connectivity, cloud, and security solutions that improve data integration and access, secure patient information, and help better connect with patients on-site and online.

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Learn more at centurylink.com/healthcare

Š 2019 CenturyLink, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER CARE

many external forces.” He emphasizes

Conaway says that IT has internal

that consumers in the healthcare

and external customers: the patients

industry often become customers out

and their families, and the providers.

of necessity, and can be apprehensive

“Compared to 2001, Prime Healthcare’s

and anxious about interactions.

customers have nearly unlimited access

When it comes to technology and

to information, and they are much more

improving customer satisfaction,

informed about their healthcare needs

Conaway says that the Internet of

and expectations,” he says. “Patients

Things (IoT) has provided a new level

today tend to be more active in their

of personalization and convenience.

healthcare. As with any industry, the

Yet, despite healthcare’s position as a

needs of the customer will drive

hot market for technology, a business

changes, but at times IT in healthcare

needs to wait for trending products

can’t deliver to meet those expectations

to reach a reasonable price before

as quickly as would be desired due to

deciding to adopt. One innovation

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P R I M E H E A LT H C A R E

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“ Many experts see virtual reality as a US$4bn business by the end of 2020” — Will Conaway, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Technology

SEPTEMBER 2019

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reaching this point is virtual reality (VR)

IN-HOUSE INNOVATION

headsets, which Conaway has been

Prime Healthcare develops its innova-

evaluating for potential use in pediatrics.

tions in-house. “You don’t see this

“There is promising evidence with this

often in a healthcare system setting,”

technology in pain management, and

Conaway says. He is proud to confirm

many experts see VR as a US$4bn

that there are currently 30 proprietary

business by the end of 2020,” he says.

applications being used daily, and

“It’s exhilarating that healthcare IT

several more being rolled out across

allows non-providers to improve

the company’s sites. “These include

outcomes, and empowers providers

applications such as KryptosText

with opportunities to not only help

secure texting, a project management

their patients, but all patients and even

intake tool, a physician rounding tool,

future patients with the insights

and an infection prevention and control

gleaned from IT.”

application.” The organization also w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

193

Making Life Easy for Healthcare Organizations Beautiful Websites. World-Class Content Management.

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P R I M E H E A LT H C A R E

has more applications that will improve the patient experience, as well as a budgeting tool. “We have an entire department dedicated to innovation, and we have recently launched our Innovative Design Enhancement Approval (IDEA) Portal that allows cross-team, cross-continent, and cross-level pollination, along with direct access to Senior Leadership approval for new initiatives.

We are anticipating great things for

•P rime Healthcare has been awarded the Top 100 Hospitals in the nation 47 times, including in 2019.

•P rime Healthcare has gone from one hospital in 2001 to 45 in 2019.

•E very two days the world creates as much data as it did from the beginning of time until 2003.

this innovation.”

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P R I M E H E A LT H C A R E

2001

Year founded

A PROMISING FUTURE Looking ahead, Prime Healthcare will build upon its strong foundations in the US. “To say the sky’s the limit for

40,000

Approximate number of employees

HQ

Ontario, California 196

SEPTEMBER 2019

healthcare technology would be limiting.” Conaway says. He affirms that this is driven by the collective belief of employees across the company and reflected in its mission statement: ‘to save and improve hospitals so that they can deliver compassionate, quality care to patients and better healthcare for communities.’ It’s a vision that he

describes as “truly peerless in the

obstacles into opportunities succeed.”

healthcare industry,” and one that has

With the commitment to empathetic

“created a family feel at Prime Health-

customer service, and building upon

care that unites all employees.”

the technical excellence of its IT

On a personal level, Conaway has big

department, Prime Healthcare will

plans for his department: “For Prime

continue to revolutionize the health-

Healthcare’s IT department, I will

care industry.

also focus on volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA).

The ability to be prepared and run scenarios will help us stay relevant.

Experience has taught me that there will be problems, and those who turn 197

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198

The existential business of digital transformation WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH

SEPTEMBER 2019

PRODUCED BY

CRAIG DANIELS

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PWC

PwC’s Sub Mahapatra guides us through the existential nature of digital transformation, offering his advisory expertise on matters of cloud computing and cybersecurity

200

C

ompanies who fail to digitize are quickly left behind, but it is not always clear how a digital transformation is best achieved.

Enter professional services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), who are seeing an increasing demand for its expertise in areas such as cybersecurity and cloud computing. Management Consultant Sub Mahapatra has been with PwC’s New York network for more than six years.

A director at the company, he specializes in digital, cloud and cybersecurity transformations for the global consultancy’s clients. “I started my career as a software developer,” says Mahapatra. “I’m still a coder by heart; I love building things. And that’s basically what we do – internally as well as externally.

We help resolve complex issues and identify opportunities across various industries.

In this day and age, we are solving our clients’ business problems with technology.”

SEPTEMBER 2019

$41.3.bn+ Approximate revenue

1998

Year founded

250,000+ Approximate number of employees

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PWC

ADVISING No two of PwC’s client engagements

“ Data is everything these days” — Sub Mahapatra, Director, PWC

are the same. In cases where the company has a pre-existing relationship with the client it can begin with a simple conversation. “If we have an existing relationship in place, then we’re way ahead in the curve,” says Mahapatra. “They pull us in to talk about what problems they are facing, and how we can help them. If you don’t have that relationship in place, we have various ways to approach. For example, our BXT – business, experience and technology – sessions for discovering

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SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PWC GLOBAL EXPERIENCE CENTERS’ 203 and exploring the right solutions for

forms, with engagements varying in

their complex problems. We work with

size based upon exactly what PwC has

our clients to clearly understand the

been brought in to achieve across the

problem we are trying to solve. Do they

spectrum of cloud, AI, data analytics

just want to get into the digital world,

and cybersecurity. The constant is

or do they want to solve a business

PwC’s commitment to continued

problem – increase their revenue, or

support. “We have a very broad

expand their customer base? We work

offering from an advisory perspective,

with them to understand exactly what

but we don’t just strategize and then

problems we are trying to solve by

go away. We are there to help the client

brainstorming with the right stakeholders

realize the value we are trying to

in the room. Then, we lay out a plan for

envision for them.” Mahapatra provides

them: this is what we think you need to

a case study referencing a recent

do, and this is where we can help.”

engagement with a large telecom

This help can take many different

company, which is rolling out 5G. w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

PWC

204

Aside from the technical and logistical

secure the network, they want to use

aspects of achieving the rollout as

cryptography and blockchain. Addi-

quickly as possible, Mahapatra and his

tionally, they want to provide smart city

team are also ensuring the introduction

solutions as a part of their 5G offering.

of all the associated technology suites

Going forward there is the opportunity

contained within a modern product

to bring a whole suite of products for

launch. “Similar to various industry

all the different areas.” It is PwC’s role,

players, most of the telecom compa-

therefore, to help clients build efficient,

nies are now changing their business

interconnected solutions that enable

models to be technology companies,”

them to take their offering as a whole

says Mahapatra. “Whatever data they

to the market, as well as adhering to

gather via 5G, they want to leverage to

data privacy regulations and protecting

do more – and because they want to

an individual’s personal data.

SEPTEMBER 2019

DATA AND THE CLOUD Mahapatra details the holistic outlook companies now require in the area of cloud solutions, where previously they may have focused on a single platform.

Only by having access to services across the spectrum can the strengths of each be harnessed. “We have various different public cloud vendor partners, primarily AWS, Azure and GCP, which is now Anthos. Initially, we trained our people for a specific platform. However, these days clients are looking for multi-cloud solutions, or a hybrid solution architecture. A lot of our Fortune 100 clients are saying, ‘can you provide us a perspective to aid us E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Sub Mahapatra Sub is a Director in PwC’s advisory unit where he focuses primarily on the technology, infocommunications, entertainment, media and communications sectors.

His focus areas include IT process reengineering, finance transformation, product development, program portfolio management, project management, change management, mobile services and process reengineering.

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205

“ A ll the telecom companies are now changing their business models to be technology companies” — Sub Mahapatra, Director, PWC

analytics is an essential competency.

We have our own homegrown tools for data analysis with AI models on top of that. Based on the client situation, we use our internal data analytics tool to make sense of data through AI and machine learning.”

One of the main benefits of PwC’s cloud offerings is the associated reduction in cost. By moving away from hardware, expenditure moves from a capital to an operating cost – but Mahapatra points out that it is worth planning for an orderly transition, for a number of reasons. “A lot of clients are taking small steps, and going from hybrid cloud to multi-cloud, or maybe a specific cloud vendor. Mostly, however, they are more efficiently deciding what exactly they want to migrate, and what

in cherry picking services from all of

kind of things they want to keep in the

these different vendors?’, as they all

cloud versus what they want to keep

have pros and cons.”

on their own premises. We are helping

Ease of data processing comes

our clients not only migrate to the

hand in hand with cloud computing,

cloud in a phased manner but also to

integrating disparate data sources in

choose the right cloud native function-

a central location. These sources can

alities in the areas of AI, ML, IoT, etc.

include proprietary PwC software as

so that they can reap the benefits of

well as focus groups, interviews and

the cloud without putting their data at

surveys. “Data is everything these

risk. That’s where our expertise comes

days,” says Mahapatra. “On top of that,

into the picture.” w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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PWC

CYBERSECURITY The presence of data in cloud storage makes PwC’s cybersecurity offerings even more crucial. “These days, no one is safe even after having a proper cybersecurity governance and risk management solution in place. There could be hackers in your enterprise systems, and you don’t know.”

Mahapatra points to a number of solutions, starting with the cybersecurity and privacy specifications built into the cloud vendors utilized by PwC, which PwC integrates into its clients’ existing 208

cybersecurity environment. PwC is also always on the lookout for the next generation of cybersecurity technologies. Currently, the company is looking into employing Exabeam’s security information and event management software. “We have seen their demos, and we may want to explore leveraging them for our User Behavior Analytics initiative. They have a great UI and analytics platform, and we would like to explore it further to see if they’re open to developing their tools in different areas, as well as having some kind of structure in place that would allow PwC and Exabeam go to market together.”

SEPTEMBER 2019

Beyond that, Mahapatra details PwC’s concept of ‘Crown Jewels’.

“We find what kind of data our clients want to keep to themselves, and the extra security they want to have. We work with them to find out where that data is residing, if that data is at risk, or if it is in transit, and we create a whole data protection layer alongside it.” Such prized data requires the most robust solutions, such as encryption, but Mahapatra warns that there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach.

“Encryption always creates several business problems. The most important are impacts to performance. In cases of large data volumes we usually talk about pseudonymization instead.

That is where we put security at a field or column level; a more dynamic, data-centric approach. Obviously, we also find out if there is any PII data to ensure we recommend the right data governance framework to our clients.”

This is one of many areas where PwC’s specialization comes into play, ensuring that data is matched with the correct cybersecurity techniques.

This in turn contributes to PwC’s growing business in the sector. “Our cybersecurity practice is growing by w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

209

PWC

20% at least, year over year,” says Mahapatra. “Clients look for our help because they want to understand what kind of benchmark data we have; where the market is going and what necessary steps they need to take to avoid disruption and obtain a competitive advantage. They also want to validate the particular strategy which they have in mind, and we can advise them if it is the right area to invest in, as we have been providing end-to-end solutions for a lot of different customers in this area.”

210

No matter the technical prowess, technological solutions cannot be instituted and maintained without internal support, and Mahapatra

“ It’s not about shiny objects.

Tinkering is insufficient” — Sub Mahapatra, Director, PWC

emphasizes the need for dialogue within all levels of an organization.

“Ten years ago, it was just the CIO who was discussing digital transformation.

Today, we engage with the CEO and sometimes the board as well. The first thing you need to get is senior executive buy-in, then put the strategy in place, and finally have a plan to execute that strategy.” Such is the demand for, and necessity of, designing and developing digital transformation

SEPTEMBER 2019

211

solutions that one of Mahapatra’s

them understand that it’s increasingly

biggest challenges is in hiring and

clear that we are entering into a highly

retaining the highly specialized talent

disruptive extinction event. Enterprises

required to drive digital transformations.

that don’t transform themselves will

Ultimately, for Mahapatra and PwC,

disappear completely.”

digital transformation is not about small efficiency optimizations. It is about survival. “It’s not about shiny objects,” says Mahapatra. “Tinkering is insufficient. CIOs should be talking about it all the time with their boards and C-suite, mobilizing the entire company, because tech is existential. I’m trying to help w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

212

Vision of excellence: when innovation meets enterprisegrade digital signage WRITTEN BY

MATT HIGH PRODUCED BY

CRAIG DANIELS

SEPTEMBER 2019

213

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FOUR WINDS INTERACTIVE

Sebastian Gnagnarella, Chief Technology Officer at Four Winds Interactive, explains how the innovative digital signage disruptor is transforming multiple industries

L

ook around you. Regardless of location, there’s every chance that in the last 24 hours, you have received information from

visual communications technology. Today, digital signage makes an impact wherever people work, shop, travel and learn – the technology, from high214

impact video walls to innovative wayfinding touchscreens, is at the forefront of the digital-first world.

Few companies are as pioneering in their respective fields as Four Winds Interactive (FWI), the world’s leading software provider for enterprise-grade digital signage networks. The organization’s cloud-based software platform, recognized as the most advanced and flexible digital signage solution available on the market, powers hundreds of thousands of screens worldwide. FWI’s digital signage platform powers the majority of the hotels on the Las Vegas strip; they are behind every deal screen used by Visa and the digital communications on Royal Caribbean Cruise ships; and, last but not least, they are being used to drive the digital workplace transformation of leading businesses worldwide.

SEPTEMBER 2019

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FOUR WINDS INTERACTIVE

“ We have the most powerful digital signage platform available” — Sebastian Gnagnarella, Chief Technology Officer, Four Winds Interactive

“We have the most powerful digital signage platform available,” says Sebastian Gnagnarella, Chief Technology Officer of FWI. Having joined the business a little over a year ago, Gnagnarella has overseen its growth as part of his wider focus on FWI’s overall technology and design strategy.

Since development of the company’s cloud platform began in 2012, Gnagnarella states, “Our focus is on ‘pure cloud’. We use the latest cloud technology to help us scale and to ensure that we offer the very best customer user experience, taking

216

SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WELCOME TO FOUR WINDS INTERACTIVE’ 217 digital signage to the next level. The way in which we use technology really is a huge differentiator in the sector – there’s no other company that’s innovating in the same way.”

FWI Cloud is a collaborative data management solution providing a multi-channel interface, displaying any type of content on any screen within a customer’s digital signage network.

It is, says the company, “Built with an obsession for the user experience and an unyielding passion to make content contribution and management easy”.

For Gnagnarella, this is the overriding w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

FOUR WINDS INTERACTIVE

218 factor in every decision. “Our UX and product teams are deeply involved with our customers, looking at how they engage with and use software, analyzing trends in digital signage, understanding their feedback and working on several iterations of new features just to be sure they are the very best they can be. In addition, our professional services team is adept at really understanding what the customer needs. And all of that combined gives us a platform that absolutely delivers for our customers, and for our customers’ customers.”

SEPTEMBER 2019

“ The way in which we use technology really is a huge differentiator in the sector – there’s no other company that’s innovating in the same way” — Sebastian Gnagnarella, Chief Technology Officer, Four Winds Interactive

Unlike many competitors, which

the same software to build a specific

tailor bespoke solutions to specific

application for a cruise ship, a flight

customer needs, FWI provides all

information board, a wayfinder or an

customers with every feature of its

employee engagement sign. A quick

software. It is, says Gnagnarella,

search on Google will bring up plenty of

a testament to FWI Cloud. “It’s the

companies that say they provide digital

difference between offering a product

signage, but there are only a few, if any,

and a platform. I believe we have the

that offer a platform like ours that can

most powerful digital signage authoring

be scaled as easily across application

tool available, which allows us to use

types as it is across locations.”

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Sebastian Gnagnarella Sebastian is responsible for developing and implementing Four Winds Interactive’s overall technology and design vision and strategy, overseeing Product and Platform Development as well as Sales Engineering and Digital Experience. His mission is to develop world-class technology through the implementation of state-of-the-art best practices and methodologies, with a clear focus on building applications that drive the business. Sebastian has been passionate about software development since the age of six and has more than 15 years of experience in consulting for Fortune 500 companies, designing and executing complex technology projects as well as leading multi-talented teams. Mr. Gnagnarella also holds positions in Advisory Boards for companies like Salesforce and ViaWest. Prior to joining FWI, he was Inspirato’s Senior Vice President of Technology and IT leading Technology, Product and IT, and he held a variety of technical and management roles at TeleTech Holdings including Chief Architect, Director of Technology and Senior Manager of Client Solutions.

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FOUR WINDS INTERACTIVE

220

SEPTEMBER 2019

2005

Year founded

450

Approximate number of employees

221

w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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As part of his role, Gnagnarella has

signage to better engage employees,

overseen the growth of FWI’s develop-

increase productivity and decrease

ment team, which has doubled from

common workplace challenges.

around 40 to 80 under his leadership.

Gnagnarella explains that the company

This team takes on everything in house,

is particularly strong in these areas,

he says, working across engineering,

with three solutions available to the

product and UX work. Development is

market. These include FWI® ENGAGE™,

ongoing, with new features “that every

a suite of solutions aimed at employee

customer will benefit from,” released

engagement, digital meeting room

as often as every two weeks. Along-

management solution FWI® BOOKED,

side this, come larger updates and

and FWI® DIRECT, which offers a

launches every quarter.

flexible wayfinding and directory

A recent area of focus for the

solution. “When a workforce is

business is workplace digital transfor-

engaged, companies are more

mation, which involves the use of digital

profitable, people are happier and

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘FWI ENGAGE’

w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

223

FOUR WINDS INTERACTIVE

224

“ We have a platform that has been tried and tested over 14 years and that absolutely delivers for our customers, and for our customers’ customers” — Sebastian Gnagnarella, Chief Technology Officer, Four Winds Interactive

SEPTEMBER 2019

work is carried out more effectively,” he explains. And FWI practices what it preaches, too. A project commenced in 2010 to create an internal visual communications network for FWI’s employees led to an employee engagement rate 133% higher than the national average.

A further mark of the company’s success was its addition to Vista Equity Partners’ portfolio in early 2019. FWI is the only digital signage provider in the portfolio, which hosts more than 60 of the world’s leading SaaS companies.

Vista only focuses on high-growth,

225 market leading companies and

networks and “evolving with the

Gnagnarella describes the investment

technology ecosystem” that already

as a great differentiator for the

exists. “New technologies such as

business that will allow it to “invest

AI and machine learning are being

even more in our technology develop-

considered for future development,”

ment, but also to continue our upward

he adds. “However, in the meantime,

trajectory of market domination in the

we will continue to ensure that every

fields in which we wish to lead.”

feature we add to the platform goes

To achieve this, Gnagnarella says that the key aim for the coming years

towards ensuring we remain the strongest in the market.”

is to continue developing the FWI Cloud platform, while simultaneously creating tools that are intuitive to use, breaking down barriers for collaboration on enterprise-wide digital signage w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

226

IBM: transforming the partner experience with innovative tools and ongoing feedback WRITTEN BY

MARCUS LAWRENCE PRODUCED BY

CRAIG DANIELS

SEPTEMBER 2019

227

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IBM

Mike Fino, Vice President & COO, IBM Partner Ecosystem, discusses the solutions driving enhanced sales operations for its business partners and the potency of client feedback

I

BM’s illustrious and prolific history has made the company synonymous with both technology and innovation. However,

Mike Fino, COO for Global Business Partners at IBM, says that IBM’s pedigree is never a foregone conclusion. “Our business partners have many 228

choices, and we want them to feel that partnering with IBM gives them access to the best technologies, the most effective experience, and the most efficient way for them to take care of their clients,” he explains. “While we are well on the transformation journey we began with our partners in 2017, there is never a point in time when we’ll say that we’re done improving, evolving our processes, or making tools better. The IBM Partner Ecosystem is a growth mindset environment.”

Over the past year and a half, IBM’s Partner Ecosystem team has transformed its tooling and overhauled partner engagement. They implemented a Global NPS (Net Promoter Score) solution that has since been propagated across IBM’s Global Partner Ecosystem, and the insights gleaned from the resulting client and partner feedback have been SEPTEMBER 2019

229

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IBM

“ We want our partners to feel that partnering with IBM gives them access to the best technologies, the most effective experience, and the most efficient way for them to take care of their clients” 230

— Mike Fino, COO for Global Business Partners, IBM

SEPTEMBER 2019

instrumental in improving the partner experience. “We use the feedback to help us set our priorities for transformation investment. Then, as we transform, we continue to use ongoing NPS feedback to ensure that we’re moving in the right direction,” says Fino.

Once a partner provides feedback, IBM responds within 24 hours to quickly establish a line of communication.

“We may not have all the answers in 24 hours,” adds Fino. . “But within that time we let them know that we heard them and we are working on a response.”

Extensive, systematic audits are

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘IBM PARTNERWORLD – COMPTA EMERGING BUSINESS OUTSMARTS WILDFIRES AND PROTECTS LIVES WITH IBM WATSON’ 231 conducted on the returned engage-

but they can also connect with other

ments themselves to ensure they are

partners with whom they can share

of a certain quality, and that responses

complementary skills. From a single

address specific raised concerns.

sign-on, IBM’s partners can leverage a

“This is where the power of NPS

trio of powerful tools in the IBM Partner

becomes apparent,” enthuses Fino.

Ecosystem that each enable them to

“Making client feedback a way of life

maximize their sales potential: Partner-

is really what moves the needle, and

World, Seismic, and Skills Gateway.

we’ve seen that over the past year

While each solution is powerful on its

and a half for the ecosystem.”

own, they provide exponential potential

Engagement with this feedback has

when used together. They are designed

enabled IBM to hone its partner

to be interoperable, enabling seamless

platform in such a way that partners

interaction between the three. Skills

are not only able to access vital

Gateway provides sales training,

information whenever they need it,

courses and tests; Seismic offers the w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

IBM

232 platform for client engagement as well as supportive sales collateral (kits, plays and assets) that is designed to enable partners to progress sales opportunities; and PartnerWorld serves as an onboarding and enablement tool that links with the cutting-edge, AI-driven Business Partner (BP) Connect solution, which facilitates collaboration among partners. “BP Connect is where the scope really becomes exponential,” says Fino.

“You’ve got your skills, your sales collateral, and now you want to find an IBM Business Partner with adjacent or ancillary skills that can fill gaps in your SEPTEMBER 2019

“ It’s a mantra for how we live in support of the IBM ecosystem: a burning desire to never be done, to always want to be better” — Mike Fino, COO for Global Business Partners, IBM

own expertise. By collaborating with another IBM partner, you can quickly and efficiently bring a solution together for a client without necessarily having to become an expert in all things yourself.”

Powered by IBM’s proprietary Watson artificial intelligence (AI) solution, BP Connect intelligently banks and cross-references partners’ skills to provide matches to the most appropriate and complementary partner for their own needs. Through Skills Gateway, partners can broaden and 233

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Mike Fino Mike Fino is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, IBM Partner Ecosystem, where he has overall responsibility for transformation and operations across IBM’s dynamic global ecosystem of business partners.

Mike leads agile teams that deliver measurable results, which are validated using client engagement tools, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS). Mike has 25 years’ experience leading key functional areas of integrated operations at IBM. Prior to his current role, he led enterprise transformation, sales operations and strategy for the channel. Before starting his position with the partner ecosystem, Mike served in leadership roles within supply chain management operations.

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IBM

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“ Our competition is moving quickly, which means we need to move even more quickly” — Mike Fino, COO for Global Business Partners, IBM

SEPTEMBER 2019

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IBM

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“ By partnering with another IBM partner, you can quickly and efficiently bring a solution together for the client without necessarily having to become an expert in all things yourself” — Mike Fino, COO for Global Business Partners, IBM

deepen their skillsets; their completed training is recorded by BP Connect and makes them a more attractive prospect for others looking to collaborate on a project. “If you’ve advanced your skills from one discipline to four disciplines, you become that much more appealing – in terms of the different body of work or knowledge that you have – for other partners who may be seeking that expertise,” says Fino.

IBM has also infused additional AI capabilities into the ecosystem. The company uses AI to match its business partners with business leads that are

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BUILD CUSTOMER LOYALTY WITH WATSON MARKETING’

w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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IBM

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“ We’ve built a system called SCORE which continually learns based on feedback, win-rates, and which partners are excelling at particular skills and capabilities” — Mike Fino, COO for Global Business Partners, IBM

SEPTEMBER 2019

appropriate for their skills and their historic performance with similar opportunities. “We’ve built a system called SCORE which continually learns based on feedback, win-rates, and which partners are excelling at particular skills and capabilities. It then considers all that information in near real-time and uses it to select and pass a lead to the partner that is best positioned to win or advance that opportunity.”

In sum, these components comprise a deeply powerful sales ecosystem that is designed to enable partners to

239

make the most of every lead, develop

bring to the table each and every day,

their skills, and build up a network of

that helps to ensure that, when choices

partners with whom they can develop

get made, the partners and clients

symbiotic sales relationships. The

prefer our business model over

powerful combination of these tools

everybody else’s. It’s a mantra for how

gives IBM a unique competitive

we live in support of the IBM ecosystem:

differentiator, proving to be an excep-

a burning desire to never be done,

tional asset in the marketplace. “Our

to always want to be better.”

competition is moving quickly, which means we need to move even more quickly,” concludes Fino. “Our partners always have choices. It’s about continuing to be relevant in the minds of our partners. If they see the value we w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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PT SEMEN INDONESIA: INSIDE THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF A MARKET LEADER WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

KRISTOFER PALMER

SEPTEMBER 2019

241

gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

PT SEMEN INDONESIA

ACHMAD THOLCHAH, GENERAL MANAGER OF IT AT PT SEMEN INDONESIA, DISCUSSES THE COMPANY’S PLANS TO MAINTAIN ITS POSITION AS A MARKET LEADER

T

he world is changing. As markets are disrupted and reshaped by new technologies, methodologies and players, existing

leaders must constantly adapt in order to survive and, hopefully, thrive. In Indonesia, the country’s cement production industry is facing a two-fold challenge: new enterprises entering the market, 242

alongside increased production by existing players, has driven up supply and seen consumer demand decrease by 0.6%. “As a result, the average utilisation rate of cement producers in Indonesia has continued to decrease,” explains Achmad Tholchah, General Manager of IT at PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (Semen Indonesia). Tholchah predicts that, while demand is beginning to grow again, constantly increasing competition is inevitable.

“This combination of excess supply and decreasing demand for cement has led to increased competition in the market and pressure on pricing, reducing the average price by around 6.5%.”

With major new entrants to the market, particularly from China, and ever-increasing impetus to compete, Semen Indonesia is taking a number of steps, not only to ensure its position as a market SEPTEMBER 2019

243

$2.25mn Approximate revenue

1957

Year founded

10,000

Approximate number of employees gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

PT SEMEN INDONESIA

“PT SEMEN HAS CONSIDERED ALL OPPORTUNITIES, AS WELL AS RISKS THAT COULD MAKE THE CEMENT BUSINESS MORE CHALLENGING” 244

— Achmad Tholchah, General Manager, IT, PT Semen Indonesia

leader in the region, but to drive growth and profit. We spoke with Tholchah in detail about the new pressures facing the industry and explored the ways Semen Indonesia deploys its strategic acquisitions, supply chain optimisation and the next phase of its Internet Communications Technology Master Plan (ICTMP) in order to not only endure current challenges, but emerge stronger than before and position itself as the region’s market leader for decades to come. “Semen Indonesia has considered all opportunities, as well as risks that could make the cement business more challenging,” explains Tholchah. “Through its Marketing and Supply Chain Directorate, we have initiated a series of strategic marketing initiatives to ensure optimal sales volume for the company, as well as strengthening its position as a leader in the domestic market.”

Originally inaugurated in 1957 by the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, Semen Indonesia has since grown into the country’s largest cement manufacturer. The firm’s annual production capacity has expanded from 250,000 to 3.9mn tons, while in Vietnam Thanglong

SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SEMEN INDONESIA’ 245 Cement (a subsidiary of Semen

Semen,” explains Tholchah. “The

Indonesia Group) contributed 2.3mn

acquisition will help us maintain a domi-

tons. In order to diversify its product

nant role in the Indonesian market, cre-

portfolio, increase penetration into new

ate significant operational synergies in

verticals and reach a larger customer

centralised procurement, logistics and

base, Semen Indonesia consistently

maintenance, and finally catalyse and

works to expand through a series

enhance our strategy with scale-based

of strategic acquisitions. In January

benefits along the value chain.”

2019, the company purchased a major-

The acquisition also brings new

ity stake in fellow building materials

technology to the table, as the com-

manufacturer, PT Holcim Indonesia,

pany operates processes for produc-

for a total consideration of US$917mn.

ing energy from waste, which can be

“Holcim (which has rebranded as Solusi

deployed across Semen Indonesia

Bangun Indonesia Tbk) contributes

Group’s facilities to further increase

strategic and operational value to

company-wide efficiency. This is gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

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particularly useful as the combined entity resulting from the purchase will be one of the largest domestic coal consumers in the country, with an estimated consumption of 10mn tonnes per year. Tholchah’s role in this transition process is to facilitate a seamless merging of the two companies’ IT infrastructure. “Some of the challenges we’re facing are the integration of supply chain processes, financing and distribution, mapping the products, materials and data that are expected to

“ THE ACQUISITION OF HOLCIM INDONESIA WILL HELP US MAINTAIN A DOMINANT ROLE IN THE INDONESIAN MARKET” Achmad Tholchah, General Manager, IT, PT Semen Indonesia

flow between the companies, and aligning employee functions,” he explains.

247

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Achmad Tholchah Achmad Tholchah, a graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1995, began his career in the cement business as a plant engineer at PT Semen Padang, the oldest cement company in Southeast Asia. His interest in Information Technology began when he was assigned to develop the system information for plant maintenance. Subsequently became a project manager for the implementation of ERP system. After successful implementation, the duty was continued to develop the IT system for Semen Indonesia Group, which is the holding company of PT Semen Padang.

After graduated master degree from a business school, served in the company’s business strategy for several years, before returning to the IT division again.

gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

PT SEMEN INDONESIA

Overcoming these challenges – alongside the company’s continuing goals of maintaining its market position and enabling growth – are being aided by PT Semen’s ongoing digital transformation according to its ICTMP. “ICTMPs last between three and five years. ICTMP I, which covered the 2008-2013 period, concentrated on providing a single ERP platform system that enabled the company to standardise its business processes among cement subsidiaries. ICTMP II, which covered the 2014-2018 period, 248

focused on revitalising and upgrading the core ERP modules and expanding its capabilities to support the implementation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM). CRM and SCM are the key to enhancing the company’s competitiveness in both domestic and regional markets,” says Tholchah.

This year, Semen Indonesia embarks upon a new stage of its ICTMP that focuses on the company’s customer base. “Our main concern is using technology to enhance the customer experience,” he says. “By shifting our focus and paying more attention to what customers want, service is SEPTEMBER 2019

249

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PT SEMEN INDONESIA

250 improved consistently across all touchpoints and channels.”

The continuing digital transformation of Semen Indonesia operations will, Tholchah asserts, allow the company to pursue accurate market segmentation, consolidate its operations and draw increasingly accurate insights from its analytics. “New technology enables businesses to discover more adaptive and agile models based on customer parameters that were impossible to uncover and/or track in the past,” he elaborates. “The introduction of cost-effective, customer-focused SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SEMEN GRESIK’ 251

“ OUR MAIN CONCERN IS USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE”” Achmad Tholchah, General Manager, IT, PT Semen Indonesia

gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

PT SEMEN INDONESIA

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253

“THERE’S MORE DATA TO COLLECT THAN EVER, AND FAILING TO MEASURE THE RIGHT DATA COULD END IN DISASTER” Achmad Tholchah, General Manager, IT, PT Semen Indonesia

digital tasks streamlines business workflows and eliminates overheads associated with outdated solutions.

Of course no transformation effort is without its challenges.” Tholchah acknowledges that as the ICTMP moves forward, the company needs to ensure that new analytics strategies are measuring the appropriate data sets to draw actionable insights.

“There’s morewdata to collect than ever, and failing to measure the right data would lead to disaster,” he warns.

Tholchah also notes that transitioning from legacy systems presents its own gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

PT SEMEN INDONESIA

Partners “It’s vital that we have very skilful and experienced partners to help us,” says Tholchah. PT Semen Indonesa enjoys fruitful partnerships with the following organisations: SAP “SAP Solutions are mission critical to the way we run our business operation system.”

254

IBM “IBM Services partners with us regarding project planning, project management and risk planning. They are also a strategic partner that brings international industry best practices, while understanding regional and local intricacies and, of course, top tier technology offerings.”

SEPTEMBER 2019

Huawei “They provide us with a complete Data Centre solution, from servers to storage and other core network hardware.”

Amazon Web Services “AWS provide us with that essential IT infrastructure cloud services.”

255

problems: “a business relies on prod-

bility in analytics and mobility, as well

ucts and principles that have allowed it

as utilise social networks and cloud

to survive up until now, but sometimes,

technology.” Should the next stage of

legacy can be more of a burden than

its digital transformation be success-

an asset.”

ful, PT Semen will be in an enviable

While the road ahead is challenging

position to leverage its market-leading

and uncertain, Tholchah is very much

position in the Indonesian market to

aware that it holds potential opportu-

not only survive market-wide disrup-

nity for success, growth and longev-

tion, but benefit from it.

ity. “The success of these projects is critical for us; we can’t afford to fail,” he insists. “We believe it is necessary to adapt to industry 4.0 by enhancing ICT usage to improve the company’s capagi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com

256

How Pentahotels is embracing digital transformation, CSR and the modern ‘bleisure’ traveller WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

LEWIS VAUGHAN

SEPTEMBER 2019

257

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P E N TA H O T E L S

Heiko Rieder, VP of Revenue Management and Reservations at Pentahotels, discusses digital transformation, CSR and the changing nature of the hospitality space

T 258

here are many things that make up a truly great hospitality experience: a sense of luxury, peacefulness, access to new and

exciting activities – ask someone why they enjoyed their stay or meal somewhere and you could get a different answer every time. From fluffy towels and exquisite room service to eye-catching art on the lobby walls, at the heart of each and every positive experience is, it could be argued, a sense of attentiveness to the needs of the guest. Identifying and providing what will genuinely delight a guest can be the difference between a lifelong customer and a damning TripAdvisor review. This obviously applies to the entire length and breadth of the customer experience, from the moment of booking to check out and beyond. Therefore, if the desires and habits of its customers change, a hotel needs to change with it.

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259

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P E N TA H O T E L S

“ We’re monitoring a significant shift in behaviour driven by younger generations of business and leisure travellers” 260

— Heiko Rieder, VP, Revenue Management and Reservations, Pentahotels

A member of Rosewood Hotel Group, Pentahotels is a global brand of neighbourhood lifestyle hotels serving upper-mid market business and leisure travellers at 29 locations in eight countries on two continents. The brand prides itself on innovative organisational strategies that provide its guests with a comfortable, stylish experience in a laid-back atmosphere. The heart of each Pentahotel is the Pentalounge, a combination of lounge, bar, café and reception area designed to cultivate the lifestyle impression that the company believes is key to securing the loyalty of the ever-shifting preferences of travellers.

“We’re monitoring a significant shift in behaviour driven by younger generations of business and leisure travellers,” explains Heiko Rieder, Vice President of Revenue Management and Reservations at Pentahotels, noting that

SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF PENTA’ 261 Millennials and members of Genera-

of the company’s travel policy,” he says.

tion Z expect a greater degree of

“Also, it’s very important to them that,

flexibility in terms of business travel.

at the beginning or end of a business

We sat down with Rieder to explore

trip, they can add a night or two, which

the ways in which Pentahotels is

brings together the business and

harnessing innovative technologies,

leisure components of their trip.” The

embracing a new ideology centred

rise in “bleisure” travel is well docu-

around corporate social responsibility

mented: global technology company

and forging new collaborative partner-

Expedia found that, of the approxi-

ships with companies dedicated to

mately 400mn Americans that

digitally transforming the guest

travelled long-distance for business

experience in response to changing

in 2018, approximately 60% of them

demographics and customer priorities.

extended their trip by at least a day.

“We’re actually seeing talent choose their employer based on the flexibility

“We’re seeing more and more business travellers, who would previously have w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

Elevating the

Guest Experience Wherever you find people expanding their horizons and embracing new experiences through travel, you’ll find Amadeus. In addition to supporting global air, rail, cruise and auto travel, our technology elevates the guest experience, drives loyalty, and increases profitability at more than 44,000 hotels and venues in 176 countries worldwide.

Amadeus solutions enrich every step of the guest journey to provide hoteliers with the technology, data, and insight needed to meet the expectations of not only today’s guests, but tomorrow’s as well. And with the acquisition of TravelClick, we support all segments of the hospitality market — from small independent properties to large multinational chains — with the marketing, distribution, and operations solutions needed to acquire, serve, and retain guests while optimizing revenue.

In partnership with our customers, we’re creating the next generation of hospitality technology.

Together, we’ll meet evolving guest expectations with more experiential travel, provide new ways to deliver more personalized and bespoke stays, and leverage rich data to establish lasting relationships with the right guest at the right time.

We’re shaping the future of travel, and we want you to join us.

Process more than

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For further information, visit amadeus-hospitality.com or speak to your Amadeus Account Manager today.

Distributing more than

3.5m

shopping options on the Amadeus Travel Platform

P E N TA H O T E L S

264

been gone by Friday, stay through

He created, developed and deployed

the weekend,” observes Rieder. “It’s

the concept for centralised commer-

a good business opportunity for us,

cial services at Pentahotels and, as the

and one we need to be properly

Vice President of Revenue Manage-

equipped for.” Sustainability and social

ment and Reservations, oversees

responsibility are also becoming key

a team of 35 employees that handles

decision-making factors in the minds

in excess of $120mn in bookings

of younger travellers.

annually and is at the heart of the

Rieder, who has worked for Pentaho-

company’s ongoing initiatives

tels since the opening of its first

to respond to changing customer

modernised location in Eisenach,

priorities and demographics.

Germany 12 years ago, has been

One of the major trends in the hotel

a fundamental part of the company’s

space (alongside almost every other

guest experience since the beginning.

space) that has emerged in recent years

SEPTEMBER 2019

is the increased emphasis that custom-

here and our president, Mr Eugène Staal,

ers place on sustainability. Last year, The

has changed the way we think and act

Shelton Group reported that, in the US

regarding CSR,” says Rieder. “He has

workforce, 79% of Millennials consider

fully incorporated CSR into our culture

a company’s social and environmental

and we believe that it’s something the

commitments when deciding where to

target group that visits our hotels feels

work, a statistic with clear implications for

is important. We have launched several

a hotel brand looking to attract guests.

very creative campaigns focusing on

Pentahotels has been actively pursuing

contributing to our hotels’ surrounding

a CSR-centric strategy for several years.

neighbourhoods and the environment

“We had a change of senior management

as a whole.”

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

265

Heiko Rieder Heiko joined Pentahotels in its startup phase in 2007 as Revenue and Reservations Manager. His passion for performance measurement and data analysis supported the conceptual design and rapid deployment of a centralised model for revenue generation and reservations handling as it is the companies foundation to commercial success until today. Before joining Pentahotels the German national worked for several global and regional brands such as Hilton and Steigenberger in Europe and the US in the field of rooms divisions and revenue management. In today’s position as Vice President Revenue Management and Reservations Heiko steers the company’s commercial direction and oversees the disciplines E-commerce, Revenue Management, Reservations, Distribution and Business Intelligence. Heiko concluded a dual hotel management training with Accor and the Albrecht Dürer Schulen Düsseldorf. w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

P E N TA H O T E L S

This year, Pentahotels has partnered with Cornish music and arts festival Boardmasters to organise a beach clean-up at four locations across the UK and Belgium: Felixstowe Beach in Ipswich, Crosby Beach near Liverpool, Fistral Beach (beside the festival grounds in Newquay) and Ostend Beach in Belgium. The program encourages the audience to join the cleanup crews and, even though the 2019 festival was cancelled due to a storm warning, 266

the cleanup went ahead as planned.

In 2018, prior to Christmas, Pentahotels also launched a campaign where social media engagement was used to rack up hours that were then donated to “support social work in our hotels and neighbourhoods,” explains Rieder. “Overall we accumulated more than 62 days’ worth of time to give back to our communities. There were teams raising funds to donate to children’s hospices, helping in shelters, refugee camps and animal rescues. The management team in Frankfurt went to deliver gifts to a refugee shelter on Christmas. It was an amazing experience to give SEPTEMBER 2019

back to our neighbourhoods together with all colleagues around the world.”

In addition to aligning itself with a sustainability-conscious public, Pentahotels is harnessing new technologies intended to both ensure that its guests have the sort of experience that creates a lifetime customer while increasing efficiency. “In the long run it’s about gaining time for our guests, of course, but in our industry we must never forget that the guest experience is crucial,” explains Rieder.

In order to increase flexibility and agility when dealing with changes in customer behavioural patterns and improve guest experience, Rieder is currently

“ We have launched several very creative campaigns focusing on contributing to our hotels’ surrounding neighborhoods and the environment as a whole” — Heiko Rieder, VP, Revenue Management and Reservations, Pentahotels

overseeing the development of a new partnership between Pentahotels and TravelClick.

A subsidiary of Amadeus Americas, Inc, TravelClick is a one-stop shop for digital solutions relating to the bookings and hotel space. “We went through a very long, selective RFP process of sourcing a technology partner that can provide, not just CRM technology, but technology that enables us to w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

267

P E N TA H O T E L S

268

SEPTEMBER 2019

870,000+ pints of beer consumed per year in Pentahotels

2007

Year founded

1,155

Approximate number of employees from 32 different nationalities

w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

269

P E N TA H O T E L S

270

“ In our industry we must never forget that the guest experience is crucial” — Heiko Rieder, VP, Revenue Management and Reservations, Pentahotels SEPTEMBER 2019

capture client information and also integrates with our booking engine,” Rieder explains.

“You can accomplish what we need with 30 different vendors that each provide a single piece of technology that you then have to figure out how to connect to the rest of the infrastructure, but with TravelClick, we found that all of what we need is already incorporated into their offering. It includes CRM functionality, allows us to capture data to store it – all according to GDPR law – and then also allows us to invite people to provide us with information and to sign up into our marketing program as part of the booking process.” The new software, which has been implemented in record time, will grant Pentahotels a level of integration and back end capability that Rieder sees as instrumental to achieving the company’s goals moving forward. “We’ve already doubled the number of people who are opting in to our marketing program, which is very important to us,” Rieder enthuses.

With this back end functionality in place, Rieder’s eyes are now set on harnessing technology to transform w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

271

P E N TA H O T E L S

272

“ We want to engage with our customers less on a transactional level and more in terms of a qualitative interaction” — Heiko Rieder, VP, Revenue Management and Reservations, Pentahotels

the front end elements of customer experience. “We are very modernised on the back office side of things, but we feel that we need to further improve on the guest experience when it comes to digitalization. We’re very close to launching technology that facilitates the self-check-in/check-out process at one of our hotels” he explains. “We want to engage with our customers less on a transactional level and more in terms of a qualitative interaction. We believe that this is what

SEPTEMBER 2019

273

our customers want to experience.

Looking to the future, Pentahotels

They want to check in while they’re

will continue to focus on its customer

in the taxi on the way to the hotel,

facing and internal processes in order

have a digital key and want to walk

to provide the sort of responsive,

straight through to their room, without

lifestyle-based guest experience that

having to stop by the reception and

is the mark of great hospitality.

wait in line to check in.” Soon, the company will also enrich its ‘Pentafriends’ guest membership program with further benefits and a more digitalised experience, again designed to increase qualitative engagement with guests. w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

274

MILLENNIUM SERVICES GROUP: CLEANING UP WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

STUART IRVING

SEPTEMBER 2019

275

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MILLENNIUM SERVICES GROUP

How Millennium Services Group is innovating with new solutions to manage cleaning and security services for commercial clients across Australia and New Zealand

O

riginally established in 2003, Millennium Services Group was publicly listed in 2015 when three businesses, based in Mel-

bourne, Sydney and Adelaide, came together as a national company to offer cleaning and security 276

services, before expanding further the following year with the acquisition of Airlite, a Building Support Services provider from Perth.

Millennium’s Chief Information Officer David Benjamin has entered the second year of his tenure with the company focused on three key areas: cost, consolidation and stability. “We had to look at the total cost of ownership following the company’s listing in 2015,” he recalls. “The consolidation was about bringing systems together to give them that history of the organisation. There was some duplication of technology systems, so it was an opportunity to unify the four branches of the company. Lastly, we had to get to a point where our systems were stable and delivering where they needed to because, when I joined, the business had simply outgrown the technology solutions originally put in place.”

SEPTEMBER 2019

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MILLENNIUM SERVICES GROUP

$295mn Approximate revenue

The two main services the company provides are cleaning and security.

Millennium has commercial cleaning contracts with large shopping centre chains (such as Scentre Group, Vicinity

2003

Year founded

5,300

278

Approximate number of employees

and Stockland), Myer, office buildings, universities and government buildings like Brisbane’s Queensland Investment Corporation. The security services often fit hand in glove with the cleaning services provided, where the same clients and sites also need security for the assets they own. In addition to the above, security contracts are held with Melbourne Racing Club, Sydney Metro, and multi-national high security Data Centre clients. These services can include shopping mall patrols, concierge services, remote monitoring systems and anything where physical security is required, including large public events such as the Caulfield Cup race meeting during Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival.

When Benjamin joined the company, it had three separate networks which have now been migrated to a business grade private cloud hosted by an external vendor. “CustomTec is hosting this for us,” he explains. “There were

SEPTEMBER 2019

also duplications around the payroll and

for collaboration such as web confer-

account systems, so we’ve migrated

encing,” says Benjamin.

those onto a single platform, resulting

Introducing new technologies is par

in significant cost savings by reducing

for the course at Millennium, where

the number of vendors.” Millennium has

the company has purchased 25 robot

also consolidated its phone systems

cleaners from Canadian firm Avidbots.

to VOIP in all of its offices in Australia

Typically programmed to run after

and New Zealand. “We’ve already seen

hours – for example, when a shopping

huge savings around telephony costs

centre is closed – the machines are

but also our travel costs, because the

monitored 24/7 from the vendor’s

solution has also delivered other tools

control centre. “It’s helping us in

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

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David Benjamin David Benjamin previously spent 10 years with National Australia Bank as its Delivery Manager for enterprise applications supporting 35,000 employees worldwide. Offering a unique blend of commercial acumen, program management and an understanding of comparative technologies, Benjamin is well versed in stakeholder management. “One of my key skills is the ability to translate technology into a business outcome,” he adds.

“It’s important to listen to staff and understand the business needs before entering solution mode.”

He believes being able to apply new technology requires experienced change management for successful implementation. “Technology alone won’t fix things,” warns Benjamin. “It’s the ability to introduce change, get it adopted, and bring people on that journey, that will deliver a positive transformation.”

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reducing our labour cost, while

Other innovations include a staff

increasing reliability. Anything that can

tracking system offering the ability to

be automated offers a more consistent

provide reporting and data back to the

outcome, which our clients are

client on, for example, how often areas

demanding from us,” says Benjamin.

such as a shopping mall food court

“Robotics play a key part in removing

requires attention from cleaners. “It’s a

that dependency and giving us greater

key requirement for many of our clients

traction where large floor areas need

to ensure a ‘rotation’ is being met,”

to be cleaned. This leaves our staff free

adds Benjamin. “It could be that they

to do the more specialised cleaning

want cleaners to pass by a certain area

that the robots can’t do, such as glass

on site every 20 minutes.” He explains

or window sills.”

that cleaners aren’t just choosing

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where to go. There is a methodology at

Millennium isn’t just flying solo says

play to ensure the best coverage of a

Benjamin, who notes the importance

given site, enhancing the public’s

of alliances with the likes of CustomTec

experience and reducing the impact of

and Melbourne-based Elite-ID, which

public liability claims. “It’s a challenge

provides the tracking systems.

for Millennium where accidents will

“We also have a site auditing software

always happen in large public spaces,”

solution where our staff, in conjunction

concedes Benjamin, who is keen to use

with a client, will walk around a site

technology to protect the company’s

to document issues that need to be

exposure and risk to public liability

addressed, while also scoring how

claims by ensuring it meets the

clean an area is, ensuring that our

‘rotation’ terms of a works contract.

service is up to expectations,” says w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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“ IoT is allowing us to track and measure areas like bathrooms, air quality control or waste disposal…”

— David Benjamin, Chief Information Officer, Millennium Services Group

SEPTEMBER 2019

Benjamin. “For this, we partner with SafetyCulture, which provides a software solution our staff can use via a tablet or smartphone.”

Millennium also partners with Adelaide-based Kineo, which runs the company’s learning and development platform. “Keeping our staff trained and up to date on how to use these new tools in the workplace is vital,” explains Benjamin. “Our staff are spread across two countries so we need a unified method to deliver training content for them.” A time and attendance system was also introduced with the help of Ento. “It’s a workforce management solution to allow staff to clock on and off from their rostered shifts and we’ve automated and digitised that process,” explains Benjamin. “Previously it was all paper based which created a lot of waste through follow up calls, duplication, and written time sheets which can be difficult to read, but Ento can be run on a tablet and is installed at all of our sites for team members to clock on and off.”

Meeting the challenge of the skills gap in terms of language barriers and technological experience is something w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

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Benjamin and his team, with the help

penetration for communication.”

of Kineo, are working hard to support.

Reliable mobile communications are

Allied to this, getting mobile internet

vital to ensure that Millennium’s plans

services to employees across a

to further utilise the Internet of Things

diverse range of sites is important to

(IoT) can be realised. “IoT is allowing

ensure infrastructure support without

us to track and measure areas like

impeding on the client’s side. “We can

bathrooms, air quality control or waste

generally deliver this through mobile

disposal… Technology is helping us to

data, which can be a challenge given

become more efficient and identify

that our staff might be below ground

areas that need attention and not just

level,” says Benjamin. “But that’s

stick to rigid rotation,” adds Benjamin.

changing. We’re currently partnering

Rather than just working with clients

with Optus, which is already rolling out

from the perspective of its service

5G mobile services offering greater

offering, Benjamin is keen for Millennium

SEPTEMBER 2019

TECHNOLOGY

Millennium Assist Developed in conjunction with our strategic partner, Circle T, all of the company’s solutions can now be managed on the client side through the Millennium Assist customer portal which offers reports on time and attendance of staff, staff rotation, metrics on how sites are patrolled, and learning and development. “It gives clients the information they need to ensure we are delivering the service, and are compliant with whatever their site requirements might be,”

asserts Chief Information Officer David Benjamin. “The traditional view was that technology was a cost, it’s a supporting function just to enable us to do our job. By developing this portal, I think we’ve f lipped that on its head to demonstrate what we can actually drive into our organisation and differentiate us from our competitors in delivering our service. And we’ve seen that in some of the contracts we’ve won recently.”

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MILLENNIUM SERVICES GROUP

“ When I joined, the business had simply outgrown the technology solutions originally put in place” 286

— David Benjamin, Chief Information Officer, Millennium Services Group

SEPTEMBER 2019

to give technology a seat at the table.

“Engaging technology earlier helps avoid missed opportunities; other potential solutions can be put forward, or a service can be delivered more efficiently,” he says. “I like to establish connections with my peers within our client organisations because for me to do my job well, and to do it better, I need to understand what they need from the services they contract with us. It’s our goal to focus more on this over the next 12 months. We’re a cleaning and security company, but we have the potential to become more than that by widening our core service offering to include technology.”

In tune with Millennium’s vision to create value where others can’t see it, Benjamin’s team is primed to take up the company’s mission and deliver more innovative solutions.

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TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER INTERACTION THROUGH DIGITAL INNOVATION WRITTEN BY

RACHAEL DAVIS SEPTEMBER 2019

PRODUCED BY

MIKE SADR

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S K Y C I T Y E N T E R TA I N M E N T G R O U P

Until recently, the gaming and hospitality industry has been slow in fully utilising technology.

New Zealand-based SkyCity Entertainment Group is a showcase for the digital transformation of the industry, as CIO Glen McLatchie explains

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S

kyCity Entertainment Group is one of Australasia’s leading gaming and entertainment businesses, currently operating

five casinos, two hotels, and a host of bars and restaurants across four locations in New Zealand and Australia. Its leadership has seen a shift in the past few years, with a new and dynamic executive team. CIO Glen McLatchie joined in 2016, and CEO Graeme Stephens took the helm in 2017, while COO Michael Ahearn and CMO Liza McNally joined in Dec 17 and Jan 18 respectively – all bring new and innovative ideas to the digital future of the business.

The company’s digital transformation coincides with three new projects: the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) in Auckland, plus two luxury hotels in Auckland and Adelaide.

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S K Y C I T Y E N T E R TA I N M E N T G R O U P

“ We have replaced or upgraded just about every single key application across the group” — Glen McLatchie, CIO, SKYCITY Entertainment Group

McLatchie’s responsibility as CIO is, in short, to “lift the digital capability of the organisation to be able to respond to future innovation initiatives and growth strategies”. This has meant a complete overhaul of SkyCity’s systems, from upgrading the aged technology infrastructure, to renewing the core transactional systems all the way out to point of sale and web and mobile interactions with customers.

“The casino industry is not what I would describe as ‘tech-savvy’ in terms of transactional systems and digital

292

customer interactions,” McLatchie explains. “There is some really smart technology in the gaming sector, but when it comes to digital interactions with customers it’s been lagging.”

When McLatchie joined SkyCity in 2016, there was little infrastructure in place to deal with digital growth.

“In two years, we have done a phenomenal amount of work, progressing from a handful of heroes holding the whole thing together to scalable tech that creates a digitised platform for the future” he praises. It is this new improved technology that will make the company’s latest projects stand out.

SEPTEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SKYCITY GAME PLAN 2019’ 293 The NZICC and two luxury hotels

through a dedicated team of IT special-

represent NZ$1bn worth of capital

ists. “We have replaced or upgraded

works, and will boast technologies

just about every single key application

such as keyless room entry, in-room

across the group,” he explains, includ-

tablets allowing control from one

ing an overhaul of the supply chain

central point, broadcast quality

and financial system with Microsoft,

networks for conferences, and

and a redevelopment of point-of-sale

advanced audio-visual systems

systems through new partner, TASK

for the best possible service.

Technologies.

Partnerships with companies such

McLatchie knows that SkyCity’s

as HP, Microsoft, Palo Alto and Cisco

point-of-sale is “the main area where

have been key to improving technology

customers connect directly with us,

in SkyCity’s casinos and hotels, but

so it’s really important that we get it

McLatchie emphasises how a lot of

right”. Using TASK’s state of the art

the work has been carried out in-house

POS interface, SkyCity can learn w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m

S K Y C I T Y E N T E R TA I N M E N T G R O U P

294

more about its customer base, providing

Yet how does a company as estab-

them with a better service. With every-

lished as SkyCity strike the balance

thing from menu flows that allow staff

between the legacy of its foundations

to cross sell or suggest substitution,

and a thriving digital transformation?

to promotional screens and ease of

A change in company culture is

reward redemption, through to cleaner

“absolutely critical,” McLatchie

and more accurate reporting, thereby

elucidates. “We have people in the

automating old manual processes.

organisation who have been doing

Customer habits, mobile terminals,

things the same way for many years,

and payment flexibility are all accessible

so we have had to go through a cultural

through professional and versatile

change to get people to understand

interfaces, and the partnership has

that technology is actually an enabler.”

been crucial to enhancing the way

McLatchie found that the best way

SkyCity now interacts with its customers.

SEPTEMBER 2019

to start was by describing “what good

looks like,” providing a frame of refer-

and as importantly a communication

ence through other successful compa-

component tied to the overall trans-

nies and sectors, and make sure

formation – all to make sure it lands

strategies are “well-articulated and

really well.

well-understood from the board down.”

“Effective change management is

Equally important is an effective

critical. Getting the operating model

change management programme,

right, ahead of implementing the

to which SkyCity has assigned a whole

technology, is key. When it’s not done

team. “Every single project has a training

well or is completely missed, projects

component, a testing component,

fail to get the take-up they need to

an operational change component,

drive benefits. It’s vital in a change

a benefits realisation component

programme that is as full as ours.”

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

295

Glen McLatchie Glen joined SKYCITY in 2016 as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and is responsible for lifting the digital capability of the organisation to be able to respond to future innovation initiatives and growth strategies. Previous to SKYCITY he was the General Manager ICT (CIO) with Meridian Energy for 6 years, where he successfully transformed and modernised their aging technology footprint and digital capability. Glen has over 25 years of experience working in and around technology, heading both Business and IT functions in executive positions across several industries.

He has held multiple senior management roles with a global focus based in Australia, the United Kingdom and France over a 13 year period with BP Oil International, and has successfully run a technology company exporting products into China, Malaysia, India and the Middle east, winning both exporter and Hi-Tech corporate of the year. He holds a Master’s of Information Systems from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, and a Bachelor of Business studies from Massey University, New Zealand. Glen is a Board member of the Auckland charity Big Brother Big Sister.

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S K Y C I T Y E N T E R TA I N M E N T G R O U P

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SEPTEMBER 2019

NZ$831mn Approximate revenue

1996 Year founded 5,031

Approximate number of employees 297

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© 2019. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited

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“ I n two years, we have done a phenomenal amount of work, progressing from a handful of heroes holding the whole thing together to tech that is best-inclass, from what I’ve seen” — Glen McLatchie, CIO, SKYCITY Entertainment Group

According to McLatchie, the coming year is the ‘year of data management and analytics and customer experience management’, which he says will deliver the real benefits behind the digital transformation. “We have worked very closely with Deloitte and Accenture respectively to ensure that we start with an operating model design before we even embark on technology choices for these critical areas of the transformation.

For example, we have a great team of people from Deloitte working with us to design the operating model for data management and analytics, including a COE structure for data management to implementing an Azure platform. These partnerships become critical to the success of what we are doing.”

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S K Y C I T Y E N T E R TA I N M E N T G R O U P

Digital transformation is evidently of paramount importance to SkyCity’s growth with McLatchie as CIO. It is, however, integral to strike a balance between digital transformation and sustainability, a feat the company has accomplished with no compromise on either part. “Our approach to being a responsible citizen is quite detailed, in terms of our corporate and social responsibility. Being a responsible host is really important to us; we do a lot of work around ensuring our players 300

are looked after, including using facial recognition technology and mobile location tracking.”

“ E ffective change management is critical. If you don’t have that in place, that’s the number one reason projects fail” — Glen McLatchie, CIO, SKYCITY Entertainment Group

SEPTEMBER 2019

SkyCity is also dedicated to environmental sustainability, pledging to be carbon neutral by 2020, with the entire leadership team already so. It insists on ethical sourcing, low emissions, reducing waste and minimising environmental impact, as “if we don’t start doing it as corporations, nothing will change”. Putting money back into the communities in which it operates is also essential for the company, with an investment total of more than NZ$4 million across four NZ SkyCity

301

trusts, and over NZ$1.6 million

a digital transformation, so I’m incred-

in sponsorships.

ibly proud of the team we’ve got here.”

The ambition of McLatchie and his

As the company embarks on its latest

team at SkyCity is evident, and their

ventures, it is this pride in driving

legacy will be that great digital

forward technology in the entertain-

transformation does not need to come

ment industry while being socially

at the expense of the heritage of

and environmentally sustainable that will

a company’s establishment, or have

ensure the continuation of its success.

a big environmental impact. McLatchie praises the dedicated team that has driven the company’s aspirations: “New Zealand is a small market, and everyone is trying to go through w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m