Technology Magazine August 2020

USING TECHNOLOGY TO BRIDGE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL WORLDS

technologymagazine.com

AUGUST 2020

Powering data centre digital transformation

Technology in clinical health systems

AGILE TRANSFORMATION ON A GLOBAL SCALE Ciara Mullan, VP of Transition and Transformation, reveals what it takes to implement change in a challenging climate

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WELCOME

W

elcome to the August issue of

Cloud computing is an ever-present

Technology magazine!

fixture on the digital transformation agenda. That’s why our Top 10 sees

In this month’s cover feature, we speak

us counting down the world’s largest

to Ciara Mullan, VP of Transition and

companies that offer their customers

Transformation at renowned IT ser-

cloud services.

vices provider T-systems. Mullan informs us about what it takes to imple-

Don’t forget to read our other feature

ment transformation projects in such

interviews with AltaMed Health Ser-

challenging times as we are now in.

vices, COLOTRAQ, Dentsu Aegis Network, Panasonic, Digital Realty

Mullan believes her role delivering

and many more.

transformation requires a specific culture to be implemented. “We’re

Do you have a story to tell? If you

transforming our tools and our opera-

would like to be featured in an upcom-

tions,” she says. “That means having

ing issue of Technology magazine,

programmes in place, being of an

get in touch at

open mindset and working with peo-

william.smith@bizclikmedia.com

ple that share our culture, on a cultural transformation. That is lead-

Enjoy the issue!

ing to a focus on reducing complexity,

William Smith

optimising speed and giving the right focus to our customers.”

te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

03

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05

PUBLISHED BY

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

PROJECT DIRECTORS

Georgia Allen Daniela Kianickovรก

Ryan Hall Ben Maltby Mike Sadr Kris Palmer

PRODUCTION MANAGER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

William Smith

Owen Martin DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

James White

Matt High

Kieran Waite Sam Kemp

CREATIVE TEAM

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Jason Westgate

Oscar Hathaway Erin Hancox Sophia Forte Sophie-Ann Pinnell

Leigh Manning

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER

Stacy Norman

Shirin Sadr

PRESIDENT & CEO

DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Glen White

Kayleigh Shooter

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

CONTENTS

ericsson.com/ 5g-switch

Move towards zero touch, cut down on time

Ericsson.

The 5G switch made easy.

With automated provisioning and insight-driven service assurance, Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration simplifies operations, moving you closer to the zero-touch experience.

This means greater savings and shorter time to market.

12

Agile transformation on a global scale

42 IPsoft: scaling efficiency via transformative AI solutions

66

Cloud transformation and weather prediction with IBM

28 AltaMed’s digital healthcare transformation

54

How APIs are enabling smart city payment solutions

90 Cloud Companies

94 COLOTRAQ

108

Dentsu Aegis Network

126

Estruxture Data Centers

166

Digital Realty

166

ISG

156

Interstitial Systems

186

Basefarm

200

Panasonic

236

Forwood Safety

218

TerraCycle

264

Sutherland Shire Council

250

oOh! Media

12

T-Systems: agile transformation on a global scale WRITTEN BY

LEILA HAWKINS PRODUCED BY

BEN MALTBY

AUGUST 2020

13

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

T- S Y S T E M S

Ciara Mullan, VP of Transition and Transformation, discusses implementing transformation in a challenging climate

T

-Systems is one of the most renowned IT service providers of digital services in the world. Headquartered in Europe and

founded in 2000 in Germany, today the company operates in 30 countries, helping organisations to successfully navigate the digital transforma14

tion of their operations, something that’s become crucial for many since the Coronavirus pandemic began. Ciara Mullan, VP of Transition and Transformation, tells us about implementing change in a challenging climate.

Mullan says her top priority is the customer.

“It’s about getting it right for the customer. When we get it right for them, everybody wins.” T-Systems’ strategy focuses on four key areas: digitisation, the cloud and infrastructure and moving people onto it, security, and connectivity. “We leverage these areas to drive the strategy for our customers,” she says.

Mullan explains that T-Systems’ CEO, Adel Al-Saleh, who joined the company in 2018, came with a real drive to transform the organisation internally. “He’s brought in a transformation and change

AUGUST 2020

15

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

T- S Y S T E M S

“ We know the speed of change will be rapid, so we need to think about how we manage that” — Ciara Mullan, VP of Transition and Transformation 16

agenda, focusing on our customers, lining up what we do internally with what our customers do and what they need. We can see this most recently in what’s happened in response to the coronavirus with our customers. It’s been a really trying time and an opportunity to test ourselves.”

The pandemic led them to some positive outcomes. “If I think about what we’re able to do for customers, we had to quickly rise to the challenge of responding to coronavirus. We found that we have the procedures to work from home, we can quickly get our people to work this way, and we’ve also been able to see how capable we are when reacting to a crisis in an agile way.”

It also had to act quickly to provide solutions to customers. “Over the course of one weekend a customer needed to double their network capacity in response to people working from home, and we could do that,” Mullan explains. In another case, a very large logistics company quickly received 15,000 encrypted connections for employees who needed to work securely from home, and it was also able to provide a US healthcare

AUGUST 2020

T-Systems: Always the perfect fit for your success CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:33

17

company with 500 laptops and a thou-

transformation. That is leading to a

sand VPNs. “These examples show

focus on reducing complexity, optimis-

what we’ve been able to do for our

ing speed and giving the right focus

customers as a result of our transfor-

to our customers.”

mation. And that’s what has to happen

The organisation’s Zero Outage

– we don’t know what’s going to happen

programme has been developed with

in the future, but we know the speed

the aim of minimising downtime and

of change will be rapid, so we need to

maximising business continuity. It

think about how we manage that.”

involves clearly defined processes with

“We’re transforming our tools and

fast recovery times, using state-of-the-

our operations. That means having

art platforms, and ensuring staff are

programmes in place, being of an

fully trained. “Everybody is trained in

open mindset and working with people

Zero Outage procedures which is all

that share our culture, on a cultural

about stability. On one hand we need t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

NAVIGATE YOUR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WITH THE LEADER IN SD-WAN

See what industry experts say.

Learn more at velocloud.com/leader

VMware and T-Systems partner on managed SD-WAN services We hear from Sasha Emmerling, Head of Marketing for the VeloCloud business unit at VMware, on changes in connectivity it is facilitating with T-Systems.

When embarking on a digital or network transformation journey, enterprises need trusted partners to assist them in their endeavours. Sasha Emmerling is Head of Marketing for the VeloCloud business unit at VMware, which, via its SD-WAN product and other offerings, facilitates cloud connectivity at a time when it has never been more necessary.

“Now, companies have applications trying to reach the cloud versus just the corporate data centre,” says Emmerling. “The old conception of branches connecting in a hub and spoke manner to the data centre just doesn’t make sense anymore.

What we offer is direct connectivity to the cloud.

So the applications don’t have to go this route of backhauling through the data centre to reach the cloud.”

The convergence of network and security services is happening in the cloud. “The term is ‘secure access service edge’ or SASE,” says Emmerling.

“What this means is customers can now get their network and security from a single vendor, but your architecture has to be designed for scaling in the cloud. That’s something we have been focused on from day one— providing customers with a way of reaching the cloud in a scalable and easy way.”

VMware SD-WAN™ by VeloCloud® works with leaders in the field, including IT services consultant T-Systems. “Over the years, we have forged alliances with multiple service providers where they take our solution and integrate it into their service,” says Emmerling. “A service provider can take our SD-WAN solution and offer it as a managed service together with the connectivity services, but it goes beyond connectivity to

Sasha Emmerling @ VMWARE

upstream, managed services—such as security.

That’s our relationship with T-Systems—they’re offering SD-WAN as an integrated, managed service to their customers in the European markets.

We announced the partnership in September and right now we’re working on a joint go-tomarket strategy.”

The collaboration of VMware and T-Systems represents a true partnership, as Emmerling explains. “Collaboration on go-to-market projects is important in general, but with telecom service providers and T-Systems in particular, it is critical. That’s because it’s a managed service. We are successful only if T-Systems is successful.” The partnership goes beyond the technology, running the gamut of services such as legal, operations, enablement and marketing. “Right now, with T-Systems, we’re going through this process and we expect astrong market showing—so stay tuned.”

Learn more

T- S Y S T E M S

20

to do things quickly – and we can do

in joint developments and projects,

them – but we have to do them safely.

as well as technology and sales

By leveraging those fundamentals to

alliances. So we’re really getting

the company it helps ensure the digital

genuine benefits.”

transformation goes smoothly.”

Also important is having a strong

It has a particularly long-standing relationship with VMware, which it has

partnership model in place. Mullan

been working with since 2005 on

explains this ensures the company

virtualisation and cloud solutions,

is doing the right things both for its

helping T-Systems customers expand

customers and itself. “Our partner-

and secure their virtualised IT.

ships with leading technology and

“The point of these partnerships is

software enterprises are really one

to pave the way for digitalisation, pro-

of our strengths. For customers,

moting growth and innovation for the

we’re collaborating with specialists

enterprise, and T-Systems is certified

AUGUST 2020

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

Ciara Mullan PhD Title: VP Transition & Transformation

Location: Bristol, UK

Ciara Mullan began her career as a Research Fellow at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, where she first started enjoying working on technological innovation. After a couple of years there she moved back to the UK and into industry, working on customer facing programmes for HP. She then moved into IT and worked on the delivery of multi-million pound technology programmes across various industry sectors.

Throughout her career Mullan has worked on delivering programmes, particularly focusing on customer delivery, but says her current role as VP for Transition and Transformation is “really taking it to another level”, working with customers across different geographies and cultures.

Mullan describes herself as having an open mindset, whether it’s being open to challenging the business, to getting the ideas from colleagues and her team, learning and moving on quickly, and having an agile, flexible approach.

Rather than manage people she believes in leading and guiding people through the business and steering them in the right direction. “It’s about moving away from management and being pragmatic, thinking of the big picture and being objective in what we need to do. Get the right people in and let them do the right job.”

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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T- S Y S T E M S

22

2000

Year founded

$8bn Revenue in US dollars

to participate in key strategic partner programmes by industry leaders like SAP, Microsoft and VMware. In addition, because these are two-way partnerships, we need to make sure that our own high quality standards are

45,000 Number of employees

met, and we work with more than 20 partners who contribute to our Zero Outage programme to improve customer satisfaction.�

Customers give T-Systems their feedback via its annual TRI*M survey,

AUGUST 2020

“ Our partnerships with leading technology and software enterprises are really one of our strengths” — Ciara Mullan, VP of Transition and Transformation

and in 2018 it was in the top 10% of the European ICT benchmark.

COVID-19 has made people think differently about the way they work, which Mullan believes will continue to drive plenty of change. “It presents a real opportunity to challenge what is normal. Even people who were maybe reluctant to change will think that because they were able to and did it very quickly, they should continue to challenge themselves.”

Looking ahead, Mullan believes things will continue to move at a fast

9

Future Cloud Infrastructure – your path to hybrid cloud CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:59

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

23

T- S Y S T E M S

“ Technology itself is going to increase its digital position with mobile, Big Data analytics and the Internet of Things” — Ciara Mullan, VP of Transition and Transformation 24 pace. “The market for IT and telecommunications was undergoing radical transformation, and that will continue.

There’ll be more focus on quickly moving to the cloud and outsourcing business. We’re seeing more demand for transmission speed, mobile services and increasing 5G. We’ll continue to bring connectivity and intelligence to help our customers with new business models, and focus on new levels of productivity and transforming the customers’ experience.

“Technology itself is going to increase its digital position with mobile, Big Data analytics and the Internet AUGUST 2020

25

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

T- S Y S T E M S

26

“ I think the next five years are going to be very interesting, with lots of opportunities.” —Ciara Mullan,

VP of Transition and Transformation

AUGUST 2020

27

of Things. We’ll continue to be in there

by mobility, and also by cybersecu-

with high expectations for the business

rity, which of course is in the DNA of

technologies, some of which are in

T-Systems. I think the next five years

the earlier stages of adoption, such

are going to be very interesting, with

as robotics and AI, or even blockchain,

lots of opportunities.”

but they’re all coming to the fore.

“What we can see, along with other suppliers and other people we work with, is that the traditional IT business will decline and will be taken over by the digital transformation, by the cloud, t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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AltaMed’s digital healthcare transformation AUGUST 2020

29

WRITTEN BY

LEILA HAWKINS PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

A LTA M E D H E A LT H S E R V I C E S

Raymond Lowe, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at AltaMed Health Services, discusses clinical system transformation and remote working

N 30

on-profit healthcare company AltaMed Health Services was founded as the East Los Angeles Barrio Free Clinic in

1969, with a mission to provide healthcare to the underserved Latino and multi-ethnic population of east Los Angeles. There was a lack of healthcare available in this area and today they’re one of the largest community health centres in the country, serving nearly 300,000 patients with more than 1,000,000 visits a year.

AltaMed serves everyone and anyone independent of their ability to pay or their immigration status. “We welcome everyone at AltaMed and we are here to help them with primary care and their health concerns, providing quality care without exception” Lowe says. “At our core is social justice.”

Lowe joined AltaMed in January 2018. The company had been going through a decade of “explosive growth”, with the number of patients they serve having increased tenfold.

AUGUST 2020

31

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

A LTA M E D H E A LT H S E R V I C E S

“ Through our digital transformation our patients will have access to healthcare through mobile devices, when and how they want it” — Raymond Lowe, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, AltaMed Health Services 32

He launched its digital transformational journey with a focus on healthcare’s quadruple aim: improving quality, improving patient experience, improving provider satisfaction, and lowering costs. In order to do this Lowe set about developing a comprehensive plan that was rapid, agile and included input from business stakeholders in clinical and financial operation areas. “A DevOps initiative or technology without operational buy-in will likely not deliver the right outcomes,” Lowe says. “I always keep in mind what the corresponding workflow is and what the KPIs are that we need to meet for the organization, thinking not just in terms of technology, but from an operational perspective.

“Digital transformation is not easy,” he adds. “Aligning the organization requires flawless delivery of operations.

Good IT requires detailed planning and strong operations to ensure the organization will be successful. Ultimately, I think IT needs to run like magic.”

The last two years have certainly produced many benefits. AltaMed has hardened core services, particularly uptime and critical services,

AUGUST 2020

AltaMed Health Services CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:00

33 implementing cyber solutions to

make our data centre to UTI tier III,

address threats that arise with

and we’ve added 350 new virtual

increased remote working and tel-

machines and 33 hosts in the last

ehealth solutions. The company has

two years within the VMware envi-

further been able to extend meeting

ronment,” Lowe explains.

services so remote workers can col-

To upgrade its network and cyber-

laborate seamlessly regardless of

security AltaMed has relied heavily

location and the number of attend-

upon its partners. Lowe explains that

ees. As well as managing televisits

there was technical debt when he

and increased traffic to their patient

first joined, and he needed to bring

portal, they’ve deployed the Epic

the corporation to an enterprise class.

electronic medical record system, a

“Fortunately I have a good partner

new managed care software solution.

network with Cisco and Presidio,

Virtualization has also been a key element. “We’ve been able to

having worked with them previously at Dignity Health, and Red8 is an t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

A LTA M E D H E A LT H S E R V I C E S

34

existing partner at AltaMed. We

cybersecurity. My entire digital, video

did a baseline gap analysis to plan

and telehealth strategy is built upon

how to correct the environment so

this framework and we are able to

we could be at an enterprise level.

work fast - taking the time to lay the

This involved collaborative working

proper foundation allows you to move

both with my technology team and

fast and perform transformation at

my partners, and through that we

the speed of light. We also entered

developed a remote multi-phase

into enterprise licensing agreements

programme. Ironically, most of it was

in the Collaboration (Webex) and

actually completed prior to COVID-19.

Cisco’s Security Umbrella.”

“The partnership with Cisco and

A partnership with NetApp and

Presidio allowed AltaMed to trans-

Red8 allowed AltaMed to simplify data

form the network, switch route,

management and non-disruptively

hyper converged infrastructure and

scale capacity, while cost-effectively

AUGUST 2020

supporting its general-purpose business applications. Red8 also worked with Lowe’s team consolidating fragmented infrastructure, allowing it to stabilize and grow the core of its managed care business. They also assisted in overall design and deployment of data protection, retention, and encryption.

“Partners really help to shorten the time to market. No organization has all the talent that’s necessary, and great organizations are built on great opportunity. I’ve been very fortunate to have a very strong partner network that has been an extension of my team.” Lowe says.

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

Raymond Lowe Title: Senior Vice President / Chief Information Officer Company: AltaMed Health Services Industry: Healthcare Location: Los Angeles, USA Ray Lowe serves as the Senior Vice President / Chief Information Officer of AltaMed Health Services. Ray started at AltaMed Health Services in January of 2018. Ray currently resides in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

The COVID-19 outbreak has substantially changed the way the company works. In keeping with social distancing guidelines, AltaMed has expanded video and telephonic appointment it opened nine outdoor testing sites including in some places where there was no power or network services. “We had to figure out how to deploy corporate wireless out into a parking lot to support a clinic,” Lowe explains. “From an application and DevOps perspective, in days t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

35

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Start your digital transformation today by partnering with Red8 and NetApp.

NETAPP AND RED8: POWERING ALTAMED’S TRANSFORMATION NetApp’s Dave Nesvisky and Red8’s Eric Sarraf, Luke Lederman and Brandon Kaier discuss their partnership with AltaMed and the services they provide.

Red 8 and NetApp have played a crucial part in non-profit healthcare company AltaMed Health Services transformation.

Red8 is a system integrator and consulting firm, specialising in areas such as data centres, cybersecurity, DevOps and operations. For more than 20 years, it has helped customers streamline operations and roll out new technologies.

NetApp is a specialist in data management and storage, dedicated to helping customers solve their data challengers whether on-premise, in the cloud or hybrid. It serves organisations of every size in the context of healthcare, from community access hospitals to national health systems.

Working together with AltaMed and its CIO Raymond Lowe, the two companies have helped to simplify data management and scale capacity in a nondisruptive manner, while cost-effectively supporting AltaMed’s general-purpose business applications.

“Our relationship with AltaMed started around eight years ago,” says Eric Sarraf, Senior Account Executive at Red8. “We deployed their very first data storage systems, and since then we have rolled out a number of NetApp systems. Once Ray joined the organisation, we were really able to expand our services.”

Accordingly, Red8 has worked to consolidate fragmented infrastructure, allowing AltaMed to stabilise and grow the core of their managed care business. They also assisted in overall design and deployment of data protection, retention, and encryption systems.

NetApp, meanwhile, provides the crucial data management and storage infrastructure, as Dave Nesvisky, Executive Director - Healthcare, explains: “As the relationship has matured and as the use cases have expanded, AltaMed has enjoyed the benefit and the simplicity of being able to manage all of their data using a common interface - instead of having islands of information and a large portfolio of disparate

NetApp & Red8

products. It takes risk out of the equation, and ultimately also saves considerable training costs in different technologies and platforms.”

The work they’ve done together has had the effect of streamlining operations, and freed up employees to spend less time managing the day-to-day.

“Before, several people were dedicated to just infrastructure,” says Red8’sSenior Systems Engineer, Luke Lederman. Today, they’re in a position where not only can they spend less time managing it, but also where they can scale much more easily as the business grows.”

According to Red8 Field CTO Brandon Kaier, It’s a relationship born of a keen understanding of the ways technology is transforming the industry. “Digital transformation for organisations is, at the end of the day, pretty simple. It’s gaining unrealised value out of a physical asset through the use of technology. Why the partnership with NetApp and AltaMed is so important is the rise of cloud and cloud applications. Everybody, not just born-digital companies, is trying to figure out how they can accelerate their application development.”

The partnership, then, has brought reliable, scalable benefits to the mission critical healthcare environment in which AltaMed operates, doing more with data and freeing up its employees’ time.

Red8.com/Healthcare

A LTA M E D H E A LT H S E R V I C E S

“ Taking the time to lay the proper foundation allows you to move fast and perform transformation at the speed of light”

38

— Raymond Lowe, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, AltaMed Health Services

AUGUST 2020

we deployed a brand new build for COVID-19 to support the testing sites”.

We needed increased infrastructure uplift for virtual meetings to provide rich video experience for our patients, providers and employees.

For social distancing and remote work we deployed 800 laptops over a three-week period. Working with Cisco and Presidio helped us accelerate the implementation of a thousand remote workers, which happened in a matter of days.”

Lowe says this was a real test as to nimbleness and agility. “Our teams excelled during this crisis, meeting the needs of our employees and continuing to care for the underserved population of Southern California.”

Looking ahead, he says some of these changes will remain in place.

“Social distancing is now the norm, and certain jobs may not return to the office. From a technical perspective we need to ensure that we have a highly reliable network, connected in a secure manner, allowing employees to be productive either on site or remotely.”

“From a patient perspective, many t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

39

A LTA M E D H E A LT H S E R V I C E S

people are very concerned about being in crowds, so we are looking at shifting the way we provide care with a much heavier emphasis on video and telephone services.” We are deploying patient-centric care with flexible walls, meaning our patients won’t have to come to a clinic to see a provider. They will be able to obtain care from their location on their schedule. Also for COVID-19 testing we are deploying temperature kiosks that prompt patients and employees 40

to answer CDC guideline questions to ensure the safety for everyone.”

AltaMed’s digital journey has already

“ A DevOps initiative or technology without operational buy-in will likely not deliver the right outcomes” — Raymond Lowe, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, AltaMed Health Services

seen it expand into these areas and they are prepared to continue this digital transformation. For patients enroute to an appointment, AltaMed has enabled them to check in to their appointment on their phone, and wait in their car until someone is ready to see them. They will then receive a text message reminder to let them know when to enter the medical building. To improve the quality of care in the home for chronic disease

AUGUST 2020

1969

Year founded

3,170 Number of employees

41

management, AltaMed is also work-

organization that lives its mission

ing on remote patient monitoring

and values providing healthcare

for people with chronic diseases, for

to the most vulnerable and under-

instance by sending out glucometers

served communities. “Through our

to track weight and blood pressure

digital transformation, our patient

in patients with diabetes, conges-

will have access to their providers

tive heart failure, hypertension and

from their mobile device or home

COPD. For moms, it is deploying an

when and how they want it.�

application that will provide education, tracking and support during their pregnancy journey.

AltaMed Health Services is an t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

CLOUD & CYBER

42

IPSOFT: SCALING EFFICIENCY VIA TRANSFORMATIVE AI SOLUTIONS WRITTEN BY

AUGUST 2020

SE AN GA LE A-PACE

43

w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

CLOUD & CYBER

Michael Anderson, Vice President/ General Manager of IPsoft, discusses his organisation’s Amelia solution and the benefits new technology such as this brings to the market

I

Psoft is a leader in Enterprise Artificial Intelligence

(AI), cognitive and automatic solutions, and the home of Amelia – the industry’s most human digital

AI colleague.

IPsoft is one of the world’s largest privately held software companies. IPsoft teams with humans to

44

provide a digital employee to unleash the creativity of delivery business value at scale. With 13 offices worldwide, IPsoft serves more than 600 brands globally across a range of different industries. Michael Anderson is a Vice President/ General Manager at IPsoft supporting the South and Midwest states of North America. He believes what makes his organisation stand out is its diversified approach to the global market supporting both front-end business and backend IT organisations. “In comparison to our competitors, we’re always ranked number one when it comes to automation and the technology we bring to market,” says Anderson. “We’re not a traditional bot company or RPA firm, we provide a complete lifecycle of all automation solutions that support not just IT but all the different business variations across the business unit.” Through DigitalWorkAUGUST 2020

45

“ We’ve built a platform that is based around Amelia, she is really the core” — Michael Anderson, Vice President/ General Manager, IPsoft

w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

Reimagine the impossible

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IPsoft: Leading the industry in automation and artificial intelligence CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:12

47

force.ai – the onestop online market-

fully integrates with their existing

place where users can browse,

business today.”

interview and onboard digital

For intelligent end-to-end automa-

employees – companies can com-

tion, IPsoft offers 1Desk, which serves

bine human and digital workers

as an autonomic backbone for

together to drive greater business

businesses. With 1Desk, Amelia serves

value. “The platform is extremely

as the conversational front-end, and

quick and someone can just down-

companies integrate their backend

load a pre-digital employee to

enterprise systems into a single

perform various different roles,”

intelligent platform, that is powered

says Anderson. “For example, it

by RPA, autonomics, cognitive AI and

could be an IT service desk, Custom-

machine learning to automate IT

er Care or HR Agent, they simply

and administrative tasks with a single

download it and have software that

command. “We’ve built a platform that w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

CLOUD & CYBER

“ We don’t refer to Amelia as a bot, we refer to her as a digital employee” — Michael Anderson, Vice President/ General Manager, IPsoft

48

is based around Amelia, she is really

and greater business value. IPsoft

the core,” he explains. “Amelia

first introduced Amelia to the market

integrates with all of our solutions and

in 2013 and in the subsequent seven

allows us to scale.” Considered the

years since, the software has under-

most human AI for the enterprise,

gone significant development based

Amelia delivers the best-in-class

on feedback, with the organisation

elements of human interaction – con-

now on version four of Amelia. “Ver-

versation, expression, emotion, and

sion one was very much a traditional

understanding to user experiences

bot, and didn’t really understand the

every day, driving deeper connections

full extent of what the end user was

AUGUST 2020

49

DID YOU KNOW?

This is the fourth version of Amelia. The software has transformed from a traditional bot to a fully conversational AI solution in seven years.

trying to achieve,” explains Anderson.

“Whereas today, we have a full conversational AI solution. We don’t refer to Amelia as a bot, we refer to her as a digital employee that supports multiple different functions throughout the business for internal employees and external customers.”

Amelia is multilingual and speaks up to 12 languages with natural language w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

CLOUD & CYBER

“ We need partners that are in it to be successful and are willing to make the Amelia or IPsoft brand a success” — Michael Anderson, Vice President/ General Manager, IPsoft

employee she is today. “We certainly

processing and understanding. “She is

developed Amelia in sprints,” affirms

now omnichannel and she’s available

Anderson. “We turn around changes

via voice or video chat, you can even

extremely quickly and we evolve with

FaceTime her through a powerful

the voice of the customer.”

front-end avatar that we have as well,” 50

don’t work in a vacuum and we’ve

Anderson likens the Amelia solution

he says. “To transcend that further, her

to a “Rolls-Royce” but recognises it

facial expressions are based on what

may not be everyone’s choice of

you say. Whether she’s happy or sad,

vehicle. “That’s why it’s vital that we’re

you will see that reflected clearly in her

aware of the niche things that each

face.” Such innovation wouldn’t have

client would like to leverage the technol-

been possible without client feedback

ogy for but also that we’re able to

and Anderson believes this feedback

articulate that,” he explains. “We will

has enabled the voice of the customer

provide the opportunity to grow with

to transform Amelia to the digital

the technology and provide support to companies that they may not need right now but will in the future.” Due to the impact COVID-19 has had on businesses, IPsoft has trained the software to provide support to people and help assess their risk of infection by answering several questions about coronavirus symptoms. “Amelia is

AUGUST 2020

helping to self diagnose people. They

“We don’t want partners that are

can explain their feelings to Amelia

content to fail. We need partners that

and if she felt like they had symptoms,

are in it to be successful and are willing

she would provide directions on what to

to make the Amelia or IPsoft brand

do next or where to go to get addition-

a success,” he explains. “It’s also

al help. This speeds things up consid-

important to us that we’re constantly

erably as there’s simply not enough

engaged with our partners, we don’t

humans on the planet to answer

just hand them the keys and let them

the number of questions about this

go. We provide training and give them

pandemic today.”

assistance wherever they need it.

IPsoft believes in the value of partnerships and operates with Global

No one is their own island.”

“In my specific region, I oversee

Alliance Partners. Anderson under-

several different partners. TEKsys-

stands how critical it is to bring in

tems and Virtusa are adopting our

partners with a positive mindset.

technology to use internally as well

Amelia for customer care: product return CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:38

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51

CLOUD & CYBER

“ We turn around changes extremely quickly and we evolve with the voice of the customer” — Michael Anderson, Vice President/ General Manager, IPsoft 52

AUGUST 2020

as deploying it out to some of the large financial institutions within the Southeast. We also work with Advocate, which is a consultancy that works with C-levels to help them with digital transformation. When they talk about conversational AI or automation within a business, they lead with us.

Those two partnerships play an influential role in how we get out there in the market.”

Anderson believes that sometimes people are quick to look at solutions such as Amelia and say that the software is taking jobs away from humans, but in reality, it’s not actually the case and he is trying to change that perception. “It’s augmenting humans and increasing efficiency,” he affirms. “Solutions like Amelia can solve all the mundane and tedious tasks and allow humans to focus on the more complex issues. Amelia is ultimately here to help.”

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53

IT PROCUREMENT

54

AUGUST 2020

HOW APIS ARE ENABLING SMART CITY PAYMENT SOLUTIONS WRITTEN BY

WILLIA M SMITH

w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

55

IT PROCUREMENT

As part of an exploration of the smart city possibilities enabled by evolving payment solutions, we hear from Dev Subrata, CEO of payment API startup Fidel

A

s the world and its cities become smarter, payment solutions are having to match the pace of change.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is only 56

accelerating pre-existing trends in this space, from the proliferation of contactless payments to the sharp rise in ecommerce.

At the cutting edge of payments innovation is London-based startup Fidel, which provides an API for businesses to link payment cards to their applications. Having raised an $18mn Series A funding round last year, we spoke to the company’s CEO and cofounder Dev Subrata about trends in the industry and the necessity of payment innovation in the smart cities of tomorrow.

The company was initially formed to overcome the challenge of capturing data about customer purchases without adding friction or extra steps to their journey.

AUGUST 2020

“ The goal of the API is to remove the barriers to entry and make it really easy for others to connect to the data and build cool apps and products on top of it” — Dev Subatra, CEO, Fidel 57

w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

Digital Transformation.

Made real every day.

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“ Expect APIs to bring a new level of connectivity to the established and outdated modes we take for granted” The solution turned out to be At the time of the company’s found-

focusing on the specific instant

ing, however, that proved difficult.

of payment. “When you’re tapping

“Back in 2013 we thought: ‘well,

your card or swiping your card, that

everybody’s got smartphones in their

transaction information is flowing

pocket - if everybody’s connected

through somewhere. How can we

online, we should be able to do the

capture that? That was what we

same in the real world.’ But it wasn’t

set out to solve.” That ambition

as simple as that,” Subrata laughs.

placed it of a kind with other innova-

“We tried with QR codes, with

tors enabling new digital finance

Bluetooth beacons, with wifi sensors

products by changing the payment

and POS integrations, but it all

experience; the likes of Plaid and

required an extra step.”

Tink, for instance.

That level of access was impossi-

MASTERCARD

Smart city commitment involves making cities: ● More efficient and more welcoming, by embedding digital payments into a city’s DNA ● Ready for sustainable growth, by unlocking the power of data and digital engagement ● Safer and more inclusive, by reducing the reliance on cash

ble. however, without the collaboration of the merchant acquirers, something which Subrata at first thought unlikely. “Visa turned us down at first, but through some weird turn of events, we got through to one person at Mastercard who thought it was a really cool idea.

So we started working with them and one thing led to another.

Once we had Mastercard, then Visa was interested and then American Express.” w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

59

IT PROCUREMENT

Subrata, however, points out that in many ways, this bureaucratic work was easier than the technical work to follow. “We thought the tech would be the easy part, but that was not the case. We were working with legacy systems that had been built 30 years ago with very different protocols, a very different architecture. Plugging into that needed specialist skills, specialist knowledge, and if you wanted

60

“ The smart cities of the future will be enabled by [...] multiple APIs working together” — Dev Subatra, CEO, Fidel

your app to communicate with this

“At some point along the way, we

infrastructure, you had to build a layer

thought to ourselves: hang on, we’ve

on top and in between with the right

now built a communication layer on

communication protocols.”

top of Visa, MasterCard, and Amex.

Fidel soon realised the value of

If we open this up to the wider ecosys-

the work it had done on these legacy

tem, we have solved the much bigger

systems was so great that it warrant-

problem of data access. If we market-

ed pivoting the company’s aims.

ed this, other companies like us out there won’t have to go through all the pain that we had to connect to a data source.”

So what are the possibilities that this approach enables for Fidel’s customers? “You connect very fast,” says Subrata. “That’s probably the biggest value driver. Second, you don’t need to worry about payment card industry compliance because you can just use our UI to capture

AUGUST 2020

61

cards securely, never interacting with

Fidel’s solution at first seems to

sensitive data such as the card number.

compete with Open Banking and

It’s also cheaper. It’s a pay as you use

PSD2 standards, but Subrata is clear

model - you don’t have to sign these

that they serve different purposes

scary contracts. The goal of the API

by virtue of the fact that Fidel builds

is to remove the barriers to entry and

on card networks rather than bank

make it really easy for others to connect

accounts. Unlike Open Banking,

to the data and build cool apps and

Fidel’s API also allows for real-time

products on top of it.”

access to detailed data. “We’re w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

IT PROCUREMENT

picking up data points that you don’t

the use cases employed by Fidel’s

typically see under bank statements.

customers, for instance with loyalty

So things like the timestamp or merchant

applications identifying in real-time

ID, the coordinates of the transaction,

when a customer is spending in a store

whether it was via Google or Apple Pay

and notifying them of how many points

and so on.” That granularity is useful for

they have received.

VISA

Visa is assisting cities in their endeavours to make public transport contactless. It’s programme has four pillars: 62

● C onsulting: teams to help on implementation and assistance; this shows that market education is still needed to convince service providers and to ease their doubts regarding new technologies and deployments ● The mass transit transaction model: the model is a backoffice framework to manage contactless payments. It supports the delivery of multiple fares such as fixed fare, distance or time-based fare, and multi modal

AUGUST 2020

●T ools and standards: the Visa Ready Programme helps companies and their solutions to meet industry requirements and standards, thus easing customers’ fear of security standards and short lived technologies ● F uture of transportation: Visa knows the technology space is fast paced and wants to collaborate and engage with transit operators, technology enablers, fintech companies and others to research and create new solutions. A move similar to what telco operators are doing with the creation of IoT Labs where technologies, solutions, and services are tested

fridge, for instance, might know when your milk is running out. That could alert another system which in turn could be connected into a payment API that has access to your card.

“ One of the principle ways through which we interact with the cities of tomorrow will necessarily be through payment solutions” Fidel, then, took a previously opaque and arcane system and made it far easier for companies to access

That could then place an order for delivery, and you’d have your milk refilled without having to do anything. Or you might be driving your electric car to be charged and once done you can just drive off, with them easily knowing which car it was, how much electricity it used, and how much it cost.”

Subatra sees the interconnectedness

and innovate with. It’s an ambition that

of tomorrow’s systems as necessitating

meshes with the guiding principles

APIs which are able to smooth the

behind making cities smart, and one

communication of different devices.

of the principle ways through which

Expect APIs to bring a new level of

we interact with the cities of tomorrow

connectivity to the established and

will necessarily be through payment

outdated modes we take for granted.

solutions.

It’s an area that Subatra believes is ripe for disruption by APIs such as Fidel’s. “The smart cities of the future will be enabled by API, and in particular multiple APIs working together. Your w w w.te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

63

A I & D ATA A N A LY T I C S

64

CLOUD TRANSFORMATION AND WEATHER PREDICTION WITH IBM WRITTEN BY

WILLIA M SMITH

AUGUST 2020

65

IBM CLOUD © te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

A I & D ATA A N A LY T I C S

Cameron Clayton, General Manager, IBM Cloud Ecosystem and Weather, tells us about his work at the company from cloud paks to predicting rain clouds Cloud transformation and weather forecasting may at first seem linked purely by vocabulary. IBM’s Cameron Clayton, however, demonstrates they may be closer than they first appear. “I’m the general manager of IBM’s cloud ecosystem, so I support our 66

global partners, helping them access the best IBM public cloud and Red Hat OpenShift capabilities,” says Clayton. He joined IBM through the acquisition of The Weather Company, of which he was CEO. “I’m also responsible for The Weather Company as part of IBM, which is our global business to help people and businesses make better decisions through weather data and AI insights. We serve a few hundred million people every week around the world through The Weather Channel, Weather.com and our Weather Underground properties.”

Clayton sees open technologies such as Linux containerisation and Kubernetes as guiding the evolution of cloud. “IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat last year completely transformed our software portfolio to be cloud-native and optimised to run on Red Hat

AUGUST 2020

67

“Reliable weather prediction is at the heart of [addressing climate change]” — Cameron Clayton, General Manager, IBM Cloud Ecosystem and Weather te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

IBM Cloud Paks Explained CLICK TO WATCH

|

7:27

69 OpenShift.” That’s a benefit IBM is now

Clayton also emphasises the

bringing to customers with its IBM

security benefits the solution brings,

Cloud Pak solutions. “We have Cloud

thanks to being open and certified

Paks for applications, for data, for

by IBM to have the most up to date

integration, for automation, for

certifications fully supported. He’s

multi-cloud management and critically

finding that the kind of cloud transfor-

a Cloud Pak for security. And they all

mation which they enable has become

work on this thesis that containerised

increasingly imperative in the age of

software solutions which are open, are

COVID-19. “We’re all moving to digital

more secure. They let you move your

faster than ever before. And so busi-

business applications as you modern-

nesses are looking to migrate their

ise to any cloud, agnostically, and

workloads to the cloud and adapt to

they’ll run anywhere, whether its

this dynamic, remote working environ-

mainframe, bare metal in a data centre

ment. It’s happening fast. Restaurants

or private and public cloud.”

aren’t serving people food, but they’re te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

A I & D ATA A N A LY T I C S

DID YOU KN OW?

IBM Cloud delivers: ● 25 billion forecasts per day ● 550,000 API requests per second becoming ecommerce food delivery stores overnight, for instance. It’s the same all the way up to Fortune 500 companies.”

That rapid pace of cloud transformation isn’t without its roadblocks preventing companies from making 70

the leap. “We’re seeing two challenges develop, one around security and then the other around regulated markets,” says Clayton. “Security is particularly important in regulated markets such as financial services, healthcare, insurance and telco. Last year, along with Bank of America, we announced our financial services ready public cloud, built around the key controls and compliance and security features that financial services organisations need.”

The other half of Clayton’s responsibilities involves clouds in a different sense. Having acquired The Weather Company, IBM has bolstered its AUGUST 2020

71

“A farmer in Kenya can have access to the same quality forecast as a farmer in Kansas” — Cameron Clayton, General Manager, IBM Cloud Ecosystem and Weather .te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

A I & D ATA A N A LY T I C S

capabilities with systems such as IBM GRAF. “Scale and resolution was a problem we’d been working on for awhile, and it’s a problem that only IBM could help us solve on the weather side. So IBM GRAF was really designed to try and democratise weather forecasts around the world.” While Western countries such as the US and UK can be generally confident in the resolution and quality of forecasting data, emerging countries located in places such as Africa and South America 72

have no access to the same level of forecasting. “This is a true digital divide that helps perpetuate the economic DID YOU KN OW?

IBM says its Cloud Paks are: ● Complete, yet simple: Application, data and AI services, fully modular and easy to consume

divide that also exists,” says Clayton.

“At best, their forecasts might update

● IBM certified: Full software stack support, and ongoing security, compliance and version compatibility

every six to 12 hours with a resolution

● Run anywhere: On premises, on private and public clouds and in preintegrated systems

tion across the entire planet. “It’s the

AUGUST 2020

between 25 and 30 kilometres.”

IBM GRAF, in comparison, updates hourly with a three kilometre resolufirst globally updating model at this resolution and fidelity to be able to predict individual thunderstorms,”

73

IBM ©

says Clayton. That’s made possible

NVIDIA on a GPU-based computing

by an astronomical 12 trillion pieces

architecture. “That means a farmer

of forecast information generated

in Kenya can have access to the same

daily, producing 1.46 billion individual

quality forecast as a farmer in Kansas.

points around the world.” That sheer

That’s a big deal and we’re super excited

volume naturally requires the use of

about the impact that will have on people,

supercomputing, and IBM partners

on businesses, on governments and on

with, among others, the National

trade and efficiency around the world.”

Center for Atmospheric Research, the University of Washington and

Marshalling that data requires innovative approaches that mesh with te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

A I & D ATA A N A LY T I C S

74

“We’re all moving to digital faster than ever before” — Cameron Clayton, General Manager, IBM Cloud Ecosystem and Weather

AUGUST 2020

Clayton’s work in IBM’s cloud portfolio.

“The forecast is only as good as the inputs you put into it,” he says. “We’re using AI and IoT sensor networks, hybrid cloud analytics and all these things to get a better answer. The more data we can collect, the better, whether it’s from smartphones, from vehicles, from tractors, from planes, etcetera. We’re pulling all of that together at this tremendous scale, and distributing it out as an IBM hybrid cloud.”

Clayton sees the organisation’s work across both his portfolios as only being more necessary in the face of global threats such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. “Climate change is creating this volatility in the atmosphere. We go from snow and flooding to hurricanes and heat waves in places we’ve never seen them before.

Whilst we’re living right now with this pandemic, climate change remains this larger challenge. How we can help address that lies with health care, with agriculture, with food security, water, and so on and reliable weather prediction is at the heart of that.”

te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

75

T O P 10

76

AUGUST 2020

Cloud companies Technology Magazine counts down the largest companies that offer cloud services, with reference to the Forbes Global 2000 WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH

te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

77

T O P 10

10

IBM

ARMONK, NEW YORK - $76.5BN

IBM has been on the forefront of business technology since at least the 1950s. The American hardware and software giant employed over 350,000 people in 2018. The company’s cloud offering is comprehensive, consisting of public, hybrid and private solutions, with the company particularly emphasising its advanced data and AI capabilities. IBM also works with subsidiary Red Hat to offer cloud products such as its OpenShift container platform for application development.

78

Welcome to IBM Cloud CLICK TO WATCH

AUGUST 2020

|

2:53

79

09

Tencent

SHENZHEN, CHINA - $54.6BN

China’s Tencent is a holding company, and through its subsidiaries and associates is active in a wealth of industries with a focus on technology.

The company is headquartered in Shenzhen, China in twin skyscrapers known as Tencent Seafront Towers. When it comes to cloud, the company describes itself as the largest internet company in Asia, and thus is capable of providing global coverage across its many cloud products, from compute to storage and databasing.

te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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08

NTT

TOKYO, JAPAN - $109.6BN

The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) has a history dating back to the aftermath of the Second World War, where it was established by the Japanese government. Though privatised in 1985, the government continues to hold one third of the company’s shares. The company offers enterprises a hybrid cloud solution with private, multi-tenant, OpenStack and third-party clouds, as well as a public cloud model for scaling and global infrastructure.

81

te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

T O P 10

82

07

Intel

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - $75.7BN

The world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, Intel dominates the personal computer processor market alongside AMD. The company was co-founded by Gordon Moore, whose famous Moore’s law predicted transistor density would double every two years - an estimate which has long been borne out by reality. Intel’s cloud involvement chiefly comes in the provision of hardware, enabling cloud infrastructure with its ethernet, SSD storage and processor offerings, though it also partners with Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

AUGUST 2020

06

Alibaba

HANGZHOU, CHINA - $70.6BN

In many ways, it is easier to describe what Alibaba doesn’t do rather than what it does. Its main business revolves around its suite of ecommerce sites (Alibaba.com, Taobao and Tmall), but it also has interests in electronic payments and numerous other services including cloud computing. Alibaba’s cloud offering consists of a range of services from elastic computing to communications to databases. The company also advertises its role as a gateway to China for western companies to access the market through the cloud.

83

Alibaba Cloud: More than just cloud CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:21

te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

05

Comcast

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - $108.7BN

Philadelphia’s Comcast Corporation is mostly known as a provider of internet networking, cable television and home phone connections, with much of its business being done through its Xfinity brand, which it adopted in 2010. Comcast offers businesses access to the cloud through 600 data centres across the United States, partnering with first party cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud.

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te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

T O P 10

04

Amazon

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - $296.3BN

Founded by CEO Jeff Bezos as an online book retailer, the company has since expanded to a huge variety of sectors, from smart assistants to audio books and, of course, an ecommerce empire. Amazon Web Services is the subsidiary responsible for providing cloud computing services, with a wealth of options suitable for everything from machine learning to cloud gaming. Owing to the breadth of its services, it tailors its solutions for specific industries such as automotive and government.

86

AUGUST 2020

How Azure Arc enabled data services works CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:50

87

03

Microsoft

REDMOND, WASHINGTON - $138.6BN

Technology powerhouse Microsoft is a giant in all the technological areas in which it competes. The company is a member of the exclusive $1trn valuation club alongside fellow American tech giants such as Amazon and Google, with whom it shares an ever-increasing focus on cloud. Microsoft offers its cloud computing services under the Microsoft Azure banner, with offerings in areas such as AI and machine learning, compute and hybrid cloud, to name but a few.

te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

E M E A | A P A C | | APAC N O R T H | A EMEA MERICA AMERICAS FIND OUT MORE

FIND OUT MORE

T O P 10

90

02

Alphabet

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - $166.3BN

Alphabet is the holding company which most prominently contains Google, along with other promising technology companies such as machine learning specialists DeepMind and autonomous driving firm Waymo. The cloud component of Google’s business has historically been smaller than that of Microsoft and Amazon, but recently it has become a renewed focus for the company. Leveraging its in-built cloud expertise as an internet company, alongside the usual cloud services it offers companies cloud productivity software in the form of the G Suite.

AUGUST 2020

By The Pancake of Heaven! - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Google Data Center Security: 6 Layers Deep CLICK TO WATCH

|

6:09

te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

91

T O P 10

AT&T Cloud Solutions CLICK TO WATCH | 1:33

92

AUGUST 2020

01

AT&T

DALLAS, TEXAS - $179.2BN

AT&T was established by Alexander Graham Bell’s father in law and controlled the Bell System of telephone services across the United States. Accused of being a monopoly, it was broken up in 1983 by the US government, creating many of AT&T’s current competitors. Cloud is admittedly a small part of the telecommunications firm’s offering, but the company nevertheless offers enterprise services such as accelerated content delivery and scalable, elastic cloud storage.

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te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

94

Data center sourcing made simple WRITTEN BY

JOHN O’HANLON PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

AUGUST 2020

95

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

COLOTRAQ

Dany Bouchedid, CEO of COLOTRAQ, on his vision to provide colocation, managed hosting, cloud, network and data center services globally

G

reat businesses often spring from very small seeds: the seed that grew into COLOTRAQ was a lecture, one of a

series, from an early .com entrepreneur to a final year ‘ecommerce’ class at NYU’s Stern School of Business in 1999. The internet was largely unex96

plored territory to the students of management including Dany Bouchedid, who approached the entrepreneur at the end of his talk, expressing his interest and asking him for a tip. After a moment’s thought, Jeff Bezos (for it was he) answered: “Infrastructure.” The class hadn’t yet tackled this subject but Bouchedid was sufficiently interested to ask his professor for a reading list. “I never looked back,” he says. After thoroughly acquainting himself with the data center infrastructure that supports the expanding internet, he founded COLOTRAQ as a full-service consultancy to help companies and institutions source data center colocation.

This proved a winning business model, and today COLOTRAQ uses a global network of data centers from over 400 service providers and has helped more than 10,000 clients, giving them access to AUGUST 2020

COLOTRAQ Covid Switchover DC CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:26

97

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

COLOTRAQ

“ When it comes to the whole as-a-service concept, where does the rubber meet the road? It’s in the data center” — Dany Bouchedid, CEO, COLOTRAQ

upwards of 3,000 colocation and managed hosting facilities. Its custombuilt cloud-based software DCITRAQ allows them to instantly identify, with granular detail, the best data center infrastructure (DCI) to deliver their business goals. It also lets them compare, in real time, the technical specs of the different options facing them.

DCITRAQ was launched five years ago, and has evolved since then with new features. It is available to customers, their consultants or agents

98

to dynamically compare and source data center services such as physical or wholesale colocation, managed hosting, cloud and cybersecurity, he explains. “You can have multiple vendors compete for your business through DCITRAQ.” Essentially, DCITRAQ is a reverse auction model for the data center industry, costing the client nothing to gain a transparent view of the physical, virtualized and hybrid offerings available from a huge pool of providers.

It gives the client all the information they need about a provider from their physical facilities to their software capabilities and carriers. “The power AUGUST 2020

COLOTRAQ Main Services DC CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:24

99

of DCITRAQ lies in 21 years of experi-

bookseller should have set such a

ence and thousands of projects. All

store on infrastructure. “It wasn’t till

this information is collected to an intui-

Amazon launched AWS almost a

tive dashboard – all your deal history,

decade after Bezos gave that talk that

communications all fully integrated

his master plan became clear: he had

with COLOTRAQ’s cloud based enter-

been the retail king but now he was the

prise accounting platform – and that

infrastructure king!”

information is always up to date.”

Though the rise of the internet was

When the corporate flight to the cloud started, Bouchedid heard people

clearly going to drive demand for data

say the colocation business might

center services and be the basis for his

suffer as people started to abandon

business expansion plan, Bouchedid

on-premise solutions and put their

did wonder at first how someone who

data and their operations in the hands

seemed no more than a clever online

of AWS, Oracle, Azure and the like. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

COLOTRAQ

favor a hybrid approach: good news for COLOTRAQ, which is uniquely placed to help them navigate these waters.

For 21 years COLOTRAQ has been pitching digital transformation, virtualization and outsourcing. Suddenly the arrival of a global pandemic has meant that instead of a phased introduction, corporations are faced with an urgent need to move to a distributed workforce and off-prem systems as an immediate survival strategy. As an example, he cites telecoms: “You’d be 100

surprised at the number of organizations that still retain PBX systems: we are seeing an unprecedented take-up Far from it, he soon realized: “When

of UCaaS.” For 10 years COLOTRAQ

it comes to the whole as-a-service

has maintained its core systems

concept, where does the rubber meet

including its DCITRAQ platform in the

the road? It’s in the data center!” For

cloud so it experienced no disruption

COLOTRAQ, the effect has been that

whatever when lockdown came in.

the lower value, high churn business

Many businesses were totally

did reduce as small business clients

unprepared for the pandemic. One of

moved to the cloud, but that was good

COLOTRAQ’s biggest projects cur-

news. Its biggest market is now among

rently involves digitizing a large law

mid-market to large enterprises as well

firm’s entire caseload and building

as the providers of services over IP, such

an enterprise portal enabling them

as VoIP, UCaaS, IaaS and a host of ser-

to virtualize all the complex informa-

vices driven by technologies like IoT or

tion that litigation requires, work on

blockchain. Large enterprises do tend to

the case and present it at a Zoom

AUGUST 2020

court session through screen shar-

who have not done so will be urgently

ing. “Law is just one vertical that is

virtualizing their entire value chain.”

still quite archaic in many ways, with

So called ‘traditional’ industries like

lawyers showing up at court with

law or real-estate may be racing to

piles of papers – that is not much use

catch up, but the need of tech-based

at a Zoom meeting. The many firms

verticals is just as pressing, for slightly

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

Dany Bouchedid Title: CEO

Company: COLOTRAQ

Dany Bouchedid is a relationship-driven entrepreneur, leader and visionary with a proven track record of success in building, growing and managing multimillion dollar enterprises. In 1999, he founded and is currently CEO of COLOTRAQ, a full-service sourcing and consulting firm that helps companies and institutions source data center colocation, managed hosting, cloud computing, network infrastructure and other related telecom services in 140 countries. Dany has been published and quoted in various industry publications and has been a speaker at several industry conferences. He has served on several boards for both non-profits and corporations. Dany is the founder and president of The Bouchedid Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to identify and evaluate thousands of charities and non-profit service organizations and rank them using a proprietary algorithm to determine which causes to fund directly.

The foundation considers a multitude of variables including the focus of the charity, the urgency and direness of their cause, and the level of disenfranchisement and vulnerability of the group they service. The ultimate goal is to fund the most immediate and worthwhile causes that are affecting the most underprivileged and neglected groups. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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Data center and colocation providers like Equinix are investing in expanding their footprint to meet the demands of their consumers and changing technologies.

Equinix and Colotraq: joint data centre pioneers Jules Johnston, Vice President, Americas Partner Sales at data centre company Equinix, discusses the company’s collaborative approach to interconnection.

Jules Johnston is Vice President, Americas Partner Sales at data centre company Equinix. Having joined in early 2016, she has overseen a move to new sales channels as part of the company’s work. “The team we’ve put together in the last few years has helped the company go from what was single digits in terms of partner-connected selling to something greater than 30% of our bookings globally,” she says. “We’re on a path and committed to do the majority of our business with partners, so it’s been very exciting to be part of that. The team I lead today is the 40-person Americas partner sales organisation, and our job is to work with partners so that we can help our field and inside sellers meet at the customer.”

While Equinix is renowned as a co-location and data centre organisation, Johnston is clear that the company takes a broader view. “We really think of ourselves as an interconnection company and as the global platform for digital business. So when companies build their digital infrastructure and platforms within Equinix, what they’re able to do is dynamically connect to the world’s largest ecosystem of clouds, data, suppliers and customers.” Constructing such an ecosystem has required a significant amount of infrastructure. “Equinix has invested in over 210 data centres around the world, or international business exchanges, IBXs, as we call them. That allows Equinix to be able to meet the needs of any company today with global aspirations.”

Equinix works closely with colocation broker Colotraq, with the organisation having been one of Equinix’s master agents for around five years. “Colotraq is a fellow pioneer in the data center space,” says Johnston.

“As one of the oldest master agents in telecom, they’ve intersected with us naturally. Equinix started as a place for the world’s networks to come together in a neutral fashion and Colotraq also prides itself on being network neutral.”

The partnership extends far beyond the surface level, with Colotraq agents and Equinix solutions architects jointly meeting with customers to advise on digital edge strategy briefings.

Jules Johnston @ Equinix

“One of the places that we intersect is in helping customers in their network optimisation strategies,” says Johnston. “We have the largest collection of networks in the world in Equinix data centers, and Colotraq advises companies on optimising their network strategies and spend. We’ve had a really long, productive association given that overlap.”

Incoming trends such as 5G, AI, IoT, blockchain and more all signal a bright future for Equinix and its cloud offering, with the company continuing to prove invaluable for customers even during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Equinix was able to help a global financial powerhouse stand up 120,000 employees remotely in three days. In this current climate, companies have a real need for that.

We’re able to use our digital platform to help companies make those kinds of moves.”

Learn more

COLOTRAQ

different reasons. Another big current project involves a very popular online gaming company: “They are expanding their footprint like crazy, and they need to get to the edge. Edge computing has been a huge driver: any business where there’s consumption of streaming content or which is bandwidth-intensive like streaming media, music or online gaming needs to push its network out to the edge, closer to its end users and subscribers. That is good news for colocation because 104

with edge computing you need to control the location of your data center equipment.” The mantra of ubiquity, where it no longer matters where the physical equipment is as long as you have access to your application, does not work for edge computing architecture he noted. “Many businesses of this nature are moving towards hybrid models now. 20 years ago it was all about location, then it shifted to the notion of ubiquity: now we’ve come full circle.”

Blockchain is another major disruptor, he continued. “You can’t have your blockchain nodes on a public cloud platform: the whole point is to have the controls in place for all the AUGUST 2020

“ It’s vital for any entrepreneur to make sure he is not outpaced by the market he is in” — Dany Bouchedid, CEO, COLOTRAQ

different blockchain nodes, and the only way to do that is by having racks in each of your key markets, with georedundancy.” Edge computing and blockchain are developments where a one-size-fits-all approach won’t answer in the post-Covid world.

Looking ahead the company is keeping a close eye on the internet of things (IoT), in particular industrial IoT or IIoT. “We have seen only the tip of the iceberg: as manufacturing and logistics really starts to implement IIoT devices throughout the supply chain it will create so much big data, for storage and to have the computing power at the edge, to be able to feed back data in real time to those devices. This will escalate the demand for colocation, create more ‘sprawl’ and get us closer to the edge, where customers and subscribers actually live and work. Many data center providers to my knowledge are investing in expanding their footprint.” The industry has come full circle when even AWS and VMware have gone physical for the first time ever with their recently launched Outposts, an integrated hardware rack that seamlessly connects to Amazon’s public cloud. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

105

COLOTRAQ

COLOTRAQ is a company that thrives on change, and nothing drives change like a pandemic. Every client he speaks with is scrutinizing its IT infrastructure and architecture like never before, and that presents opportunities in every aspect of the IT value chain from their data center infrastructure to their communications and their networks. Security is again at the forefront: “Hackers are having a field day thanks to the lockdown, where businesses secured their offices but not their 106

employees’ home networks, so we are seeing cybersecurity projects coming in relating to the post-pandemic world.”

“ Over 21 years I have been blessed by having rock stars for my employees and that makes it really easy to lead the company” — Dany Bouchedid, CEO, COLOTRAQ

The terrible economic and human cost of the crisis will accelerate the pace of change. Already the data center industry was predicted to grow at an annual rate of 25% over the next five years. “It’s vital for any entrepreneur to make sure he is not outpaced by the market he is in. For COLOTRAQ, if we feel we can’t handle demand at this scale we may raise a capital growth round and staff up – it will be a great problem to have!”

It would be nice if the realization that IT consumes far more energy

AUGUST 2020

COLOTRAQ DCITRAQ DC CLICK TO WATCH

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107

worldwide than any other activ-

visible by DCITRAQ – it’s a good case

ity would drive the greening of the

where the triple bottom line is driven by

industry, but in Dany Bouchedid’s

profitability as well as social pressure

opinion that goal will more probably

to combat climate change.

be reached though economic pres-

Meanwhile COLOTRAQ is happy to

sure. “All operators are under pressure

share access to its platforms with the

from their shareholders to lower their

many entrepreneurial players entering

operating expenditure, and energy is

the colocation space, and work with them.

the biggest part of that. And that OpEx

“There will be more than enough space for

is passed on to customers. There’s

everyone, and I see new entrants as co-

a direct correlation between better

opetition rather than competition.”

energy management and competitive pricing.” All of these metrics are made t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

108

Dentsu Aegis: elevating human potential through automation

WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

MIKE SADR

AUGUST 2020

109

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

Max Cheprasov, Chief Automation Officer, explains why developing an AI and automation strategy is essential to modern enterprises’ future

D

entsu Aegis Network prides itself on being a company with a talent for innovativethinking and being thoroughly in-tune with

the technological zeitgeist. When we last spoke with the global marketing group which operates in over 145 countries, we learned how a highly client-centric approach was defining its mission to introduce 110

digital transformation and lay the foundations for a next-gen way of operating. Despite the discussion occurring at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dentsu Aegis demonstrated the confidence and optimism that only great teams guided by visionary leadership can achieve under such duress. Now, we revisit the company to explore one of the prevailing tech trends in modern business: artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

Having spent six years (2011 to 2017) as Senior VP and Head of Operations and Technology at iProspect – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dentsu Aegis – Max Cheprasov took on the role of Chief Automation Officer for Dentsu Aegis Americas in November 2017.

Considering himself a “digital native”, Cheprasov says that his transition into the role was a natural one and

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111

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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“ There’s always a need for creativity and ingenuity when designing your own unique and differentiated business strategy” — Max Cheprasov, Chief Automation Officer, Dentsu Aegis 112

was a decision guided by a long-term mission: “I transitioned into this new role to focus on acceleration of intelligent automation solutions and to promote best practice across Dentsu globally.”

In a career clearly defined by his commitment to finding new and better ways to service clients and enable employees to do their best work, Cheprasov is a believer in going beyond convention and working out cutting-edge tech solutions to everyday problems. “There’s always a need for creativity and ingenuity when designing your own unique and differentiated business strategy,” he says. It is this attitude that he brings to bear on his daily activities at Dentsu Aegis.

An early enthusiast of AI’s potential in business, Cheprasov embarked on his first automation-related project in 2016 by experimenting with natural language processing (NLP) and natural language generation (NLG) technology for data analysis reports and insights.

It was because of this project that he and Dentsu Aegis’ leadership team became convinced that it was an avenue worth exploring with high priority.

Certain that AI could lead to a dramatic boost in business performance and

AUGUST 2020

The future of AI and your business CLICK TO WATCH

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113 customer experience, Cheprasov

functions to optimise the working lives

established an eight-year road map

of a company’s employees. Capable

(2017 to 2025) and the company for-

of augmenting workloads by automat-

mally established the Dentsu Aegis

ing a boring or repetitive task, Dentsu

Automation Centre of Expertise

Aegis can help mitigate or eliminate

(CoE). “Today, we have over 400 peo-

the laborious strain caused by routine

ple engaged with the CoE as part of

tasks, approval turnarounds and bot-

our global community of automation

tlenecks. “We can automate a process

champions and experts. But, as far

end-to-end and give that time back

as I’m concerned, this is still only the

to employees to handle more critical

beginning; the future of automation

tasks that cannot be automated, such

should be placed in the hands of every

as creative, critical, strategic thinking,

single employee,” he states. With the

complex problem solving and more.

goal of making teams as efficient, pro-

Our mission is to elevate human poten-

ductive and happy as possible, the CoE

tial,” says Cheprasov. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

114

AUGUST 2020

“ Our mission is to elevate human potential” — Max Cheprasov, Chief Automation Officer, Dentsu Aegis

115

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

116

Of course, this aim would be very dif-

incorporating the trend-setting new

ficult without a suitably agile workforce

ideas of the startups and other firms

behind the scenes at Dentsu Aegis,

it has acquired. “We operate without

and this is exactly what Cheprasov

borders and limitations as one enter-

says the company has. “I think we have

prise across 145 countries, where highly

a unique workplace culture. One word

collaborative teams of highly intelligent,

to describe everybody in the business,

optimistic and passionate people are

across 65,000 professionals, is that

working together and willing to take

we’re ‘entrepreneurial’ by the nature of

calculated risks to achieve impres-

how we’ve grown.” Having expanded

sive results for Dentsu Aegis and our

rapidly over the last five years due

clients,” he continues. Indeed, with over

to a fast-paced M&A (mergers and

150 acquisitions made and a growing

acquisitions) strategy, the company

capacity for innovation, talent and scale,

has continually rejuvenated itself by

Cheprasov’s observation that “there’s

AUGUST 2020

no future in staying the same” certainly

UiPath as essential partners: “We used

rings true.

Catalytic’s AI-enabled platform to

As well as its robust internal collabo-

design an automated RFP (request for

ration, Dentsu Aegis also prides itself

proposal) workflow, in combination with

on working well with other companies

NLP and ML (machine learning). As a

which share its vision and mission.

result, we reduced the time it takes to

With regard to the company’s pursuit

compile the initial draft of the response

of automated superiority, Cheprasov

from two weeks to just several minutes.

highlights FortressIQ, Catalytic and

Our most recent project with UiPath

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

Max Cheprasov Title: Chief Automation Officer Company: Dentsu Aegis Network Industry: Marketing & Advertising

Location: New York

As Chief Automation Officer at Dentsu, Max Cheprasov leads the Automation COE on a mission to “Elevate Human Potential”. Dentsu, with its 65,000+ employees, is a global media and digital marketing communications company focused on innovating the way brands are built. The COE harmonizes Operational Excellence with AI and Automation to create the never-before digital exoskeleton for the enterprise.

Max has 20+ years of experience within the Digital Economy, specializing in digital transformation, operational excellence, and AI-powered automation. Prior to his current role, Max served as the Senior Vice President of Operations, PMO, BPO, and Technology for iProspect between 2011-2017. Max holds an MBA degree from JWMI and professional certificates from Stanford University, MIT, and PMI, among others. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

117

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“ I think we have a unique workplace culture.

One word to describe everybody in the business, across 65,000 professionals, is that we’re ‘entrepreneurial’ by nature of how we’ve grown”

required a deeper partnership with their Professional Services group, as we needed to temporarily add 10 RPA (robotic process automation) experts to our team to help us build 60 bots in six weeks. As a result, the software bots have automated 157,000 hours of work during their first deployment, completing over 600,000 tasks. Finally, FortressIQ helps us accelerate process mining and process discovery, exponentially improving our ability to identify new

— Max Cheprasov, Chief Automation Officer, Dentsu Aegis

use-cases for automation and process reengineering. Additionally, the time and motion analyses led to improved FO RT RESSI Q

Founded in 2017, FortressIQ is the creator of a cognitive automation platform which is capable of accelerating digital transformation through a combination of ANN, NLP and ML, as well as OCR. Able to quickly grasp the fundamentals of a business’ operations, the platform enables the collection of swift insights which can be used in the development of an automation strategy.

Commenting on the relationship that Dentsu Aegis shares with FortressIQ, Cheprasov praises the company’s technology and states that without its partnership “it would have taken over 30 business analysts to gather the same level of detail and insight that [FortressIQ’s] AI was able to capture if it was done manually.”

Pankaj Chowdhry, Founder & CEO, FortressIQ

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

119

DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

SOPs, compliance and training. Using FiQ’s artificial neural network (ANN), NLP, and ML models, in combination with advanced computer vision (OCR), we automatically mined, modelled and documented data for over 2,200 processes in five months with just two people operating the system.”

On the subject of automation, Cheprasov is evangelical about its growing importance, not only for Dentsu Aegis but for its clients and modern business generally. “Automation is just a natural 120

evolution from operational excellence,” he explains. “Traditional operational workflows are no longer sustainable; the workforce is changing rapidly, yet very few global companies are ready to manage their workforce with people, bots and AI working side by side.” He asks every company to consider the subject of advancing technology seriously; it is an aspect of business which is both exciting and intimidating – staying on top of it and processing the large amounts of data accessible requires automation integrated into every process. It was because of this that Cheprasov formulated his seven-year roadmap.

“It’s in response to client demands for AUGUST 2020

The transformation of AI & Automation CLICK TO WATCH

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DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

2013

Year founded

50,000 Number of employees

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Covid 19 and the impact of technology CLICK TO WATCH

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3:01

123

higher levels of agility and consistent

When considering the future, not just

operational excellence,” he explains.

of Dentsu Aegis but also automation

As such, Dentsu Aegis plans to go

generally, Cheprasov identifies two

beyond traditional forms of automa-

key trends: hyperautomation and the

tion (AI, ML, RPA, etc) to fulfil its quest

democratisation of AI. The former,

for ever-greater heights of operational

a term with Industry 4.0 connotations,

efficiency. This brings the conver-

imagines an operational state which

sation back to the importance of

combines digitisation with connectivity

collaborating with startups in the sec-

and AI to create a supremely auto-

tor: “We continue to monitor who the

mated system capable of seamless

emerging players are; there’s a lot of

interoperability; regarding the latter,

new startups that have fantastic ways

he adds this: “The future of automa-

of applying AI to different problems

tion should be placed in the hands of

in business,” he says.

every employee, giving them access t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK

124

to low-code or no-code platforms and

into the less overt considerations that

providing the necessary training and

furthering automation entails, such as

support.” This, Cheprasov anticipates,

its CSR activities with AutonomyWorks.

will lead to unprecedented efficiency

“Their goal is to create new job opportuni-

gains for workers and unlock the human

ties for individuals with autism and similar

potential in a way which was unfeasible

disabilities. At Dentsu, we recognise

previously. As the post-COVID-19 world

society as one of our key stakeholders

continues to make companies re-exam-

and one of our key objectives right now

ine their relationship with technology,

is to upskill the organisation’s workforce

Dentsu Aegis is already expanding

with the necessary automation skills to

AUGUST 2020

accelerate the work that they currently do for their clients.”

Considering what the rest of 2020 might hold for Dentsu Aegis, Cheprasov summarises its goal as continuing to help its clients win, keep and grow their own customer bases.

If the COVID-19 disruption has taught the company anything, it’s that close collaboration, an agile mindset and an innovative attitude will help Dentsu Aegis navigate the lingering aspects of disruption, which, in turn, will help its clients. “Every business today needs to have an AI and automation strategy and plan,” Cheprasov concludes. “By 2025, AI-powered companies will be 10 times more efficient and hold twice the market share over organisations that fail to embrace the technology

“ Automation is just a natural evolution from operational excellence”

today. I think we have reached a point in the evolution of intelligent automation when you can no longer delay this decision.”

— Max Cheprasov, Chief Automation Officer, Dentsu Aegis

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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eStruxture: Canada’s leading data centre provider

126

WRITTEN BY

LEILA HAWKINS PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

AUGUST 2020

127

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

E S T R U X T U R E D ATA C E N T E R S

Todd Coleman, eStruxture’s President and CEO, explains how a strategy of staying local is resulting in more locations, more capacity and better connectivity

“W

e believe in staying very local, providing local knowledge and a local customer touch,” says Todd Coleman, the founder

of eStruxture Data Centres. “We don’t believe in being headquartered in different parts of the world 128

and running the business from afar.” This is a key aspect of the operations of eStruxture, the data centre company he established in 2017 in Montreal.

It’s an approach that’s served them well, as in the three years since then it’s grown to encompass six facilities in total, each serving specific requirements.

MTL-1, the flagship site in downtown Montreal, is housed in the former Montreal Stock Exchange building. “That is a connectivity and cloud-neutral hub, with 30,000 square feet and 5 MW of power” Coleman explains. “We have a lot of customer ecosystems here that require access to a large and diverse meet-me-room from a telecom carrier fibre perspective, but also rely on us to deliver significant amounts of power density.”

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t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

E S T R U X T U R E D ATA C E N T E R S

“ We’ve not only survived, we’ve thrived during COVID-19” — Todd Coleman, President and CEO, eStruxture

to be in the central business district and have extraordinarily low latency and access to a diverse group of carriers, we can offer that in our downtown facility. If they want the ability to significantly scale their space and power requirements at hyperscale economics, we have that opportunity in MTL-2, and then all our facilities are directly connected by our own dedicated,

MTL-2 is 7 km away, and is a brand new, state-of-the-art hyperscale facil130

diverse fibre ring.”

Additionally, there are two sites in

ity encompassing 190,000 square feet

Vancouver, and a facility in Calgary

and 30MW of power, while MTL-3 is

that the company recently acquired

on the south shore of Montreal, and

in August 2019, ensuring eStruxture

was the first Uptime certified Tier III

has a presence in three of the top

facility in Quebec. “Regardless of the

data centre markets in Canada. They

customers’ needs, we can meet their

remain focused solely on the Canadian

requirements,” Todd says. “If they want

market. “We believe there is significant benefit in being focused and knowing a market, and having your sales and operations staff based there,” Coleman says. “Our Calgary employees are from Calgary and understand the Calgary market well, same with Montreal and Vancouver. The people we hire are industry veterans, and that resonates with our customers, they know that they can turn to us as a trusted advisor.”

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eStruxture Data Centres Overview CLICK TO WATCH

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131

2017

Year founded

360,000+

Square feet of own built and operated facilities

65

Number of employees

Montreal’s data centre market has grown significantly over the last five years due to the low cost of power and the abundance of hydroelectricity. “It took a large hyperscale cloud provider to come into the market and really put Montreal on the map. Our belief from early on was that the customer power densities were going to continue to grow, which they have. When we entered the Canadian market, it was still fairly nascent and we had a belief that data would continue to localise and customers that were largely present in the US would find their way north of the border.” t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

Scale Confidently With Waterless Free Cooling eStruxture Gains Efficiencies for Sustainable Growth With the Liebert® DSE economization system, eStruxture drives cost savings, allowing capital to be deployed in a phased approach — balancing capacity with demand.

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While every precaution has been taken to ensure accuracy and completeness here, Vertiv Group Corp. assumes no responsibility, and disclaims all liability, for damages resulting from use of this information or for any errors or omissions. Specifications are subject to change at Vertiv’s sole discretion upon notice.

When Coleman founded eStruxture,

rack without stranding space requiring

he was still an investor in Cologix, a

re-engineering of the cooling system,

data centre company he co-founded

something Coleman says is practically

in 2010. While that business focused

unheard of in North America.

on telecoms and interconnection,

eStruxture aims to provide its cus-

with sites within or near large carrier

tomers with the best service at the

hotels, the aim with eStruxture was

best cost. “We work with our manu-

to develop Tier III, enterprise class

facturers to understand what they’re

data centres with massively scalable

rolling out and drive them towards bet-

space and power in major Canadian

ter and more enhanced technologies

markets. Today, its standard offering

at the best cost performance. We’re

allows customers to go to 30 kW per

about consistency, control and proven 133

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

Todd Coleman Title: President and CEO

Location: Montreal, Quebec

Industry: Information Technology & Services Todd Coleman is the President and CEO of eStruxture. Todd brings more than 25 years experience in the IT, data centre and telecommunications industries. Most recently, Todd was the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Cologix. Todd has also held several senior positions at Level 3 Communications, a global telecommunications company, including Senior Vice President of Data Centres, Senior Vice President of Media Operations and President of Level 3 Communications Europe.

Todd holds a juris doctorate and a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

E S T R U X T U R E D ATA C E N T E R S

134

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135

“ I’d say that’s the biggest innovation in the thought process that we’ve adopted in the last few years – not viewing our customers as one-size fits all” — Todd Coleman, President and CEO, eStruxture t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

E S T R U X T U R E D ATA C E N T R E S

136

quality and stability. Most importantly,

centres to ensure maximum flexibility

we understand where our customers

to meet our customers’ requirements.”

are going. I’d say that’s the biggest

Having strong partnerships with

evolution in our thought process that

companies that understand their busi-

we’ve adopted in the last few years –

ness needs is critical for eStruxture to

not viewing our customers as one-size

be a trusted advisor to its customers.

fits all. We work to better understand

“We often receive zero financial benefit

our customer requirements at the

when we work with customers as a

application level and design our data

trusted advisor, but that’s part of our

AUGUST 2020

“ The people we hire are industry veterans, and that resonates with our customers” — Todd Coleman, President and CEO, eStruxture

and grow indirectly, bringing people, resources and technology to bear to an opportunity that we might not have had access to otherwise.”

Like so many organisations globally, eStruxture has been touched by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early days of the outbreak the company took a step back to reevaluate its position

value proposition, to steer and advise

in terms of investments, customers

them as to who our partners are and

and key metrics. “Along the way, we

provide details on their offerings,

proved to ourselves that the business

so our customers are able to be put

was very resilient in these types of

in direct contact as we hand them off

economic downturns. Frankly, we’ve

in a very warm and relationship-driven

not only survived, we’ve thrived during

way. That’s been hugely beneficial to

COVID-19. Our sales funnel has never

both our customers and partners alike.”

been more robust than over the past

The company has a number of key

few months.”

partner relationships, including with

Understanding that people’s needs

Belden, a provider of network and

may have changed during COVID-19,

connectivity solutions, JAVCO, a specialist in mission critical design and engineering, and Vertiv, a mission critical equipment manufacturer, many of whom have been key partners since the company was founded. “These types of relationships speak volumes to the partners that we bring in and in how we value them, because they enable us to stretch the rubber band t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

137

E S T R U X T U R E D ATA C E N T E R S

“ When we entered the Canadian market it was still fairly nascent” — Todd Coleman, President and CEO, eStruxture

Belden Is a Proud Partner of eStruxture Watch how Belden helps eStruxture manage high ber density while saving space with the new DCX Optical Distribution Frame (ODF) System.

Speak to Sales

139 they’ve offered incentives to cus-

data centre market is a bit of a ‘build

tomers who need to quickly migrate

it and they will come’ market, so you

their IT and network infrastructure

need confidence in how it’s evolving,

or require immediate expansion of

and where new markets could turn into

capacity, and to encourage customers

data centre-centric markets that oth-

to take advantage of eStruxture’s on-

erwise weren’t previously. You really

site technicians to enable customers

need your finger on the pulse of the

to deal with issues remotely, in a bid

marketplace and their localised nature

to protect both the facilities and the

to truly understand them.”

customers’ and eStruxture’s employees while the pandemic is ongoing.

Ultimately, to be successful, Coleman says you need investors that believe in you, as well as intimate knowledge of the marketplace. “The t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

140

Digital Realty: the global data centre ecosystem platform WRITTEN BY

MATT HIGH PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

AUGUST 2020

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D I G I TA L R E A LT Y

Chris Sharp, CTO at Digital Realty, on powering data centre digital transformation with a global ecosystem platform

“

F

orget data lakes, we’re now talking about some of the largest data oceans ever created,” says Digital Realty’s Chris Sharp,

discussing the seismic evolution of data – and how 142

enterprise and hyperscale customers use that data – towards a series of interconnected global, digital ecosystems capable of supporting even the most complex digital transformations.

Digital Realty, at which Sharp holds the role of Chief Technology Officer, Executive Vice President and Service Innovation, is a key enabler of those transformations. The company supports the global data centre, colocation, and interconnection strategies of leading organisations worldwide with a fit for purpose global data centre platform, PlatformDIGITAL. This comprehensive solution offers a model built around network, control, and data hubs, and has been created to enable the ever-changing data, security, and networking demands of these global enterprises as they grow.

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2001

Year founded

$3bn+ Revenue in US dollars

1,500 Number of employees

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

D I G I TA L R E A LT Y

“ We are really focused on supporting our customers in their enterprise journey, and a crucial aspect of that is not only focusing on what they need today, but what they’ll absolutely need tomorrow” — Chris Sharp, Chief Technology Officer, Executive Vice President and Service Innovation 144

The pace at which the global digital economy has evolved has changed the way enterprises in every sector create and deliver value. Now more than ever data, technology and an effective IT strategy are essential to enterprises.

Equally so, is operating on demand, ubiquitously and in a manner that is augmented by real-time intelligence at every point of business globally.

Yet, with that growth comes challenges.

For example, as data creation and consumption rises, so too does the need for effective tools, networks and infrastructures to access and analyse it. This creates data gravity – a point that many enterprises reach as they scale in a digital environment.

THE GLOBAL DATA TRANSFORMATION Sharp is a seasoned technology leader, with more than 20 years’ experience and a proven track record of evolving businesses to meet the most complex and demanding technology trends.

From the countless enterprise organisations that he and Digital Realty work with, he identifies an overarching trend driving change: as enterprises scale, they deploy globally and need access AUGUST 2020

to their data and public cloud-based systems in a different way, yet they also all need help managing the complexity from this shift. “This is where, in my experience, Digital Realty is really able to differentiate itself from others in the market,” he says. “We are dedicated to supporting our customers in their enterprise IT journey and a crucial aspect of that is not only focusing on what they need today, but also what they’ll absolutely need tomorrow.

“It’s essential to recognise that all enterprises and businesses – not just the hyperscalers that we deal with – are often going through significant digital transformations,” he continues. “Part of that, in terms of their data, is about being able to deploy globally consistent infrastructure to manage efficient data exchanges, rethink data flows to a broader set of partners, and build these ecosystems of community interest.

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

Chris Sharp Title: Chief Technology Officer, Executive Vice President and Service Innovation Location: Menlo Park, California Chris has more than 20 years’ experience and a proven track record of evolving businesses to meet the most complex and demanding technology trends. He has a strong understanding of technology and its business impact with a deep network of relationships in the internet, telecommunications and IT industry.

During his career, Chris has led acquisition and integration for seven successful companies since 2003, valued over $3bn in managed network services, colocation and security services.

Providing those organisations with an innovative and market-leading platform that’s exactly the same whether they’re in Silicon Valley, Chicago, London, Osaka, or any other location worldwide, allows access to revenue and ecosystems in a very repeatable fashion.” t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

145

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a very different ethos at Digital Realty, where we want to empower our customers and be a true open platform.”

That ethos, as Sharp explains, mirrors the broader evolution of the data centre sector, as well as how companies – indeed, all of us – use data. “We’ve seen a shift wherein customers don’t want to be siloed into different products or different services – so, the differences between collocation and scale, for example. Typically, particularly with how rapidly the landscape is changing, you’ll see customers may go into collocation and outgrow it very quickly because the economics and the sheer infrastructure they need just can’t be provided through a collocation

BUILDING A GLOBAL DATA CENTRE PLATFORM

model. From our perspective, it’s about

This approach, Sharp explains, is the

manage all of those different fields in

driver behind PlatformDIGITAL, which

a seamless fashion. It’s why you’ll see

he says is “about being entrenched

us stop talking about collocation and

in what each customer needs and

scale, and just talk about ‘the platform’.

truly supporting them on a global

building out a robust platform that can

“That shift is really dictating the direc-

basis. This is what directly drove our

tion of PlatformDIGITAL,” he adds. “You

recent announcement of expanding

don’t go to Hertz to rent a car for three

PlatformDIGITAL with Interxion, adding

years, you know? It’s economics. So, for

more value to our customers and deeper

us, it’s always about understanding a

reach into Europe and beyond. We have

customer’s requirements around sizing t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

147

D I G I TA L R E A LT Y

Digital Realty: PlatformDIGITAL CLICK TO WATCH

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0:59

148 so we can work on an environment

created in a centralised place, the

that lets them ‘land and expand’. The

proliferation of digital technologies,

other critical challenge enterprises

smartphones, cloud, mobile analyt-

face today beyond that blended set of

ics and more means it is now being

services, is really around what it means

created everywhere. That data must

to be open, so that they can get the full

still be aggregated in order to ana-

value from the broader landscape that

lyse, understand, and learn from it.

they need access to.”

When it collects, a growing number

The last major challenge in the shift

of services and applications use it —

to a global ecosystem is data gravity,

against this proliferation of devices,

which Sharp describes as fundamental

data gravity interacts. This can result

to successful enterprise infrastructure.

in data that is near impossible to

By 2025, it is estimated that 463 exabytes

move and, according to Digital Realty,

of data will be created daily worldwide.

“unfavourable complexity when factor-

And while that data was typically

ing business locations, proximity to

AUGUST 2020

users, regulatory constraints, compli-

a customer’s data – say they are look-

ance and data privacy.”

ing to carry out some data analytics

To grow globally, businesses must

and want to stand up an AI farm with

use the global open platform approach

several GPU processors, for example –

offered by Digital Realty to mitigate

which is a real game changer for many

the data gravity barriers created by

of those enterprises we’re working

digital transformation. “Some of the

with. They’re all trying to work with data

enterprises we work with aren’t fully

analytics, to use multi-hybrid cloud

aware of the issue, or that they should

architectures and our platform does

deploy in proximity to where all of this

that — when that data doesn’t have

data is burgeoning or being built, and

to travel far because the customer is

this is where PlatformDIGITAL brings

immersed right in it, that’s probably

huge value,” Sharp notes. “So, we can

the most optimal architecture that an

procure a cabinet in close proximity to

enterprise could hope to achieve.”

Solve data gravity challenges and scale digital business by implementing the PlatformDIGITAL solution model

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D I G I TA L R E A LT Y

CONTROL, CONNECT, OPTIMISE There is also a notable trend of enterprises looking to move away from running their own data centres and data locations, Sharp reveals. He explains that, in this context, solutions like PlatformDIGITAL enable those businesses to get ahead of the curve before their footprint is too difficult to move, adding that “we can expose the benefits of having that fit-for-purpose platform that’s heavily interconnected.

Believe me, I don’t run into any custom150

ers that tell me they want to continue building their own data centres.”

PlatformDIGITAL allows enterprises to leverage full interconnection capabilities across Digital Realty’s global ecosystem, including cloud service providers, partners, networks and customers, that will drive their business. According to the company, the core benefits of the platform revolve around three distinct opportunities: be in control, be connected, be optimised.

In the case of control, for example, standardising deployment and operations on a single platform simplifies infrastructure and reduces risk, while the greater connection of a global AUGUST 2020

platform improves business performance through participation in global digital ecosystems; it also shortens the time to connect with markets and other players in that ecosystem.

The platform tailors infrastructure deployments and controls matched to specific business requirements, irrespective of data centre size, scale, location configuration, or ecosystem configurations. In line with the scaling of modern, digital enterprises, it lets customers operate deployments as part of a seamless extension of any global infrastructure, says the company, thus enabling global, distributed workflows at centres of data exchange

“ Forget data lakes, we’re now talking about some of the largest data oceans ever created” — Chris Sharp, Chief Technology Officer, Executive Vice President and Service Innovation

to remove data gravity barriers.

CONNECTION AND SX FABRIC “To embark on a digital transformation, the first thing an enterprise needs is storage,” Sharp says. “They need their own data store, and that’s where the IP for a lot of our customers comes from, the ability to have that data store and run analytics against it. You’re no longer talking just about owning land, but the ability to deploy high power density infrastructure in close t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

151

D I G I TA L R E A LT Y

proximity to that data store once you

global exchange of data centre cloud

factor in things like AI. There’s not an

and connectivity solutions that enables

industry out there today that isn’t look-

interconnected global workflows, the

ing to up its data analytics capabilities

integration of cloud and B2B ecosys-

and it’s the proximity element that

tems with virtual interconnections,

PlatformDIGITAL enables in a very

and the ability to virtually connect

efficient way.”

clouds and digital ecosystems both

After storage, says Sharp, connec-

152

locally and globally. “It essentially lets

tivity is crucial. It is here that Digital

enterprises click and procure,” says

Realty’s Service Exchange (SX)

Sharp. “They’re afforded a portal within

Fabric on PlatformDIGITAL proves

which they can pick any one of the

crucial. SX Fabric, which is powered

150-plus cloud on-ramps from all of the

by Megaport’s multi-cloud and eco-

top cloud providers globally through

system connectivity, is an automated

SX - all without ever having to use an

AUGUST 2020

engineer, or even understanding the

and giving them as open a platform

level of complexity behind it.

as possible. We really like to invest

“The work that we collaborated on

in our partners, not to compete with

with Megaport on SX is really at the

them, and have those best-of-breed

highest level,” he continues. “It’s very

relationships that let us deliver the best

technically challenging to achieve

capabilities to our customers.”

because it revolves around the hybrid multi-cloud approach that a lot of

GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

enterprises are taking, wherein they

SX Fabric is just one aspect of the vast

need to establish a location to stand

PlatformDIGITAL capability roadmap.

up their private infrastructure and then

For example, the platform offers cover-

access multiple public clouds. From our

age from more than 265 Digital Realty

perspective, it was really about aligning

data centres in 20 countries and 44

our enterprise customers in the market

metropolitan areas. Connections are offered through physical and virtual cross-connects and includes more than 2,000 ecosystem participants — the company plans to extend this to more than 10,000 in the future.

More recently, the business has completed projects in Frankfurt, Dublin, and Tokyo, locations that Sharp describes as “hotbeds for enterprise customers trying to access revenue opportunities”. Take the new Clonshaugh data centre in Dublin, which forms part of an existing portfolio in the Irish capital. Ireland’s data centre economy is growing rapidly having already contributed 7.13bn euros t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

153

D I G I TA L R E A LT Y

154 to the nation’s overall economy in the

28MW; it offers solutions from Network

last decade. Digital Realty has invested

Hubs through to Data Hubs.

more than 200mn euros in Ireland

“With our size and our balance sheet,

to date, with the latest Clonshaugh

there’s rarely an opportunity in the

development designed to underpin the

market that we don’t see,” says Sharp.

importance of data-led technologies

“If there’s an asset that will trade or

to Dublin’s economy.

customer demand around an area

The company has also expanded

then we’ll spend a lot of time assess-

PlatformDIGITAL in Germany, purchas-

ing that prospect. We already have

ing 1.35 acres of land in Frankfurt to

one of the most robust platforms to

address increasing customer demand.

serve Europe with the recent expan-

The new campus, purpose built for

sion of the Interxion assets, we’re

those enterprises looking to exploit the

constantly watching for opportunities

opportunities that PlatformDIGITAL

in the Middle East and we also have an

provides, will add an additional 6MW

eye on some of the deeper elements

of power to the company’s existing

of the African market. It’s also worth

AUGUST 2020

155 noting that we’re always looking to go

trends we have discussed, as well as

deeper into existing markets. That’s

other emerging trends like the personi-

particularly the case in terms of new

fication of the data centre becoming

technologies, such as 5G or edge

a critical asset. Every industry and

computing, both of which will still

every customer out there, regardless

need efficient access back to the core

of size, will need to have a fundamental

infrastructure we have today.”

foundation like PlatformDIGITAL that

Those new technologies aside, Chris

allows them to increase in power den-

believes that the global ecosystem

sity, increase interconnection, increase

model enabled by PlatformDIGITAL

in square footage or footprint, and

will continue to dominate. “If you

increase in global presence.”

would’ve told me 15 years ago that I’d still be going to work in a data centre, I’d have found it hard to believe,” he states. “But what continues to draw me in is my passion for those secular t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

156

Interstitial Systems: flooring for data centre efficiency WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

AUGUST 2020

157

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

INTERSTITIAL SYSTEMS

William Collier, owner of Interstitial Systems, on what the company’s electromechanical raised floor distribution system offers data centres

I 158

nterstitial Systems is a manufacturer of multilevel electromechanical raised floor distribution systems for data centres.

William Collier is the company’s founder and owner, bringing his extensive 42 years’ of industry experience to the firm.

Collier emphasises both the simplicity of Interstitial Systems’ TIER E/A electromechanical raised floor distribution system offering, and the enormous impact it can have. “It’s remarkable that something as simple as dividing the underfloor horizontally into two levels for wires and air can have such a huge impact on the way a data centre is designed, serviced and maintained.” Traditionally, data centres have been built with conventional raised flooring or on concrete. “That’s basically the two options that are available,” says Collier.

“We’re the third option that nobody knows very much about – what we refer to as an electromechanical distribution system.”

AUGUST 2020

Pyramid floor structure design to meet seismic requirement

159

Remove unlimited number of floor panels without affecting structural integrity

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

INTERSTITIAL SYSTEMS

Interstitial Systems: Ventilation Effectiveness CLICK TO WATCH

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0:19

160

Compared to conventional flooring,

unit to escape. So if you open up four

Interstitial Systems’ approach comes

floor panels, all of the cabinets in that

with a host of benefits for data centres.

air handling unit’s zone downstream

“The beautiful part about our system is

from the opening are going to be

you can open up an unlimited number

starved of air. Because of our pres-

of floor panels for as long as you want

surised plenum, we’re able to distribute

and never lose air pressure.

This is untrue for a traditional raised floor. The

AUGUST 2020

air over a 200 foot area, meaning we can push air 200 feet across the room, whereas a typical raised floor air

opening created when

conditioning unit can do no more than

four floor panels are

30 to 35 feet at best. That allows us

removed permits all of

to reconfigure the design of a room to

the air produced by a

better optimise the space and improve

30 ton air conditioning

efficiency for the user.”

William Collier

“White space is gold and cabinets are diamonds” — William Collier, Owner, Interstitial Systems 161

“It is our belief that in data centres, white space is gold and cabinets are

space, I have a compelling story to tell.”

Another crucial element of the data

diamonds,” says Collier. Accordingly,

centre puzzle is uptime, with redun-

the company emphasises achieving

dancy therefore being critical. “What

maximum efficiency for its clients,

data centres typically look for is N+1

with clear examples of improvement.

redundancy. So for every four or five

“In a typical room, of around 10,000

air handlers, designers add another for

square feet, the owner’s plan was to

redundancy. But this does not provide

put in 418 cabinets. With Tier E/A, the

effective redundancy unless the extra

owner could put 512 cabinets in that

unit is adjacent to the unit that goes

room. That’s 22% or so more cabinets

down. We, on the other hand, build a

in the same space. Every one of those

central mechanical equipment room

cabinets increases revenue. So if I

and, by providing a mixing box, are

can put 94 more cabinets in the same

able to provide true N+1 redundancy t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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“One of our methodologies when doing business is that we work in a very lean and mean way,” says Collier. “We’ve been doing this for a long time and we’ve always believed in working to the best optimisation.” Consequently, the organisation chooses its partners carefully, such as TekClean. “They’re in the data centre cleaning business down in Atlanta. We teamed up with them a long time ago thanks to their good reputation. I need a rep that has responsibility, loyalty, is smart, savvy and just down to earth.

People that make good relationships and want to bring good things to their customers.”

AUGUST 2020

“ We’re the third option that nobody knows very much about – what we refer to as an electromechanical distribution system” — William Collier, Owner, Interstitial Systems

a terraced, raised floor for control and command centres. Thanks to our two-level approach, we can ensure consistent air distribution in that pressurised bottom plenum and allow for the rapid change, relocation and reconfiguration of power and structured cabling underneath the floor.”

Achieving high tech solutions doesn’t itself require anything too revolutionary for Interstitial Systems, instead it leverages technology smartly. “We’re obviously big users of AutoCAD because we typically receive a set of

for the entire room with a single extra

plans, where the client says: ‘this is the

air handler. This is because of the Tier

direction we’re going in, how would

E/A’s pressurised plenum’s superior

you optimise the facility using your sys-

air distribution capabilities. We’ve just

tem?’ Then there’s computational fluid

planned a project where the original

dynamics analysis - again not a new

design called for 32 air conditioning

technology - but when used correctly it

units. We redesigned the room and did

is a powerful tool to head off any short-

the same with 26 air conditioning units.

comings that might occur in a facility.”

Taking six air conditioning units out of

Like all businesses worldwide,

the equation for around $250,000 a

Interstitial Systems has not been

piece provides huge savings, and also

unaffected by the ongoing COVID-19

saves a great deal of energy.”

pandemic. ButCollier is an eternal

The company is continuing to

optimist believing that this challenge

develop its capabilities. “Something

will eventually result in a better world.

that we did with the trading pits for the

“I can’t tell you how many people I’ve

Chicago Mercantile Exchange is build

talked to in the last 90 days that have t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

163

INTERSTITIAL SYSTEMS

Generous Cable Cuts –no need for gaskets

164

“ It’s remarkable that something as simple as dividing the underfloor horizontally into two levels for wires and air can have such a huge impact” — William Collier, Owner, Interstitial Systems

AUGUST 2020

Power Wiring installed in Wireway

said: ‘Oh my God, I pick up an extra three hours a day not having to commute to the office.’ That’s found time.

That’s family time. That’s quality of lifetime. That’s exercise time. That’s all kinds of time that allows people to do things for themselves. And at the same time, it’s helping the planet because we’re not putting out all the emissions from commuting back and forth.”

As for Interstitial Systems’ future, Collier is confident it is treading the right path. “We’re going to keep plowing ahead, one job at a time. That’s what we’ve always done and that’s what we’ll always do. We want to bring the best value to our customers. Everything’s about relationships. You build networks, you find like-minded people. And when you find the people that appreciate what you do, you love doing work with them, you become a team. You become partners. You even build friendships.

That’s how we like to do business.”

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

165

166

AUGUST 2020

Guiding the next generation of process automation WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

BEN MALTBY 167

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

I S G A U T O M AT I O N

Wayne Butterfield, Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions at ISG, describes why automation is becoming a modern business necessity

F

ounded in 2006, Information Services Group (ISG) has established itself as a global leader in technological research and

advice. With a staff of over 1,300 experts working in 20 offices spread around the world, the company distinguishes itself with an innovative approach 168

based on industry insight, cutting-edge analysis and hands-on experience. ISG’s diverse range of 700 customers is a testament to the breadth of its knowledge - from privately-owned corporations to public institutions and tech providers, ISG has been able to foster positive results and take its clients to a new level of operational excellence.

Wayne Butterfield, Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions, reflects that the company’s focus made a big impression on him when he started there in 2016: “I joined ISG for the people, the strategic direction that they were interested in moving towards and because the automation space is of real interest to me.” Having previously worked for two of the top tech/telecoms companies in the sector - O2 and BT - Butterfield explains that the fantastic opportunities and AUGUST 2020

169

experiences that were afforded to him early on have gone on to influence his work with ISG. Learning various aspects of the industry, including online chat/chatbots, customer services, RPA (robotic process automation) and more, crystallised his experience and formed him into the tech advocate he is today. “It opened my eyes up to the role that technology can play in helping t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

I S G A U T O M AT I O N

businesses achieve their goals, cre-

staff of ex-practitioners and early adop-

ate business value and increase

ters means that clients can be assured

operational efficiencies.”

of its credentials as an innovator almost

Although it’s a valuable insight, it’s

170

immediately. “ISG is led by people, like

far from a unique one, which is why,

myself, who didn’t learn about automa-

Butterfield continues, ISG Automation

tion from a PowerPoint,” Butterfield

strives to differentiate itself from the

states, “as a really early adopter, I wrote

competition by harkening back to its

the PowerPoint.” When he started work-

roots as a sourcing company. “ISG has

ing with RPA 10 years ago, Butterfield

the leading market share in all advised

says that he was amongst the first

Sourcing deals globally. As a result, it

globally to explore its potential. His

has collated a significant amount of

work resulted in ISG’s concept of the

really useful data; it’s a very data driven

‘RPA Centre of Excellence’ based on

business now.” The importance of data

five key principles: defining team roles,

in an era where information is gold dust

establishing an RPA CoE Council,

cannot be overstated. Moreover, ISG’s

establishing effective governance,

recognition of automation’s value and its

managing organisational change and collaborating with IT. It’s a cogent level

C O M PA N Y FACT S

ISG’s ‘Bot 3.0’ study, which surveyed 321 QTP (qualified to participate) companies, found that only 7% of companies with a dedicated automation strategy included complex cognitive tasks

of expertise that few other companies can lay claim to. In fact, when asked what he considers the greatest achievement of ISG to date, Butterfield proudly says that the “long-standing repeat business [ISG] gets from multiple clients” is at the top of his list.

“RPA is a cornerstone of most organisations’ automation strategies at the moment,” says Butterfield. “It’s generally the technology that most people have started with and I would say that

AUGUST 2020

What Should I Automate?

CLICK TO WATCH

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2:22

171 it’s probably the most mature at the

journeys,” Butterfield explains. “Having

moment.” Governed by software which

the right conversations, from a change

emulates how humans manipulate digi-

management perspective, are what

tal systems, RPA can be revolutionary

will make a programme successful, not

for a company seeking to emancipate

whether you build a small number of

its workforce of mundane, repetitive

bots; this isn’t really a technology play,

functions so that they can focus on

but that seems to get lost in most mar-

more qualitative tasks. The potential

keting messages I read online.”

for RPA’s application makes it a diverse

ISG’s sophisticated understanding

subject and one which requires ISG’s

of RPA is impressive. However, given

level of knowledge to properly leverage.

the mercurial nature of the tech indus-

“The way we help our clients is based

try, the company had to push beyond

around discussing our experiences

traditional RPA and also consider other

and then using the methodologies that

developments in AI (artificial intel-

we’ve developed to help accelerate their

ligence) based automation. After all, in a t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

“ I joined ISG for the people and for the strategic direction that they were interested in going in, because the automation space is of real interest to me” — Wayne Butterfield, Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions, ISG

today could be disrupted tomorrow,” Butterfield explains. “Being two or three steps in front of your clients is really important. There’s definitely been a mindset change throughout the organisation that we’re no longer just an RPA practice; we’re an automation practice and we need to make use of different technologies.” Therefore, ISG started engaging in next generation technologies like NLP (natural language

sector where innovation is a key compo-

processing), OCR (optical character

nent, staying ahead of industry trends

recognition), Virtual Agents and chat-

is essential. “We’re living in a world

bots all the way back in 2017. Whilst

where what is seen as state-of-the-art

RPA enables automation of the ‘hand

ISG Helps Banks Harness the Power of Automation CLICK TO WATCH

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3:05

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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I S G A U T O M AT I O N

The Rise of Artificial Intelligence CLICK TO WATCH

|

42:26

174 work’, these other technologies repre-

as one further example of an automa-

sent a step forwards in achieving the

tion area of interest: conversational AI

same thing for much more complicated

continues to improve, meaning only the

‘head work’. ISG’s recent ‘Bot 3.0’ study

longer or more complex conversations

surveyed 321 QTP (qualified to partici-

will still require agents to handle them.

pate) companies found that only 7% of

“Unfortunately for agents, they still have

companies with a dedicated automation

the pressure of an average handling

strategy included complex cognitive

time (AHT) target on the residual con-

tasks, meaning there is still plenty of

tacts,” he states. “It will then be Assisted

room for development in this field.

Automation (vs RPA) that will further

RPA has delivered a large number

enable swifter contact resolution:

of benefits to organisations who have

quickly retrieving customer data and

implemented it correctly, but it is not

presenting it to the advisor within sec-

a panacea for all areas of business.

onds, ensuring compliance scripts are

Butterfield notes the Contact Centre

read whilst completing arduous manual

AUGUST 2020

tasks in the background and even

company could substitute human work-

adding notes for completed actions.”

forces with relative ease, the truly global

Butterfield posits that this kind of auto-

impact of COVID-19 has highlighted

mation for advisors will be imperative

for many enterprises the necessity of

for more complex enquiries, effectively

maintaining a good human-robot mix to

utilising the best of both human and

ensure business continuity. “I think from

machine intelligence in a way which

an automation perspective, it has really

delivers optimal customer outcomes.

heightened the need for the (nonhu-

This use of multiple technologies, rather

man) digital workforce to be a core part

than a ‘silver bullet’ is where we are see-

of just about every organisation’s strat-

ing increased traction in the market.

egy moving forward,” states Butterfield.

It could be argued that the need for

The other effects of the pandemic on

ever-increasing levels of automation has

ISG in particular have been maintain-

never been made clearer than by the

ing compliance and regulation within a

socio-economic effects of the COVID-

new paradigm of remote working. “It’s

19 pandemic. Whereas previously a

extremely difficult to manage when

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

Wayne Butterfield Title: Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions Industry: Technology research and advisory Wayne is an automation pioneer, thought leader and practitioner based in the UK. He heads up the AI & Cognitive Automation Practice for ISG globally and is responsible for all cognitive automation engagements in ISG, assisting its clients to make the move from basic RPA into the realm of AI Automation and beyond. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

175

Messaging Will Never Be The Same Contact centers are evolving.

Virtual and human agents now work together to create superior messaging experiences.

Change the conversation.

You’ll satisfy more customers. www.247.ai

“ We’re living in a world where what is seen as state-of-the-art today could be disrupted tomorrow” — Wayne Butterfield, Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions, ISG

security regulations, NICE is comprised of individuals with a sincere dedication to helping others and achieving the best outcomes for clients.

Founded in 1986 in Israel and currently employing over 6,500 people, the company has established a storied legacy in the software industry. Oded Karev joined NICE in 2012 as Director of Strategy before working his way up to General Manager of Advanced

you’ve got 2,000 agents working from

Robotics Process Automation (RPA) in

2,000 separate locations, predomi-

2016. “All of our focus is around digital

nantly from their home, and that’s not to

transformation,” he explains. “That is,

even start thinking about the bandwidth

everything around managing, optimis-

challenges and the connectivity issues,”

ing and improving the workforce of

he continues. Therefore, working very

customer service operations.”

closely with partners to find solutions to

Reflecting on how the industry

these problems will remain high prior-

has changed since the start of his

ity for ISG in the short-term. Looking

career, Karev says that the meaning of

for partners that will help it investigate

‘digital transformation’ has undergone

specific issues and highlight the right

something of a change itself in recent

solutions plays into ISG’s culture as an

years. Whereas once automation was

organisation of problem solvers at heart.

about removing the human element in

Two collaborators who have helped it

favour of customers interacting solely

attain this result are NICE and [24]7.ai.

with a machine, now it is a far more

Providing customers with the exper-

harmonious synergy between human

tise to increase operational efficiency,

and artificial intelligence (AI). “The old

stay financially protected and ensure

methodology had a great impact on the

their business is fully compliant with

bottom line because you saved a lot t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

177

I S G A U T O M AT I O N

of service costs, but it had a negative effect on the top line: more attrition, less loyalty, less upselling, etc.” With customer-centrism now permeating business philosophy, NICE is at the forefront of software solutions which enable efficiency without compromising the ‘personal touch’ of human-to-human interaction. Having become accustomed to highly efficient online service models pioneered by companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Uber and others, consumers now expect their 178

legacy service providers to give them a comparable digital experience.

After all, automation, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, is gaining in popularity as a practical solution to service restrictions. However, far from believing that the virus instigated this change, Karev affirms that “COVID just accelerated everything.” ISG distinguished itself as being one of the first companies to truly understand NICE’s concept of ‘attended automation’ (a term coined by Karev) and how it could accelerate digital transformation. “The RPA market is built on partnerships between vendors and consulting companies and AUGUST 2020

179

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

Oded Karev Title: General Manager of Advanced Robotics Process Automation, NICE Educated at Bar-Ilan University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Oded Karev joined NICE in 2012 as Director of Strategy before working his way up to General Manager of Advanced Robotics Process Automation (RPA) in 2016. A long-standing expert in his field, Karev has almost two decades of strategy consulting experience, including roles at Accenture. Today, his daily role involves focusing on digital transformation and managing, optimising and improving customer service operations. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

I S G A U T O M AT I O N

N I C E ’S N EVA PRO DU CT

Of particular note is NICE’s NEVA product – a virtual assistant designed specifically with customer service staff in mind, able to help them both online and offline functions. The utility of NEVA was underscored and put to the test when ISG observed customer service agents experience increased call volumes as a result of complications caused by COVID-19.

The liberty afforded to them by NICE’s software meant that this spike in activity could be more effectively managed. “If you’re spending less end-to-end time dealing with a customer, that increases your ability to absorb more contacts,” he continues.

“For me, NEVA is a real business value driver and a key enabler.

It’s always great to see the appreciation NICE’s technology gets from my clients.”

180 service providers. Sometimes, we’ve

on a journey to embed AI into our robots

found it difficult to educate partners

and bring further product differentia-

on attended automation’s benefits, but

tion and more capabilities. The smarter

ISG got on the bandwagon immedi-

our products are, the more value ISG

ately.” Furthermore, Karev believes the

can bring to its end customers. This is

company’s partnership with ISG will

something that NICE intends to con-

become more strategic and visible as

tinue partnering with ISG on.”

their relationship develops.

Already thoroughly intertwined with

Meanwhile, [24]7.ai is dedicated to creating a seamless and thoroughly

each other’s goals, Karev even states

customisable customer service experi-

that by helping ISG he has come to

ence. Founded in 2000, the company

regard its customers as his own. “ISG

began gaining traction in India as a

is a company that is highly committed

business process outsourcer, before

to its customers and the success of its

expanding into other areas in Asia,

projects,” he summarises. “We’ve been

South America and the US. Now,

AUGUST 2020

181 serving some of largest enterprise cli-

of experience in sales and marketing

ents currently in the global market, [24]7.

operations, states that the company is

ai combines the best of both human and

ushering in a new phase of customer

artificial intelligence (AI) by synthesising

service. “What we’re doing at [24]7.ai

workers with automated assistants to

is exciting because we’re bringing 20

handle simple tasks and leaving more

years of experience across the Atlantic

complex problems to be dealt with

to Europe and applying it to this space;

by a person. Moreover, during a more

it’s an exciting time for a vibrant, new

complex call, the AI can also automate

approach,” he says.

certain aspects of the enquiry, thus

This new approach couldn’t have

speeding up the overall solution and

come at a better time: with new technol-

enabling high-volumes of calls to be

ogy presenting both advantages and

dealt with a quality response.

challenges to those exploring how best

Tim Johnson, Managing Director of [24]7.ai EMEA, who has a wealth

to utilise it, [24]7.ai is pioneering the perspective that an intelligent fusion t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

I S G A U T O M AT I O N

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

Tim Johnson Title: Managing Director of EMEA, [24]7.ai Currently MD of [24]7.ai EMEA, Johnson was formerly a member of the Royal Navy, serving as an engineering officer. Following this first brush with leadership duties, he went on to become a professional sailor, where he worked across the Americas teaching people to sail. It was 20 years ago, upon his return to the UK, when he finally made the transition to sales and marketing operation, working in roles within telecoms, SaaS (software as a service), HR, payroll, and customer experience. Johnson is now focused on bringing process standards from the US over to Europe in order to create a vibrant and new approach.

AUGUST 2020

183 of human and automated capabilities

its understanding of technology and

will yield the best results. “Very often,

its ability to differentiate between the

organisations have different divisions

truly valuable and the mundane.” Citing

looking after various channels. The

true partnership as critical, he adds that

effect is that customers end up with a

ISG helps to guide [24]7.ai through its

very mixed experience. Our company is

thought leadership and understanding

all about understanding your custom-

of vendors, which, in turn, allows the

er’s journey, making sure it’s as smooth

company to create added value for its

as possible and dealt with in the best

customers. “ISG has brought us valu-

way possible,” he continues.

able experience with robotic process

Recognising a shared goal in the

automation (RPA), which is very impor-

quest to optimise automation, Johnson

tant for us in terms of optimising how an

comments that [24]7.ai’s partnership

organisation operates.”

with ISG has been transformative. “ISG is a key partner of ours: we appreciate

When considering what key trends or technologies will continue to t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

I S G A U T O M AT I O N

shape the two companies’ relationship, Johnson refers to the ‘new normal’ or post-COVID-19 working conditions that businesses around the world are adapting to. “Some of what we’ve learned together is now being delivered to our customers around how to make remote working safe and secure for everyone,” he says. “We need to work with partners like ISG because it helps organisations to make the change towards omnichannel customer service and 184

the message we’ve been discussing: human intelligence and artificial intelligence working together.”

“ There is no one solution which is the panacea for automating large chunks of a business. Making sure that you’re choosing a trusted advisor will be extremely crucial and ISG is the right partner to guide that journey” — Wayne Butterfield, Global Head of Intelligent Automation Solutions, ISG AUGUST 2020

As a team of problem solvers, ISG has achieved commendably. Having said that, since technology never stops changing, problems needing to be solved won’t either and so the company’s focus must always be on the future.

Despite the increasing sophistication of automation, Butterfield is confident that ISG Automation’s reputation and expertise will guide it successfully.

“Understanding the nuances between the various different technologies has always been an area which ISG really

2006

Year ISG was founded

$300mn+ ISG’s revenue in US dollars

1,300

Number of employees at ISG

excels in,” he states. “We understand

is the panacea for automating large

the complex and are able to explain

chunks of a business. Making sure that

it in simple terms. That’s what really

you’re choosing a trusted advisor will

resonates with our clients: who wants

be extremely crucial and ISG is the right

to be baffled by technology?” For the

partner to guide that journey.”

rest of 2020 and beyond, ISG will be focusing on helping its clients progress to a new generation of automation and promoting the seamless, sustainable benefits it can bestow. “The spectrum of automation technologies available, I think, is very important,” Butterfield concludes. “There is no one solution which t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

185

186

DELIVERING MISSION-CRITICAL DATA CENTRE INNOVATION WRITTEN BY

MATT HIGH PRODUCED BY

LEWIS VAUGHAN

AUGUST 2020

187

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

B A S E FA R M

PETTER M. TOMMERAAS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT DATA CENTER SERVICES AT BASEFARM, DISCUSSES DELIVERING MISSION-CRITICAL DATA SERVICES THAT ENABLE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

P

etter M. Tommeraas recounts his first experience with a data centre as “walking down a hallway in an office building, back in

1998, and coming across several servers outside a 188

single room off that hallway. Those servers and that room were the data centre. And that was a solution being delivered by one of Norway’s main data centre providers to a large, national customer.”

To say that the data centre industry has transformed in the 20 years or so that Tommeraas has been operational in it is something of an understatement. Currently Senior Vice President Data Center Services at Basefarm, a managed service provider that delivers services based on both public and private cloud services and manages its own data centres, Tommeraas has a unique view of an industry at the heart of global digital transformation.

“The pace of change has been tremendous,” he notes. “Naturally, that change has been facilitated by technology, but it runs much deeper than that the overall quality, the level of security provided and AUGUST 2020

189

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

B A S E FA R M

“ THE OVERALL QUALITY, THE LEVEL OF SECURITY PROVIDED AND THE ENTIRE PHILOSOPHY AROUND WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR DATA AND YOUR DATA CENTRE IS SO MUCH MORE MATURE” — Petter M. Tommeraas, Senior Vice President Data Center Services, Basefarm

the entire philosophy around what you do with your data and your data centre is so much more mature. That’s particularly the case for companies such as Basefarm that provide mission-critical services to customers. The broader pace of digital transformation has driven data centre growth in particular.

From our perspective, there’s been a real shift in companies moving away from doing everything, and most of it well, to using digital technologies and tools to focus on honing their USPs

190

and placing effort into the most important or core things. It means that the rest of those services - in this instance how to manage data - are sourced from other specialist companies.”

Basefarm is one such company.

Founded in 2000, it is today part of the Orange Group, and offers a suite of mission-critical IT services that covers Big Data, cloud, and managed, security and professional services. Tommeraas is responsible for operations related to data centres. “I have two main responsibilities,” he says. “I deliver colocation to customers that want to mainly take care of their own operations but are looking for a service due to reasons AUGUST 2020

Why choose Basefarm’s data centers in Norway?

CLICK TO WATCH

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2:12

191 such as regulation or an added com-

Tommeraas says that there are sev-

plexity. Alongside that, I take care of

eral reasons why colocation is an

and deliver all the data centre service

increasingly attractive choice: “Often,

to support the other areas in Basefarm,

it’s for customers that need the

such as managed services, cloud solu-

added layer of operational stability

tions and the rest of the portfolio.”

and security that they can’t get from

Digital transformation has changed

managing the operations themselves,

all organisations over the last decade

for example,” he explains. “Other

or more. In particular, companies are

examples could be a public customer

faced with increasing volumes of data

that needs an added level of privacy

to manage. Despite this, the design,

or has very specific needs around

build and operation of purpose-built

who can access their data, or even

data centres is becoming a less

a competitor services company.

common route to the cloud, with many choosing a colocation service.

“The biggest difference between Basefarm and other colocation t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

B A S E FA R M

192

providers is that we have the entire

Basefarm calls this total service

portfolio within our businesses,” he

‘idea to cable’, an integrated package of

continues. “So, while we have many

the key competencies for digital trans-

customers that need to use our

formation including Big Data, cloud

colocation services as they progress

computing and information security.

through their project or migration,

This allows Basefarm to provide stra-

they regularly use our additional

tegic advice, implementation projects

offerings, such as our advisory

and infrastructure operations under

services or specific knowledge in

one management and on any cloud. It

associated areas. I’m confident in

is, Tommeraas concedes, a service

saying that we can offer a total solu-

capability further enhanced by the

tion that few other colocation data

company’s belonging to the Orange

centre providers are able to in terms

Group. “We became part of the Group

of delivery and competence.”

in 2018, and the advantages of that

AUGUST 2020

include belonging to one of the biggest

says: “Our customer teams are very

networks in the world. It allows us to

proactive and work with every client,

deliver network services around the

to the extent that we insert our people

globe in one of the top five networks

into the organisation and ensure that

and has certainly broadened the port-

they work alongside the customer’s

folio we’re able to offer our customers.”

delivery team. Public cloud is an area

Elaborating on the scope of the company’s portfolio, Tommeraas

that is growing very rapidly and we have a very broad suite of deliverables

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

Petter M. Tømmeraas Title: Senior Vice President Data Center Services Company: Basefarm Petter M. Tømmeraas is Senior Vice President for Data Center Services in Basefarm. He has more than 20 years of experience within data centers, IT and telecommunications. After working for an American software and hardware vendor in the mid-90s, he started working in EUnet in the first half of 1998 and was part of the KPNQwest team that built a pan-European fibre network and a number of data centers all over Europe. In the years after, he worked within the companies that developed from the old EUnet and KPNQwest organisations mainly focusing on data center services, telecommunication services and managed services. In 2009 Tømmeraas helped set up a company to deliver data center services and managed services, mainly to the Norwegian market. The company was sold to Swedish publicly listed company Phonera.

He then joined Norwegian data center company Green Mountain as the Chief Sales Officer of the company.

In early 2018 Tømmeraas joined Basefarm as Senior Vice President Data Center Services. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

193

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“ THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BASEFARM AND OTHER COLOCATION PROVIDERS IS THAT WE HAVE THE ENTIRE PORTFOLIO WITHIN OUR BUSINESSES” — Petter M. Tommeraas, Senior Vice President Data Center Services, Basefarm

it requires a different approach. That kind of scenario means that providers like us also have to work far more closely with our customers - we’ve even been forced to change ourselves in response to that direction.”

For Basefarm, Tommeraas explains that digital transformation has meant a rapid shift technology-wise, first from on-premise data centres, to the public and - looking ahead - a hybrid model.

“The future is hybrid,” he explains. “It

in this area. The biggest challenge is

won’t be feasible to use the public

often communicating to the client the

cloud or data centres alone, but rather

specific solution or group of solutions

a combination of several innovative

that they need, which is why we work

technologies and solutions in a hybrid

so closely with them to ensure they’re

model. The key challenge in that from

getting the best of breed in every area.”

our perspective is ensuring that all of

Elaborating on this point,

those technologies work well together.

Tommeraas states that digital transfor-

There’s not many providers out there

mation and the migration to the cloud

that can do that at the moment and it’ll

means businesses have to change their

be a crucial differentiator for Basefarm,

traditional operating focus. “It used to

and Orange Group, moving forwards.”

be very much focused on big projects

Understandably, to provide such a

every couple of years, which required

level of service requires that Basefarm

a larger step-change,” he states. “It’s

works with several leading technol-

not like that anymore. Organisations

ogy providers, including AWS. The

are faced with constant change or

company is currently Norway’s first

evolution, with a continuous flow of

AWS managed service provider, a cer-

projects to manage and learn from, so

tification that enables it to offer greater t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

195

B A S E FA R M

“ WE CAN OFFER A TOTAL SOLUTION THAT FEW OTHER COLOCATION DATA CENTRE PROVIDERS ARE ABLE TO IN TERMS OF DELIVERY AND COMPETENCE” — Petter M. Tommeraas, Senior Vice President Data Center Services, Basefarm

196

AUGUST 2020

expertise in cloud infrastructure and application migration. “As well as AWS, we have several big partnerships,” says Tommeraas. “For example, we’re certified by Microsoft for a lot of our work on public cloud, and we also have long standing relationships with companies such as HPE, Lenovo, VMWare and Dell. Each of these is really about the partnership for us more than just the delivery. We want to work very closely with each of our partners to put bestin-class products to the market, it’s beneficial to us and our customers.”

Technology aside, sustainability is a key driver of data centre innovation, not least due to the significant amount of energy consumed by such sites. It is here that Basefarm has a distinct advantage in its Norwegian location. “We’ve carried out a lot of analysis over where the industry may go over the coming years, and for us, Norway is the obvious choice. It offers low-cost power and 100% renewable energy, which is really important for us and our customers’ environment strategies. Obviously, it’s also easier to cool data centres in our climate as opposed to other locations, but there t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

197

B A S E FA R M

198

“ PUBLIC CLOUD IS AN AREA THAT IS GROWING VERY RAPIDLY AND WE HAVE A VERY BROAD SUITE OF DELIVERABLES IN THIS AREA” — Petter M. Tommeraas, Senior Vice President Data Center Services, Basefarm

are also other, more practical reasons.

In Europe, 80% of the market is in Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, and each of those locations is getting pretty crowded.

“I see two distinct trends. On the colocation side, there’s a lot more international interest in putting data centres in Norway,” he continues. “But through Orange we’re also moving into a number of other markets such as the UK, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Belgium for example. In that sense, the

AUGUST 2020

2000

Year founded

€135mn+ Revenue in Euros

766

Number of employees

future outlook is definitely more of a

is getting fiercer. We’re in a very good

pan-European project, with us also

place, but you have to be mindful that

eyeing work in the US and Far East for

to survive and prosper you need to be

a number of clients.”

offering true best of breed solutions

More broadly around future developments, Tommeraas notes several

that take into account the increased value of data to all organisations.”

trends around the technology side of data centres. “Density is increasing,” he states, “so putting greater levels of power into smaller sizes - that totally changes the way you have to think and build in terms of cooling and so on. More generally, the competition t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

199

200

Understanding and resolving customer challenges WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

BEN MALTBY

AUGUST 2020

201

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

PA N A S O N I C

Three executives at Panasonic provide their insight into how the company builds, maintains and expands its customer relationships using technology

N

ow in its 102nd year, Panasonic has transformed itself from a small electronics manufacturer making components

including lightbulb sockets in Osaka, Japan into one of the world’s most successful consumer electronics corporations and provider of B2B 202

technology solutions. Although technological innovation and sophistication have been a crucial part of that journey, it is likely that Panasonic’s success would have taken a different form were it not for its equal dedication to customer-centric operations and engaged problem-solving. To learn more about how the company continues to exceed expectations by understanding, anticipating and resolving the challenges faced by its customers, we spoke with John Harris, GM for European Tech Strategy at Panasonic Toughbook, Ian Woozley, Head of Supply Chain Solutions UK&I and France at Panasonic Business, and Jonathan Tucker, GM for Solutions and Engineering at Panasonic and GM for Solutions Development and Implementation at Panasonic Toughbook and Toughpad.

AUGUST 2020

203

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

PA N A S O N I C

“ We’re very much an engineering company,” — Jonathan Tucker, GM – Solutions & Engineering, Panasonic

what it creates. “We’re very much an engineering company,” adds Tucker.

“Our position as a historically wellknown brand has been solidified by our consumer goods items, TVs, and DVD players.” However, not satisfied with merely enjoying the rich legacy that it has accumulated, Panasonic continues to keep its sights fixed firmly on

When considering the recurring

204

the future: circa 6% of its global turno-

patterns which are driving the com-

ver is reinvested in R&D (research

pany’s success, Harris summarises

and development), an approach which

it succinctly: “It’s always been about

has netted the company substantial

solving problems or solving a need

acclaim from consumers and a robust

with innovative products.” Indeed, the

portfolio of over 15,000 products.

company’s daily ethos is to contribute

Despite this impressive range,

value to customer’s lives through

Tucker clarifies that the company, first and foremost, values its employees and clientele above all. “What I love about the organisation is the degree of autonomy we’re given to go and try something new. It’s very much

AUGUST 2020

Panasonic Toughbook Rebuilding Together CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:38

205 a people before products attitude.”

the quality of Panasonic’s work. “Our

It is because of this that Panasonic

focus now is to replicate the success

positions itself as a problem-solver,

that we’ve built in Japan and bring it to

which subsequently means that it

the Western world,” says Woozley.

keeps abreast of the latest industry

Underpinning this desire for greater

challenges and stays relevant to

brand expansion is ‘Gemba process

customers. Furthermore, rather than

innovation’, a cultural transforma-

simply finding surface-level worka-

tion strategy being driven by Japan.

rounds, the company develops holistic

Originating from the Japanese word

solutions that incorporate hardware,

‘Gemba’ meaning ‘where it happens’

software and aftercare to ensure

or ‘the actual place’, Gemba process

long-term value. It develops these

innovation is a management phi-

solutions shoulder-to-shoulder with

losophy which induces thought on the

the client themselves, building strong,

optimal method for innovating and

durable relationships which recognise

streamlining an aspect of business t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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“ Our goal is to bridge the physical and digital worlds using our technology and provide the know-how to become a trusted technology partner delivering value” — Ian Woozley, Head of Supply Chain Solutions, Panasonic

according to three core strengths: 1) More than a century of experience within the manufacturing sector;

in an environment of rapidly changing

2) A portfolio of differentiated tech-

conditions and customer requirements.

nology, including robotics, image

“Enhancing our world by providing

processing, sensors and more; and

ever greater convenience is a major

3) A storied reputation of trust within

challenge for people at any enterprise.

the business community: B2B repre-

Fundamental solutions to complex

sents a large proportion of company

issues require process innovation

sales and its clientele extends

where things get made or distributed.

across several industry segments.

Our unique insight allows us to

Summarising the programme, Woozley

propose and enact comprehensive

adds, “Gemba process innovation

gemba-focused solutions that address

is about focusing on the job at hand,

today’s changing value network. By

knowing what the client’s trying to do

proactively bringing about innovation

and bringing the experience which

within our customers’ gemba opera-

Panasonic has accumulated over the

tions, we are helping to ensure a better

last 100 years to help them get there.”

life, a better world,” says Woozley.

“Our goal is to bridge the physical and digital worlds using our technology and provide the know-how to become a trusted technology partner.” The company positions itself in this space t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

207

PA N A S O N I C

Introducing the TOUGHBOOK 55 CLICK TO WATCH

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2:38

208 One example of this process in

to 25 years ago you would look at

action within Panasonic itself is

older generation technology and

its Toughbook product. Originally

put it in a hard shell. Things are a little

introduced in 1996 with the CF-25

bit different nowadays: you’ve got to

model and still popular to the pre-

be very aware of the user’s expecta-

sent day through various iterations,

tions.” Indeed, the company has kept

Toughbook is a rugged laptop aimed

on top of developing tech trends for

at workers in the field who operate

customers by scoring some ‘industry

within industrial sectors, such as

firsts’ in its Toughbook line, includ-

construction, oil and gas or utilities.

ing the first mobile computer with

Although a product which has stood

Bluetooth capabilities (CF-M34), the

the test of time, Harris emphasises

first rugged tablet concept (CF-07)

that this doesn’t mean Panasonic’s

and the first rugged personal digital

strategy hasn’t needed to still remain

assistant (CF-P1). Over time, the

flexible. “It used to be a case that 20

Toughbook line has also included

AUGUST 2020

rugged smartphone designs (FZ-X1

evolved into other types of solutions.

and FZ-E1), the Toughpad (JT-B1)

But that innovation is why we’ve led

and many others. “We had to cre-

the market.”

ate agile, mobile working solutions

Panasonic’s Toughbook product

for engineers so they wouldn’t have

displays its ethos of making technol-

to go to a depot every day to pick

ogy which is durable, easy to use

up paperwork; they now have the

and tailored specifically to the peo-

convenience to start work from their

ple who use it. “It’s a tool like any

house,” Tucker says. “Some of those

other,” continues Tucker. “It’s like

models have taken off slowly and

a spanner or a screwdriver; it’s the

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

John Harris Title: Global R&D Director

209 Company: Panasonic TOUGHBOOK

Industry: Computer Hardware Location: United Kingdom John’s first field IT project commenced with six elevator engineers in 1996, since then he has been involved in the successful delivery of multimillion pound, complex field IT Projects to thousands of field workers for customers such as British Telecom, British Gas, ENEL, Daimler, EasyJet and Airbus. Working with everything from PDA’s to Tablets, GPS to RFID and Bluetooth to Zigbee, John’s expertise is in the innovative and realistic way to apply technology to reduce costs and improve productivity, creating real business benefit.

John has a Masters Degree in Data Communications from Kingston University and is currently responsible for the global R&D effort specifically looking at how technology can solve real world problems and add value to our customers business. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

PA N A S O N I C

210

1918

Year founded

Â¥8trn+ Revenue in yen

270,000 Number of employees

AUGUST 2020

“ For me, the story of digital transformation really starts with the customer” — John Harris, GM – Euro Tech Strategy, Panasonic

211

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

PA N A S O N I C

212

tool that our customers use to get

of corporate transformation either. “I

the information they require to do

think COVID-19 has pulled our digitali-

their jobs, to be more productive and

sation plans forward, particularly with

more efficient.” Panasonic’s approach

video con-ferencing and remote work-

could be summarised, then, as creat-

ing.” For a company which prides itself

ing tech products with the utility and

on face-to-face interaction with cus-

reliability of a hammer. It’s a refresh-

tomers, the ‘new normal’ changes this

ingly straightforward approach to

dynamic but doesn’t fundamentally

digital transformation, focusing on

alter how it wants to do business.

what is useful for the customer and

“Panasonic’s goal is to provide the right

disregarding aspects which do not

tools to the right people at the right

contribute towards this goal. However,

time.” Harris adds to this point, saying:

Woozley clarifies, this isn’t to say that

“For me, the story of digital transforma-

Panasonic has been sluggish in terms

tion really starts with the customer.”

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

Ian Woozley Title: Head of Supply Chain Solutions Company: Panasonic Industry: Computer Hardware Location: United Kingdom Ian Woozley is Panasonic’s Head of Supply Chain Solutions for the UK, Ireland and France. He is responsible for business development in these countries, with a mission to help customers in retail, logistics and manufacturing transform their operational efficiency at scale and realise business success. Prior to his current role, Ian was responsible for driving Panasonic’s solution roadmap in Europe, working closely with Panasonic R&D to ensure the Company’s offer fits with the key strategic priorities of its customers. Ian has been in similar roles in Panasonic for eight years, driving key account development, partnerships and innovation in North America and globally from Japan before his current European role.

AUGUST 2020

213 D I D YO U K N OW?

Lind Electronics – a quality supplier One of Panasonic’s core partner companies, Lind Electronics is a leading provider of rugged mobile power solutions with a reputation for innovation, reliability and durability.

Supplying Panasonic with car chargers, Lind is recognised as an important contributor to the company’s ecosystem.

“We’ve worked together for several years; Lind is a major

partner and is the only company we use around car charging,” states Tucker.

“Its product is really important to Panasonic.” Woozley adds.

“We have an open and honest working relationship with Lind and we’ve overcome a lot of challenges together.

Lind is a quality supplier and by far the number one in its field in our estimations.”

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

PA N A S O N I C

215 This is where a wider series of strategic collaborations and acquisitions with other entities such as Zetes, wholly owned by Panasonic, and Blue Yonder, in which Panasonic holds a 20% stake, play a key role: providing digital transformation solutions to customers across their supply chain. Asking questions and interacting with other entities keeps Panasonic at the forefront of evolving customer needs: “We’re always thinking ‘how do we digitalise that process?’ or ‘how do we take something that would have traditionally been manual and challenging and make it smart and

“ Some of those models have taken off slowly and evolved into other types of solutions. But that innovation is why we’ve led the market” — Jonathan Tucker, GM – Solutions & Engineering, Panasonic t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

PA N A S O N I C

easier?’” Woozley states. “It’s a journey that we’re constantly embarking on, working out what data can be made actionable.” This has also led the company to explore applications for technology like thermal and depth measurement cameras, something which Tucker says marries closely with the Gemba programme. “We’ve got a number of large organisations trialling this equipment. Over the next 12 to 24 months, we’ll take the collected 216

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

Jonathan Tucker Title: GM – Solutions & Engineering

Company: Panasonic

Industry: Computer Hardware Location: United Kingdom During his 20+ years with Panasonic, Jon has gained extensive experience working as the technical lead in the deployment of mobile technology solutions with some of Panasonic Toughbook’s largest customers, including British Gas, BT, Iveco and Ford. With a software engineering graduate background, Jon has held a variety of engineering, operational, service management and product marketing positions with Panasonic. He now is responsible for Engineering, Solutions, Quality & Product Marketing and loves everything Toughbook and Technology. Jon loves to watch sports in his spare time, especially with his son playing junior rugby and football, and enjoys travelling.

AUGUST 2020

data and then present it in an intelligi-

to see past the mere novelty of new

ble way which will help people increase

technology and instead focus on

their productivity and efficiency.”

its customer-centric application

Trends such as automation can

which distinguishes Panasonic from

similarly unlock pathways to business

competitors in the field and will continue

optimisation, but Woozley makes it

to shape its approach going forward.

clear that the most effective automa-

“We want to understand what the chal-

tion shouldn’t sacrifice the human

lenges customers are experiencing

touch. “A lot of what Panasonic is

and use our insights to solve them.

exploring is based on partial automa-

It’s about finding those tension points

tion and the retention of workers.

and then actioning them before they

Full automation isn’t necessary,

become pain points,” Harris concludes.

although it can be done; we consider partial automation more than adequate to improve workspaces and create a more efficient business in many circumstances.” It is this ability t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

217

218

Eliminating waste through recycling and technology WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

AUGUST 2020

219

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

TERRACYCLE

Béla Domokos, CIO of TerraCycle, discusses the importance of an agile tech infrastructure in order to fulfil the company’s goal of a circular economy

A

side from COVID-19, sustainability is arguably one of the foremost business challenges being grappled with across

industry segments. Founded in 2001, TerraCycle was established to deal with a singular problem in a focused way: the elimination of the world’s 220

waste. Now operating in 21 countries around the world, the company offers a range of simple platforms to facilitate recycling and lead the global shift towards a more eco-friendly incarnation of the customer’s shopping experience, with particular attention paid to the removal of single-use packaging. As global enterprise reorients itself in order to meet the ‘green’ expectations of modern consumers, TerraCycle will play an important role in transforming inefficient linear systems to fully circular economies.

Speaking to us from an office building decorated in colourfully upcycled materials – old vinyl records arranged as hanging decorations, coats and old maps forming pictures on the walls – Béla Domokos, Chief Information Officer (CIO), makes

AUGUST 2020

221

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

TERRACYCLE

“ Every person at TerraCycle, no matter where they are on the ladder, has the chance to make an impact” — Béla Domokos, CIO, TerraCycle

where they are on the ladder, has the chance to make an impact. In other companies that’s often not a possibil-

222

it immediately clear that TerraCycle

ity.” He goes on to say that corporate

practices what it preaches. Coming

flexibility and the spirit of recognising

from a diverse background of experi-

those who demonstrate the capability

ence, including roles at GE Digital and

for innovation is something he actively

ALDI, Domokos states that, from a

encourages in his leadership: “The

technological standpoint, his progres-

idea of meritocracy and people being

sion to TerraCycle was in recognition

evaluated based purely on the quality

that it was a company within which he

of their work and not necessarily the

could make a significant difference.

time that they spend on it, I think,

“I felt that, because of its structure,

is getting more attention and is more

every person at TerraCycle, no matter

relevant than ever.”

This refocus on leadership became even more important when Domokos took on the CIO role in late 2018 and sought to enhance its scope across TerraCycle’s operations. Recognising

AUGUST 2020

What are the future goals for Terracycle?

CLICK TO WATCH

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4:33

223 THAT systems and processes are

on its portfolio, the company has

constantly changing and evolving

gone on to strike more favourable

in the IT world, he set about making

deals than ever before. Part of the

the presence of technology and its

company’s agility stems from shifting

importance felt more deeply within

standards within the IT sector which

the company. “There was a need for

favour moving away from in-house

my direct reports to be included in a

designed applications and refocus-

lot more conversations,” he explains.

ing on using best-in-class tech from

“Making sure that IT-related vendor

third parties. Domokos states that the

management was handled within the

laborious task of developing software

department, for example. TerraCycle

for warehouse management, logistics,

grew from a small company that was

accounting, service management and

super nimble and could pivot quickly;

other everyday functions can now be

that’s something we want to con-

easily handled by outsourcing to cloud

tinue.” Now with a stronger grasp

providers like Amazon Web Services t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

(AWS). Summarising his philosophy,

and removing those items which don’t

he says, “We don’t build our own app

contribute to the cycle of ‘reduce,

server; we purchase one that meets

recycle, reuse’. Circular economics

our needs. If we later want to pivot to

doesn’t just make good ecological sense,

something else, TerraCycle can just

it also makes profound business

cancel the subscription.”

sense too, as Domokos expands upon.

TerraCycle’s objective is a large-

“TerraCycle partners with brands like

scale transition within the philosophy

Unilever, PepsiCo or Coca-Cola and

of global business – training industries

then we launch a campaign to col-

to no longer think about resources

lect a specific waste stream, such as

in terms of ‘product’ and ‘waste’, but

toothpaste tubes, diapers, chips bags

instead finding a use for everything

or drink cans. We guarantee that we 225

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Béla Domokos Title: Chief Information Officer

Company: TerraCycle

Industry: Environmental Services

Location: Hungary

Béla Domokos is the Chief Information Officer of TerraCycle.

His areas of emphasis are transformation management (both on the IT organisation’s and the company level), adopting new technologies and overseeing new product launches.

In his first year in the role he has reshaped the IT department to make sure it continues to support the company’s rapid growth. That meant focusing on scalability and structural stability of both systems and IT processes.

Before joining TerraCycle, Béla was an IT Manager at ALDI. Prior to that he held roles at GE Capital and GE Digital. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

TERRACYCLE

226

AUGUST 2020

227

“ There’s so much more excitement ahead” — Béla Domokos, CIO, TerraCycle

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

TERRACYCLE

2001

Year founded

$44.mn+ Money for charity raised in US dollars

350

Number of employees 228 are going to recycle this collected material, which in turn generates new material.” It is through these measures that the company reduces the need for items such as single-use virgin plastic. Successful campaigns launched by TerraCycle include one for Walmart collecting children’s car

he claims that despite COVID-19-

seats, an effort which simultaneously

related disruptions the company will

recycled disused items and generated

still make a profit at the end of the

more foot traffic for the company,

year. However, he is quick to point

says Domokos.

out that success often comes with its

Perhaps one of the most exciting

own challenges and states that the

aspects of these projects has been

company’s tech infrastructure is in the

the accelerated growth which

process of being upgraded, particu-

TerraCycle has experienced. In fact,

larly its CRM (customer relationship

AUGUST 2020

229

management) software. “New work-

the latest tech trends – trends which

flows need to be set up to make sure

will not only determine the direction

that recently hired staff can pick up

of the business but also sustainability

the pace as fast as possible. With

generally. “Business intelligence (BI)

more organisations wanting to get

is going to be a big one: making sure

involved in our collection programs,

that we understand the data that we

we now have the foundation for further

deal with. I think the whole sustain-

growth.” Moreover, Domokos is keen

ability space is more aware that data

to keep TerraCycle up-to-date with

can be used for all kinds of things: t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

TerraCycle’s approach to software and sustainability CLICK TO WATCH

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4:17

231 how waste is moving around, how it

have been used, customers can then

should get collected and what we can

place them back inside the Tote and

do differently.”

schedule a free pick up at a time con-

This brings him to TerraCycle’s inno-

venient for them. The company then

vative ecommerce platform, Loop. A

empties and cleans the packaging

recognisable online retail experience

ready for reuse. The endeavour shares

with a twist, Loop provides customers

a similar philosophy to TerraCycle’s

with their favourite leading brands in a

other offerings, such as its variably-

sustainably reimagined form exclusively

sized Zero Waste Box, which allows

available through the site. Waste-

customers to fill it up with almost any

free products are then delivered to

kind of waste (domestic or business-

their doorstep in a Loop Tote bag

related) and return to the company

specifically manufactured to replace

for repurposing. “We don’t have many

single-use bubble wrap, cardboard

competitors in this space, so there

boxes and ice packs. Once the products

isn’t an industry standard for how t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

TERRACYCLE

PA RT N E R S

One of TerraCycle’s partners that Domokos singles out for special praise is obo.Agency, a digital transformation company specialising in designing processes, custom technology stacks and smart marketing campaigns designed to optimise a business’ sales and marketing ROI. 232

“obo.Agency is one of our integrated partners; it guides us through the thought process of which solution or software option would best meet our needs. obo helps facilitate the conversation to make sure that our sales process is scalable. It’s not just about the tool, it’s about how our sales process operates: how we track, how we report and how we catalogue.

They help us with all of these things and more.”

to do these things; the company is very unique,” Domokos proudly states.

“We have so many ideas because we’re also trying to make sustainability easily accessible, painless and fun for everyone,” he adds. He hopes that one day BI capabilities will marry with e-commerce platforms like Loop to help people make sustainable life choices easier. As the business continues to grow and data streams become larger, leveraging advanced automation

AUGUST 2020

233

“ TerraCycle grew from a small company that was super nimble and could pivot quickly; that’s something we want to continue” — Béla Domokos, CIO, TerraCycle

such as artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) would become necessary. Although such an application has yet to be realised, the potential is highly exciting for the sector. “If you understand the data that’s moving in your systems and your business, you can serve people better.

Hypothetically, if someone decided to go vegan for the purposes of sustainability, we could create a list for them of all the products that they’d need.” t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

TERRACYCLE

234

Terracycle’s goal between now and 2021 CLICK TO WATCH

AUGUST 2020

|

4:08

“ I think the whole sustainability space is more aware that data can be used for all kinds of things: how waste is moving around, how it should get collected and what we can do differently” — Béla Domokos, CIO, TerraCycle seem indicative that TerraCycle’s tech infrastructure is ready for the ‘new normal’ and Loop expansions delayed for Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic

2020, such as the UK, Canada, Japan

has made 2020 a strange year for

and Germany, are now prepared for end

TerraCycle, Domokos is positive that

of 2020, early 2021. “Loop US is pro-

the success it has achieved despite

jected to be profitable by the end of this

disruption is auspicious for 2021. With

year,” Domokos concludes, “there’s so

the CRM software transition expected

much more excitement ahead: improving

to be completed before the end of the

the IT team, the business structure,

year, cybersecurity augmentations to

adding new roles and staying in-tune

adapt to more data-focused operations

with the evolving needs of the industry.”

(GDPR in Europe and CCPA in the US) and plenty of ambition driving the development of Loop, the company looks set to fly out of the gates come January.

Successful remote working practices t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

235

236

AUGUST 2020

Eradicating workplace fatalities through technology WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

KRISTOFER PALMER

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

237

FORWOOD SAFET Y

Thorsten Scholz, CTO, explains how tech innovation, solid partnerships and a focused approach can transform safety culture in industry

W

hilst an element of risk may always be inherent to some specific workplaces or roles, there is no reason why this should remain

cause for severe injury or loss of life. Tackling this issue with the steadfast attitude that all work-related deaths can be prevented, Forwood Safety has been on a mission to change the standard of safety within 238

mining and oil and gas through applied technology since 1995. Growing from a small enterprise to a genuine leader, the company continues to focus on solving some of the most significant and enduring challenges facing the modern industrial sector: delivering best-in-class performance that doesn’t compromise safety standards and relegating workplace fatalities to the archives of history.

Taking on the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in late 2015, Thorsten Scholz came across Forwood Safety whilst working as a consultant within the mining industry. Whilst listening to a presentation on the verification method used by Forwood to improve performance of critical controls, he experienced an epiphany that he could help make an even greater impact on the safety of frontline workers

AUGUST 2020

239

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

FORWOOD SAFET Y

“ I actually walked up to Steve Wood (CEO of Forwood) after the meeting and said, ‘I need to get involved in this’” — Thorsten Scholz, CTO, Forwood Safety

240

which empowers employees within non-hierarchical structures across the company, always centred on the idea of delivering success to clients. For Scholz, his approach to IT can be summed up in one word: Quality. “We’ve implemented Agile first in the product team and then

by joining the endeavour, which he did

across the rest of the business. Now,

shortly afterwards. “I actually walked

we can really scale and standardise our

up to Steve Wood (CEO of Forwood)

products, from content development

after the meeting and said, ‘I need to

to marketing while never losing focus

get involved in this’,” he says. With previ-

on the business value of the outcome for

ous IT roles at large mining operations

our clients” he explains. From a techno-

in Australia and project experience

logical standpoint, he credits the advent

in high risk industries globally, Scholz

of cloud-computing as totally revolution-

understands the challenges of risk

ising the ERP computing which prevailed

management and safety well – an under-

at the beginning of his career. “When

standing which has valuably contributed

I look at the IT sector, I can say with

to his approach at being a CTO.

certainty that the cloud’s introduction

The drive and determination to excel

was a catalyst for digital transforma-

at pace stems from Forwood Safety’s

tion. We could never deliver large scale

emphasis on a corporate culture

enterprise safety and risk management solutions at such great value without the cloud and without a partner like Amazon Web Services (AWS).”

AUGUST 2020

PART N ER

A truly critical partner for Forwood Safety, Amazon’s importance to the company’s daily operations cannot be overstated. Scholz has this to say on their relationship: “We regularly collaborate with Amazon on strategic initiatives, most recently with one of our key clients to further progress the SaaS use cases of the Amazon QuickSight offering, a very powerful business intelligence (BI) tool. We’ve been involved with AWS for a number of years now, we continue to provide feedback on behalf of our large enterprise clients directly to

product management, which goes into their product roadmap.

QuickSight allows you to run data analysis on any type of device, including browsers and phones at a data volume and scale which is unprecedented. As a safety and risk management firm, we don’t want to invest in building reporting platforms, that makes no sense.

Instead, we want to build data models and get insights into the data using an established, managed service like Amazon QuickSight.

This approach helps us to focus on what we’re good at: providing deep insights into fatality prevention.”

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

241

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27,000 Tons delivered in 17 months

Furthermore, the utility of working

arise, Forwood Safety was able to

with AWS and using its products con-

integrate new protocols for COVID-

tributes another factor to Forwood

19 risk management in record time.

Safety’s agility, namely mitigating

“Within weeks, we had specific

the need to ‘reinvent the wheel’ for

COVID-19 content deployed globally.

every tech need that might arise.

In that time, we developed compre-

Using Amazon as a one-stop provider

hensive critical control checklists

of vital compute solutions, Scholz

for COVID-19, and deployed these

says that the company can instead

to over 250 sites and in seven

focus on their true mission: applying

languages, including Icelandic,

technology in creative ways to save

Mongolian, Spanish and French,”

lives. Able to adapt to new threats

he explains. “Without the cloud that

and working conditions as they

would have not been possible.”

243

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

Thorsten Scholz Title: Chief Technology Officer Company: Forwood Safety Industry: Fatality prevention

Location: Australia

Thorsten Scholz is an agile leader with more than 25 years’ experience designing innovative technology solutions in the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) sector. Having worked with clients around the globe, he understands the complexities of real-world operations. Highly skilled in delivering game-changing technologies, Thorsten is well positioned for his current role as Chief Technology Officer at Forwood Safety. As a vital member of Forwood’s Executive Team, Thorsten is pivotal in ensuring this dynamic company’s success by leveraging technology innovations to find new ways of preventing fatalities around the world.

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

FORWOOD SAFET Y

244

Currently offering three primary

view of critical risks in the workplace

products – Critical Risk Management

this helps to quickly identify areas

(CRM), SafetyApps and Enterprise

where workers could get harmed

Risk Assurance (ERA) – agility

and creates actionable insights to

often combines with innovation at

prevent this.” This is again indica-

Forwood Safety, with collections of

tive of Forwood Safety’s distinct

core proprietary technology (drones,

approach to risk management and

satellites, etc) utilised for special-

safety: collaboration between par-

ised tasks. “We have a geospatial

ties is essential and the company

platform integrated into our prod-

strives to combine its tech platform

ucts which allows clients to upload

with methods and relevant content

custom maps in a self-service

in order to produce a transformative

manner. If you give the people in

solution for clients. “It’s about work-

control of operations a bird’s eye

ing together to achieve an outcome;

AUGUST 2020

“ When I look at the IT sector, I can say with certainty that the cloud’s introduction was a catalyst for digital transformation. We could never deliver without the cloud and without a partner like Amazon Web Services (AWS)” been a crucial partner in achieving this, but one other company Scholz identi-

— Thorsten Scholz, CTO, Forwood Safety

fies for special praise is Base2Services.

building a good safety culture must

developed a reputation in Australia as

be a partnership,” Scholz emphasises.

being one of the most respected cloud

Working closely with its channel

Founded in 2005, this company has

development/operations companies

partners and clients, Forwood Safety’s

in the market. Having itself partnered

critical risk management platform

with AWS for more than a decade,

analyses failures before they can turn

Base2Services is an expert in operat-

into fatalities and provides capabilities

ing superlative cloud environments.

to predict hotspots and blackspots.

“Base2Services focuses on DevOps,

It follows the pattern that establishing

DevOps automation, cyber risk,

a strong tech infrastructure is imperative

cybersecurity and helps us to make

for implementing sustainable technolog-

sure that all the ‘nuts and bolts’ are

ical change with great value for clients.

in place and any warning signs are

Amazon, as already mentioned, has

monitored, reviewed and addressed straight away. They provide us with 24/7 infrastructure support across the globe in a ‘follow the sun’ model. In terms of scalability, flexibility and value delivered, this has really helped us to focus on what is important to us: helping to save lives.” t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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FORWOOD SAFET Y

Digital automation through artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most exciting trends across several industries right now and Scholz declares that Forwood Safety is firmly at the forefront in its sector.

Not satisfied with using a preexisting solution in this regard, the company instead developed its own by hiring a team of data scientists to analyse the most effective way for AI to enhance safety. The breakthrough came via the revelation that using 246

binary safety-related questions with choices of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ provided very fertile ground for algorithmic optimi-

1995

Year founded

1200+

Using our global benchmark critical control verification process

50

Number of employees

sation. “90% of the time the answers are very straightforward. If you

out practical applications which will

have a good set of questions, which

benefit workers in the field. Both

can be answered consistently and

will require thought and attention,

always with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, it helps

as well as close collaboration with

your machine learning (ML) model

partners and clients to pilot new

gather data and form predictions

approaches directly in the work-

based on patterns.” Considering the

place. “From my perspective, ML

topic of AI-based automation more

and its applications for analysing

generally, Scholz states there are

both still photos and video are going

two aspects of importance to its

to be critical in the future of safety

development with regards to safety:

technology” he adds.

1) support via improved decisionmaking capabilities; and 2) working AUGUST 2020

With a five-year strategic roadmap in place and solutions for

247

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

Support your Customers not Cloud Infrastructure Start thinking like a SaaS company SaaS thinking maximizes agility, innovation and speed to market.

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The Cloud Services People

“ We believe all workplace fatalities can be eradicated”

249

— Thorsten Scholz, CTO, Forwood Safety health-related crises like COVID-19

the years to come,” he concludes.

already natively established in the

“Forwood Safety has the partner-

company’s products and services,

ships and the cultural alignment to

Scholz is confident that Forwood

execute that vision. Ultimately, we

Safety will continue to thrive and

believe all workplace fatalities can

establish the next generation of

be eradicated.”

safety principles which will endure and become industry standards.

“We want to leverage technology, as well as our expertise, to make a big difference in fatality prevention in t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

250

oOh! Media: the impact of COVID-19 and digital innovation WRITTEN BY

GEORGIA WILSON PRODUCED BY

STUART IRVING

AUGUST 2020

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OOH! MEDIA

Steve Reid, Chief People and Culture Officer, oOh! on the company’s digital strategies and the impact of COVID-19 on workplace culture and operations

S

teve Reid has worked within HR, people and culture, and learning and development roles for 27 years. During his career

he has worked for the likes of Three as Head of HR and organisation capability; Vodafone as General 252

Manager HR; and Bankwest as Head of Human Resources and Head of Organisational Capability.

Today, Reid is the Chief People and Culture Officer at oOh! Media, taking pride in the company’s ethos to treat people the way that we’d expect to be treated ourselves and its drive to be a positive contributor to people’s mental health. “Early in my career, I found a very strong purpose around helping people to be better. I think as an organisation, one of the things that I aspire to is that our people, whether they decide to stay or to leave and go elsewhere, are better for having been here.”

COVID-19 - WIDESPREAD DISRUPTION Since the outbreak of COVID-19 - whether large or small - industries around the world have experienced disruption from the impact of the AUGUST 2020

253

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OOH! MEDIA

254

coronavirus. From a revenue perspec-

highlights that on two fronts oOh! Media

tive, Reid details that the Out of Home

has had to look both commercially

media industry has been hit incred-

and financially at how it can keep the

ibly hard, which he says is “no surprise

organisation going to get through this

when you are in a lockdown situation.

period. “We are starting to see improve-

Most people were working from home

ments since implementing measures

and not travelling or out and about as

following the outbreak, including asking

much, therefore our audience declined

employees to work reduced hours or

along with our revenues. For example

take extra annual leave to try and sup-

our airport business, with flights coming

port the company. But for me, success

to an almost standstill, have seen rev-

is about doing this in a way that consults

enue fall significantly along with in many

and engages employees, ensuring that

cases our retail, office tower and public

they feel valued throughout the pro-

transport businesses. As a result, Reid

cess and understand why it is critical for

AUGUST 2020

the business. However, it can’t be just

employees and more contractors in

employees who bear the brunt of this.

the future. I think there’s been a lot

As a business we have had to make

of discussion around how our future

some big commercial decisions in rela-

workplaces will change.” However, per-

tion to how we can cut down costs or

sonally Reid hasn’t seen the industry

reduce our expenditure.”

evolve at the pace that it could have or

Since the outbreak of COVID-19,

that people expected it to. “One good

Reid has witnessed some massive

thing that has come out of this global

adaptations and massive learnings

crisis is that it has forced people to

that he hopes organisations will take

think differently. One clear change has

away from this disruption. “In par-

been the adoption of working from

ticular, there’s been talk for some

home. Prior to COVID-19, the idea of

time about workplace flexibility and

everybody working from home would

the move to a gig economy with less

have been dismissed by many people,

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

Steve Reid Title: Chief People & Culture Officer

Company: Ooh! Media

Industry: Advertising

Location: North Sydney

Joining oOh!media as Group Human Resources Director in 2014, Steve played an integral role in oOh!media’s 2014 ASX listing as well as recent acquisitions and integrations. Steve’s focus is on identifying and developing talent to maintain oOh!’s distinctive philosophy of engaging its people and delivering on strategy.

With 26 years’ experience in human resources, learning and organisational development in both consulting and internal roles, Steve has a track record of building highly commercial and innovative HR teams to drive culture change. t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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“ Technology and how we use it has definitely been a game-changer during the pandemic, particularly with so many of us working from home”

256

— Steve Reid, Chief People & Culture Officer, Ooh! Media

however we have proved that people can be just as or more productive working from home. I think employees and leaders have realised that you don’t have to sit in the same room as your employees to ensure they are working. One of our key learnings from this pandemic is that good people step up and do good work, no matter the circumstance, if they’re in an office or if they’re at home, they still do great work because that’s what they do.” As a result of this, Reid believes that this has helped people’s perspectives rapidly change when it comes to flexibility and working from home. “I think there’s been a real recognition that there are some roles and even more roles than we first expected that can work flexibly.

I believe this has been partly driven by how we are using technology. Prior to COVID-19, people who joined a meeting via phone or video call would typically have a poorer experience compared to the people in the room due to suboptimal use of the technology. However, with everyone working remotely there has been a greater focus on how we can use the technology to make meetings work more efficiently. I’ve heard

AUGUST 2020

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257

some great feedback that one of the

how it can be applied to those working

consequences of doing a lot of online

in an office along with those working

meetings is a sense that we’re getting

from home to ensure that everyone’s

a broader range of opinions from peo-

work experience is positive, rather

ple online who may be less vocal in a

than just going back to the old ways of

room with other people. Typically, in

operating. “The next challenge will be

any meeting you have dominant peo-

implementing really good processes

ple who talk more and others who are

and agreed rules that better support

more quiet and don’t feel as safe to

this way of working.”

contribute. In the online world, I think

Other technological trends Reid has

more people feel safe to offer an opin-

seen emerge due to COVID-19 are

ion” Something that oOh! is keen to do

the use of collaborative tools, “where

as it transitions back to office work-

people before were more inclined to

ing, is to look at the mixed model, and

use hosted drives, I think there has t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

OOH! MEDIA

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AUGUST 2020

“As an organisation, one of the things that I aspire to is that our people, whether they decide to stay or to leave and go elsewhere, are better for having been here” —Steve Reid,

Chief People & Culture Officer, Ooh! Media

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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AT HARBOUR IT, WE GIVE OUR CUSTOMERS THE FREEDOM TO FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS MOST Learn more

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Harbour IT are proud to partner with oOh! Media on their IT transformation journey.

At Harbour IT, we give our customers the freedom to focus where it matters most, like strategic decision making and driving business performance. Known for our knowledgeable and personable service, we offer the most secure and flexible, hosted and managed cloud offerings available in the Australian market.

Harbour IT is proud to partner with oOh! Media on their IT Transformation Journey, where we ensure hidden efficiencies are uncovered, capabilities truly connected, productivity

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gained, and leaders have the freedom to focus on what matters most - profit driving change and accelerating market leadership.

As leaders in cloud, our built to scale philosophy and Canon backing ensures we are large enough to provide customers with extensive expertise, established processes and advanced enterprise level solutions, yet small enough to be hands-on and deliver the high-touch customer service that you demand.

“ We pride ourselves on being the company in our industry that drives innovation forward and invests ahead of the curve and ahead of our competitors” — Steve Reid, Chief People & Culture Officer, Ooh! Media

DIGITAL INNOVATION STRATEGIES AND TECHNOLOGY TRENDS When it comes to digital innovation strategies Reid states that the company prides itself on being leaders in the space. “We pride ourselves on being the company in our industry that drives innovation forward and invests ahead of the curve and ahead of our competitors. Firstly, because we think that’s where the future is going and it is good for our company, and secondly because we also think that is where the industry is going, and it is good

been a massive uptake in the use of

for the sector. In terms of our strategy

Microsoft Teams and collaborative

around this, it is envisaging the future

tools where multiple people can work

and what will make the biggest differ-

on the same document at the same

ence for our customers, and investing

time, making work easier and more

early, to ensure we are at the forefront

efficient.” While these tools are not

of the innovation – leading, not follow-

new, Reid explains it is the impact

ing.” With this strategy in mind, oOh!

of COVID-19 which has forced the

Media then identifies its competitive

behaviour and understanding that this

advantages from a technology stand-

new way of working can be efficient,

point. “These are the innovations that

perhaps even more so than before.

we invest heavily in and look at internal

“It takes 28 days to create a habit, and

resources to make sure we have the

we’ve certainly had that time dur-

IP and knowledge internally to drive

ing lockdown to change our habits.

these innovations, as well as identify-

Hopefully they will continue as we

ing where we should leveraging best

return to the office.”

practices from external partners - such t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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OOH! MEDIA

262

as Harbour IT - because we’re either not going to have the resources, time or capacity to develop everything we need ourselves. With innovation comes the challenge of juggling what we should develop internally and what we should outsource. However, our partners are not just delivering a service they join us in our vision and what we are trying to achieve to deliver something of value.�

While COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of certain technologies, especially when it comes to collaboAUGUST 2020

1989

Year founded

$650mn Revenue in AU dollars

500+

Number of employees

rative tools, due to the need of rapid adoption of this technology, acceleration and development in other technological areas has been delayed for the time being. “I have seen some continued investment in technology during COVID-19, but when your revenue is hurting across the board there is naturally a pullback on the level of investment in non-critical projects.

However, I believe this is just a pause not a stop. I think people will be naturally cautious as we return to the new normal, in terms of technology investment levels and timelines. I believe it will be a couple of years before we return to pre-Covid investment, especially for the more cutting-edge technology.

However, there will be some businesses eager to get the jump on their competitors who will see investing in technology as a clear advantage and enabler of new ways of doing business.�

t e c hn o l o g y m a g a z in e . c o m

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264

HOW SUTHERLAND SHIRE COUNCIL MET THE CHALLENGE OF COVID-19 WRITTEN BY

JOHN O’HANLON PRODUCED BY

STUART IRVING

AUGUST 2020

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SUTHERLAND SHIRE COUNCIL

Simona Dimovski, CIO at Sutherland Shire Council, discusses a two-year technology transformation that was achieved in two weeks COVID time, and how this was made possible with the support of its digital ecosystem

T

he future is always untold for all of us.

And, in this instance, what was in store for Sutherland Shire’s new Chief Information

Officer was nowhere in her 30/60/90 day plan.

Last November, nobody outside of China had 266

any inkling of what mother nature had in store for the world, in the form of a pandemic that would disrupt lives and the economy of every country.

But, when Simona Dimovski took up the post of Chief Information Officer at Sutherland Shire Council (SSC), COVID-19 was third in line after a couple of other natural disasters to afflict New South Wales. In November 2019, the world’s attention focused on the bushfires that raged through southern Australia. Sydney itself was threatened, and fires started close to home. Until mid-January when the rains came, the fires remained a cause for concern. However, early in February the area experienced its heaviest rainfall in 30 years.

People had to be evacuated and, by 18 February, wind gusts reached 161kph causing widespread chaos and electrical outages.

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SUTHERLAND SHIRE COUNCIL

“ After 19 years in aviation, financial, and latterly the utilities industry, I found that the services SSC provides were very different – but many of the services IT provides to the organisation are similar” — Simona Dimovski, Chief Information Officer, Sutherland Shire Council (SSC) 268

In her previous work as ICT Project Service Manager at Ausgrid, Dimovski would have had her work cut out helping keep power supplies going, but her first two months at SSC, dealing with the same problems from a totally different perspective were certainly challenging – and COVID-19 had not even started. Yet it was the diversity of the challenge posed by local government that attracted her. “After 19 years in aviation, financial, and latterly the utilities industry, I found that the services SSC provided were very different

AUGUST 2020

Technology at Sutherland Shire Council CLICK TO WATCH

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1:59

269 – but many of the services IT provided

our community, technology is some-

to the organisation are similar. Maybe

thing we do in the background, it has

80% of what we do can be applied

to be an enabler for productivity and

across multiple industries,” Dimovski

in some cases we didn’t get that 100%

explains. Indeed, with more than 30

right. There was a lot to do. A good

semi-autonomous business units, from

deal of legacy IT infrastructure is

leisure centres to libraries, children’s

on-premise, located at the Council’s

services to environmental and of

own data centre; it even has its own

course business services that is just as

telephone exchange. One of the

well, she notes.

first things I did was to stock-take –

Technology is not the day job of

reviewing the IT strategy, governance,

most people in the council. “Our

architecture, the infrastructure, the

people embrace technology that

IT operations and enhancements, as

will enable them to work lean,” says

well as the projects. A backlog of the

Dimovski. “When it comes to servicing

latter had built up – more than 170 t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

Supporting accelerated project delivery PM-Partners have worked with local councils for 25 years, helping them deliver projects faster, better and with less risk. Their intimate knowledge of government organisations, structures and functions enables them to provide fit-for-purpose solutions that benefit crossfunctional teams – as well as the greater community.

Sutherland Shire Council provides a broad service offering to their community. Delivering this requires multiple business units to collaborate to avoid a siloed structure which can present challenges such as inefficient operations and disconnected cross-functional teams.

Even before the pandemic, Simona Dimovski, Manager of Information Management and Technology at Sutherland Shire Council, recognised the need to mobilise teams faster, implement change management and roll out new collaboration tools in order to build a high-functioning, results-orientated team.

Engaging project management and business agility experts What differentiates PM-Partners from other consultancies is their partnership approach. They listen, assess and develop a tailored solution that best achieves the organisation’s objectives.

When Sutherland Shire Council engaged their services in November 2019, they were unaware of the momentous changes ahead. But by having agile foundations ingrained in their organisations, they could accelerate in three weeks what would previously have taken six months.

Watch Simona Dimovski from Sutherland Shire Council discuss the challenges they faced amid the global pandemic and how their strong focus on agile mindsets enabled them to pivot.

SYDNEY | MELBOURNE | CANBERRA | SINGAPORE 1300 70 13 14 | Contact Us | pm-partners.com.au

“ Coming into this role, I expected that the role would be 50% about people and 50% about technology.

I quickly realised that being a Technology Leader is more about the people, than it is about the technology” — Simona Dimovski, Chief Information Officer, Sutherland Shire Council (SSC)

that would be classified in the realm of small to extra large projects, spanning between 20 days and over 18 months to complete.”

To unravel all this called for the long-overdue evolution of IT to be set in motion. To achieve this, Dimovski and her team built a model of demand and capacity which pointed to implementation timeframes that would take over two years to complete, at best. But then the most unexpected turn of events occurred. The arrival of the Coronavirus in March, with the

Agility at Sutherland Shire Council CLICK TO WATCH

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Customers at Sutherland Shire Council CLICK TO WATCH

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consequent and sudden shift to home

team to the rest of the business, get-

working for the vast majority of staff

ting them together in daily huddles

mandated an accelerated approach to

to see how the master plan we put in

delivering mobile working solutions.

place might need to be modified as

“We had to move at lightning speed, ready to respond almost instantly

new guidelines came through.”

As well as collaboration tools,

to directives from the federal and

Dimovski implemented a VPN so that

NSW state governments,” Dimovski

the whole organisation could log in

explains. “We had to ensure that the

remotely, adding dual-factor authen-

whole business was working remotely,

tication. Remote working was a new

implementing Microsoft Teams and

concept for a large population, and

getting people used to that. Virtual

at all levels of the organisation and

council meetings had to be set up.

the community. IT team members

We deployed every member of the IT

were available to set up the hardware

AUGUST 2020

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Simona Dimovski Title: CIO Company: Sutherland Shire Council Industry: Local Government

Location: Sutherland

Simona Dimovski is a strategic leader with extensive knowledge of how technology enables business value and growth. Her expertise has been gained over 20 years of enabling portfolios and delivery across technology and business functions.

She has a proven track record of streamlining processes, reducing costs for the organisation, and enabling the successful delivery of large-scale transformation programs.

A strategic thinker with a passion for what she does and seeing things through to completion, Simona leads from the front, engaging and energising strategic partners and stakeholders as well as the wider business in supporting high impact, dynamic solutions to deliver business value.

Integral in aligning portfolios to the strategic objectives of the organisation, her focus is on continuous improvement and empowering businesses to reach their full potential, encouraging innovative thinking enabling best practice through the use of technology. She is a people leader with a growth mindset, priding herself on providing a coaching approach to ensure the team and the individual achieve their full potential.

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SUTHERLAND SHIRE COUNCIL

274

and software needed and iron out

post-COVID-19 will be a hybrid of

any problems with flexible working.

physical collaboration and remote

Softphones were brought in to allow

working. Local government is one of

service teams to deal with calls when

those sectors, like law and real estate

working remotely. The ‘high-intensity,

perhaps, which had been slower to

high-touch’ movement and change

move up to the digital plane.

management process led by the IT

She is quick to acknowledge the

department was completed in less

role played by third parties in this

than four weeks, quite an achievement

process, in particular PM-Partners,

considering that MS Teams implemen-

noting that “they came to me with a

tation was among the queued projects

myriad different solutions and gave us

and that, before March, nobody had

the level of support we needed at that

used it. Dimovski is already predict-

time”. Dimovski is a positive leadership

ing that the new normal for SSC

advocate, specifically embracing the

AUGUST 2020

“ By the time COVID-19 arrived PM-Partners had started training our IT resilience group in agile ways of working and helping us change mindsets” — Simona Dimovski, Chief Information Officer, Sutherland Shire Council (SSC)

any new implementations, and much progress has been made even during the pandemic exigency. For example, a new booking system and a new project portfolio management (PPM) system currently being built will reside in the cloud, and of course MS Teams is also cloud based. “We are going to reassess all our on-prem software platforms,” she notes. “In the past a full migration had been thought too expensive, but IT’s value proposition

ideology that the team is the greatest

going forward won’t be just about the

asset she has as a leader. Empowering

back-office operations, rather it will

the team to agility and lean ways of

be about the specialist knowledge we

working was paramount for the suc-

bring to the business as a whole.”

cess that was to be achieved during

The PMO approach she had pre-

the accelerated COVID-19 response

viously followed at Ausgrid was

at the council. “In recent years, my

something that Dimovski also aimed

team has not had much opportunity for

to pursue at the council. “I wanted to

external training, they were invigor-

overview every piece of work whether

ated by the new agile concepts, the

in the pipeline, on hold, in flight or

fast turnaround time, the delivery

requested so we could work out the

of value in increments, the radical

sequencing through portfolio prioriti-

transparency and the dissolution of

sation and partner with our business

traditional hierarchical structures of

on what really needed to be done

working,” she says.

given the resources we had. This level

By the time of Dimovski’s arrival

of governance was novel to IT, and

at the organisation, SSC had already

a Portfolio governance Committee

fixed on a ‘cloud-first’ strategy for

was born as a result. We knew there t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

SUTHERLAND SHIRE COUNCIL

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276

AUGUST 2020

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3:12

would be a large change management

could we chunk down what we said we

effort to normalise remote working,

would do in two years when we need

as many of our organisational stake-

it right now?’. We formed a resilience

holders were not that tech-savvy.”

group with the other council managers

Procurement and configuration of

to revise our disaster recovery and

hardware, training, embedding col-

business continuity plan. Within IT a

laboration tools, softphones, the VPN

25-person strong resilience group was

and pinning down dual factor authen-

established to plan for the new reality.

tication made this look like a two-year

We created a movement, a single unit

programme of work.

with a single purpose. Nobody once

But two years was not an option when the virus struck. “We had to think

said ‘this can’t be done!’.”

On the tech side, they upgraded

up creative solutions,” Dimovski notes.

internet links to deal with the expected

“So, it was about considering ‘how

increase in traffic. Once they had chunked down the tasks of getting Teams, the VPN, licensing and other prioritised IT, it didn’t take too long to get these in place, Dimovski says. “We had to fast track solutions that were needed immediately, making sure the security was in place and fixing issues as they arose.” There were a few hurdles, resolved in very short order, with full cooperation from the end users. In the end, the original two-year programme was actually delivered in three or four weeks.

Preparation for this achievement was however started back in January. Before then, she explains, t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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SUTHERLAND SHIRE COUNCIL

the IT teams stuck to working in traditional silos. “Coming into this role, I expected it would be 50% about people and 50% about technology. I quickly realised that being a technology leader is more about the people, than it is about the technology.”

Challenges with interdepartmental communication meant the IT team and their stakeholders were not necessarily getting full value and actions, there were multiple handover points, manual processes and large reliance on key 278

people. As an accredited Agile professional, with an aptitude for Human Centered Design, seasoned in Scrum

“ One of the first things I did was to stock-take – reviewing the IT strategy, governance, architecture, the infrastructure, the IT operations and the enhancements and projects” — Simona Dimovski, Chief Information Officer, Sutherland Shire Council (SSC)

and SaFE experience, Dimovski has worked with Sydney-based PM-Partners to start training Council employees in Agile methodology. “We had already started breaking down the silos and shifting mindsets. By the time COVID-19 arrived PM-Partners had started training our IT resilience group. Everything we are working on, we are running in sprints and adopting Scrum methodology. The whole purpose of this is to create transparency and better decision making

AUGUST 2020

1906

Year founded

1,400 Number of employees

279

across the business, be able to

long-term plans forward. Customers

deliver value faster to our stakehold-

too need to embrace new ‘COVID-19-

ers and the community.”

accelerated’ ways of interacting with

Looking forward, the IT team’s to-do

the Council in a customer omnichannel

list is growing rather than shrinking. In

approach enabled by an upgraded

a hybrid world, with people working

website and social media.

remotely as well as in the office, new conferencing facilities will need to be created, meeting rooms upgraded with new hardware and software. The whole workforce has to get used to mobile working and to tools like Microsoft Surface devices – bringing t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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