WHAT IS DRIVING THE WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE? www.gigabitmagazine.com
MARCH 2019
A data-driven digital transformation
The insurance giant’s Move to the Cloud
SIEMENS SAUDI ARABIA DIGITAL DISRUPTION TOWARD VISION 2030
CTO Rainer Speh on how the company is driving Industrie 4.0 with its IoT platform, MindSphere
TOP 10
MOST VALUABLE TELCOS
WELCOME
H
ello and welcome to the March
with Verizon Connect’s Sergio Barata
edition of Gigabit.
to discuss how, in an age where tech
Our cover star this month is tech-
disruptors reign supreme, fleet
nology giant Siemens. With Saudi
management is more important
Arabia gearing up for its Vision 2030
than ever.
strategy, CTO of Siemens Saudi
Elsewhere, HARMAN International
Arabia Rainer Speh reveals
talks about how the firm is
how the firm’s cloud-based
reshaping the audio
IoT operating system,
landscape and Toshiba
MindSphere, is helping to
describes how digital
make this vision a reality.
transformation will
“MindSphere isn’t just a platform; it’s about co-creation,” explains
Rainer Speh, CTO, Siemens Saudi Arabia
Speh. “Together, we discover their pain points and then
revolutionise the workforce of tomorrow. For our top 10 ranking this month, we discover the
most valuable telecommunication
co-create solutions that perfectly fit
companies in the world and we
their needs.”
also round up this month’s must-
Elsewhere in the magazine, Satish
attend events.
H.C., EVP and Head of Data Analytics
Don’t forget to also read our
at Infosys, highlights how data analytics
exclusive digital reports on AXA,
may offer endless opportunities –
Uniper, Air Malta, Travelex and more.
but challenges like the skills gap might stand in our way. On top of this, we also sit down
Enjoy the issue! Laura Mullan. laura.mullan@bizclikmedia.com
w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
03
Click the home icon (top right of page) to return to contents page at anytime EDITOR IN CHIEF
LAURA MULLAN MANAGING EDITORS
ANDREW WOODS OLIVIA MINNOCK
PRESS PLAY! WHEN YOU SEE THE PLAY BUTTON ICON, CLICK TO WATCH OUR VIDEO CONTENT
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
DANIEL CRAWFORD CREATIVE TEAM
FRAZER JONES LUCIE MILLER HOLLIE CROFTS–MORRIS ERIN HANCOX ALICIA LOLOTTE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
GEORGIA ALLEN
Wherever you see these icons in the magazine click to be directly connected via social media
PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE
DANIELA KIANICKOVA DIGITAL VIDEO DIRECTOR
JOSH TRETT
05
DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCER
EMILY AMOS SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
CALLUM RIVETT PROJECT DIRECTORS
JUSTIN BRAND CHARLOTTE CLARKE CRAIG DANIELS MIKE SADR ALEX PAGE KRISTOFER PALMER LEWIS VAUGHAN RICHARD DEANE
CLICK NOW TO SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
ALEX BARRON GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR
JAMES PEPPER CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
ANDY TURNER PRESIDENT & CEO
Visit the fintechmagazine.com website and sign up to receive exclusive access to one of the world’s fastest growing business news platforms
GLEN WHITE
IF YOU LIKE US PUBLISHED BY
FOLLOW US! w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
50
CONTENTS
12
How Verizon Connect is helping customers run a smarter fleet
62 JOINTLY DRIVING DIGITAL TR ANSFORMATION FOR SAUDI AR ABIA’S VISION 2030
28
The workforce of the future:
What is driving it and where is it going?
72
86 EVENTS
TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE TELCOS
38
90 RESHAPING THE AUDIO LANDSCAPE
Uniper
108
156
126
174
144
194
Air Malta
Croda
IBS Software
AXA
Singapore Life
Caravel Group
212 MLC Life Insurance
226
272
238
290
Paidy
National Heart Foundation of Australia
Wyndham Destinations
Traffix
256
University of Western Australia
306
Calgary Drop-in Center
324
PBL Insurance
356
The Infor OS Platform
370
Choice Financial
338
384 Boise State University
Dimension Data
Covering every angle in the digital age The Business Chief platforms offer insight on the trends influencing C and V-level executives, telling the stories that matter
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE
w w w.bu si nessch ief.com
12
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
JOINTLY DRIVING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR SAUDI ARABIA’S VISION 2030 WRITTEN BY
LAURA MULLAN PRODUCED BY
JAMES PEPPER
w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
13
SIEMENS
CTO at Siemens Saudi Arabia, Rainer Speh, explains how the firm is gearing up for Vision 2030 with its IoT platform, MindSphere
O
ur lives are more connected than ever before. In fact, Gartner reports that consumers own on average four Internet of Things (IoT) devices
which communicate with the cloud whilst, globally, an 14
estimated 127 new devices connect to the internet every second. This cutting-edge technology is not exclusive to consumer goods; it is also upending industries across the globe. In sectors such as aviation, energy and manufacturing, connected IoT devices have quickly become the norm. But with reams of data and information at our fingertips, are we truly getting value from this information? This is where Siemens has entered the fray with its latest innovative solution. Recognising that only a tiny fraction of industrial data is used and intelligently analysed, the technology giant has created MindSphere – a cloud-based, open IoT operating system which it likens to a ‘swiss army knife’ for IoT. It allows businesses to connect products, plants, systems and machines, equipping firms with the concrete application data that they can analyse and draw insights from.
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
15
w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
SIEMENS
“ M INDSPHERE ISN’T JUST A PLATFORM, IT’S ABOUT CO-CREATION” — Rainer Speh, CTO at Siemens Saudi Arabia
As the first CTO of Siemens Saudi Arabia, Prof. Dr Rainer Speh says that MindSphere is much more than a system, it is a new way of thinking. “MindSphere isn’t just a platform, it’s about co-creation. With our MindSphere Application Centre, we work alongside our customers to address their specific operational needs and improve their processes,” he explains. “Together, we discover their pain points and co-create solutions that fit their needs.” Today, Siemens
16
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WHAT IS MINDSPHERE?’ 17 has 20 MindSphere Application
one roof, Speh believes that the firm
Centres serving 50 locations in 17
is driving the co-creation of digital
countries. These centres employ
solutions together with customers.
around 900 data specialists and
With Industrie 4.0 being a reality,
engineers and focus on the specific
many businesses see digitalisation as
needs of a sector. In the Saudi capital
an opportunity to drive productivity,
of Riyadh, Siemens’ MindSphere
efficiency, speed and quality in their
Application Centre is able to offer
operations. Siemens and its network of
digital solutions spanning several areas
partners are co-creating tailor-made
including ‘Industrie 4.0’, smart infra-
applications to suit industrial custom-
structure, smart cities, agriculture
ers. “When you’re getting information
including vertical farming, energy,
in real time, it’s important to have the
hydrocarbon industries and cyberse-
right tools to analyse and interpret this
curity. By bringing digital experts,
data,” Speh explains. “This is where
domain experts and customers under
data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
Introduction This is a Company wholly-Owned by the Saudi Electricity Company. It was Established on 1/1/2012, with a Structure that includes Five main Activities: Operations & Control, Maintenance, Planning, Engineering, and Technical Services.
Our Vision
To be among the ranks of leading international companies in electricity transmission by adopting the latest standards, systems and technologies.
Our Mission
Electricity transmission with high reliability and economic efficiency in a way that achieves optimal use of resources and supports sustainable development of the national economy.
Finance Terms Equity: 4.51
Asset: 37.42
Billion USD
Revenue 2.87 Billion USD
Transmission Asset data 1070 Substations
3,359
Transformers
Billion USD
Net Income:
0.51
Billion USD
409,999 Transformers Capacity (MVA)
80,817 Length of Lines (km)
71,000 Fiber Optic Cable (km)
EBIDTA: 2.26
Billion USD
Strategic Initiatives ASSET MANAGEMENT: National Grid SA intends to achieve the best Asset Management Performance per ISO 55000.
How to apply for Qualification?
SMART GRID: National Grid SA works on digitalization & Realization of modern network.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE (PMO): National Grid SA aims to manage the project In efficient and effective manner.
Manufacturer can apply for a new Prequalification through the Online Manufacturers Prequalification Process (OMPQ) website: www.se.com.sa or email to Standards & Specifications Department Manager on MASuhaibani@ngrid.sa
EUROPE
and machine learning adds tremendous value. At the end of the day, it’s about drawing conclusions from this data. By using this data, we can monitor a whole plant or do predictive maintenance down to a single device. This is where we need to combine Siemens’ expertise with that of the client.” Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a visionary transformation. With its eyes set on Vision 2030, the Kingdom is aiming to diversify its economy away
“ TOGETHER, WE DISCOVER THEIR PAIN POINTS AND THEN CO-CREATE SOLUTIONS THAT PERFECTLY FIT THEIR NEEDS” — Rainer Speh, CTO at Siemens Saudi Arabia
19 E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Prof Dr. Rainer M. Speh has been Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Siemens Ltd. headquartered in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 1 February, 2015. Before that he worked in the Infrastructure & Cities Sector as well as in the Business Unit Power Plant Controls of Siemens as their CTO for more than 15 years. From 1985 to 1999, he held several technical positions in the industry in Germany. He received his Professorship from the Technical University Kaiserslautern, Germany, in 2014 and has lectured since 1996. He earned his PhD from the Technical University of Darmstadt in 1985, where he also studied Electrical Power Engineering from 1975 — 1980. Prof. Speh is the current Past President of the Power Engineering Society (ETG) within the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE) of Germany. w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
Budget Saudi – Celebrating 40 years of Achieving Customer Excitement Budget Rent a Car (also known as United International Transportation Company) is Saudi Arabia’s leading short and long-term vehicle renting and leasing company for both corporate and retail clients. In the last four decades of its operations in Saudi Arabia, Budget Saudi has become synonymous with quality and reliability in the transportation sector. It is the only public listed car rental company in Saudi Arabia and is ISO 9001:2015 certified for its internal quality systems and processes.
1978
With nearly 30,000 vehicles, network of over 100 retail stations in 25 cities, Budget Saudi boasts the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA’s) largest network in terms of coverage for rental and lease Services. Equipped with vast presence and pioneering expertise, the company is well set up to become the largest diversified group to offer transportation solutions in the Middle East, Africa and even South East Asia.
Visit our website
Contact Budget
A Leading Travel Management Company in Saudi Arabia providing comprehensive travel services since 1968
Endeavour to exceed customer expectations... PLAN YOUR TRIP
www.ace-travel.com Tel - 00966-12 6060018
Email - info@ace-travel.com
EUROPE
Rainer Speh welcomes MoMRA Minister to Siemens booth @KSASmartCities Conference 2017
21 from oil and establish globally competi-
economic and social development of
tive industries in fields such as renew-
Saudi Arabia for nearly 100 years, with
able energy, manufacturing, healthcare
offices in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam,
and smart cities. Speh believes that
Al-Khobar, Yanbu and Jubail. With this
Siemens is playing a key role in this
local expertise combined with its
Vision. “As part of Vision 2030, the
innovative MindSphere platform, Speh
Kingdom aims to diversify and establish
believes the firm is set to take this
new industries. It’s not just about
one step further.
diversifying local industry; it’s about
Just as digitalisation has turned
becoming a major exporter too,” says
books into e-books and music into
Speh. “There is no way around this
mp3 files, it has also allowed us to
without Industrie 4.0. This is what the
create digital copies of physical
Kingdom hopes to achieve, and this is
industrial assets. Known as ‘digital
what Siemens can deliver.” Indeed,
twins’, many companies are looking
Siemens has contributed to the
to keep pace with Industrie 4.0 by w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
SIEMENS
22
creating a real-time replica of their assets. This can help firms identify defects or show how they could improve operations and drive revenue. “If you design a new operation you can simulate it and optimise it with the help of IT,� adds Speh, noting how Siemens not only has MindSphere to offer but that it is also a market leader in areas such as automation and product lifecycle management (PLM). With this range of industrial expertise and its cutting-edge MindSphere platform, Speh believes the opportuniMARCH 2019
EUROPE
ties for Saudi industry are limitless. Take the energy market, for example. According to Vision 2030, the country’s energy consumption will increase drastically by 2030. The National Renewable Energy Program aims to substantially increase the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix, targeting the generation of 27.3 GW of renewable energy by 2023 and 58.7 GW by 2030. To meet this growing demand, Siemens offers a range of renewable energy solutions, from wind turbines to lithium
SIDF, MCIT, MAC Workshop 2018
ion battery storage. Additionally, Speh highlights how the MindSphere IoT system monitors, analyses and optimises grids for grid operators and utilities. “Vision 2030 is also about energy efficiency, another area where Siemens has strong IoT capabilities,” Speh says. “We can also offer digital and practical solutions like more efficient electrical motors. Additionally, whether you want to remotely monitor your power plant, chemical plant, food and beverage industry, you name it – this is where MindSphere can come into play.” Renewable energy is just one of the main sectors found in the Kingdom’s blueprint for 2030. “The country also aims to have three Saudi cities w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
23
Effat University What do we offer? • Some of the most innovative, diverse and advanced programs in women’s education • An international reputation for excellence • Partnerships with the world’s finest institutions • Clubs and societies covering a broad range of hobbies and academic interests • Faculty from across 25 different countries, each committed to sharing their unique knowledge • World-class campus facilities • Leading research centers and labs designed to ensure a secure, comfortable environment for students and researchers
Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering Bachelor of Science in Information System Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Master of Science in Energy Engineering
Bachelor of Science in English and Translation Bachelor of Science in Psychology Master of Science in Translation Studies
Bachelor of Science in Finance Bachelor of Science in Marketing Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management Bachelor of Science in Operation and Information Management Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship Master of Science in Finance
Bachelor of Science in Architecture Bachelor of Science in Visual and Digital Production Bachelor of Science in Design Master of Science in Urban Design
Discover more: Effatuniversity@effatuniversity.edu.sa
0530008479 / 0505819131
+966 9200 03331
www.effatuniversity.edu.sa
recognised in the top-ranked 100 cities
transform urban life and infrastructure.
in the world,” explains Speh. Saudi
“We are building air quality measure-
Arabia is already an urban nation with
ment tools, but we’re also addressing
82% of its citizens living in cities and so
traffic jams and implementing variable
it will have to tackle issues such as
speed controls.” A transportation
transportation, energy use, air quality
system is the lifeblood of any city and
and more. Indeed, the UN forecasts
it’s certainly been a key area of focus
that 70% of the world’s population will
for Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has seen its
be living in cities by 2050, so in order to
population double to more than
have healthier, more liveable and
6 million inhabitants since 1990, and to
relaxed lives, those cities will have to
address traffic congestion, it is working
become more efficient – and smarter.
on the world’s largest metro project
Siemens is well-versed in Smart City
with a total route length of 175km.
development and it believes that IoT,
Siemens has played a leading role in
and indeed MindSphere, could help to
the metro project, equipping two of the
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ANALYTICS ON MINDSPHERE’ 25 six lines with 67 Inspiro metro trains, an electrification system, and signaling and communication equipment for fully
1847 Year founded
automated, driverless operation. Running on either public or private clouds, Speh also points to how the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is “easy to deploy” and “less effort to maintain” because of its cloud-based nature. Nevertheless, at the MindSphere Application Centre, it’s clear that it’s not about state-of-the-art technology as much as it is about state-of-the-art thinking. Recognising that business leaders know their organisations’ blind
372,000 Number of Siemens employees globally
+ 200 Countries / regions
where Siemens operates w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
SIEMENS
COMPAN Y FAC TS
• Siemens has 20 MindSphere Application Centres spanning 17 countries. • By 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to generate almost 60GW of renewable energy.
26
• By 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to have three cities recognised in the top-ranked 100 cities in the world.
spots, bottlenecks and headaches best, “collaboration” and “co-creation” are words that best encapsulate the ethos behind the centre. “We sit down with clients and identify their pain
performance, maximise energy
points. They’re always different, and
efficiency and, ultimately, contribute to
there is always a potential to improve,”
Vision 2030. “It’s really about fostering
observes Speh. “Time-wise, effort-wise,
strong relationships,” adds Speh,
you name it – we’re offering change
“We have an ecosystem of around 200
management and helping them
companies now supporting us.”
become digital companies.” Through
It seems that Vision 2030 has offered
its centres, Siemens offers a space
Saudi businesses a fresh slate to
to co-design applications which aim
reshape their operations and sharpen
to optimise processes, speed up
their digital capabilities. This has
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
World’s largest gas turbine First “Made in KSA” at Siemens Dammam Energy Hub
27
encouraged companies to embark on digital transformation journeys, promote localisation, and nurture a more diversified economy. It’s an ambitious roadmap ahead, but with its MindSphere Application Centre, Siemens wants to co-create a better future with the Kingdom.
Riyadh Metro – the world’s largest metro project being executed
w w w. g i g a b i t m a g a z i n e . c o m
D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
&
Data the art of the possible
28
Satish H.C., Executive Vice President and Head of Data Analytics at Infosys, discusses how data analytics offers endless opportunities but hurdles such as a widening skills gap may stand in our way WRITTEN BY
MARCH 2019
L AUR A MULL AN
29
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
‘A
re you ready for the era of Big Data?’: it may be a daunting question for many businesses but it’s a necessary one.
Reams of data are now at our fingertips,
with 2.5quintillion bytes of the stuff being created every day, according to Forbes. It’s an exhaustible resource which can help to deliver incredible customer experiences, new revenues streams and more. So, whilst you may be unprepared for this new age, it’s likely that the competition isn’t. Infosys is just one company that is helping businesses transition into savvy data-native 30
enterprises, offering technology services, consulting, and other services. Rather than blindly helping to execute digital transformation strategies, Infosys felt it really needed to understand how companies plan to use data analytics today and tomorrow. To tackle this, the firm conducted an in-depth study which offers a 360-degree look at how data analytics is set to reshape the business world. In a recent study entitled ‘Endless Opportunities with Data’, Infosys spoke to over 1,000 senior executives whose organisations generated over US$1bn in revenue every year. Whether they were located in the US, EU, Australia or New Zealand, these leaders echoed the same sentiment: the possibilities with data are limitless. They highlighted how MARCH 2019
“ In today’s world, the paradigm has completely changed. Now, if you don’t know programming you can’t be very successful in data analysis” — Satish HC, Executive Vice President and Head of Data Analytics
31
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
data analytics could offer a helping hand with risk mitigation, experience enhancement, the creation of new business models as well as revenue and profitability maximation. Yet, whilst many participants had meticulous roadmaps and strategies underway, executing them was another matter. A seasoned professional in the data analytics space, Satish H.C., Executive Vice President and Head of Data Analytics, highlights that data analytics is a mounting challenge because businesses “aren’t just dealing with more data within the enterprise, they’re
32
also dealing with data coming from outside the business.” In fact, the survey found that some of the biggest challenges facing companies stemmed from integrating multiple datasets from a variety of sources, according to 44% of overall respondents. However, this is merely one of a handful of challenges facing businesses as they prepare for today’s digital age: many executives also pointed out that they were overwhelmed with the number of tools and technologies on the market and admitted that they felt their current systems architecture and technologies weren’t mature enough. MARCH 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘INFOSYS DATA AND ANALYTICS’ 33 Interestingly, but perhaps unsurpris-
(whereby if you’re good with technology
ingly, one of the biggest takeaways
packages and if you knew the business,
from the report underlined the widen-
you would be successful), “today’s new
ing skills gap. Businesses admitted that
wave of skilled professionals will need
they struggled to make the most of
much stronger knowledge of program-
the opportunities presented by data
ming and underlying platforms”. On top
analytics because of this, with two-
of this, the type of work that data analysts
fifths (40%) of leaders identifying a
are doing is changing rapidly. “What
lack of analytics skills in their organisa-
this means is that the composition of
tion. “In today’s world, the paradigm
skills that we need is changing; we need
has completely changed,” observes
a larger proportion of people who
H.C. “Now, if you don’t know program-
are programming- savvy and we need
ming you can’t be very successful in
analytical skills more than ever,” he
data analysis.” He explains that unlike
explains. “Apart from this, we’re also just
older perceptions of data analytics
dealing with greater and greater amounts w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
34
of data which poses challenges.”
heavily to create these skills from within
The ever-growing skills gap is well
through training. More and more of our
documented. For instance, in a recent
clients are asking us to train their existing
report, McKinsey estimated that the U.S.
workforce.” For instance, the firm has
will soon face a shortage of approximate-
developed a corporate learning solution
ly 175,000 data scientists. So, what can
called Wingspan which facilitates
be done to address it? With over two
learning, offering a voice-enabled
decades of experience at Infosys, H.C.
‘learning assistant’ for guidance. Infosys
believes the firm is well equipped to
is also working shoulder to shoulder
take on the challenge. “To address this
with academic institutions to further
for our clients, we have invested very
learning and it’s also experimenting
MARCH 2019
35
with the idea of creating an AI Centre
effectively used for functions like
of Excellence for its clients.
financing and accounting, marketing
Through its research, Infosys spoke
and operations, and it’s become
to senior leaders from a variety of
increasingly more interconnected with
industries including energy, retail,
other technologies both at the core
logistics, healthcare, among others.
and at the edge. Indeed, it’s no surprise
However, despite this range in per-
that when asked to pick the digital
spectives, the sentiment remained
technology with the greatest impact
the same: data analytics is firmly top
on data outcomes, respondents cited
of the agenda when it comes to digital
several innovations including artificial
transformation. It’s already being
intelligence (37%), Internet of Things w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
(19%), cloud technologies (16%) and big data (12%). With a market valuation of US$41.6bn, Infosys has put its technological heft firmly behind data analytics, creating cutting-edge solutions such as a data analytics workbench. “This automates the data science lifecycle end-to-end so that you don’t have to spend a lot of time on data ranking and creating semantic layers. Instead, you spend more time on building a model and generating insights,” explains H.C. 36
During the current analytics lifecycle, around 80% of the time is spent on data acquisition and preparation whereas only 20% is actually spent on analytics. This platform reverses this equation and aims to empower self-service analytics. Infosys hopes to apply this same way of thinking to AI by working on a new AI workbench too. Looking at the future of data analytics, H.C. sees three key trends emerging on the horizon. First, more businesses are seeking to become more analyticsdriven and the sector is also seeing a greater converge of data and digital ware. Finally, Satish says that “as the
MARCH 2019
“As the digital economy grows, it will lead to a new economy — the data economy, which is powered by AI” — Satish HC, Executive Vice President and Head of Data Analytics
digital economy grows, it will lead to a new economy – the data economy, which is powered by AI.” He forecasts that this will “have a more disproportionate impact on the overall economy of the world”. Indeed, it’s clear that the data analytics boom is here to stay and, not one to rest on its laurels, Infosys has no plans to slow down its momentum when it comes to investment in the field. “Unless we are proactive, unless we have the ability to be there every step of the way on their journey, we will not be relevant,” concludes H.C. “At Infosys, we’re competitive because we’re investing in digital transformation all the time. We have created this value network to enhance human capital or innovation capital. We’re helping to solve the big problems facing our clients.”
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
37
CONNECTED DEVICES
RESHAPING THE AUDIO LANDSCAPE
38
MARCH 2019
From connected car technologies to trailblazing audio systems, HARMAN International is riding the tailwinds of the latest audio boom. We sit down with Michael Mauser, Executive Vice President and President of the Lifestyle Audio Division, to find out more about the illustrious brand‌ WRITTEN BY
L AUR A MULL AN
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
39
CONNECTED DEVICES
In your eyes, what makes HARMAN unique in the market? What gives the firm a competitive edge? HARMAN is a truly unique company. It has an incredible heritage that goes back 70 years and a ‘house of brands’ that includes some of biggest names in audio such as JBL, AKG and, of course, Harman Kardon. Our relationship with music uniquely spans the whole process; from AKG microphones and Studer recording equipment found in some of the world’s most iconic recording studios and used by legendary artists, 40
right through the audio systems at some of the biggest concert venues or even inside your smartphone, laptop or car. And that’s just the audio side. Alongside this, we have our connect-
can be found in cars, shops, hospitals,
Our interview comes shortly after the CES Show in Las Vegas. Did HARMAN make any interesting announcements at the event?
schools and on-the-go. Factor in over
Yes. One of the key themes we presented
50mn cars on the road using HARMAN
is the vehicle’s role in amplifying our
technology, it’s very likely that you have
connected lives. By bringing together
experienced HARMAN at some point
HARMAN’s expertise in connected car,
today. Add the power of Samsung and
audio and connected services technol-
the access it provides to technologies,
ogies, we showed how we can enable
such as displays and chip sets, and
smarter interactions, and improve safety
HARMAN’s case is compelling.
and security in the car. It’s a very exciting
ed car technologies like a sophisticated and scalable Digital Cockpit and 5G connectivity. Our connected services
MARCH 2019
41
time when the car is expected to change
conversations inside the car between
more in the next five years than it has in
passengers, with voice assistants or
the last fifty. There were a number of
on the phone – it combines microphones,
key innovations from HARMAN at CES
voice processing and in-vehicle acousti-
but one of the most interesting was our
cal signal processing to create an ideal
Premium Communications technology.
environment for conversation within
With voice commands emerging as the
the car cabin, enhancing the sounds
norm for managing in-car experiences,
you want to hear, and reducing those
clear in-vehicle communication is more
you don’t.
important than ever before. Our new
In our Connected Car and Connected
Premium Communications technology
Services divisions, we introduced a suite
will allow you to have frustration-free
of technologies to enhance the driving w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CONNECTED DEVICES
“ Over the next decade we envisage that the in-car telematics landscape will change dramatically” 42
— Michael Mauser, Executive Vice President and President of the Lifestyle Audio Division
experience and the safety of the vehicle and driver, including facial recognition, biometric monitoring, augmented reality for the E-mirror, voice activation through multiple AIs, contextual navigation and much, much more. Our focus is on developing technologies that deliver the highest experience per mile.
HARMAN was acquired by Samsung around two years ago. How has this relationship supported the business? The acquisition has been extremely positive for both companies. From a strategic point of view, Samsung committed that HARMAN would operate as a standalone company, ensuring we remain agile and build on the track record that has delivered significant growth for our customers and partners. At HARMAN, we have increased our innovation speed through scale, resources and competencies thanks to Samsung’s support. For example, Samsung’s 5G antennas enable our Connected Car technologies. For Samsung, HARMAN brings the expertise in automotive that is helping it to build even closer links with some of biggest car brands. At
MARCH 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘DIGITAL COCKPIT SOLUTIONS – HARMAN CES 2018’ 43 CES we saw the most recent develop-
quality audio, not merely for conveni-
ments of the two businesses’ collabo-
ence. Whether that’s in the car, in the
ration delivering on our target to bring
home or on the go, HARMAN and its
two powerhouses together.
brands have the products and technologies to provide a brilliant experi-
HARMAN is best known for making audio systems under its brands such as JBL and Harman Kardon. In your opinion, how has the audio market evolved in recent years? Is it a promising market to be in?
ence, wherever you are. HARMAN owns seven consumerfacing audio brands including JBL, AKG, Mark Levinson, Harman Kardon, Infinity, Revel and Lexicon. We have
This a great time for the audio market.
expanded our portfolio in the car audio
First, we have seen the proliferation
space by licensing other brands such
of devices and access to media on
as Bowers & Wilkins in the car, and
a huge scale. Now, we are seeing those
we purchased the automotive side of
consumers are looking for higher
Bang & Olufsen. Each brand has its own w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CONNECTED DEVICES
FACTS
confirm that this strategy works and
• Research by FutureSource Consulting predicts devices using voice assistants will grow by 541% in volume by 2022; from 24mn units to more than 154mn units. • Around 60% of owners in the US consider their speaker to be a necessity and nearly 50% of owners in the UK feel that using a voice-controlled speaker has given them a better quality of life at home. 44
• More than 50mn automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems.
provides a good synergy for carmakers to add value to their products.
What trends and opportunities are you seeing in the audio market looking forward? What will the audio market look like in the future and what are HARMAN’s key areas of focus? Audio is becoming ever more important in a connected lifestyle. If we look at the car sector, the industry lies at the convergence of several megatrends. These include shared mobility, electric vehicles, connectivity, autonomous driving, and AI. Across all of these, we believe that personalisation is going to be increasingly important to consumers. For music lovers, we have just presented a concept called Personi-Fi, enabling
identity and positioning in the market-
consumers to have a personalised audio
place. That requires investment and care
experience wherever they are. Personi-
to ensure that each brand is true to its
Fi uses a dedicated app (or it can be
values, but it also means the brands are
embedded in a head unit or other device)
credible and build an affinity with an
to capture the user’s personal sound
audience. It also helps us when we talk
preferences: how they listen, what
to car manufacturers about which is
and where they like to listen to. These
the best fit for a car brand and we’re
preferences are then stored in the cloud.
able to match brands. Our longstand-
Personi-Fi creates immersive sound
ing relationships with the carmakers
environments, even 3D sound, which can
MARCH 2019
45
“We can’t wait for change; we have to lead and drive innovation.With our global structure,collaborations and support from Samsung,we are in great shape to benefit from the‘new normal’” — Michael Mauser, Executive Vice President and President of the Lifestyle Audio Division
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CONNECTED DEVICES
46
also be personalised to the user’s device
by 2022; from 24mn units to more
and environment, even if it is in the car.
than 154mn units. Our own research has shown that
How is the rise of voice activation tools impacting the sector? Is it just a fad or do you think this trend is here to stay?
and use it even more. Around 60%
Voice is the way of the future because
of owners in the US consider their
it provides a much more natural way
speaker to be a necessity and nearly
for us to interact with our devices.
50% of owners in the UK feel that
Research by FutureSource Consulting
using a voice-controlled speaker has
predicts that devices using voice
given them a better quality of life at
assistants will grow by 541% in volume
home. The research also shows 70%
MARCH 2019
once consumers start to use these devices, they find more applications
47
expected their use to increase over
change dramatically. Now, many cars
the next 12 months, so it’s a technology
operate as stand-alone machines with
that is set to develop further. That level
limited connectivity to a wider eco-
of acceptance, within such a short time
system. As hardware and connectivity
frame, is staggering.
advances, there will be a shift whereby cars will sit in and operate in a much
Consumers are increasingly expecting greater connectivity between their homes, cars and offices, for example. How does HARMAN tackle this challenge?
larger management system; becoming a component in a wider connectivity machine. The car of tomorrow will be able to connect to your home, portable
Over the next decade we envisage that
devices and office. Our ‘Excited
the in-car telematics landscape will
Explorer’ demo car at CES previewed w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CONNECTED DEVICES
how a personal assistant in the car could manage tasks and automatically assign them to other devices. So, if you needed to order a new laptop, it would go to Alexa and if you want to turn on the heating or lights at home, it would send that message to Google Home. With Samsung, we have also shown how you can connect to your refrigerator, so you could see, from your car, if you need to collect something for a meal or get your voice assistant to order a particular ingredient. This is in fact a big benefit to work so closely with 48
Samsung on a multi-device ecosystem.
What is the biggest challenge the company has faced recently? How are you trying to overcome this? Looking at some of the challenges we face, one of the most difficult is the perpetual battle for talent. It’s a global market and that means we are competing against some of the largest and best-known brands in the tech space. Our people shape our business and they are at the heart of our organisation and future.  Our growth and quest for speed of innovation is higher than ever and we have goals to disrupt ourselves before being disrupted. MARCH 2019
49
What are your aspirations for HARMAN in the next 5-10 years? What’s your vision for the future of the company? I believe that the technology around us is genuinely changing our lives more rapidly than at any time in the past 150 years. We can’t wait for change; we have to lead and drive innovation. With our global structure, collaborations and support from Samsung, we are in great shape to benefit from the ‘new normal’.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
FLEET MANAGEMENT
50
How Verizon Connect is helping customers run a smarter fleet FROM GPS FLEET TRACKING TO DRIVER EDUCATION TOOLS, VERIZON CONNECT IS BRINGING GREATER VISIBILITY TO FLEET MANAGEMENT
WRITTEN BY
MARCH 2019
L AUR A MULL AN
51
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
FLEET MANAGEMENT
A
re my assets working to their best capacity? Are my employees acting safely? Is there any way the
business can operate more efficiently or
cost-effectively?’ These are just a few of the daunting questions looming over today’s fast-scaling businesses. As the competition ramps up, senior business professionals need to keep a vigilant eye on any opportunities or worse, any pitfalls, that could sway their operations. But what if the bustling venture you’re overseeing includes a fleet of mobile workers and vehicles? How can you 52
carefully monitor tens or even hundreds of mobile workers as they hurry to different ends of the country or even the world? Managing a mobile workforce can seem a near-impossible task for even the most s easoned logistics professional which can mean missed opportunities, poor productivity or unnecessary costs. This is where new technologies can offer a helping hand. From advanced GPS fleet tracking software to driver education tools, technology now means you can immediately improve the productivity and efficiency of your fleet. During its short history, Verizon Connect (a subsidiary of telecommunications giant Verizon Communications) has made a name for itself in this field. One of the most popular MARCH 2019
products in its arsenal is its mobile resource management service (MRM). The next logical step for telematics, MRM combines traditional telematics and GPS tracking, with route optimisation and work order management. Essentially, this means businesses can monitor the exact whereabouts of their fleet vehicles with a near real-time GPS tracker. This, in turn, allows companies to offer an estimated time of arrivals (ETA), ensures that drivers don’t take unauthorised detours and can even help to re-route mobile workers to new jobs as they emerge. With over a decade’s worth of expertise clocked up at the firm, Sergio Barata, General Manager for EMEA, highlights that, in an age where tech disruptors reign supreme, fleet management is more important than ever. “With MRM, customers are looking for the ability to control, inform and manage their field resources more effectively,” he says. “They’re an extension of the business but there’s a high level of expectation from customers receiving field services, specifically because of new benchmarks set by companies like Uber and Amazon. Whether you’re competing or
— Sergio Barata General Manager for EMEA, Verizon Connect
not, people are measuring their experience against the experience they receive from these disruptive w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
53
FLEET MANAGEMENT
providers.” Operational decision
field service management (70%),
makers seem to agree that mobile
operations (65%) and fleets/assets
resource management is a key
(62%) elements of their organisation’s
challenge that simply can’t be ignored
mobile workforce.
any longer. In fact, in recent research,
MRM can take different forms
Verizon Connect found that over three
depending on the customer: some
quarters (79%) of senior operational
businesses may want to start with
decision makers believed their
telematics (a combination of telecom-
organisations had to find a better way
munications and informatics that
of managing their mobile workforce
makes GPS tracking possible) whilst
operation. On top of this, the majority
others may already have some
of respondents admitted a degree of
technology in place but are just looking
difficulty when it came to managing the
to streamline last-mile delivery. By
54
“ With MRM, customers are looking for the ability to control, inform and manage their field resources more effectively” — Sergio Barata General Manager for EMEA, Verizon Connect
MARCH 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLEET TELEMATICS’ 55
offering cloud-based, software-as-
see fit. “Whether they’re looking for
a-service (SaaS) platforms, Barata
a SaaS-based scheduling tool or job
contends that the real benefit of
visibility and workforce management
Verizon Connect is that it allows
solutions, we can help them generate
businesses to scale when and how
additional value without a serious IT
they want to. “A lot of traditional
and capital commitment,” he says.
scheduling and routing platforms are
“Because we’ve built a platform, we
very capital heavy and IT-centric,”
have technologies that can stand
highlights Barata, pointing out how
alone. They can integrate with them-
many firms don’t get a fair return on
selves, or they can actually integrate
investment. In contrast, SaaS and
with third-party solutions as well
cloud-based solutions offer significant
— that’s critical for our customers.”
cost savings and give businesses the
Cloud computing has long been
power to scale up and down as they
synonymous with agility and it’s a w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
FLEET MANAGEMENT
“ Because we’ve built a platform, we have technologies that can stand alone. They can integrate with themselves, or they can actually integrate with third-party solutions as well – that’s critical for our customers 56
— Sergio Barata General Manager for EMEA, Verizon Connect
similar story at Verizon Connect. For
software companies — Telogis,
instance, with the right login details
Fleetmatics and Verizon Telematics —
a worker — whether that’s regular
under one unified brand. It is the
employees, contractors or even
culmination of more than $5bn in
seasonal or casual workers —can
investments but, for Barata, it’s true
access the same cloud platform easily.
competitive edge lies in the fact that it
Barata argues that this gives firms the
can offer end-to-end solutions. This
ability to “scale depending on the
means that, regardless of what fleet
needs of the business very easily”.
management tools a customer may
Founded in 2018, Verizon Connect
need, Verizon Connect is essentially
combines three distinctive fleet and
a one-stop shop. “If you asked 1,000
mobile workforce management
telematics companies what’s unique
MARCH 2019
57
about them, they’d probably say similar
vehicles can also provide useful data
stuff: that they’re ‘best in breed’ or
sets and benchmarks which can drive
‘world-class’,” observes Barata. “I think
further business outcomes. “Custom-
our advantage is our focus on provid-
ers can get greater operational visibility
ing a holistic solution, not just across
in terms of job execution where they
the vehicle-centric part of the business,
can change behaviours, implement
but also the operations and the people
management and escalate issues but
part of the business.”
they can also get operational visibility
From driving fuel efficiency and
in terms of data. Using valuable data
safety to reducing fleet expenses, the
resources, you could see which
opportunities for fleet management
geographies are better at certain
are endless. Analysis of customers’
functions than others, for example.” w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
FLEET MANAGEMENT
In fact, in its Data Driven Fleet Report, Verizon Connect found that reports on driver behaviour helped to substantially reduce speeding, idling and harsh driving. Carrying out about 70,000 deliveries a week, Dixons Carphone – owner of Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse – is just one such market leader that has reaped the rewards of this technology. Implementing a full telematics solution, Dixons Carphone’s managers were able to easily track their fleet from a single dashboard – allowing them to stay abreast of vehicle location and drive 58
behaviour so that they could better respond to customer queries and complaints. In doing so, the firm says it has been able to improve its road risk management and efficiency with Chris Georgious, Head of Compliance UK&I Supply Chain & Operations, noting: “There is plenty of reason to be excited about the Verizon Connect system in terms of future accident reduction, better driver education and how we can present information to our drivers.” Used by large retail giants and small customercentric businesses alike, it seems that fleet management and telematics are here to stay. As such, Barata remains optimistic MARCH 2019
“There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the Verizon Connect system in terms of future accident reduction, better driver education and how we can present information to our drivers” — Chris Georgious Head of Compliance UK & Supply Chain Operations for Dixons Carphone
about the firm’s future. “I believe that it doesn’t really matter the size of the business – those fundamental needs still exist,” he says. “I think Verizon Connect has got the right innovative solutions and the platforms to be successful in all those segments.”
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
59
W O R K F O R C E T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
The workforce of the future:
62
What is driving it and where is it going? Digital transformation is upending industries across the globe but how will it impact the workforce? Nick Offin, Head of Sales, Marketing and Operations at Toshiba Northern Europe, investigates‌ WRITTEN BY
MO AN RC TH 2019
NICK OFFIN
63
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
W O R K F O R C E T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
A
n increasingly rapid pace of innovation is driving forward technological advances in the enterprise at an unprecedented rate,
meaning that workforce dynamics are set to change drastically in the coming years. Perhaps the most noticeable and tangible example of this so far is the realisation of mobile working on a global scale, with the workplace often no longer just one set location. When we talk about the workplace of the future, it is mobility which will continue to dominate and alter the ways in which organisations and their employees function. But what are the catalysts behind this new era of mobility, and where will it take our businesses? 64
A NEW ERA OF MOBILITY According to IDC, cloud now accounts for almost half of worldwide IT infrastructure spending. The continued adoption of cloud computing is a core driving factor behind enterprise mobility, with organisations turning to both public and private clouds in order to enhance organisational productivity and connectivity in the age of broadband and 4G. Yet the arrival of 5G is set to fuel mobility further, not only increasing cellular network speed, but also capacity, which will enable more workers to go mobile with unhindered speed and connectivity. Workforces will benefit from faster download and upload speeds, lower latency, and the ability to run greater capacity applications simultaneously – meaning they can perform more heavy-duty tasks MARCH 2019
“It is mobility which will continue to dominate and alter the ways in which organisations and employees function” — Nick Offin Head of Sales, Marketing and Operations, Toshiba
65
remotely. As a result of this, Qualcomm predicts the 5G value chain will generate up to £2.7 trillion by global revenue in 2035. Of course, a subsequent impact of 5G – and where many organisations expect to see its true value – will be in its ability to serve as the foundations for greater Internet of Things (IoT) adoption in the enterprise. Although in its fledgling stages, combined IoT markets are set to grow to a worth of £395 billion globally by 2021 with the advantages offered by the technology w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
W O R K F O R C E T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
too alluring to be ignored. As the trend accelerates, so too will the quantity of data produced. To manage this, businesses will increasingly rely on trends such as mobile edge computing to assist in data management from both an efficiency and security perspective. Acting as a first port of call for the data produced by IoT devices, mobile edge computing processes information on location for real-time insight while filtering mission-critical data to the cloud for deeper analysis without overwhelming IT infrastructures. Devices which possess the ability to
66
process data on the edge will become an increasingly central part of the workforce of the future as companies look to reduce strain on their cloud services, while at the same time ensure productivity and security across an extended IT perimeter.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS OF IOT Of course, such IoT solutions themselves will also shape the workforce of the future in transforming the ways in which they perform their jobs – particularly within industries reliant on fieldbased and frontline workers. This MARCH 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TOSHIBA DYNAEDGE’ 67
year has already seen the arrival of
glasses to access and overlay highly-
business-targeted IoT devices such as
detailed specifications or instructions
Assisted Reality (AR) smart glasses
in real-time, ensuring greater manufac-
which – by running on Windows – are
turing precision, reduced errors, and
easily integrated into existing IT
a more efficient overall process.
infrastructures and provide handsfree working capabilities to employ-
SECURING THE FUTURE
ees. For sectors ranging from engi-
With the rise of IoT, and resulting data
neering and logistics to healthcare and
proliferation, the workforce of the
security, these solutions not only
future will also have to be more secure
enable greater mobility, but also create
than ever before. This, more than
new and more efficient activities for
anything, is the key concern for IT
staff. Take, for example, workers on the
leaders who need to create a secure
manufacturing line, who can use smart
network perimeter across an everw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
W O R K F O R C E T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
68
MARCH 2019
C OM PA N Y FACT S
• According to IDC, cloud now accounts for almost half of worldwide IT infrastructure spending. • Qualcomm predicts the 5G value chain will generate up to £2.7 trillion by global revenue in 2035. • 62% of Europe’s IT decision makers regard data security as a key IT investment priority over the next 12 months, according to Toshiba
their future workforce is better educated about IT protocols and regulation, while also equipping them with solutions which offer robust protection from the increasing guile of cyber criminals – from laptops with built-in biometric and encryption tools, to solutions like mobile edge computing which can identify and isolate threats before they reach the network core. We’re now entering a professional landscape in which workforces will be able to accumulate, analyse and act on data – itself collected in more diverse and convenient locations – and use that to create further competitive advantages and revenue streams. Within such an environment, the future work-
increasing surface area, and in the face
force must continue to prioritise security
of a constantly developing cyber-crime
above all else, while at the same time
threat. SonicWall research revealed
learn to embrace new skills and capabili-
a 275% annual increase in the number
ties delivered by IoT solutions which can
of encrypted threats, as well as a 101.2%
drive new levels of digital transformation
rise in the number of ransomware
across all industries.
variants in 2017 – to give just a couple of examples. As such, it’s no surprise that 62% of Europe’s IT decision makers regard data security as a key IT investment priority over the next 12 months, according to Toshiba. This means that organisations must ensure w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
69
10 & 11 April RDS Dublin
#DTS19 dublintechsummit.com
CASSIE KOZYRKOV Chief Decision Scientist, Google
DTS19 SPEAKERS
MARTHA LANE FOX Founder, lastminute.com
DOUGLAS TERRIER NASA CTO
JEETENDR SEDHEV New York Times Bestselling Author
MIHAI ALISIE Co-founder, Ethereum
T O P 10
72
MARCH 2019
TOP 10 Most valuable
telecommunication companies in the world According to a recent report by Transparency Market Research, the global telecommunications services market is set to reach a whopping value of US$1.4bn by 2025. Using data from Forbes, we investigate the top ten telecommunication companies in the world by market value in 2018 WRITTEN BY
LAURA MULLAN
w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com
73
T O P 10
10
74
Orange With a market value of $48bn in 2018, Orange has earned its stripes as the dominant telecommunications company in France and the third largest in Europe. The firm’s operations make for impressive reading: it has 450,000km of undersea cables (enough to go around the earth 10 times), 6,498 patents in its portfolio as well as 150,000 employees across the world. Additionally, Orange also claims to have 53mn 4G customers worldwide and 261mn customers across the globe. In an annual survey by ARCEP, Orange was voted the top mobile network in France for the eighth time in a row.
www.orange.com/en/home
MARCH 2019
09
75
China Telecom Corporation Boasting a market value of $39bn in 2018, China Telecom Corporation is a major player in the telecommunications industry. As of the end of 2017, the company says it had around 250mn mobile subscribers, 134mn wireline broadband subscribers and around 122mn access lines in service. Yang Jie has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Telecom since 2015.
www.chinatelecom-h.com
w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com
T O P 10
08
76
KDDI Corporation Headquartered in the Garden Air Tower in Iidabashi, Tokyo, KDDI Corporation is Japan’s second largest mobile operator with a market value of $66bn according to Forbes. In 2014, KDDI unveiled that it was teaming up with five other global companies including Google to build a new trans-Pacific cable system linking the west coast of the United States with Japan. The cable has been in operation since 2016. www.kddi.com
MARCH 2019
07
77
Telefonica Telefonica is the number one Spanish multinational by market capitalisation and one of the largest private telecommunication companies in the world. Telefonica’s brands include the eponymous Telefonica, Movistar, O2 and Vivo. Forbes reports that the business had a market value of $81bn in 2018, generating around $60bn in sales. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
www.telefonica.com
w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com
T O P 10
06
78
Deutsche Telekom Not only is Germany’s Deutsche Telekom the largest telecommunications company in Europe, it’s also the 6th most valuable in the world with a market valuation of $81bn. The business boasts around 168mn mobile customers, 28mn fixed-network lines as well as 19mn broadband lines. It has a presence in more than 50 countries with some 216,000 employees throughout the world. Forbes notes that the business generated $85bn in sales and $4bn in profit in 2018.
www.telekom.com/en
MARCH 2019
05 Photo Š Wikimedia Commons - shibainu 79
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, commonly referred to as NTT, is the fifth most valuable telecommunications company according to Forbes, with a market value of $96bn. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the business generated $105bn in sales and $8bn in profit last year. While Nippon Telegraph and Telephone is listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, New York, and London stock exchanges, the Japanese government still owns roughly one-third of the company’s shares.
www.ntt.co.jp
w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com
04
80
SoftBank
Headed up by CEO Masayoshi Son, Japanese holding conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. is one of the most valuable telecommunication companies in the world. Forbes reports that the firm recorded $83bn in sales and $9bn in profit in 2018. Meanwhile, its assets were valued at $293bn. Softbank is currently the majority owner of American telecom Sprint, but following merger discussions with T-Mobile’s parent Deutsche Telekom, the pair have reached an agreement for a Sprint and T-Mobile merger which will see Softbank’s ownership fall from over 80% to around just 27% of the combined entity. If the deal goes ahead as planned, it is expected to close in the first half of the year. Forbes recorded that the company had a market value of $85bn in 2018.
www.softbank.jp/en/ MARCH 2019
Photo © Wikimedia Commons – Itoshin87
T O P 10
03
81
China Mobile
Boasting a market valuation of around $193bn, China Mobile is one of the most valuable telecommunication firms in Asia. In November 2018, the company reported that it had around 933mn customers in total, with 705mn 4G customers as well as 154mn wireline broadband customers. Through its day-to-day operations the group provides full communications services in all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and directly-administered municipalities throughout Mainland China and Hong Kong.
www.chinamobileltd.com
w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com
T O P 10
02
Verizon Communications
Claiming the second spot on the leader board,
Verizon Communications stands as one of the most valuable telecommunication companies in the world with a valuation of around $201bn. Forbes reports that the American business generated $128bn in sales and $31bn in profit 82
respectively in 2018. Verizon Communications was first founded in 2000 by Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., in what was one of the largest mergers in US business history at the time. The New-York based company completed its $4.5bn acquisition of Yahoo in June 2017. It then combined these newly acquired internet assets with its AOL brands to form a new subsidiary called Oath.
www.verizon.com
MARCH 2019
83
Photo ŠVerizon w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com
T O P 10
01 AT&T
Topping the ranking with a market valuation of around $198bn, AT&T is one of the most valuable telecommunications players in the world. Headquartered in Texas, USA, AT&T has racked up 34 consecutive years of quarterly dividend growth and today it stands as a Fortune 10 company. The firm recently completed acquisition of Time Warner – now known as WarnerMedia – 84
bringing brands such as Warner Bros., HBO and Turner under its umbrella. According to Forbes, the American telecommunications company generated around $159bn in sales in 2018, making a profit of $31bn.
www.att.com
MARCH 2019
85
w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com
EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S
We round up the biggest and best technology events and conferences from around the world… EDITED BY LAURA MULLAN
04–08 MARCH 2019
RSA Conference 2019 [ SAN FRANCISCO, USA ] RSA Conference is one of the biggest IT security conferences in the world, with 2019’s main event taking place in San Francisco. Attendees can expect to 86
03–06 MARCH 2019
Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2019
learn about the latest cybersecurity developments in expert-led sessions, inspiring keynotes and in-depth semi-
[ LONDON, UK ]
nars. They can also demo innovative
The Gartner Data & Analytics Summit
products and solutions, network with
2019 aims to share new strategies,
insiders and peers, and help move the
guidance and best practices to help
industry forward as part of an engaged
companies excel in today’s digital
and empowered global community.
economy. Gartner says that it aims to
This year’s theme is ‘Better’. According to
help attendees “realise their future –
the RSA Conference, this means ‘work-
a future based on data you can trust,
ing hard to find better solutions. Making
agile analytics you can rely on, and
better connections with peers from
the clarity needed to empower you.”
around the world. And keeping the digital
Click to visit website
world safe so everyone can get on with making the real world a better place’.
Click to visit website
MARCH 2019
25–26 APRIL 2019
AI and Big Data Conference 2019
09–10 MAY 2019
[ OLYMPIA, LONDON,MUK ]
TECHSPO Technology Expo 2019
The AI and Big Data Conference 2019
[ NEW YORK, USA ]
is a showcase of next-generation tech-
TECHSPO Technology Expo show-
nologies and strategies from the world
cases the next generation of
of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data.
technology and innovation, covering
Taking place at the Olympia Grand,
topics such as augmented reality, vir-
London, the event provides the oppor-
tual reality, IoT, wearables, mobile,
tunity for attendees to explore and
internet, 3D printing and emerging
discover the practical and successful
technology. Exhibitors have the oppor-
implementation of AI and Big Data. The
tunity to show off their companies to
conference will feature four co-located
consumers, investors, hordes of press,
events, 21 conference tracks, 12,000
the most sought-after talent, and the
attendees, more than 500 speakers
greatest pool of tech enthusiasts look-
and 350 exhibitions.
ing to celebrate emerging ventures.
Click to visit website
Click to visit website
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
87
EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S
29–31 MAY 2019
13–16 MAY 2019
Internet of Things World 88
Augmented World Expo USA [ SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, USA ]
[ SANTA CLARA CONVENTION CENTRE, CALIFORNIA, USA ]
The Augmented World Expo (AWE)
Bringing together around 12,5000
and expo on augmented reality in the
leaders and innovators, Internet of
world with annual dates in the USA,
Things World is one of the largest IoT
Asia and Europe. The three-day event
events, creating the ideal opportunity
brings together a mix of CEOs, CTOs,
for networking and building partner-
designers, developers, creative agen-
ships. The comprehensive event
cies, futurists, analysts, investors, and
boasts 150 sessions covering topics
top press who are passionate about
like smart home, smart cities, security,
XR (short for augmented reality (AR),
edge computing, artificial intelligence
virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality).
(AI), healthcare and more. Over 400
Around 5,000 attendees from all over
speakers are expected to take the stage
the world will be at the event, with many
and more than 300 exhibitors and
representing Fortune 1000 companies.
startups will showcase at the event.
Click to visit website
Click to visit website
MARCH 2019
touts itself as the largest conference
25–26 JUNE 2019
Women of Silicon Roundabout
04–08 NOV 2019
[ EXCEL LONDON, UK ]
Microsoft Ignite 2019
Through inspirational
[ ORLANDO, FLORIDA, USA ]
keynotes, panel discus-
Microsoft Ignite is Micro-
sions, technical classes
soft’s annual meeting
and more, the Women
created for enterprise
of Silicon Roundabout
professionals, services
aims to promote gender
and products. Offering
diversity and inclusion in
everything from deep
[ LONDON, UK ]
the technology sector.
product dives to hands-on
MoneyLIVE Digital Bank-
In 2018, the event saw
labs and immersive expe-
ing is the leading digital
speakers from compa-
riences, Microsoft Ignite
banking conference
nies such as Google,
will cover a wide range of
for innovators across the
Groupon, SAP, and eBay
topics such as deploy-
industry. With over 11
take the stage, attract-
ment, development,
hours of content from
ing more than 6,000
architecture security as
more than 40 speakers,
attendees. Spanning two
well as operations & man-
2018’s event tackled the
days, the event hopes to
agement. At last year’s
most pressing questions
inspire tech leaders and
event, the keynote
facing the banking
help them supercharge
speaker was Microsoft
industry today.
their careers.
CEO Satya Nadella.
Visit website
Visit website
Visit website
JUNE 2019
MoneyLIVE Digital Banking 2019
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
89
90
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AT UNIPER: A KEY PLAYER IN THE ENERGY FIELD BECOMING DATA DRIVEN WRIT TEN BY
L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY
LE WIS VAUGHAN
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
91
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
UNIPER
Embarking on a root-andbranch digital transformation, energy behemoth Uniper is showcasing the true power of data
W
ith about 36GW of generating capacity, Uniper has earned its stripes as one of the world’s largest global power genera-
tors. The Düsseldorf-headquartered firm was founded in 2016 after it carved out its own path 92
from E.ON and since then, it has grown to become a global powerhouse in the energy space, expanding its operations across 40 countries and attracting 12,000 employees to its doors. Technology has obviously played a vital role in this rapid ascension and, more specifically, Uniper’s data analytics plan has been a real tour de force. When it first hashed out its digital roadmap Uniper set itself an impressive goal: to become a more data driven company. This may seem like a straightforward task – that is, if you don’t take into account the scale of Uniper’s operations. The company not only generates power, but it also procures, stores, transports and supplies commodities such as natural gas, LNG and coal, as well as energy-related products. With this in mind, Uniper has reams and reams of data at MARCH 2019
EUROPE
8.2 bcm Gas storage capacity
2016
Year founded
12,000 Approximate number of employees
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
93
UNIPER
its disposal – but how to draw real value from this was another challenge it needed to tackle. The problem with data analytics, particularly at this magnitude, is that it’s often isolated and difficult to utilise enterprise wide. “Whether it’s power plants or gas storage, these sorts of assets are actually quite digitised already,” muses Dr. Stephan van Aaken, VP responsible for Digital Transformation of the Asset Business at Uniper. “Nowadays you can hardly run a power plant without sensors or the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) but none of
94
these are perfectly utilised. Often information is siloed and organised in different places which means the whole organisation can’t reach its optimum capability.” There are many forward-thinking questions facing today’s utility and power giants. How much coal or gas do they E X ECU T I VE P RO FI LE
Dr. Stephan van Aaken Dr. Stephan van Aaken is Vice President of Asset IT, Architecture & Optimisation. His previous roles include Head of Asset Information and Head of Asset Power Market Risk. He graduated with an Engineering Degree from the RWTH Aachen.
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘UNIPER: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON ENERGY’ 95 need to produce today and in the future? Is the market going to pivot in a completely different direction? How can they maximise profit? These queries are daunting yet necessary, and by offering evidenced-based predictions data holds some of the answers. Yet, before you can draw any insights from data, it has to be organised. As such, Uniper sought to standardise the way it collected and organised data, which van Aaken aptly likens to “cleaning up the kitchen before you can actually start to cook your meal”.
“ Employees really bought into the technology because they could see it was really making their lives easier” — Dr. Stephan van Aaken, VP responsible for the Asset Digitalisation program w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
UNIPER
96
Wanting to break down its data silos, the firm set about the mammoth task of reshaping its architecture. “We started to think about how we can drive value and money from our data at an enterprise scale,” explains Rene Greiner, VP of Data Integration. “From the first moment, it became clear we needed one fundamental thing: a ‘single point of truth’ whereby we can let data flow from one domain to the other.” To this end, Uniper worked closely with an intricate ecosystem of partners to create a cutting-edge data analytics MARCH 2019
EUROPE
platform. Over the past several years,
succeed,” Greiner affirms. Similarly,
the energy giant teamed up with
he praises Tableau’s “best in class
Tableau and Talend to integrate more
visual analytics capabilities” noting that
than 120 internal and external sources
it “perfectly supports Uniper’s digitisa-
into a Snowflake central data lake in
tion journey.”
the Microsoft Azure Cloud. Greiner
Embarking on a root-and-branch
speaks warmly of the strong partner-
transformation is no easy feat, but
ships Uniper has formed with Snow-
developing strong industry ties has
flake and Talend, highlighting how “it’s
helped Uniper sidestep any pitfalls.
different than a traditional partnership”.
This has not only applied to the way
“We’re very close to their network
the firm has overhauled its software
and in terms of knowledge sharing I’d
but can be seen in the hardware side
say we’ve created a very open-minded
of things too. “DXC Technology is
culture,” he says. “If we have a problem
really our backbone from an infra-
or a question, we can immediately get
structure point of view,” explains
in touch with them to solve it.” It’s this
Greiner. “We have a cloud first stra-
same ability to go the extra mile that
tegy but some parts you can’t put
led Uniper to adopt OSIsoft’s PI System
in the cloud and that’s where DXC
software. “They don’t want to just close
Technology comes in. They’re not
a deal and run off – they want to see us
just providing us with technology
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Rene Greiner Rene Greiner is Vice President Data Integration at Uniper. Prior to this, he had worked as Vice President Head of Information Management, Head of End of Day Reporting & Transformation Programme Manager and Head of Energy Economic Planning & Transformation Programme Manager.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
97
DXC Technology is the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT Services company. We guide clients on their digital transformation journeys, multiply their capabilities, and help them harness the power of innovation to thrive on change.
LEARN MORE
$21+B global IT services leader
60+ year of innovation
#19
of CR Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2018
250+
~6,000
~130,000
9
partner network with best-of-breed partners 16 strategic partners.
clients. 200+ Fortune 500 companies.
employees worldwide
streamlined offering families
70+
10,000+ Agile/DevOps professionals
countries
Six digital trends to accelerate business transformation in 2019:
1 4
Enterprises go after digital business moonshots
Enterprises enter an age of information enlightenment
thrive.dxc.technology
2
Enterprises adopt nextgeneration IoT platforms
3
Action at the edge disrupts the cloud
5
Re-design experiences amid stronger data privacy rules
6
Enterprises begin closing their data centres
LEARN MORE
Uniper’s Digital Journey When did the collaboration between DXC Technology and Uniper start? The collaboration started eight years ago in the context of one of the largest IT outsourcing deals at that time — E.ON and HP. Since then we’ve established a trustful collaboration. After the separation from E.ON three years ago, Uniper continued to work with DXC Technology (DXC) to establish an IT landscape independent from E.ON and to enhance Uniper’s digital strategy. How did DXC help Uniper shape their digital journey? Uniper’s market environment faces a lot of disruption — for example, decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization. To stay competitive and secure its position as a market leader, the company decided to focus on the digital transformation and manage the change. Uniper saw the benefit of collaborating with a key partner like DXC, to use our professional knowledge about what “digital” means and to get guidance on their digital journey. How did this collaboration evolve? DXC’s performance in ENVISION workshops with the Uniper leadership team played a key role in getting started. The ENVISION team looked at how the company was adapting to the new era of digitalization. Together they analyzed their current technologies, operating model and culture. This served as a basis for defining strategic options, developing a digital blueprint and helping to navigate the change process. DXC also ran deep-dive meetings with Uniper and Leading Edge Forum. DXC’s Leading Edge Forum is a global research and thought leadership program dedicated to helping clients reimagine their organizations and leadership for a tech-driven future. It serves as a strategic touchpoint to challenge CXO teams and help them win in the 21st century.
A very important milestone was our Silicon Valley tour. This was organized and conducted by DXC to help Uniper’s leadership better understand the value of partnerships, ecosystems and outside-in thinking. DXC introduced Uniper to several startups and the corporate innovation platform Plug and Play. This contact turned out to be a starting point for a fruitful cooperation between Uniper and Plug and Play Energy Hub. What are the benefits of DXC’s approach? As business and IT become inseparable, virtually every aspect of work and the modern firm will need to be reimagined. This creates exciting new opportunities, as “digital” is a business-led transformation. DXC’s industry-leading strategic partner ecosystem and forward-thinking approach result in a precise roadmap — connecting business with IT. This opens up business innovation for securing a leading market position. How has DXC helped Uniper to enable its digital transformation, and what is the outlook? Uniper has used DXC’s Digital Transformation Center to develop and implement key solutions. Uniper established its own Digital Lab based on DXC’s digital development framework and agile principles. The DXC team has deployed Uniper’s new Digital Workplace, which is designed to enable enhanced collaboration and new ways of working for Uniper. DXC’s Security experts also helped Uniper embrace cloud technologies and implement DevOps capabilities. The experts have helped set up new identity and access management services that enable Uniper to manage identity across the enterprise from a digital perspective. Uniper is also using platforms like ServiceNow to enhance the end-user experience. With the help of DXC, Uniper is deploying digital solutions that will lead to new business models and new ways of working in the future.
THE DATA WAREHOUSE BUILT FOR THE CLOUD Snowflake’s cloud-built data warehouse enables the data-driven enterprise with instant elasticity, secure data sharing and per-second pricing, across multiple clouds. Snowflake combines the power of data warehousing, the flexibility of big data platforms and the elasticity of the cloud.
WHY SNOWFLAKE
TRY SNOWFLAKE
CONTACT US
EUROPE
“ Our partners don’t want to just close a deal and run off – they want to see us succeed” — Rene Greiner, VP of Data Integration 101
though; they’re also supporting us as
highlights how the platform is empow-
a technology advisor.”
ering the workforce by giving them
Working with these industry leaders,
more input and control. “We’ve seen
Uniper is already reaping the fruits of
that this platform is bringing the data
its labour. Thanks to its data analytics
and people closer together,” he says.
platform, the company can supply data
“In the past, when you wanted to analyse
10 times faster and 10 times cheaper.
data you were kind of stuck. You needed
“In almost every process use case, we
to talk to IT professionals, set up a big
can also ‘free up’ people from data
project and then maybe six months
collection and processing,” Greiner
later you had the data you needed. This
says. “Because the platform is supp-
platform turned this around. It’s changed
orted by cloud technology, we can
our way of working significantly.” Speed
even reduce the cost of storing and
is another key advantage underlined by
preparing our data.” Van Aaken also
the pair. “In the past when we wanted w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
Empower people with data.
Achieve Digital Transformation success.
Today, data drives our world. The challenge is to get the data we need, at the right time, to the right people, in the right format. Our passion is to help you transform your operational data into rich, real-time insights for reducing costs, increasing productivity and improving asset performance. Over 1,000 leading utilities, including companies like E.On, RWE, Uniper and, TSCNET, rely on our software, the PI System, to get the most out of their businesses. We believe people with data can transform their world.
Are you ready?
FIND OUT MORE
find us:
EUROPE
to integrate data it was an intensive, long and expensive process,” Greiner adds. “Today, we are able to do it within days if not hours. This drives value as you have more time to dig into the data and gain insight.” Demand in the utility and power market fluctuates daily. As you can imagine, a colder winter season will see more people turning on their heating for longer spells, whilst a heatwave could see a spike in air conditioning use. By using predictive data analytics, Uniper plans to use its portfolio, safely, to its utmost capability. “A major driver of the profit-
“A major driver of the profitability of your portfolio is, of course, how you manage your assets” — Dr. Stephan van Aaken, VP responsible for the Asset Digitalisation program Combining data about how a com-
ability of your portfolio is, of course,
ponent was run with predictions about
how you manage your assets,” explains
the future energy market, Uniper can
van Aaken, noting that when the firm is
now forecast how power plants will run
planning to invest and maintain its assets,
in the future and when they will need to
it is doing so on a portfolio basis rather
undergo maintenance. Van Aaken likens
than looking at individual power plant
this to maintaining a car, noting: “You
sites. “We have a strategy for our power
could change the tyres of a car every
plant portfolio and the maintenance of
two years and you would probably be
our components,” he continues. “These
safe, but what if half of the time the car
components are stressed differently
is parked and you’re only driving short
according to how you operate your
distances within the city? Changing the
power plant, and that obviously depends
tyres every two years would be a waste
on the market and the strategy of the
and you wouldn’t be using up the life-
traders. Now, for each component, we
time of the components.” On the other
can collect data about how it is operating
hand, he adds: “What if the car suddenly
through our digitisation strategy.”
needs to drive longer distances the w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
103
UNIPER
104
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
next year? Then you’d have to change the tyres more frequently. In power plants you have a similar system – you need to ensure that it’s well maintained.” By being able to see how changes in the market will impact its portfolio, this resourceful strategy is helping Uniper keep a close eye on its maintenance budget and capital expenditure. This digital transformation journey has no finish line, and van Aaken and Greiner are proud of what Uniper has achieved so far. For the business, it’s not just about technical advancements: Van Aaken points out how a vital piece of this transformation involved creating a culture shift and enabling the workforce. “In the end, one of the biggest challenges involved is around enabling the people,” he says. “In my lifetime, technology has developed more quickly than people can follow – it’s a game changer. It also means that technology changes quicker than people’s mindsets. We have to take care to ensure that people are ready to take on this journey because the people have the actual knowledge. If you lose them, then even your greatest product won’t help you.” This is perhaps best exemplified by Uniper’s hydro business, where workers now use mobile devices (which are linked to SAP Plant Maintenance) for daily maintenance operations. Working across different power stations, these w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
105
UNIPER
workers often used pen and paper
the development of the app,” says van
when conducting surveys. However,
Aaken. “They really bought into the
this caused problems: it was laborious,
technology because they could see it
susceptible to human error, and ineffi-
was really making their life easier. This
cient. To change this, Uniper developed
strategy also focuses on the benefits
a seemingly simple app, where emplo-
for the people.”
yees could send their notes directly
When it comes to digital disruption,
to the SAP PM tool. “It’s interesting
Uniper is keen not to slow momentum.
because we included the workers in
The world of technology is unpredict-
106
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
able but over the coming years, one
one knows what is set to come in the
thing is certain: Uniper will work hard
future, but by preparing our teams and
to ensure that it maintains its position
our organisation, we’re well equipped
as a digitally savvy energy leader. “We
to take it on.”
want to carry on with this journey,” adds Greiner. “We need to make digital part of our DNA. We need to take our digitised legacy and move towards becoming a more digital business. No
107
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
108
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY IN THE AVIATION SECTOR AT AIR MALTA SE AN GA LE A-PACE WRIT TEN BY
PRODUCED BY
LE WIS VAUGHAN
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
109
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
A I R M A LTA
Alan Talbot, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Air Malta, discusses how his company is embracing technology amid its digital transformation
T
he importance of adapting to the latest digital trends is fundamental to the sustained success of compa-
nies worldwide. With technology having an increased influence on the way firms conduct their operations, it’s vital to continued growth that companies acclimatise and respond. 110
Alan Talbot, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Air Malta, is responsible for overseeing a large-scale change in operation amid his company’s digital transformation. Since joining Air Malta in December 2014 originally as Head of ICT, Talbot transitioned to becoming Deputy Chief Information Officer in September 2015 before moving into the role as CIO just over a year later in 2016. “I’ve been in technology for the past 21 years. I come predominantly from the financial services, where I spent around 15 years occupying different posts,” says Talbot. “I can say that my career spans across a number of different sectors sitting on either side of the table, both as a customer and as a solution or service provider. That has MARCH 2019
EUROPE
€220mn Approximate revenue
1974
Year founded
1,000+
Approximate number of employees
45th
Anniversary in April 2019
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
111
A I R M A LTA
112
helped me in my current position
order to thrive in a competitive in-
to have a diverse and more holistic
dustry, it’s vital that companies adapt
view towards what is required in
to the latest trends to continue to
managing a department, technology
achieve success. Talbot believes that
and people.”
the aviation industry is transforming
Air Malta operates a modern fleet
on an ongoing basis. “The industry is
of aircraft and operates to various
fantastic, and somewhat unique –
destinations in Europe, North Africa
glamorous, dynamic and ever so de-
and the Eastern Mediterranean. In
manding – it never offers respite
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
113
and constantly demands the best out of you. It’s not similar to the financial services where there is a bit more brand loyalty and legacy in terms of relationship; it makes things a bit more challenging when it isn’t the case. Due to the issues and challenges you face; it’s important to be on your toes. You have to look for any oppor-
“ The industry is fantastic, and somewhat unique – glamorous, dynamic and ever so demanding – it never offers respite and constantly demands the best out of you” — Alan Talbot, Chief Information Officer, Air Malta w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CONNECT TO YOUR CUSTOMERS IN A WHOLE NEW WAY WITH
TH E WORLD’S Nº 1 CRM
Find out more at salesforce.com
EUROPE
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘AIR MALTA’ 115 tunities that might come along while, at the same time, keeping operations running as well.”
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY In order to thrive, companies must find unique ways to innovate or risk allowing competitors to take the initiative. Talbot believes innovation and technology are regarded as key areas at Air Malta and defines the way they operate. “If we don’t innovate then we’re out of business. We have to constantly change in order to challenge the status quo. Innovation is the only way to survive. I believe we
“ If we don’t innovate then we’re out of business. We have to constantly change in order to challenge the status quo. Innovation is the only way to survive” — Alan Talbot, Chief Information Officer, Air Malta w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
A I R M A LTA
Lufthansa Systems One of the world‘s leading providers of IT services in the airline industry and your partner for the digital transformation of all airline business processes. We draw our unique strengths from an ability to combine profound industry know-how with technological expertise and many years of project experience. Lufthansa Systems GmbH & Co. KG | info@lhsystems.com | www.lhsystems.com
Gear up for your
Digital Transformation
Legacy modernisation & Integration Middleware & API-led connectivity Migration to hybrid infrastructure, DevOps MuleSoft services, support and licensing
Architecture & Platform roadmap Consulting & Full-cycle development Onshore, oshore delivery & Project management Application support & BAU services
ricston.com
Ricston is a boutique MuleSoft and Salesforce partner with 13 years of experience. We specialise exclusively in enterprise integration solutions and API-led connectivity. On a par with thought leadership, we provide full cycle delivery services which enables Clients to modernise, connect and scale across the enterprise in order to execute on Digital Transformation strategies and key business initiatives. MARCH 2019
...
EUROPE
117
were very slow a few years ago and were
an API led economy. Air Malta has im-
lacking innovation,” says Talbot. “Only
plemented MuleSoft, an API and integ-
through change can we actually survive;
ration platform provided by a leading
we can’t afford to stand still and remain
application network company, in a bid
as we are. Technology has helped to
to create integration between all tech-
become the ultimate enabler in which
nical points and partners, ultimately to
we can drive and create change. The
position itself at the center of the entire
results speak for themselves.”
ecosystem. “MuleSoft had one of the
With the firm undergoing a signifi-
most holistic and enabling platforms
cant digital transformation, Talbot has
whereby even the most non-technical
overseen a complete overhaul of the
personnel could create connectivity
company’s IT infrastructure, insourced
and develop integration,” he explains.
services previously outsourced for
“We have partnered with Ricston, a
increased agility and has embarked on
local implementation partner for the w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
A I R M A LTA
118
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
“In order to achieve sustainability, we must never underestimate our position and size within the market. We need to be realistic about our capabilities and never be afraid to dream and try” — Alan Talbot, Chief Information Officer, Air Malta
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
119
A I R MMAALTA LTA
successful design and deployment of
momentum. This was something that
our Hybrid Integration Platform, and
we were seriously looking at as we
we are still collaborating till this day in
wanted to start capitalizing on the
delivering high quality integration
investment we did and maximize the
projects by utilising this technology.
opportunities that come around on
The fact that we could rely on a local
a commercial basis.�
partner to support us in this delicate
To help achieve its success, Air Malta
part of our strategy was essential in
has partnered with Lufthansa Systems
gaining stability and building up the
to help with the implementation of the
120
MARCH 2019
TECHE N UORL O P GE Y
company’s leading solutions. “We have
sever integration abilities, so our
significant synergies with Lufthansa
partnerships have been very impor-
Systems when it comes to defining
tant to us.”
certain operational and commercial
The company has also formed a close
related technology,” says Talbot. “They
relationship with Salesforce; a leader
provide one of the best flight planning
in CRM solutions for customer profiling
solutions on the market and this was
and customer data retention. “It has
something that we couldn’t possibly
become extremely essential for our
achieve in the past because we lacked
processing and handling anything that
121
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
A I R M A LTA
“ Technology has helped to become the ultimate enabler in which we can drive and create change. The results speak for themselves” 122
— Alan Talbot, Chief Information Officer, Air Malta
is related to customer-oriented services. We use it for social media listening, marketing and managing our sales pipeline as well. It has become part of Air Malta and we consider it as part of our core.”
REMAINING SUSTAINABLE With a population of approximately 460,000 people (2017), running a successful business in Malta is challenging due to the small size of the country. However, Talbot believes Air Malta is well-placed in its position in the field. “We consider ourselves to be a hybrid airline because we aren’t legacy or low cost. But we do offer services at either end of the spectrum as well as being a company that is publicly owned, having a social and corporate responsibility,” explains Talbot. “Being an island, having our own national airline is not only a measure of pride, but also of survivability. For us Maltese it is the only publicly owned means of transport or connectivity to the rest of the world. However, at the same time, you need to be sustainable because you can’t rely on public funds in order to survive and operate.”
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
123
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
A I R M A LTA
124
In order to remain sustainable, it’s important that companies aren’t content to stand still. Talbot believes that by harbouring aspirations of achieving sustainability, Air Malta must continue to push the boundaries of its capabilities to enhance its position as a leading airline in Malta, and beyond. “Sustainability is extremely difficult to achieve, especially in an organisation of our size. During the last year financial year we’ve managed to achieve profitability MARCH 2019
EUROPE
after a number of years, during which we grew in capacity and capability. We need to ensure that this isn’t a oneoff situation and that we have actually found the right formula for achieving continued financial sustainability,” explains Talbot. “In order to achieve sustainability, we must never underestimate our position and size within the market. We need to be realistic of our capabilities and never be afraid to dream and try. These are values that this airline needs to endorse and embrace because if we have a vision and are capable of sustaining change as we have done in recent years, then we can all work together for something that has the potential to be much bigger.”
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
125
126
Improving both customer and employee experience through digital transformation WRIT TEN BY
M ARCUS L AWRENCE PRODUCED BY
LE WIS VAUGHAN
MARCH 2019
ASIA
127
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CRODA
Croda International’s Chief Digital Officer Dave Cook discusses how digital transformation is driving the chemical manufacturer’s position as an industry leader
E 128
stablished in 1925, Croda is the name behind high performance ingredients and technologies in some of
the world’s biggest and most successful brands: creating, making and selling speciality chemicals that are relied on by industries and consumers everywhere. Croda has a network of over 4,500 passionate and committed employees, working together as one global team across manufacturing sites and offices in 38 countries. A FTSE100 company with a flexible structure, the business has focused on developing and delivering innovative, sustainable ingredients that their customers can build on in: Personal Care, Health Care, Crop Care, Polymer Additives, Lubricants, Coatings & Polymers, Geo Tech, Home Care and Industrial Specialties. Named among Management Today’s top three most admired companies in the UK, MARCH 2019
ASIA
129
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CRODA
“ We’ve put more emphasis on digital and there’s a certain positivity about the fact we’re on the journey” — Dave Cook, Chief Digital Officer, Croda International 130
MARCH 2019
Chief Digital Officer Dave Cook says this success in the public eye has been facilitated by a deeply ingrained ethos of customer centricity. “Croda prides itself on its customer focus: customer intimacy, innovating with customers, having the right products, and providing the right services,” he explains. This drive to improve the customer experience in all its forms is the basis for the firm’s commitment to digital transformation. Cook joined Croda in January 2018 and has since led the company’s digital strategy through this
ASIA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘INTRODUCTION TO CRODA’ 131 exciting time. “One of our goals is to become a digital leader within the industry,” he says. While remaining customer centric, Croda also places considerable importance on the employee experience, and its positive culture surrounding digital transformation exemplifies this focus. “Over the last 12 months, we’ve put more emphasis on digital and there’s a certain positivity about the fact we’re on the journey. Having the buy-in of the employees comes from that commitment to improving their experience alongside the customer experience,” he explains. w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CRODA
132
MARCH 2019
ASIA
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
website, driven by the manufacturer’s
Croda’s approach to IT vendor man-
strategic partnership with Sitecore.
agement positions vendors as strategic
“There’s been a general revamp of our
business partners, fostering relation-
web presence through the Sitecore
ships that maximise value. SAP has
Experience Platform,” Cook notes,
been fundamental to this approach
adding that Qlik’s analytical capabili-
ever since SAP ERP became its core
ties are augmented by Sitecore.
platform nearly 20 years ago. One of
“Sitecore comes with its own analytics
its first extensions was Qlik’s data
which, along with Google Analytics,
visualisation solution sitting on top of
enables us to understand what our
SAP Business Warehouse, which has
customers are doing in the digital realm
provided insights into daily operations
and how that influences their behaviour
and raised data literacy across the org-
further in the buying cycle.”
anisation significantly. However, more
The benefits of this tactile and well-
recently, the company’s focus has
presented web presence are bound-
shifted to marketing and sales. Perhaps the most outwardly
less and began presenting themselves straight away. “We had an immediate
striking result of Croda’s digital
uplift in traffic,” Cook says. “The classic
transformation is its elegant,
KPIs you look for in web engagement
informative and easily navigable
all increased as the sites went live.”
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Dave Cook Dave Cook is Chief Digital Officer at Croda International Plc. He has over 10 years’ experience in leading a variety of digital transformation initiatives across several industries and organisations including the likes of Time Out and Auto Trader. Dave has an MBA and a first-class degree in Astrophysics from the University of Leicester.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
133
How do you truly unlock the value of social? Social has radically rewired how customers communicate, research products and build bonds with brands. In the past, social was owned by the marketing department. But as customer journeys become more fluid, creating exceptional customer experiences means you need to think holistically about customer engagement. At Hootsuite, we believe that the best way to unlock the value of social and advance social maturity of organisations is to integrate social into sales, product development, employee advocacy and communities.
BUILD & MANAGE YOUR BRAND Growing and understanding all social communities, providing them with the content and services they need
DRIVE BUSINESS RESULTS Generating leads and sales with social revenue by delivering the right message to the right people at the right time
STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS Empowering employees, partners, customers to be social influencers, thought-leaders and brand advocates
DELIVER VALUE THROUGHOUT THE ORGANISATION Delivering data and insights to inform decisions and drive actions throughout the business
Contact us at sales@hootsuite.com to see how we can advance your social maturity. Hootsuite is the leader in social media management trusted by more than 18 million customers and employees at more than 80% of the Fortune 1000.
ASIA
Despite this success, the drive to take full advantage of Sitecore’s benefits to the business is no less potent. “The real opportunity is how you take it to the next level. We are still working with Sitecore on the next phase of leveraging their experience platform,” he says. Croda’s interest in this area is particularly focused on the burgeoning concept of B2B personalisation. The concept, which has long been a core aspect of the B2C space, is now beginning to drive B2B actions to improve customer experience through tailored relationships. While Sitecore has reimagined Croda’s online identity, Croda’s strategic part-
“ Having the buy-in of the employees comes from that commitment to improving their experience alongside the customer experience” — Dave Cook, Chief Digital Officer, Croda International
nership with Hootsuite facilitates its advanced social media presence in a landscape where this is increasingly necessary. “Customers are starting to move away from traditional marketing routes. The live event space, with traditional stands, still happens, but customers are increasingly either visiting the website or interacting with our content on social media. With social media we wanted to work with a company like Hootsuite who could bring that strategic partnership element to the table,” Cook explains. w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
135
CRODA
C O M PA N Y FACT S
• Croda has a network of over 4,500 passionate and committed employees in 38 countries • A FTSE100 company, Croda is named among Management Today’s top three most admired companies in the UK
136
• Placing considerable importance on the employee experience, Croda’s positive culture exemplifies this • Croda is focused on the concept of B2B personalisation, which will improve the customer experience through tailored relationships
MARCH 2019
ASIA
137
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CRODA
138
“We were keen to think not only in
felt that Hootsuite were the best
terms of their product range but also
partner for that.”
the services they offer that could help
SAP’s C4C CRM platform is also
to define the strategy we’re going to
part of the mix. “We were looking for
employ, to more effectively measure
a solution that would easily integrate
the impact of our social media pre-
with the rest of the estate and C4C
sence, and to enable employee
was an obvious choice. The links
advocacy. There were a series of
between Sitecore, SAP C4C and SAP
components that we wanted to
ERP are fundamental to a broader
integrate into our approach, and we
agenda,” he adds.
MARCH 2019
ASIA
£1.4bn Approximate revenue (2017)
1925
Year founded
4,500
Approximate number of employees
Cook is also mindful of the compa-
consider the people in the business,
ny’s supporting functions and Croda’s
particularly in terms of learning and
implementation of the Cornerstone
development. We asked ‘how do we
talent management platform is indicative
provide the right environment to help
of an attention to detail that extends
people on this digital journey and help
behind the scenes, ensuring that the
them to acquire new digital skills in the
supporting functions of the business
process?’” Cook is quick to reaffirm
benefit from the application of digital
the importance of this approach to the
transformation technologies. “Bringing
firm’s wider success with digital trans-
Cornerstone in is about how we
formation. “It’s one of those examples w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
139
CRODA
140
where it’s not necessarily front of mind but, without that enabler, it’s very hard to achieve your bigger objectives. You need to have the skilled people in place to make the journey successful.”
GROWTH THROUGH ACQUISITION Cook is confident in Croda’s ability to source the best partners to help solve business challenges and drive innovative processes, adding: “Where we MARCH 2019
ASIA
don’t have a skill set, we’re very confident that we can find the right partners and bring those skills into the organisation.” This ethos extends to Croda’s acquisition strategy, with an example being the addition of an inhouse team of machine learning specialists through the company’s 2015 purchase of Incotec. At Incotec, the team developed a machine learning solution that can autonomously assess the quality of seeds and their likelihood of germination, boosting yield through this intelligent seed selection. This expertise in development of sophisticated technologies is now being applied to Croda’s other manufacturing processes with a view to drive efficiency and boost production rates. It is clear Croda’s digital strategy is positively influenced by the company’s open-mindedness to the digital operations of the firms it acquires. The companies that Croda acquires are frequently leaders in their own fields, which offers an intriguing prospect for locating complementary technologies for its digitisation strategy. “Because they tend to be forward thinking, they may have some interesting examples of where they’ve used technology that w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
141
CRODA
142
“ Where we don’t have a skillset, we’re confident that we can find the right partners and bring those skills into the organisation” — Dave Cook, Chief Digital Officer, Croda International
MARCH 2019
ASIA
maybe Croda hasn’t adopted yet,” Cook says. Croda is certainly in an extremely strong position as it continues its digital transformation journey, with a culture of excitement coupled with positive change management and measured flexibility that ensures the selected digital solutions are the right ones to drive the company forward. All of this is compounded by an unerring commitment to customers and ensuring that the firm’s focus is on being the best in the industry. “I think we are incredibly positive about how we can use digital to improve our organisation in order to deliver a better service to our customers,” Cook adds. “We’re very pleased with how far we’ve come, but there’s still a lot to do, and we’re very focused on achieving the outcomes that we’re after.”
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
143
144
How IBS Software is helping airlines with their digital transformation WRIT TEN BY
SOPHIE CHAPM AN PRODUCED BY
M ANUEL NAVARRO
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
145
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
I B S S O F T WA R E
Leading airlines and travel providers are partnering with IBS Software for transforming their business operations and Daniel Stecher,IBS’ Vice President of Airline Operations, tells us why...
I
BS Software is a leading provider of software products and services for mission critical and key business operations for the global travel,
transportation and logistics industry. The firm powers some of the world’s best airlines, busiest airports, leading cruise lines, major hotels, travel distributors, and top oil 146
and gas companies. Established in 1997 in India, the company has since established a global presence with 10 offices across the Asia-Pacific (including Japan), the Middle East, Europe, and North America, with its global headquarters in Singapore. “As our chairman, V K Mathews puts it, the key word that is core to our story is ‘focus’. Domain focus has been key to our success within travel, transportation and logistics. We are also technology-focused – as we choose only to work with modern technology and are determined to take the industry out of the clutches of legacy systems,” reveals Daniel Stecher, Vice President, Airline Operations at IBS. The company’s products and services are designed to leverage modern technologies to enable its customers to benefit from evolving technology trends such as mobility, big data, blockchain, analytics and cloud computing. “Our vision is centered around building next generation MARCH 2019
EUROPE
147
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
I B S S O F T WA R E
“ Our vision is centered around building next generation platforms and products to help our customers on their business transformation journeys”
148
— Daniel Stecher Vice President of Airline Operation, IBS Software
platforms and products to help our customers on their business transformation journeys. Our core values help us translate that vision into reality,” says Stecher. The core values of precision, passion, commitment, integrity and respect for the individual are guiding principles for the organisation. For an industry that has been resistant to incorporating evolving technology, travel and tourism is ripe for disruption that will touch on every phase of the customer experience. With significant digital disruptions in the market place, consumer behaviour is changing and new business models are evolving. Digital trends that simplify decision making in travel like big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning can help personalise travel services. IBS claims the desire for unique experiences has been the most crucial customer demand this year. “To address the shifting industry landscape, digital business strategies are what travel service providers are looking at. Over time, the value of their enterprise is going to shift more towards digital assets than physical. Travel companies are becoming increasingly
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘IBS SOFTWARE - SHOWCASE’ 149 aware of the need to build their digital
do we facilitate ‘Collaborative Disrup-
capabilities and to fulfil these require-
tion Management’ and help airlines
ments, they will want digital ready
avoid burning money? The key to
infrastructure. IBS is well positioned to
digital transformation lies in answering
help our customers on this journey and
such questions”.
serve them as digital enterprises,”
IBS’ core technology strategies are
Stecher reveals. “In operations control,
based on robust technology selection,
for example, when it comes to digital
scalable and flexible product architec-
Operation Control Centres we like to
ture, and reusable components, with
ask our customers how concepts like
solutions for the travel marketplace, air
big data, IoT, predictive analytics, and
cargo operations, upstream oil and gas
the cloud translate to real value in
logistics, airline passenger services,
airline operations? How do we effec-
loyalty management, and flight and
tively conduct the evolution of the
airport operations. The firm also offers
digital OCC from legacy systems? How
services featuring industry-specific, w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
I B S S O F T WA R E
“With iFlight NEO, we enable carriers to better work on disruptions, as the system makes use of real time data for proactive disruption management” — Daniel Stecher Vice President of Airline Operation, IBS Software 150
specialized information technology.
to extract the multidimensional value of
“We have adopted a unique collabora-
cloud services: “The benefit is that you
tive approach to developing a product
can really harmonise data much easier
roadmap wherein we gather insights
if you have everything in the cloud. Of
into the future direction and next
course, security plays an important
generation technology needs of the
role, especially considering GDPR and
sectors. Our differentiated approach to
as a digital company we consider data
product development allows us to
protection and personal privacy,” adds
deepen our industry knowledge, align
Stecher. The company’s products are
our software products to our custom-
delivered as Software as a Service
er’s evolving business needs and
(SaaS) which is made possible through
identify early adopters for our new
global custom data centres being
software products,” Stecher notes.
equipped with the necessary informa-
IBS has been pursuing strategies MARCH 2019
tion technology infrastructure to
EUROPE
ensure high levels of security, redun-
through these high maintenance
dancy and uptime. With minimal
legacy mainframe systems not only
investment in technology infrastruc-
becomes difficult for airlines, but also
ture, airline companies and travel
poses an intolerably high level of risk
service providers are able to make use
for the business. In effect, we are not
of volume-based expenditure control.
only replacing this one system; we are
The company is currently working
replacing four others,” Stecher notes.
with a number of the leading airlines in
Overcoming the heavy cost implica-
Europe. According to Stecher, some of
tions of migrating away from legacy
these airlines use decades old legacy
systems begins with looking at a cloud-
systems. “IBS is currently working with
based approach. The company’s new
these airlines on huge digitalisation
digital platforms are not only cloud
projects, because they have been
native, but are also cloud agnostic. The
using the same systems for 3 or 4
recently launched iFlight NEO system
decades. Sustaining operations
is an integrated digital platform, which
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Daniel Stecher As Vice President and Head of Global Sales for Airline Operations Daniel is responsible for global sales and business development of the brand new airline operations digital platform “iFlight NEO”. He created the OPS 2020 industry event which brings together global airlines and is dedicated to the global Airline Operations and Crew Management Community. He has more than 20 years of experience spanning over the logistics industry and has been traveling more than one and a half million miles, in order to meet with industry experts and customers from the air cargo industry and airline business IT solutions industry.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
151
Technology everywhere. Innovation anywhere. We believe everyone should have the freedom to reshape industries and achieve their dreams. Our solutions are trusted by over 98% of Fortune 500 companies across 180 countries.* So no matter where you’re ready to go, you can trust we’re ready to help you get there. Know More at DellEMC.com/in/ITTransformation
*Based on Dell internal analysis, February 2019. *Important Dell Details. Dell's terms and conditions: All sales subject to Dell's terms and conditions, see Dell.co.in/tnc. Goods by delivery only. Mistakes: While all efforts are made to check pricing and other errors, inadvertent errors do occur from time to time and Dell reserves the right to decline orders arising from such errors. More Information: Go to Dell.co.in/details. Copyright © 2019 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell Technologies, Dell, EMC, Dell EMC and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners. For more information on how we use and protect your data please visit Dell’s Privacy Statement Dell.com/learn/in/en/incorp1/policies-privacy If you no longer wish to receive our marketing communications, please visit Dell’s unsubscribe Page Dell.com/Preferences/ListRemoval/. For more details, please visit DellEMC.com.
EUROPE
“ We look at DELL as a strategic supplier, because for us, the first priority for our enterprise requirements is the quality of aftersales support we receive” — Daniel Stecher Vice President of Airline Operation, IBS Software
being an important factor of airlines giving us data to store in the cloud, we rely on Dell to supply us with hardware that will perform well. There is a train of trust – as we trust Dell, this trust is pushed further into the market as we offer our solutions to customers,” says Stecher. More importantly, the firm also provides Chassis and Blade servers and virtualisation technology for IBS’ private cloud. Its EMC VNX, Unity, and SC series meet IBS’ storage requirement for their SaaS DCs and internal private cloud. “We look at DELL as a strategic supplier, because for us,
enable carriers to manage their
the first priority for our enterprise
operations, including fleet, hub and
requirements is the quality of after-
crew. The operations control and core
sales support we receive. Their techni-
management system aims to utilise the
cal know-how and customer service of
firms’ resources and incorporate the
DELL support engineers are best in
latest technologies. “With iFlight NEO,
class and makes all the difference. The
we enable carriers to better work on
DELL-EMC-VMW Technology alliance
disruptions, as the system makes use
also comes to our advantage since DELL
of real time data for proactive disrup-
is able to act as a single point of contact
tion management,” says Stecher.
during any technical issues or failures.”
As the company progresses, IBS
As IBS continues to expand its
turns to DELL as a strategic partner for
services and partners, Stecher reveals
its hardware needs. DELL supplies IBS’
the biggest obstacles the company will
employees’ Enterprise class desktops,
have going forward. He cites the
such as the DELL OptiPlex series, and
largest challenge as the objection to
DELL Latitude laptops. “With liability
change within the airline industry, w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
153
I B S S O F T WA R E
“Very often we have to offer explanations to initiate change. That’s the biggest obstacle to building trust with people when they begin to think about necessity of change.”
154
— Daniel Stecher Vice President of Airline Operation, IBS Software
MARCH 2019
EUROPE
which he says is “very risk averse”. “It’s a very safety and regulation-oriented industry and will never compromise on safety. Technology has not always provided absolute safety, so very often we have to offer explanations to initiate change. That’s the biggest obstacle with building trust with people when they begin to think about necessity of change.” Despite these obstacles, Stecher and the IBS team will move forward introducing new technologies to aging systems in order to make a real difference to the airline industry and beyond.
155
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
156
MARCH 2019
ASIA
157
AXA’s Move to the Cloud:
a customer-driven technology transformation WRIT TEN BY
OLIVIA MINNOCK PRODUCED BY
A LE X PAGE
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
AXA
Ash Shah, AXA Group’s Global Program Director for the insurance giant’s Move to the Cloud, discusses the technology transformation as part of AXA’s ambition to become a customer-driven, tech-led organisation
“
W
hen we undertake a transformation, we do it on a truly global scale with technology at the forefront as one of the enablers,”
comments Ash Shah, Global Program Director of leading insurer AXA’s Move to the Cloud initiative. 158
This is no mean feat, with the insurer serving 105mn clients across a vast footprint of 62 countries. To aid its technology transformation, AXA has undergone a significant company-wide IT restructure. “We have an ambition to be an innovative, customer-driven, tech led company and we’ve enhanced and modified our IT organisation to support and drive that ambition,” Shah explains. “Technology has become more intrinsic in our business and it’s no longer just a support function – it’s the key enabler for us to continue to innovate and move forward as an organisation.”
‘INNOVATIVE, CUSTOMER DRIVEN, TECH LED’ As a composite insurer, AXA covers many lines of business including health, life, property and casualty insurance. The French multinational currently spans a mix of growth areas and established markets, MARCH 2019
ASIA
159
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
From Inspiration
to Innovation
ASIA
CLICK TO WATCH : AXA GLOBAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR ASH SHAH ON TRANSFORMATION ACROSS GEOGRAPHIES 161
and has a significant legacy of looking
standing – all aimed at promoting
after customers at those times when
innovation and collaboration and
they need it most. Shah, who assumed
showing, through colourful posters
his current role just six months ago, is
and games areas, that insurance is far
already a familiar face in Paris where
from an old-fashioned career choice.
AXA is headquartered. Counted among
AXA’s staff are adapting well to
its numerous locations is the spectacu-
the new working environment which so
lar new Java building which offers a
much investment and thought has gone
true reflection of AXA’s ambition to
into. Colleagues do not have a strict
modernise a business often seen as
dress code – with some stating this
traditional. The office itself boasts
makes them feel more valued for their
open space, natural light, and flexible
skills and output than their appearance
options allowing colleagues to work
– and have plenty of opportunities to
independently or as a group, sitting or
socialise by playing pool or enjoying w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
Building an ecosystem? Connect the dots. “Your journey to cloud must navigate pitfalls and opportunities that are unique to your business. We support you in imagining and delivering your cloud journey and making it run�. Eric Meistermann, Deloitte Partner in charge of AXA Group
ASIA
“ We foster a strong change management process where we make sure we communicate, evangelise and onboard our colleagues in all parts of the organisation” — Ash Shah, Global Program Director – Move to the Cloud, AXA coffee together. Shah joins us at this new
We measure compliance, performance
Paris office having spent three days with
and KPIs at both a centralised level and
AXA’s Dubai Gulf business discussing
a local entity and business level,” says
the company’s transformation across
Shah. “It’s also important to understand
that region. “It’s pushing all parts of our
the various cultures AXA operates in
organisation into that journey and bring-
and the pace and size at which they can
ing them onboard. It takes time and effort
make changes.” For example, AXA’s
and engagement – but once you do that,
companies in growth markets will focus
you can see the end results. We’re moni-
on establishing a presence while
toring, and can see we’re making good
well–established entities might focus
progress now,” he enthuses.
on innovation to remain competitive.
In its ambition to become tech led, sectors and geographies with both
A GLOBAL, CUSTOMER-CENTRIC TRANSFORMATION
a strong global vision and local knowl-
Currently, one of AXA’s key areas of
edge. “Usually, we have a central team
development – and the element for
but we listen to the requirements and
which Shah is responsible – is its ‘Move
needs of our different business units and
to the Cloud’, whereby the business will
make sure they are a part of that journey.
come away from legacy technology
AXA is pushing technology across all
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
163
ASIA
CLICK TO WATCH : GLOBAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR ASH SHAH TALKS THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERS AT AXA 165
and store and manage data on private
allows an organisation to innovate. “It
and public clouds. This is a key strategic
gives us business agility, flexibility and
initiative which AXA is taking on for two
speed to market which is much harder
key reasons. “One is that we want to
in traditional IT methods. In addition,
modernise and update our technology
the cloud enables the collaboration
infrastructure,” says Shah. “The second
that is so key to a global business. As
is that we really want to exploit new
we deploy something in one country,
technology innovation – such as artificial
we can replicate that quickly in multiple
intelligence (AI), chatbots and image
countries,” Shah explains. “We therefore
recognition – which we wouldn’t be
end up with a consistent product which
able to do with our existing systems
we can enhance and change – and those
and processes.”
changes can be rolled out across numer-
For Shah, and for AXA, a key feature of cloud technology is the speed at which it
ous entities and organisations far more quickly than in the past.” w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
AXA
“ The relationship we build with our suppliers – and I would call them partners rather than suppliers — is very important to us” — Ash Shah, Global Program Director – Move to the Cloud, AXA
166
Why is AXA undertaking such a significant investment? “Firstly, it’s for
to be able to respond to this change in a customer-centric manner.”
customer experience. We deal with
Every technology investment AXA
customers through an omnichannel
makes involves extensive thought into
process: they need to have consistent
how it will impact the customer. “We
experience.” For example, customers
make sure there’s really a business
may wish to deal with a claim over the
driver and value for what we’re investing
phone and then switch to live chat.
and innovating in. We then start with
“We need to be able to receive data and
a proof of concept, idea and trial before
respond to it in all manners, shapes and
we really push something.” AXA’s cloud
forms. Customers today are expecting
program is a prime example of this. “We
a different experience of working with
have to build new features, new products
a global insurer,” Shah adds, citing
and new ideas onto the platforms.
omnichannel as a key driver. “We need
There we have the voice of the customer
MARCH 2019
ASIA
CLICK TO WATCH : GLOBAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR ASH SHAH – HOW AXA MOVED TO THE CLOUD 167
to drive the demand and the prioritisa-
“We foster a strong change management
tion process. Then their voice is heard.
process where we make sure we
They drive the change agenda.”
communicate, evangelise and onboard our colleagues in all parts of the organi-
A TEAM EFFORT
sation,” says Shah. “That’s one of our
With the agenda driven by customers, it’s
key success factors in implementing
important that each and every member
a lasting change.”
of AXA’s 160,000-strong colleague base
This is not always easy given that AXA
is on board in order to promote the best
is dealing with new technologies and
service to every customer. Managing
working across a plethora of different
a significant change, and the shift in
locations, but Shah maintains that it’s
culture it brings, across such a mam-
possible with a combination of training
moth organisation is vital to make things
and open communication. This is not
work all the way to the end customer.
just looked at in terms of individual jobs, w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
AXA
but in terms of the key part each employee plays in AXA’s journey as a global organisation. The transformation so far has not just been successful in terms of IT, but far beyond this, including the people and culture at the company. “We have an extensive change training program for all of our colleagues where we’re working extensively to make sure they are all aware of what the cloud journey is, what AXA is undertaking, and why. It’s also important the program has the sponsorship of our management committee, and it is discussed and agreed – which then helps cascade the information and messages 168
around our program.” AXA’s move to the cloud involves not just thousands of employees, but a network of strong partners too – and all must be aware of the company’s long-term vision. “We are not technical experts in all domains and areas we’re undertaking as part of our move to the
“ The cloud gives us business agility, flexibility and speed to market which is much harder in traditional IT methods” — Ash Shah, Global Program Director – Move to the Cloud, AXA MARCH 2019
ASIA
169
cloud journey,” Shah admits. “So the
Other important delivery and consult-
relationship we build with our suppliers
ing partners include Capgemini and
– and I would call them partners rather
Deloitte who are also supporting AXA
than suppliers – is very important to
on this journey.
us.” AXA has worked with some of
Shah makes it very clear that AXA
the biggest names in tech as part of
isn’t just buying off-the-shelf solutions
maintaining a secure yet efficient cloud
but is growing alongside each of its
transformation – from IBM with its
key partners in a sustainable relation-
private cloud provider to AWS and
ship. “We’re undertaking a multiyear
Microsoft Azure for its public cloud
commitment. They’re on this journey
journey. Innovation projects have also
with us.” Another element the above
been supported by Google Cloud.
names have in common is famously w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
AXA
170
MARCH 2019
ASIA
secure service – something which is paramount for any organisation, but especially within the insurance industry. “A few years ago, the reason people didn’t move to the cloud was security. Now, organisations are actually moving to the cloud due to the security provided by the likes of IBM and Microsoft Azure. They have some of the best security experts out there. Their business is built on secure, trustable platforms – they would be out of business if their platforms were not secure.” Handling the kind of sensitive data AXA deals with on a daily basis means security is something Shah and his team don’t take lightly. “We need to ensure we have robust processes on our side. We are selective with what we put into the cloud, especially from a compliance and regulatory purpose. Cybersecurity is one of the key drivers of this program,” Shah explains, adding that the global insurance behemoth has a strong legacy to maintain. “Our brand value is particularly important – when you’re buying insurance, you’re also buying a trusted brand.”
A FUTURE IN THE CLOUD Following AXA’s success on its journey to the cloud thus far, Shah believes that other organisations will follow suit – or risk being left in the dust. “Cloud technology is going to w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
171
AXA
AXA GROUP
€98.5bn Approximate revenue
1982
Year founded
166,000 172
The approximate number of AXA employees
significantly disrupt the insurance
sations, such as AXA, concerned
sector, and the insurance value chain,”
about the rise of fintech and in-
he predicts. “Cloud technologies and
surtech startups – but Shah believes
Insuretech partners will look at
these shouldn’t be perceived as
different parts of the value chain and
a threat. “Parts of our value chain will
come up with innovative ideas about
continue to be disrupted by cloud
how they can accelerate a certain
partners, innovators or insurtech
process – such as claim notification
companies who will come in with
or risk modelling.”
solutions and ideas which don’t have
Across the finance and insurance
the resistance to change that larger
spheres, the rise of technology
organisations have to deal with,”
leaves many more traditional organi-
he comments.
MARCH 2019
ASIA
gies through our AXA Next organisation.” Along Shah’s journey to cloud transformation across the globe, the change will need to be continuously driven at all levels. “Hopefully we’re getting to a point where this communication and buy-in is becoming one of our key success factors. We measure that through KPIs. We’re at the point where we’re starting to become successful in promoting our program and moving forward with the migration– but we still have a long way to go.” Indeed, Shah cites the pace at which his team has accelerated buy-in across AXA. “In the last three of four months, we’ve seen more momentum than we saw in 15 months. That in itself is quite rewarding. However, an insurer like AXA which
We’ve seen the adoption and deploy-
is prepared to innovate and stay at the
ment of lots of our applications on the
forefront of new technologies can only
cloud. Momentum is building and it
stand to benefit. “We need to embrace
will just get better and better.”
this as an organisation, look at our value chain, and see where we can utilise insurtech organisations to streamline, to be more efficient, more innovative, faster, and to deliver the change our customers are looking for. We work with and invest in startups where we can leverage their technolow w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
173
174
MARCH 2019
ASIA
175
Disrupting insurance with flexible technology architecture WRIT TEN BY
DA LE BENTON PRODUCED BY
A LE X PAGE w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
SINGAPORE LIFE
Singapore Life disaggregates insurance products through flexible and efficient digital architecture
I
n 2014, insurance company Singapore Life was built on a simple belief: that the world needed a better life insurer which used technology to
provide a superior experience for the customer. In the years since, Singapore Life has grown significantly. Through the company’s acquisition of Zurich Life Singapore’s expansive insurance business portfolio in 176
2018, Singapore Life continues to push the boundaries of technology in financial services. As it navigates the digital revolution in financial services, through sound investment and technological innovation, the company has built an architecture that enables greater flexibility and technology implementation while keeping the customer at the heart of its operations. “We are not a fintech that creates intellectual property purely through technology,” says James Shanahan, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Singapore Life. “Instead we put that technology to use in a way which brings a unique business model to life.” That business model, something that truly separates Singapore Life from other leading financial institutions worldwide, is centred on “disaggregating the traditional product in order to bring greater flexibility and ultimately a better buying experience and pricing for the customer”. As technology continues to disrupt the traditional and MARCH 2019
ASIA
177
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
178
SINGAPORE LIFE
“ What we see are business models built on big systems and platforms that are very inflexible and typically reflect a cost-driven approach and this translates into a rigid, fixed sales approach and impersonal market offerings” — James Shanahan Chief Operating Officer, Singapore Life
now archaic means of buying and selling financial products, Shanahan believes that this has shone a light on what is a fundamentally broken market. “What’s broken isn’t the uptake of technology, it’s actually the attitude towards technology and the flexibility in how you sell financial services,” he says. “What we see are business models built on big systems and platforms that are very inflexible and typically reflect a cost-driven approach and this translates into a rigid, fixed sales approach and impersonal market offerings.” Singapore Life disaggregates the product MARCH 2019
ASIA
and breaks them down into multiple levels: product configuration, service orchestration and market offering. At the product configuration level, Singapore Life’s back end functionality allows the company to build products as wide-reaching as possible in terms of defining or limiting parameters. This takes into consideration as wide a number of possibilities as possible, such as different currencies or interest rates. “Why should there be market specific limits at the back end? “, asks Shanahan. The middle layer, service orchestration, is key to facilitating Singapore Life’s market offering. “This model allows for much lower costs and breaks down some of the complexities of the process,” says Shanahan. “Once a product is set up and the service configured, the offering can then serve multiple markets. It makes the front end very flexible because what can be offered is orchestrated in that middle layer.” Given various different mediums which customers use to access financial services, such as mobile applications, online portals or third-party platforms, Singapore Life’s back end functionality allows the front end delivery model to operate almost unconstrained. “None of the front end changes the back end product configuration. It’s all about the customer journey and their experience at the front end,” he says. “We’re able to produce or work with w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
179
— Walter De Oude, Founder & CEO of SingLife, and happy customer & friend of Contemi since 2014
Contemi was founded in 2001 to design, build and robustly scale the complete IT systems for a start-up insurer in Scandinavia. From the initial mock-up and proof-of-concepts, to building the insurers own scalable core, accounting and claims systems, and managing the IT platform as the insurer grew leaps and bounds. Ever since then, Contemi have worked successfully with many start-up insurance operations in Scandinavia and Asia. Both stand-alone entrepreneurial pursuits as well as new business setups for
larger, mature insurers. For most we have built and managed their respective IT platforms and acted as key IT partner over the years, as they have gone “from zero to hero”. It is a Contemi specialty. We started working with Walter de Oude and his team at the SingLife design and proof-of-concept stage in 2014, and today still work with SingLife on delivering key pieces of the IT platform. We enjoy thoroughly working with SingLife and hope to do so for many years to come as SingLife’s success continues.
If you are looking to start something new in insurance – could be a new business line, a new partnership, a new distribution channel, a new claims process, a new eco-system integration and customer engagement model, etc – and you are now thinking about the underpinning IT solution - please do give us call on +65 8695 4219 and let’s talk about it. No promises, but let’s see if we can’t help put a bit of thunder into the IT part of your project.
www.contemi.com
SINGAPORE LIFE
182
MARCH 2019
ASIA
C O N T E M I — A S T R AT E G I C PA R T N E R S H I P
Contemi, a global leader in next generation IT solutions and supporting customers through digitialisation journeys, has been a key strategic partner of Singapore Life since the beginning. For Shanahan, the relationship between the two represents the way in which Singapore Life truly values its partners. “There are several aspects that we deeply value with Contemi,” he says. “First, their proactive and deeply supportive culture, which lies at the heart of all our key relationships. Secondly, they understand our business and they add value to our thinking and our solutioning and our designs constantly. Thirdly, the technical skills and knowledge and, increasingly, experience, arising from Contemi’s home in Vietnam.” It is this third part in particular that highlights Contemi’s role in the growth of Singapore Life. Shanahan notes that the education system, culture, work ethic and competitive landscape in Vietnam is rapidly transforming, giving rise to what Singapore Life believes is a “powerful new force in technology, particularly in software development”. Contemi is integral to the company’s architectural, design, development, testing and rollout capabilities, participating and collaborating in the
entire product lifecycle. “Sustainability in any friendship arises from mutual contribution to the relationship,” says Shanahan. “For SingLife, we work hard to contribute to all our friendships. For Contemi we experience their contribution continuously and proactively and we benefit from their insights and experiences.” Contemi has taken the lead role in developing Singapore Life’s direct and advised portals. Every customer of Singapore Life engages with the company through these portals, as do its advisors, and so Contemi allows the company to innovate and to improve both the portals and the customer and advisor relationships. “Our policy serving is accessed via our portals in the first instance, meaning that an increased portion of customers’ needs are performed directly by customers and advisors in their portals,” says Shanahan. “We are continuously expanding the capabilities of the portals so that the experience is maintained at a worldclass level and so that customers and advisors access the most efficient solutions for their needs. We very much look forward to Contemi continuing in this role as we expand into new business lines and geographically.”
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
183
SINGAPORE LIFE
“Singapore Life’s architecture is designed in a way that removes the restrictions that are inherently built into the traditional ‘fully integrated’ sales process” 184
— James Shanahan Chief Operating Officer, Singapore Life an unlimited variety of front ends that
what it believes has been missing from
connect to the orchestration, in order
the financial services landscape, which
to service multiple markets, regardless
is the flexibility to adapt to the custom-
of medium, language, geography, buying
er’s needs rapidly, to offer services
customs or other channel characteris-
which reflect contemporary pricing and
tics. Singapore Life’s architecture is
crafting experiences that delight their
designed in a way that removes the
customers, ultimately resulting in better
restrictions that are inherently built
financial outcomes for all stakeholders.
into the traditional ‘fully integrated’
“We are not so arrogant as to expect
sales process.”
people will only buy product X through
Removing the historical rigidity of
an app, or through partner X’s site or in
developing and selling financial services
only one way,” says Shanahan. “We
allows Singapore Life to reconceive its
want to allow all our partners, our own
business operating model and to deliver
teams and others in our ecosystem to
MARCH 2019
ASIA
185
invent new sales experiences, channels
operating model leverages the concept
and mediums and be able to interact
of its emerging platform economy and
with us via an API layer at the orchestra-
the network effects which are becom-
tion level. We don’t profess to have the
ing evident amongst Singapore Life’s
definitive answer as to the best way to
customers and its ecosystem.
sell financial services; instead, we
“We have constructed a platform that
strive to enable as much flexibility as
it is incredibly flexible and operates
possible and to allow exploration and
at a cost which is at least an order of
discovery to lead us to better outcomes,
magnitude lower than prior solutions. In
all the while building a capability which
previous generations it was not possible
compounds the speed of that discov-
to enjoy tiny incremental cost of distribu-
ery over time.”
tion while deploying high flexibility and
The financial strategy underpinning Singapore Life’s unique business
rapid iteration,” says Shanahan. “Our operating model delivers this and further w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
THERE’S A NEW
PARTNER IN ASIA WITH A FRESH PERSPECTIVE FOR GROWTH.
GrowthOps is a new kind of partner for businesses seeking to solve complex challenges and maximise growth potential. We combine leading edge technology, marketing, consulting and change leadership expertise to help organisations identify and realise strategic opportunities to: • leverage emerging technologies and digitise their business • build and launch transformational products • acquire and retain new customers • scale up operations cost effectively • grow revenue and profitability.
We’re ready to move now. FIND OUT MORE
FOR ENQUIRIES CONTACT JASON MORRISSEY, Partner +65 6220 8383 Singapore • Kuala Lumpur • Manila • Hong Kong • Shanghai • Brisbane • Sydney • Canberra • Melbourne • Auckland
ASIA
CLICK TO WATCH : SINGAPORE LIFE WELCOMES ZURICH LIFE SINGAPORE 187 allows us to consider multiple low cost,
importance. As Shanahan notes, the
high volume back ends which expand the
technology platform cannot operate in
scope of services our customers enjoy,
isolation and so Singapore Life invests
while new geographies and partnerships
in its operating model by bringing in
can be explored rapidly and without
partners to create further flexibility,
architectural complexity via front ends.”
managing the operating model via
Ultimately the platform economics
a governance approach which fully
bring about an increasing productivity gain over time, delivering on and
leverages its open ecosystem. He describes Singapore Life as the
continuously strengthening Singapore
‘architects’ that oversee the design, the
Life’s unique business model promise.
funding and allocation of capital, and
Technology is key to achieving
the company’s roadmaps, the distribut-
increased productivity throughout the
ing 100% of its development and back
company and its ecosystem, but the
office operations to create an ecosys-
operating model is perhaps of greater
tem of the likeminded. “The idea is that w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
SINGAPORE LIFE
we don’t want ‘vendors’ or someone who’s just trying to sell us something,” he says. “We also don’t want partners, which simply implies a level of seniority. What we really want are friends.” Shanahan continues: “When we say, ‘open ecosystem,’ it’s an ecosystem of people who are like minded when it comes to achieving our vision, who’ve got each other’s back, who are simpatico in their understanding, and whose incentives, both emotional and professional, are aligned to the same goals.” In bringing this open ecosystem to life, Singapore Life can drive robust and rapid changes in both the organisation and the 188
industry. To this end, Singapore Life works closely with local and international partners such as Amazon, GrowthOps, Ranosys, Sapiens and LogiGear to develop, test and implement leading-edge software solutions to accelerate the company’s growth. “The most important thing for Singapore Life is working with companies that can enable an extreme level of flexibility, to bring in new and different resources as well as different types of skillsets,” says Shanahan. “We then end up with organisations that we’ve effectively grown with – people that believe in our philosophy, our vision,where we’re trying to get to.” GrowthOps in particular has been a key driver of growth for Singapore Life, having worked with the company since April 2017. MARCH 2019
“ With our architecture powering growth, it’s now time for Singapore Life to come of age and step into adulthood in terms of our standing as a regional champion” — James Shanahan Chief Operating Officer, Singapore Life
ASIA
Singapore Life engaged GrowthOps as a technology advisory partner to improve its infrastructure, cloud security, compliance and business continuity. In Oct 2017, Singapore Life officially went live with its client portal and high net worth online offerings. Since then, GrowthOps has been working in partnership with the company in five areas: cost optimisation, security, reliability, performance and operational excellence. “Singapore Life engaged us to develop a robust technology infrastructure that could be leveraged to provide financial solutions directly to its clients,” says Jason Morrissey, Partner, GrowthOps. “GrowthOps is excited to be involved in the expansion story of a digitallyfocused financial services company, and our teams look forward to further developing our relationship in 2019 and beyond.” At the very heart of every decision that Singapore Life takes, be it operations, finance or technology, is the customer. In the financial services space, the customer can take on many forms and in order for Singapore Life to deliver the very best for them it needs to understand how the contemporary customer behaves. In Singapore, the modern customer is time-poor and this has seen companies look to tap into this market by creating mobile applications in order to bring them insurance and other financial products. Singapore Life w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
189
SINGAPORE LIFE
190
MARCH 2019
ASIA
191
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
SINGAPORE LIFE
192
recognises that while this can bring
Singapore Life is an incredibly
success, it’s not representative of the
ambitious company. By early 2019
customer experience that Singapore
the company was valued at over
Life seeks to provide. “The key for us is
US$200mn and had achieved profit-
observing that time-poor state and
ability in its first full year of operation,
thinking how we can build a smooth,
making it Singapore’s fastest growing
compelling and attractive experience
life insurer. With a wholly flexible and
for that customer,” says Shanahan.
incredibly unique architecture in place,
“There are so many apps in the market
the sky is well and truly the limit. As
now I couldn’t possibly tell you which one
‘the next generation’ financial services
is going to ‘win’. We want to experiment,
company, what does the future hold
use our flexibility and other capabilities
for Singapore Life? The company has
to discover what works for customers
outlined its ambitions to expand into
in real life.”
the ASEAN market, to significantly
MARCH 2019
ASIA
its strong business plans and push to enter new markets and rollout additional lines of business. From the outset GrowthOps has worked with Singapore Life to ensure the technologies are in place to support the company’s goal of becoming a preferred Singaporean financial services company.” For Singapore Life, this goal will be achieved by keeping the customer at the heart of its operations. “Our intention is to fill the more holistic financial services needs of individuals and to continue to work with our ecosystem to bring new and wonderful things to our expanding markets,” says Shanahan. “With our architecture powering growth, it’s now broaden its insurance portfolio and
time for Singapore Life to come of age
to expand to other financial services,
and step into adulthood in terms of our
using its operating model, licence and
standing as a regional champion.”
rapidly expanding capital base to renovate and reinvigorate financial services. It will achieve this with the help of those key partners. “GrowthOps works closely with Singapore Life’s management team and is supporting the company’s digital expansion in Southeast Asia,” says Morrissey. “Moreover, GrowthOps is further enhancing Singapore Life’s technology infrastructure to support w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
193
194
A TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION SPANNING THE CONTINENT WRIT TEN BY
CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY
MIK E SADR
MARCH 2019
ASIA
195
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
C A R AV E L G R O U P
Chief Operating Officer, Angad Banga discusses how digitisation has disrupted the shipping industry
M
aritime transport remains a significant linchpin in the world’s economy. With more than 90% of goods and services travelling
via this route, global sea trade remains a significant driver in the delivery of high-quality products and services. Headquartered in Hong Kong, The Caravel Group, taking its name from 15th century trading vessel, ‘the caravel’, has played a key role in the 196
facilitation of global seaborne trade, with strategic locations situated in China, Cyprus, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. While the group is no stranger to increasing competition across the shipping industry, changes in requirements from industry participants, increasing and changing regulatory regimes and pricing pressures have created a seismic shift in expectations from the industry, with digitisation expected to be the driver of change. “What makes us unique is our range of qualities: from our agility and spirit, our entrepreneurial drive, integrity and transparency in our operations, as well as our diverse set of business operations across the value chain, which allows us to provide integrated solutions. We are a large company, with the energy MARCH 2019
ASIA
197
of a start-up,” comments Chief Operating Officer, Angad Banga. “It is critical for the organisation to drive change, using the business initiatives we create and build over time.” Guaranteeing value-added services will be the main differentiator for any business and Banga is keen to embrace and implement new IT and operational technologies (OT) which will demonstrate excellence, each and every time. As an example, The Caravel Group’s Ship Management division, Fleet Management Limited, which is one of w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
The Caravel Group partners with Symantec to defend cyber threats
Businesses are increasing annual spend on cyber security more than ever before. As threats become more advanced, The Caravel Group (TCG) has introduced multiple layers of threat protection across its operations. Supporting organisations, governments and people to secure their most important data, TCG partnered with leading cyber security provider, Symantec.
CONTACT US DL-OD-Hongkong@symantec.com
A market leader in the field, the business delivers integrated solutions across all endpoints, and has strengthened TCG’s cloud and infrastructure capabilities, deploying effective, scalable solutions.
Symantec has a wide range of security products. They are the market leader to provide integrated Cyber Defence solutions and rapid delivery to the cloud.” - Angad Banga, Chief Operating Officer, The Caravel Group
A strategic partnership
A secure solution
By partnering with Symantec, TCG has accelerated their journey to the cloud with flexible endpoint detection and response (EDR) technology. The results are significant: Incident responders now quickly search, identify, and contain impacted endpoints, both on premises and in the cloud, then integrate all incident data and actions into existing SOC infrastructures and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) environments.
Optimising assets and lowering operational costs were the biggest sellers for TCG, where Symantec’s technologies were deployed in minutes, with no impact on the end-user experience. “Security solutions from Symantec have changed the way we deal with threats." says Banga. "We are now also implementing Symantec IT AssetManagement to centralise all our resources.”
By successfully onboarding Symantec email cloud security products to eradicate the threat of spam, malware, and trojans, its Target Attack Analytics (TAA) and Dynamic Adversary Intelligence has seen the implementation of cloud-based artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning, allowing TCG to adapt to new attack techniques automatically and gain greater insight into attacker and technique. Not only that – by increasing visibility, Symantec also delivers great automated playback capabilities to TCG, bringing the skills and best practices of its most experienced security analysts to the table, lowering costs at every opportunity, existing SOC infrastructures and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) environments.
Symantec IT Management Suite integrates with SEP Cloud, extending the visibility of endpoints to include modern devices and operating systems. Reducing the cost of managing servers, desktops, laptops and thin clients from a centralised location, the solution reduced end-user downtime and maximised IT efficiency. Additionally, by ensuring real-time compliance across TCG’s IT assets and overall operations, Symantec’s IT management suites centralises and simplifies patch management. Symantec’s Cloud-enabled management functionality in IT Management Suite puts the security of Windows and Mac users firmly at the forefront, even when they are disconnected from the corporate network. In-depth reports also offer smarter, faster decisions which ensure endpoints are protected.
For additional information, please visit www.symantec.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Copyright ©2018 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Symantec, the Symantec Logo, and the Checkmark Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
C A R AV E L G R O U P
the largest and preeminent third-party ship management firms with over 500 vessels under management, has been a key division which has embraced new digital tools. Catering to cargo ship owners worldwide, including bulk carriers, oil, gas and cargo carriers, chemical tankers and more, Fleet Management’s longstanding expertise in technical and management services has been enhanced with innovative software to drive operational efficiency in delivering exceptional end-to-end, 200
value-added solutions to its clients. Banga notes that its ship management system has the ability to provide close to real-time data to clients, something which was previously unavailable. “The maritime industry is one of the oldest modes of transport, and has gone
“ Organisations will need to understand the value of technology, how to use it and to actually innovate, using technology as a driver” — Angad Banga, Chief Operating Officer, Caravel Group MARCH 2019
ASIA
201
through several stages of technological
which helps us begin the process of
revolution throughout history. We
digitisation. It means certain applica-
expect to see another impressive shift
tions and certain tasks can be com-
in the near-future. The industry is not
pleted on ships without the network
necessarily considered innovative,
problems we previously encountered.
but is actually hugely complex. Each
Over time, this should hopefully lead
vessel requires a high level of technical
to a higher degree of automation – at
expertise to able to manage it – not just
sea, but also within the offices.”
the engineering and crew itself but also
In the trading of industrial dry bulk
the IT systems and OT systems which
commodities, the group’s Resources
we provide,” he explains. “More and
division has become a key staple for
more ships are getting connectivity,
the steel and energy sectors. Its three w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
World-Leading Cyber AI
The Caravel Group Case Study Industry
Maritime
Business Background
Resources
Asset Management
Headquartered in Hong Kong, the Caravel Group is a diversified global conglomerate that provides maritime services, strategic asset management, and trading solutions across the industrial dry bulk value chain.
Challenges Detecting never-before-seen threats at an early stage
Containing fast-moving attacks before they do damage
Gaining complete visibility across complex digital systems
Autonomous response to in-progress threats
100% visibility via the Darktrace Threat Visualizer
Results Real-time detection of novel attacks and subtle insiders
Challenge
Solution
Benefits
As cyber-threats gain in speed and severity, the Caravel Group recognized the importance of cultivating an adaptive and resilient security posture that can keep pace with a rapidly evolving threat landscape. In particular, the business was determined to deploy a cyber AI solution that can autonomously detect and respond to novel threats at an early stage, before they have time to disrupt critical operations, or exfiltrate sensitive data.
To address these concerns, the security team deployed Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System, which installed in under an hour and immediately started learning the normal ‘pattern of life’ for every user and device in the business. By continuously learning and adapting its understanding of ‘normal’ in light of new evidence, Darktrace’s cyber AI can detect never-before-seen threats that would otherwise go unnoticed.
With Darktrace AI deployed across its entire digital enterprise, the Caravel Group now has 24/7 autonomous protection against advanced cyberthreats. Through Darktrace’s Threat Visualizer, the security team has complete visibility of every user and device and can investigate emerging threats in real time.
With Antigena defending our network around the clock, we can finally prioritize strategically important activities while Darktrace’s AI works in the background to contain the threats that get through. Angad Banga, Chief Operating Officer
“The Enterprise Immune System immediately notified us of cyberthreats that our other tools missed,” commented Banga. “Darktrace’s AI has enabled us to rapidly investigate threats before they have time to escalate into a crisis.” The Caravel Group subsequently deployed Darktrace Antigena, Darktrace’s autonomous response solution. By enforcing the normal ‘pattern of life’ for a given user or device, Antigena works by taking surgical, measured action to contain in-progress threats, limiting damage and stopping their spread in real time. “With Antigena defending our network around the clock, we can finally prioritize strategically important activities while Darktrace’s AI works in the background to contain the threats that get through,” commented Banga.
“Darktrace provides us with actionable intelligence in a few clicks and can identify legitimate threats amid the noise of our complex digital business,” remarked Banga. “With Darktrace, our security team and executives can be confident that cyber-threats that get past the perimeter will be identified and contained before they do damage.”
Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System is the only solution on the market that can detect and respond to neverbefore-seen threats in real time. Angad Banga, Chief Operating Officer
w
C A R AV E L G R O U P
“ More and more ships are getting connectivity, which helps us move into the digital space. Certain 204 applications and tasks can be completed without the network problems we previously encountered” — Angad Banga, Chief Operating Officer, Caravel Group
main subsidiaries – metallurgical, carbons, and ores and alloys – are safely transported as a result of the group’s robust supply chain and logistics capabilities. Nonetheless, as the need for global shipping services continues to escalate, technology has seen a steady rise in demand – something which Caravel has been keen to tap into by taking a greater look at the high volumes of data accumulated across the group, in order to drive greater value and access further opportunities. “Much of the data is not captured at source in a systematic manner. When the data is collected, it’s not being effectively utilised, which leads to the question of ‘is the business intelligence there?’ ‘Is there a sufficient level of resourcing?’ There are some companies doing it but I think it’s at an early stage. This is a key area of focus for The Caravel Group. We will be using several tools to enhance data visualisation and modelling through machine learning,” adds Banga. “We already have some of these initiatives underway, and hopefully, these will be a foundation for enabling future generations of tools that are developed to service our clients. Organi-
MARCH 2019
ASIA
205 sations will need to understand the
stores, the new app has led seafarers
value of technology, how to use it and
to join the business quicker and make
to actually innovate.”
an immediate difference, boosting
Although technology has grown “in leaps and bounds” and accelerated the transformation of businesses globally,
engagement and seafarer retention levels in the process. “We can scan a seafarer’s passport
he adds the group’s integrated, pas-
which is then sent back promptly,”
sionate workforce and client-led focus
Banga says. “Previously, it was a fully
is its biggest asset. Blending technol-
manual process, so this has reduced
ogy, creativity and training has therefore
delays in the process. Through the
seen the business build a new applica-
app, users can submit their application,
tion which has fully digitised the seafarer
which provides two options: a quick
experience across their 500 vessels,
application and a full application.
even before they have joined. Acces-
The quick application is where you
sible through Android and Apple
can apply straight away with minimal w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
C A R AV E L G R O U P
C OMPA N Y FA C T S
• The Caravel Group takes its name from 15th century trading vessel, ‘the caravel’ • Catering towards bulk carriers, oil, gas and cargo carriers, chemical tankers and more, the group’s longstanding expertise has been enhanced with innovative software to drive operational efficiency 206
• Caravel has sought to look at the high volumes of data accumulated, in order to drive greater value and access further opportunities • Blending technology, creativity and training has seen the business build a new application which has fully digitised the employee experience • With the number of security breaches rising each year and expected to hit US$6trn annually by 2021, security has therefore become a key driver for the group
requirements, and we can actually start conversations with seafarers looking to apply to us. The full application is a more detailed application where you put all your certifications and take photos of your details, and this information is then uploaded to our proprietary crew management database allowing our on-boarding teams to reduce their manual processes and focus on the value-add aspect to hiring high quality seafarers. It supports those who are interested in joining, and we have received positive feedback both from
MARCH 2019
ASIA
207
the community and the industry,” he
2021, according to Symantec, security
adds. Following its success, the group
has become a key driver for the group.
is now rolling out similar technologies
“While the industry continues to
to transform its quality management
shift, it is essential for us build a digital
systems, utilising tools such as iPads
fingerprint in the industry, but to also
to fully mobilise its inspection and
build the IT foundation needed to
audit processes.
have a good security in place,” he adds
For Banga, implementing such
thoughtfully. “We have a number of
technology has proved highly benefi-
partners on board to support us in the
cial, yet he is cautious not to introduce
delivery of end-point protection. Tech-
new technologies “just for technology’s
nology enables us to further this vision.”
sake”. With the number of security
Symantec has been one such partner
breaches rising each year and damage
which has been instrumental in the
projected to hit US$6trn annually by
transformation of the group’s digital w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
C A R AV E L G R O U P
£2bn Approximate revenue
1,000 Approximate number of on-shore staff
208
20,000 Approximate number of off-shore staff
MARCH 2019
ASIA
209
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
C A R AV E L G R O U P
“ I think Symantec’s strength is their ability to be able to operate without needing continual updates every time” 210
— Angad Banga, Chief Operating Officer, Caravel Group
security from an IT perspective. “Our relationship with Symantec
robust email protection. Previously, the group received a high volume of
started with advancing our digital
malware, which has been reduced
protection, where we explored a
significantly since we implemented
number of products in the security
Symantec’s solution.
space which would help us protect
“I think the biggest strength is their
our end-points. We had limited defense,
ability to be able to operate without
but by expanding our partnership
needing continual updates every time.
further, we have embedded a strong
In some scenarios we need to have a
level of protection,” he explains.
managed anti-virus product that doesn’t
“By implementing tools from Symantec, we can now guarantee MARCH 2019
just simply scan for viruses, but really protects the end-point device from
ASIA
211
external effects. Other products do
dynamic, world-class service to clients
similar things, but Symantec was very
worldwide. With its ewntrepreneurial
satisfactory from a result perspective.
spirit, its diverse portfolio and strong
Following the implementation of the
relationships with clients, partners and
Symantec solution, the number of spam
its stakeholders, the business will
emails stopped in a month was up to
remain agile and responsive to various
15% of total emails received.�
market trends as the shipping industry
As the group continues to pioneer
endures and thrives.
new markets and trade routes, it will look towards the use of new digital tools and partnerships in order to remain a key player in the market and deliver w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
212
MARCH 2019
ASIA
MLC LIFE INSURANCE Undergoing a digital transformation in the insurance sector WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE PRODUCED BY
ALEX PAGE
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
213
MLC LIFE INSURANCE
Sarv Girn, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer of MLC Life Insurance, discusses how his company is embracing technology amid a digital transformation in the insurance industry
W
ith digital transformation having an increased impact across all industries, it’s become paramount that companies
continuously monitor their operations to ensure 214
they are providing the best possible service to their customers. For Sarv Girn, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer of MLC Life Insurance, the experience of the customer is considered key. With a 133-year history and considered the oldest start-up in Australia, MLC Life Insurance has substantial experience in the insurance sector. Having transitioned from NAB ownership to joining the Nippon Life Group of Companies, Girn believes that the change in ownership has allowed MLC Life Insurance to progress its customer experience significantly. “It actually ploughs investments back into the customer offering. The ethos within MLC Life Insurance is that we ensure we put the customer first and investments aim to create platforms for advisers, group funds and end policy holders that are truly customer centric,” says Girn. “That MARCH 2019
ASIA
215
makes us quite unique given Nippon’s background, because with the investment in new technologies it’s clear we are really serious about our customers. I believe that is what gives us an edge and it shouldn’t be underestimated.”
UTILISING TECHNOLOGY As customer demands continue to change, it is important that companies respond and adapt to the latest digital trends in order to stay competitive with industry rivals. From first-hand experience, Girn believes he has an w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
MLC LIFE INSURANCE
“ We’ve introduced LifeView for our group customers which is a platform we offer to superannuation funds and it’s been very important to us” 216
— Sarv Girn, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer
MARCH 2019
effective understanding of what customers expect from a life insurer. “The demands of the customer have changed because customers expect everything to be done online now. Three years ago, I had a nasty fall where I broke my ankle and ended up in hospital,” explains Girn. “At the time, I was part of another life insurance company and having to make a claim wasn’t easy. I couldn’t really load all the documents up online and I had to physically go around to a GP, surgeon, and the hospital to get documented proof that I’d been injured, which on
ASIA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘LIFE UNCHANGING — BROOKE WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING’ 217 crutches is no easy task. What
insurance needs online and, should
customers are really expecting is to
they need to make a claim, to be able
log on to a portal, load up all the informa-
to track its progress,” says Girn. “This
tion about their claim electronically,
has been great for members because
track it and get paid automatically.”
claims can go straight through for
With customer requirements in mind,
assessment without the need for lots
MLC Life Insurance has implemented
of manual paperwork. The portal also
a new platform called LifeView, which
offers an integrated experience for
will make the insurance and claims
trustees and administrators, providing
experience easier for members of
superannuation funds with transparent
superannuation funds. The platform is
view of the claims process.”
designed to help improve member engagement, automating processes
TRANSITIONING TO THE CLOUD
and decreasing response times.
Having moved to the cloud under two
“It allows members to manage their
years ago, MLC Life Insurance has w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
MLC LIFE INSURANCE
220
“It’s extremely important to innovate because our customers are tech-savvy and expect to be able to conduct their business online. However, we do leverage the broader Nippon Group and look at what are other life insurers in the group are doing” — Sarv Girn, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer
MARCH 2019
ASIA
migrated its services and transformed
philosophy, Girn believes that it’s vital
its infrastructure to ensure it produces
to innovate and utilise partners to
the best possible service. Girn affirms
achieve results. “It’s extremely
that any such transformation is difficult
important to innovate because our
to achieve. “Any migration to the cloud
customers are tech-savvy and expect
or to a new system is complex. It takes
to be able to conduct key elements of
careful planning and because we didn’t
their business online. However, we do
actually have a previous system: we
leverage the broader Nippon Group
had to start off from scratch. Every use
and look at what other life insurers in
of cloud needs to be managed from
the group are doing,” he says. “It’s also
a risk perspective, so it’s important
vital to keep in touch with our custom-
that we make sure we understand the
ers in order to gain a better under-
operational aspects of that outsourcing
standing of what issues they have. I’m
and look at how we’re managing and
a firm believer that it doesn’t really
monitoring it.”
matter who you work for, it matters
With innovation considered a key component of MLC Life Insurance’s
who you work with – so for us, having partners out there where you can pick
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Sarv Girn Following the acquisition of MLC Life by Nippon Life from Japan, Sarv is responsible for leading the business transformation to re-establish MLC Life as Australia’s leading and most trusted life insurance company. This includes delivering the most advanced digital and process infrastructure in the insurance sector so as to create great customer experience across the group and retail insurance channels.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
221
MLC LIFE INSURANCE
1886
Year founded
1,650
Approximate number of employees
HQ
Melbourne Australia
222
up a phone and say ‘we want to try this
objectives and there’s a win-win for both
experiment, can you help here?’ is the
sides. If you have a partner that is
key to innovation.”
always trying to sell you something you
In order to ensure that MLC’s
don’t need, then it isn’t really a partner-
success is sustained, Girn points to the
ship,” he explains. “The trick is to find
development of key partnerships with
joint objectives because if you’ve got
Indian multinational IT provider Tech
a partner who’s doing a great job
Mahindra as well as Salesforce, TCS,
implementing your platform and it’s
Infosys, Microsoft and Oracle and
truly strategic, then you can help them
affirms that effective partnerships have
grow in another part of the company.
been an important component to the
It’s primarily about understanding the
transformation. “I think a partnership
objectives of each other, because if the
works well when you’ve got joint
objectives aren’t aligned, it’s never
MARCH 2019
ASIA
223
going to be successful, no matter how
around for a long time. Our purpose is
hard you try.”
‘a promise for life’, and considering we’ve been in operation since 1886, we
FUTURE PLANS
want to stay around for a long time to
With sustainability at the forefront of
come. It’s sustainability in a financial
MLC Life Insurance’s strategy, Girn
sense, but it’s also vital for us to stay
believes it’s important to stay relevant
relevant to the community. We’re trying
to customers and respond to their
to become more sustainable in offering
demands on a consistent basis. “We
propositions like health and wellbeing
have to ensure we’re not just effective
when customers are considering life
when dealing with customers, but
insurance,” explains Girn. “If my life
efficient internally as well because we
insurer can tell me that I’m eating the
need to make sure we’re going to be
wrong things or not exercising enough, w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
1
3 2
4
5
Uncomplicate with TCS BaNCS for Insurance True digital transformation for insurers today means facilitating easy and simple transactions for end customers, intermediaries and service providers though self--service channels on any device, anywhere. TCS BaNCS for Insurance can help you turn digital disruption into an advantage, with its highly configurable and scalable solutions, powered by APIs and delivered on the cloud. Spanning life, annuity, pensions, property & casualty, reinsurance and health insurance, the solution’s rich functionality supports every event in the lifecycle of a policy. By driving digital channel adoption in the retirement business in UK, achieving 99.9% Straight--Through--Processing for 6.4 MN members, it has helped redefine end--customer experience. The solution has also transformed a large life insurance group in UK, integrating 6 business lines, 1,100 products, 13 platforms, 7 MN policies and 6 MN customers onto a single instance. A leading non-life insurer in India consolidated 2,000+ disparate branch systems and 17 lines of businesses onto the TCS BaNCS solution, with 5,500 concurrent users issuing 75,000 policies on an average, per day. Resting on a digital core, TCS BaNCS for Insurance solutions---be it conversational AI to guide and advise your customers, or our distributed ledger--based blockchain solution, Quartz from TCS---can help you expand your business, collaborate, connect and leverage the power of newer and richer ecosystems. When you select TCS BaNCS for Insurance, you are adopting our Digital First, Cloud First philosophy ensuring that your organization is agile and future ready. So, are you ready to Uncomplicate? To find out how TCS BaNCS can uncomplicate your business, visit https://www.tcs.com/bancs
ASIA
“ We have to ensure we’re not just effective when dealing with customers, but efficient internally as well” — Sarv Girn, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer
225
and refer me to a gym or a physio, then
mation. We also want to look at some
I’m going to be more likely to stay fit.
really advanced analytics to better
If they keep me healthy and fitter, then
understand our customers’ require-
I’m going to like them and they’re going
ments,” he says. “We’re now entering
to become more sustainable. I believe
a period where we can use machine
that helps to re-define life insurance,
learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to
because a life insurer is primarily a health
analyse customer behaviour and data
and well-being company.”
with their consent and offer a proposi-
Looking to the future, Girn aims to
tion that meets their needs.”
continue to prioritise customers in order to thrive in the life insurance market. “We’re extending our platform even further to our advisers and Group customers to enable further transforw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
Using technology to grow in Japan
226
WRIT TEN BY
SOPHIE CHAPM AN PRODUCED BY
A LE X PAGE
MARCH 2019
ASIA
227
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
PA I D Y
As Paidy builds its status in Japan, the payment company’s CTO talks to Business Chief about ITS digital disruption journey
T
he Japanese startup was founded in 2008, but despite having been present in the nation’s fintech industry for over 10 years,
Paidy’s expansion became most prominent in the past few years. “Definitely over the last three years we have seen tremendous growth – consumer growth, merchant network growth, and growth in 228
our consumer spaces, such as active users on the platform,” reveals Houston Ross, Chief Technology Officer at Paidy. Since 2017, the company has expanded by more than 200%, and is now currently one of the largest online payment businesses in Japan. The firm offers cardless payments using only an email address and phone number – the accessible, frictionless payment method does not require a credit card nor application. “To summarise, we take the risk out of online transactions. The Japanese use the term “mendokusai” which means troublesome. So, we remove the mendokusai in terms of facilitating payments online,” states Houston. As well as being a technology-driven business, Paidy’s values centre around its workforce. “Paidy’s main core values are discovery, diversity and inclusion,” Houston says. The firm employs around MARCH 2019
ASIA
229
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
PA I D Y
230
“ The government has said that by 2020, 40% of all transactions should be online. Now that’s an opportunity to acknowledge” — Houston Ross Chief Technology Officer, Paidy
MARCH 2019
120 members of staff of 28 different nationalities. “So, diversity is really important to us, in terms of how we operate in trying to collectivise that diversity and then funnel it into the innovation that we use to power our company. I think that’s one of our core values,” Ross continues. With its diverse workforce, the company is able to introduce a range of new ideas and cutting-edge concepts. The business claims to be at the pinnacle of technology-adoption, which allows it to simplify
ASIA
CLICK TO WATCH : INSTANT YOU (PAIDY INC.) 231
Japan’s payment options. In order to
to encapsulate an experience right now
remove complexities and mendokusai
focused on the payments. And of
from purchasing, the payment network
course, the technology that we utilize
has adopted artificial intelligence (AI)
underpins that.” As the company’s CTO,
and machine learning. “I think at the
Houston is ensuring Paidy’s relation-
core of what we’re doing, we’re talking
ship with technology continues to
about financial risk management. So,
develop. “I’m responsible for engineer-
our ability to process that data and
ing, products, Infosec and operations,”
analyze it daily at the transactional level
notes Houston. When joining the
is key to our business,” says Houston.
company last year, having previously
“For us, digital transformation is the
worked at Nationale Nederlanden and
engine that underpins our ability to
AXA Life Insurance, the CTO decided
remove that mendokusai. We’re trying
to isolate his firm’s security function. w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
Make Every Customer Interaction Count Create innovative & delightful customer experiences with programmable communications. www.nexmo.com | sales@nexmo.com |
ASIA
“When I arrived at Paidy, security was
factor to our technology operations as
a part of our engineering operations.
well our consumers and invoices. We
One of the first things I did was pull it
run our business in the cloud on AWS
away from engineering and set it on
Stack, and there are other services like
its own course,” claims Houston.
Circle-CI that we’re leveraging as well
There are several risks to consider within the fintech industry, with the P2P platform addressing operational risk,
because they’re on our continuous integration.” The network is becoming increasingly
cyber risk, and risks within underlying
popular in Japan as it is revolutionising
technology. As the business grows,
the industry and targeting both the mass
Paidy is adopting partnerships with
market and business. “The relationship
companies such as Nexmo and AWS.
between users and merchants is critical
“We work with partners like Nexmo,
to every interaction, and everyone
which targets SMS messaging – a key
involved is having to build trust.In that
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Houston Ross Houston Ross recently joined Paidy as the firm’s Chief Technology Officer. Prior to October last year, Houston was positioned as the Chief Operations Officer for Czech Republic and Slovakia at Nationale Nederlanden, as well as being a Board Member. The innovation-focused executive has also worked for NN’s Life Insurance Company as the Vice President, Chief Operations Officer, and Chief Information Officer, as well as AXA Life Insurance Japan as the Chief Technology Officer. Houston graduated from Barrington University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science and the University of Liverpool in 2007 with a Master of Business Administration degree.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
233
PA I D Y
2008
Year founded
100+
Approximate number of employees
234
MARCH 2019
ASIA
235
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
PA I D Y
“ Diversity is really important to us, in terms of how we operate in trying to collectivise that diversity and then funnel it into the innovation that we use to power our company” 236
— Houston Ross Chief Technology Officer, Paidy
CLICK TO WATCH : PAIDY, HOW TO VIDEO (JAPANESE LANGUAGE)
MARCH 2019
ASIA
we want to introduce additional new products for our company,” Houston says. With opportunities on the horizon, such as the Olympics being held in Japan in 2020, Paidy aims to take advantage of its surroundings. “The government has said that by 2020, 40% of all transactions should be online. Now that’s an opportunity to acknowledge,” continues Houston. The biggest challenge for Houston within his role is enabling the business’s growth: “With the scaling on a vertical side and the scaling on a horizontal side, on one hand you’re trying to build a foundation where you can grow, and space, Paidy says ‘look, we take the
the other is adding additional revenue
risk.’ The merchant is assured they will
and value streams to that ecosystem.
be paid by the consumer, as we accept
My personal challenge is how do you do
the consumer risk and trust that they
both at the same time whilst continuing
pay us,” explains Houston. “Then we
to expand.”
make it a whole lot more seamless, we make it frictionless, and we remove mendokusai for the merchant as well as for the consumer.” “Our primary goal is around growth, from both a vertical and horizontal perspective. The vertical perspective is to expand from 2mn Paidy consumers to 5mn in 2019. As for horizontal growth, w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
237
238
National Heart Foundation of Australia:
an agile Australia transformation WRIT TEN BY
OLIVIA MINNOCK PRODUCED BY
MIK E SADR
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
239
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
H E A R T F O U N D AT I O N O F A U S T R A L I A
CIO Shane Riddle explains how bringing in an agile approach and developing a single view of the customer will drive the charity’s vital operations forward
W 240
ith heart disease the biggest single killer of Australians, the National Heart Foundation of Australia is leading the
charge to change this frightening statistic – from fundraising and research to providing vital awareness and information about preventative health, the 60-year-old charity won’t be stopping any time soon. In fact, it is undergoing a significant Australia transformation to enable its 250+ strong team to serve customers and the Australian public even more effectively. Sharing the organisation’s vision of an Australia free of heart disease is Shane Riddle – a CIO named among the top 50 in Australia – who joined on a temporary basis but decided to stay at the inspiring non-profit. “I got in very quickly and hit the ground running,” he recalls. His main objective as leader of the company’s IT operations was to help the National Heart Foundation deliver on its key objectives. While the previous team had been MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
241
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
H E A R T F O U N D AT I O N O F A U S T R A L I A
“ You’re working with people who want to make a difference, and we try to do everything for everyone” 242
Shane Riddle CIO, National Heart Foundation of Australia
MARCH 2019
focused on “keeping the lights on,” Riddle’s role evolved in the same way the CIO remit has across all industries: to create an organisation enabled by IT. With traditional elements such as the service desk and security functions outsourced, Riddle and his team now focus on ensuring the entire business meets its yearly objectives – through Australia. Moving Australia to a strategic function within the Heart Foundation meant the IT team to undergo a reorganisation which reflected what was going on within the business as a whole. The
AUSTRALIA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘LIGHTHOUSE HOSPITAL PROJECT - DAMA’ 243 foundation operated in a federated model
Drive, then moved to 365, SharePoint,
across Australia with business functions
Microsoft Teams, and eventually the
in each state, but Australia has
full range of Microsoft Productivity tools.
assisted in bringing the organisation
Riddle mentions managing teams in
together to promote collaboration and
a charity can be very challenging,
efficiency. One example of this was the
where people are particularly passion-
organisation’s move to the cloud, which
ate about their end goals. “You’re work-
Riddle took control of upon joining the
ing with people who want to make
organisation. “They were getting
a difference, and we try to do every-
bogged down,” he comments.
thing for everyone – which sometimes
“I assumed the role of project manager
dilutes what we’re trying to do,” he
working with our vendor to ensure
comments. “Our One Heart Strategy
everything was done in a timely manner,
is all about placing focus on areas that
from testing to getting us on the cloud.”
have the greatest impact.” Moving to
First, the foundation migrated to One-
the cloud was key to unifying the w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
H E A R T F O U N D AT I O N O F A U S T R A L I A
244
foundation’s business process and the
every aspect of the business. It was
way it engaged with customers. “The
also important not to view Australia as
previous work practices, the way we
isolated from the people at the heart of
collaborated, the way we engaged with
the charity. “Technology was one
customers and stored our data all
component, but there was also the
represented our old business model –
organisational process and culture.”
it was disjointed, to survive as an
Conducting a high-level analysis,
organisation in a very competitivity
Riddle concluded that developing
environment, we needed to change.”
a project to provide a “single view of
Riddle therefore had to think
the customer” was the best way
carefully about whether any one
forward in this newly tech-enabled
Australia would actually solve the
company. In a charity sense, custom-
organisation’s problems before installing
ers are usually donors to the organisa-
it, and made evaluations based on
tion, but Riddle stresses that there are
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
actually 52 different types of customer
point in their lifetime in order to deliver
served by the National Heart Founda-
something at the appropriate time with
tion – and it was important to under-
the appropriate message, material,
stand all of these, from various internal
product or service – whatever that may
perspectives. Initially, he recalls, “We
be.” Riddle’s development of this vital
had a very short view of what we call
platform took five stages, the first of
a customer typically using only a financial
which was a discover stage. This
lens – the lifetime of a donor averaged
involved creating a “roadmap” of how
about seven years. That’s great from
information and data was obtained, why it
a point of view of understanding
was collected, as well as how it moved
donor patterns, but donors are only
across the organisation and used.
one of those 52 definitions,” he explains.
The second phase involved understanding who the customer was. “Why
“I wanted to create a platform where we engaged with our customer at every
do they choose to engage with the Heart Foundation? What is our point of
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Shane Riddle Shane Riddle became CIO of the National Heart Foundation of Australia in February 2017, having come onboard the previous year as National ICT Manager. Prior to joining NHF, Riddle held roles at IBM, The Warranty Group and BIG4 Holiday Parks of Australia. Riddle holds a Master’s in Business Administration and Management as well as qualifications in Human Resource Management. He specializes in IT Management, Business Transformation and Program Management, and was named among Australia’s CIO50 in 2017.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
245
FIND OUT MORE
Orchestrate Your Customer Data Tealium revolutionises today’s digital businesses with a universal approach to managing the ever-increasing flows of customer data -spanning web, mobile, offline and IoT. With the power to unify customer data from a single source of truth, combined with a turnkey integration ecosystem supporting more than 1,000 vendors and technologies, Tealium’s Universal Data Hub (UDH) enables organisations to gain realtime, actionable insights and create richer, more personalised digital experiences. More than 700 global businesses worldwide trust Tealium to power their data strategies and data governance practices. For more information, visit www.tealium.com
www.tealium.com
We are proud to partner with the National Heart Foundation of Australia and other nonprofits around the world
Get nonprofit offers from Microsoft Microsoft.com/nonprofits
AUSTRALIA
“ I wanted to create a platform where we engaged with our customer at every point in their lifetime”
involved examining business processes to find a product that would deliver on all the needs that had been uncovered so far. “A lot of that informed the business case and our request for proposal (RFP) for various vendors,” he explains. “We had a closed selection where we identified key vendors across the industry that we felt would be able to deliver, or had insight to deliver, what
Shane Riddle CIO, National Heart Foundation of Australia
we were trying to create.” Of 15 nominat-
difference? What are they looking for
three that were then challenged to
when they come to us?” This involved
create prototypes. This lengthy process
deep analysis, understanding what the
outlines Riddle’s approach to vendors.
business did, and examining its customer
“I’m fairly tough in trying to negotiate
base until those 52 different definitions
something that works for us,” he says,
were formulated. “When creating a single
qualifying: “I understand the business
view of the customer, it’s important to
they’re in as well, so it has to be fair.
understand the context of the customer
I think when you’re truthful with your
for internal users,” says Riddle,
business partners, and you say ‘we want
“because when we create something
this, but this is what we can afford or are
and then introduce it, we need to
capable of at this point in time, but we
represent what they see as their
want to bring you on the journey and
customer. That is important.”
we can see the growth aspect,’ partners
ed vendors, 10 put forward a proposal which were narrowed down to a final
The third stage – at which point
buy into that and it’s mutually beneficial.”
Riddle had to gain approval at board
To complete this undertaking, the
level to move past – was “very much
National Heart Foundation needed the
getting down into the weeds.” This
support of key partners to the business w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
249
BRENNAN IT
MAKING CLIENTS LIVES’ EASIER. Our team support and manage the ICT infrastructure of over 100 of Australia’s largest brands, helping make their lives’ easier. It’s what we do and why we’ve ranked Australia’s No.1 Managed Services Provider for the last 9 years.
www.brennanit.com.au
AUSTRALIA
251 to assist with this transformation.
allowing us to focus on what the
Microsoft for the company’s cloud
business needs,” Riddle adds. “They
migration, as well as Microsoft Azure
look after the back office operating our
has been utilised for the development
service desk and offer additional support
of the Single View of the Customer
as needed across our infrastructure,”
platform. Riddle outlines its scalability
he explains, reiterating the way his
and access to Azure Services which
team’s role has gone from “keeping the
allowed prototyping, working towards
lights on” to thinking about how Australia
a full solution, growing the environment
can truly drive change across the
and services as needed. As this has
organisation. Another vendor which
grown, the organisation has also been
was an integral part of forming the
utilising Data#3 as a Microsoft
Single View of the Customer platform
Preferred Partner to navigate the
is Tealium – perhaps the best example
intricacies that come with building out
of the vendor management strategy
a complex environment. “Brennan IT
embraced by Riddle. “We were
also play a very big part in actually
impressed by their buy-in because not w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
H E A R T F O U N D AT I O N O F A U S T R A L I A
252
“ You need bottom-up buy-in because you’re looking at people’s processes, and change management is a key component of this” Shane Riddle CIO, National Heart Foundation of Australia
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
only did we interview them, but they interviewed us to see if their business was suitable to what we were trying to achieve. I got a lot of comfort out of that,” he comments. “We were entering a new space when we engaged with Tealium so they were fantastic taking us on that journey as well – their implementation and the support they offer us as we go through that learning curve has been fantastic.” With vendors and products selected, the fourth phase NHF went though was development and implementation, bringing in BAs, developers, data scientist, testers and even an Agile coach to ensure the Australia transformation ran smoothly among staff, too. This laid the path for the currently ongoing final stage – “taking all those learnings we went through in phase four and actually doing something about that.” For Riddle, getting passionate people on board with the changes the organisation was experiencing – in terms of bringing customers to a single point as well as unifying the organisation itself – was key in managing the significant culture shift involved in any Australia transformation. “You need bottom-up buy-in because you’re looking at people’s processes, and change management is a key component of this. You’ve got to be aware of how it impacts them and how they are involved in the whole process,” he explains. “I try and understand the emotional life cycle people go through with change,” Riddle adds. “Another aspect is when you communicate with w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
253
H E A R T F O U N D AT I O N O F A U S T R A L I A
people, people like different mediums – some like written word, others like face to face. Some like to be in a group and sit back and listen, others like it to be more intimate or a one-on-one discussion. I try to build all those aspects in and communicate on a level people actually want to receive so they take in what I talk about.” At the foundation’s Melbourne office, the IT team is located in the centre of the building, which Riddle believes symbolises its place at the heart of the business as well as 254
encouraging people to ask questions and understand what they do. For Riddle’s team, communication
“ We’ve built a new platform with which we can totally engage the customer, and start measuring how they’re choosing to engage with us” Shane Riddle CIO, National Heart Foundation of Australia MARCH 2019
involves gathering together every morning for a few minutes, a part of the Agile philosophy he’s brought in. “People talk about what they did yesterday, what they didn’t get through and what they’re going to do today. That gets communication working across the team – people can chime in if they hear of a roadblock and offer suggestions. Other groups have now started to pick up on that as well and for me that was encouraging as I didn’t want to push
AUSTRALIA
255
Agile. It was more about introducing it
start dynamically understanding their
to staff, showing how it’s used so peo-
behaviour, and dynamically changing
ple get serious about it and want to try.”
the way we approach that through
Across the whole country, as a newly
the variety of media and information
unified and tech led organisation, the
we supply, tailoring it back to what their
foundation is all set to relaunch with
need is at any particular time.”
what Riddle calls a “revitalised” brand. “With single view of customer, we’ve built a new platform with which we can totally engage the customer, and start measuring how they’re choosing to engage with us,” he explains. “Ultimately, we want to have an individual conversation with those people, so we can w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
256
Transforming the student experience through digital innovation WRIT TEN BY
CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY
MIK E SADR
AUSTRALIA
257
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
One of the most renowned academic institutions for research and development innovation, The University of Western Australia has invested in new digital tools to transform the student experience
T
echnology has opened up new opportunities across the education sector. Students are no longer
content with traditional ways of working, but are looking for learning tools which seamlessly blend Australia and creativity to 258
promote engagement and deliver new ways of thinking. Projections show the e-learning market worldwide is forecast to surpass US$243bn by 2022, leading institutions to turn towards innovative education models and develop student-focused solutions which work to provide personalised support wherever possible. Situated on the outskirts of Perth, with a second campus in Albany, The University of Western Australia (UWA) is the oldest educational institution in the region. The university houses competitive spirit founded on collaboration, with many illustrious alumni to its name. Former Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, former CEO of British
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
259
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
“ I decided to enter higher education, which I feel is an opportunity to provide something to the community. It also helps to shape the way that future leaders will come into the world” — Warwick Calkin, Chief Digital & Information Officer
Airways, Sir Roderick Ian Eddington, as well as Noble Prize winners have all studied here and gained international acclaim. “A bunch of people from the university have made a difference to the world, not just to their local community,” reflects UWA’s Chief Digital & Information Officer, Warwick Calkin. “The indigenous people that lived in this part of Australia, the Noongar people, came to this area for learning. They bought people to this part of the world and taught them here, so it was actually a university way
260
before it was a university, so to speak. However, the education sector has changed significantly. The days of having someone stand at the front, and ‘chalk and talk’ no longer appeals. Students are used to having something far more dynamic, far more interactive, and want tools that give them the ability to exchange ideas. “A lot of students don’t necessarily come to the lectures in person and just look at the lectures online and the bits which are most important to them. Technology has enabled students to actually receive education in a different way and not necessarily on campus.” MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PROFESSOR DAWN FRESHWATER – NEW UWA VICE-CHANCELLOR’ 261 Working in a number of industry
students from China, India, Singapore
verticals, from telco’s, utilities, finance
and Malaysia in particular, he found
and mining, moving into the education
that even locating the application form
space would seem a surprise move, but
on its website to be a frustrating process.
Calkin, wanted to build a career which
Not only that, prospective students
he felt would hold greater purpose.
then had to print off the 15-page PDF
“I decided to enter higher education,
form which was solely accessible in
which I feel is an opportunity to provide
English. Once completed, the required
something to the community. It also helps
forms had to be sent via the mail, placing
to shape the way that future leaders will
further delays. Those who completed
come into the world.”
the form incorrectly, or if supplied
Calkin has often sought to ‘walk in the shoes’ of the students, even from the very start of the application process. With high numbers of international
images were blurry, had to redo the process all over again. “By the time they eventually got an offer from us, which was sent via w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
C O M PA N Y FACT S
• UWA has sought to implement cloud software to protect up to six petabytes (PB) of research data, which previously sat in a outsource data centre
262
• UWA’s new digital support mechanism allows students to designate family members or friends to be alerted if they miss a tutorial or assignment, or if they haven’t been on campus for a period of time • The University of Western Australia (UWA) is the oldest educational institution in the region • The university houses competitive spirit founded on collaboration, with many illustrious alumni to its name
snail-mail, there’s a good chance that they had an offer from another university,” he laments. By identifying key pain points, Calkin has worked to digitise the application process. The time taken to complete the required forms has been reduced to 20 minutes, where applicants can now also receive an electronic offer within five working days. Additionally, applicants can now pay online via credit card. “We’re the first of all the highest ranking (GO8) universities in Australia that issue an electronic letter. Everyone
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
else still does it with a paper offer,”
an experience where they value me,
says Calkin. “You start looking at the
they respect me and they’re going to
things which you just expect to be
treat me as a customer.”
there and work, and yet these people,
Recognising that students demand
who are our customers, we weren’t
technologies promoting convenience
treating them with the same respect.
and accessibility, Calkin has worked
We were saying, ‘Well, if you want to
alongside the students themselves. He
come here, you’ll work it out. You’ve
received support from the Student
got to be smart enough to work it out
Guild to build digital tools, such as the
to come here in the first place.’
ability for students to locate friends on
As a consumer, if it’s that hard to
campus, receiving reminders around
consume something, you start thinking,
key events and information regarding
‘is this the experience that I want to put
assignments. Partnering with Involvio
myself through? I should go and have
has also seen students gain access to
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Warwick Calkin was appointed Chief Digital & Information Officer for the UWA in 2017. Warwick has over 30 years’ experience in IT. Prior to working in the Higher Education sector, Warwick worked in Senior IT leadership roles in a number of industry verticals such as Mining, (CIO of South32, CIO of BHP Potash, CIO of BHP Diamonds) Telecommunications (General Manager of Platform Services for Telstra), as well as roles in Utilities, Software Development, and Wagering & Gaming. Warwick has worked in more than 20 other countries around the world including New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands and Canada. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Non-Executive Director of a Not-for-Profit organisation, Carers WA.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
263
Transform your student experience Let our tools help your team accelerate engagement and transform the student experience with the power of mobile and AI.
learn more at involvio.com
Calibrated to support your students from orientation to graduation Robust tools to onboard, engage, and retain your students Integrated with your student system, LMS, and Cisco infra Fully cloud hosted, nothing to deploy on premise
AUSTRALIA
“ We are working with Pure Storage, who have provided a platform that is used partially for the research side. All the files that were previously on disks and servers are now sitting on that platform, which enables some incredible performance and analytics” — Warwick Calkin, Chief Digital & Information Officer
some friends on campus at this time who you can meet for lunch’. It’s pretty intuitive,” notes Calkin. “A QR code is also built into it, so if students forget to bring their student ID, they can still buy lunch at the cafeteria. It’s all these practical things which we’re trying to make as easy as possible. One thing a student will never lose is their mobile phone.” Even the safety of its students has been considered. UWA’s new digital support mechanism allows students to designate family members or friends to be alerted if they miss a tutorial or assignment, or if they haven’t been on
a platform which provides real-time
campus for a period of time. If there
information via their phone or laptop,
was a serious incident, students can
such as the classes a student has that
also be sent a push notification.
day, including a map and directions if
Despite such innovations, it is easy
required, all in a bid to deliver a student
to disregard the fact that large volumes
experience which is personalised,
of personalised data are routinely
highly mobile and digitally connected.
stored on a daily basis. Protecting this
“The Australia will prompt students
data has become a critical area for
with things like, ‘You’ve got one subject
Calkin, but with a digitally savvy
this morning and another this after-
student-base, he has developed an
noon with a gap of three hours in the
essential way for students to guaran-
middle, so here are some events that
tee that their data can be stored and
are on campus that you may be
shared through an ‘opt in’ feature, which
interested in attending’, or ‘you have
the students themselves must enable. w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
265
THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
“The feature on the mobile application, Transparent Mode, is defaulted to be off, so students have to switch this on. Once they opt in, we can track where they’re going and what they’re doing,” he says. “The reason to turn it off is, to protect their right to privacy. If they say they want to know where their friends are, they can then do so. The data is associated with Involvio’s base in the cloud which has tight security around it. Approximately 60 universities in the US are also using this Australia.” 266
Even travelling to and from the university is set to be revolutionised, with autonomous vehicles being deployed to support students’ travel across campus, which would work to protect them from the harsh
looking at the community that supports
40-degree heat in the summertime.
us and to engage more effectively, and
“We trialled this autonomous vehicle
in some areas, partner up to deliver
to look at how can we can transport
innovations which everyone can benefit
people around campus, but also looked
from,” observes Calkin.
at the broader context of incorporating
Throughout its expansive digital
this into the public system. We’re
investment, from student focused
working with the Department of
technologies to its extensive research
Transport to try and work out how to
capabilities, UWA has sought to
take this forward. There’s a lot of
implement cloud software to protect
things we are looking at more broadly
up to six petabytes (PB) of research
than just the university itself – we’re
data, which previously sat in an
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
267
outsourced data centre. Bringing the
used partially for the research side.
data back on site, situated in two data
All the files that were previously on
centres on campus, the university is
disks and servers are now sitting on
set to undertake a 12-month project
that platform, which enables some
to work alongside librarians and sift
incredible performance and analytics,�
through large volumes of data, identify
depicts Calkin.
ownership, and decide whether it should
Technology has reshaped the way
be retained or archived, with the aim to
we interact, engage and communicate,
house a complete catalogue of relevant,
yet UWA has taken this a step further.
high quality data.
Home to one of the largest indigenous
“We are working with Pure Storage, who have provided a platform that is
art collections in the southern hemisphere, the university is exploring the w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
Automated Hybrid Infrastructure Monitoring for Modern IT Optimize service performance with an agentless SaaS-based platform
Top 3 Reasons Customers Love LogicMonitor INTERNAL IT
MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDERS
• Fastest time to value with agentless SaaS architecture
• Increase revenue with monitoring as a service
• Most comprehensive technology coverage
• Streamline troubleshooting: single view of on-premises, cloud, and hybrid
• Highly adaptable: monitor and visualize new technologies and resources
• Monitor multiple clients with one scalable, automated platform
For a demo or free trial visit logicmonitor.com
AUSTRALIA
269
use of augmented reality (AR) and
the Year, implementing a trading room
virtual reality (VR) to offer a cultural
which would replicate becoming a trad-
experience quite like no other. While
er on the floor, dealing with situations
UWA is looking to build a school of
in real-time. Receiving feeds from the
indigenous studies to celebrate this
market, students could initiate and pull
work, strict guidelines regarding where
trades and see the results.
such work can be shown remain. VR
With facilities dotted everywhere,
will therefore enable this work to be
Calkin has recently undertaken
displayed, where students can gain
a study with UWA’s Director of Campus
a greater understanding of Australia’s
Management to develop a campus
rich history.
master plan, looking at the university
Catering towards its business
from both a digital and physical
students, in 2018 the university was
perspective to ensure it remains one
awarded the Education Project of
of the most advanced educational w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
institutions in the world. The first focal point is being urban, which UWA has achieved through its location, just outside of Perth. Second is green space, which the university has been committed to maintaining throughout its inception. Thirdly is history, which UWA has in spades. “The last one is density and Oxford and Cambridge University were faced with similar challenges,” he explains. “While Cambridge elected to carry on sprawling, Oxford elected to consoli270
“ The education sector has changed significantly. The days of having someone stand at the front, and ‘chalk and talk’ no longer appeals. Students are used to having something far more dynamic, which gives them the ability to exchange ideas” — Warwick Calkin, Chief Digital & Information Officer
MARCH 2019
date with a smaller footprint but with a higher density. We’re looking at going down this route and create an environment which is more collaborative. The notion of teaching in a box is disappearing, and has become a lot more experiential.” Long-term, Calkin believes that new technologies, such as blockchain, will even lead to the introduction of bespoke degrees, where students will build their own degrees, and complete modules at various universities
AUSTRALIA
271
worldwide. New technologies will
one you know recommends you. “It’s not
be able to then authenticate a user’s
just about saying that we’re good. I want
credentials across a number of
them to be able to walk away from here
different universities. For UWA,
and feel like they had the best experience
however, what is its long-term aim?
they possibly could, which we are
“That’s easy,” Calkin concludes,
committed to consistently achieve.”
without missing a beat. “Success is that our students leave here and they say it was an awesome experience. What’s the best form of advertising? It’s word of mouth. It is the strongest and most powerful form of reinforcing that something is good, where somew w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
272
Technology transformation to personalise the guest experience WRIT TEN BY
CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY
MIK E SADR
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
273
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
W Y N D H A M D E S T I N AT I O N S A S I A PA C I F I C
Providing exceptional experiences across the travel and tourism sector. Director of IT Clive Hawkins discusses how Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific continues to ‘put the world on vacation’ through digital innovation
N
o longer a luxury for the few, the travel and tourism sector has become fiercely competitive. With so many options on
offer, shared vacation and timeshare models are 274
growing in popularity. Renowned as the largest vacation ownership and exchange company worldwide, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific has sought to streamline its services and provide an experience like no other. Having experienced steady growth across the Asia Pacific region, the business is set to open a new office in Clark, the Philippines, where up to 160 staff will move to its new premises in mid-2019. Harnessing a corporate and global mission to ‘put the world on vacation’, Wyndham’s extensive footprint now spans the entirety of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and southeast Asia, encompassing close to 60,000 owner families. To support its continued growth, increase its accessibility, convenience and ongoing appeal, its digital infrastructure has been significantly transformed. MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
275
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
W Y N D H A M D E S T I N AT I O N S A S I A PA C I F I C
Senior Director of IT, Clive Hawkins, explains that it has been essential for Wyndham to make its services not only practical, but intuitive to engage its diverse audience and remain a leading player in the market. “If you look at Amazon’s shopping cart system, it’s not an attractive site but is very efficient and easy to use. I think that people put far too much investment into the aesthetics of a site rather than functionality, which is key. However, personalisation is now very 276
important. You’re not going to get very
MARCH 2019
“ I think voice is really going to take off. You’ve got the Amazon Echo, Google Home, Cortana with Microsoft and Siri with Apple. If you don’t adapt to innovation then you get left behind” — Clive Hawkins, Senior Director of IT
AUSTRALIA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WYNDHAM DESTINATIONS OUR WORLD IS YOUR DESTINATION’ 277 far with marketing campaigns which
redundancies and manage applica-
are purely shotgun approach. You
tions without having to pay increased
need to tailor that message and
maintenance costs.
understand who your target audience really is,” he says candidly. Taking a deep dive into Wyndham’s
“We invested in Salesforce and built a fairly large marketing tool with them. This went live last year and since then
digital capabilities, Hawkins has
we’ve been gathering speed and
developed key partnerships with
moving more and more systems into
Australia leaders in order to transform
Salesforce,” says Hawkins. “It’s an
its service offerings. Building on its
effectual tool and has been very
longstanding relationship with
beneficial from a speed perspective
Salesforce, the company has deployed
because we’re not redesigning and
its Platform as a Service (PaaS)
building security platforms and menu
technologies, enabling Wyndham to
structures because everything is
centralise its services, remove any
already there. We’re using our centralw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
W Y N D H A M D E S T I N AT I O N S A S I A PA C I F I C
ised database as a repository, where we’ve got prospects, owners, staff and suppliers all stored there.” The partnership has led to an improvement of “at least 66% in overall efficiency,” where everyone “can now see the benefits.” Following its success, Wyndham is now undertaking user acceptance testing (UAT) for a campaign management engine, which will enable the business to ‘slice and dice’ its leads within the database. “We have roughly nine million leads who we 278
contact, but this will allow us to segment them based on different criteria, which we have also built in Salesforce,” adds Hawkins. “One of our biggest challenges was
comprehensive data, which can be manipulated to make it work for us.”
that our lead database comes from various different sources and often a
SEAMLESS CONNECTIVITY
lead for us may be a phone number
Hawkins is not only seeking to overhaul
and a first name. We then might have
Wyndham’s service offerings, but
another record that is for T. Smith and
onboard new technologies to ensure
a different phone number, but then we
operational efficiency and gain an
could have another record for Tom
edge over the competition. Taking a
Smith and an email address, with no
closer look at its back-end services
way to link those people and under-
and IT service desk, robotic process
stand it is the same person. Then a
automation (RPA) is being explored as
fourth record may come in that links
a means to boost quality assurance
the previous three and we can gain
rates, particularly in areas which house
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
279
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Clive Hawkins | Senior Director of IT After a successful career as a Developer building a variety of solutions (including a sports package for the Mediterranean Games 1991), Clive moved into project management in 1992. Clive joined Wyndham in September 2006, and has managed the IT Team for the past 10 years. Currently responsible for the Asia Pacific region. Major successes of the IT team during this time include: Seamless head office relocation, introducing Salesforce as a development platform, design and implantation of DNC solution, implementation of an online sales system, expansion of offices into China, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, maintaining a strong security stance, introducing a digitalized automated loan decisioning solution.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
“Agiles Australia with OurMate AI is proud to be a Strategic technology partner for Wyndham Destinations for their AI Voice and Software needs. We are privileged to add value to Wyndham’s Time share and Resorts AI initiatives through phases of development and implementation”.
Agiles Australia is a Young Queensland based Software Consulting and Technology house transforming its client’s business with Innovative AI products and best-in-class IT Solutions.
ourmateai.com | www.agiles.com.au OurMate@Agiles.com.au | Info@Agiles.com.au
T EACUHSNTORLAOLGI A Y
“ Agiles is a small start-up company and have been very easy to work with. They’re an exciting bunch and they’ve got other ideas that they’re trying to get off the ground” — Clive Hawkins, Director of IT
system to one supplied by Canadian telecoms giant Mitel will also bring a multitude of advantages. Set to complete in March this year, the multifaceted project presently covers up to 650 staff, tackling relatively complex interactive voice response (IVR) systems per department, multiple HUNT groups (used to enable the distribution of phone calls from a single telephone number to a group of several
a number of repetitive tasks with
phone lines), integration with diallers
multiple touchpoints. Expanding its Cit-
and much more.
rix platform and replacing desktops
“Having a new phone system will
with thin clients (or lightweight
bring new tools, such as linking mobile
computers) will also promote accessi-
and desk phones. Staff can answer via
bility and reduce ongoing maintenance
desk or mobile, and transfer the call
costs across the business.
from one to the other. It’s a nice feature
Understanding that end-users are
for management teams who move
demanding seamless connectivity
around. We will also be able to offer the
across its hotels and resorts, Wynd-
callback facility to callers,” says
ham has also partnered with Australia’s
Hawkins.
largest telecommunications operator, Telstra, in order to install fibre connec-
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
tions at multiple sites across the
From mobile apps to wearables,
country, as well as backup 4G technol-
Australia continues to disrupt tradition-
ogies. This has greatly improved the
al industries and ways of working and
corporate network connectivity as well
has led to a significant shift in consum-
as the guest experience in resorts.
er expectations. Making the decision
Furthermore, upgrading its phone
to fully digitise the processing of sales w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
281
W Y N D H A M D E S T I N AT I O N S A S I A PA C I F I C
$5bn+ Approximate revenue
2000
Year founded
2000+
Approximate number of employees
Aesthetically it’s an attractive system and is used by the sales team so had to be somewhat intuitive so that they would enjoy using it. A sales rep or consultant will also be on hand to provide support.” Believing voice control Australia to be part of the ongoing evolution of traditional keyboard and touch screens, Wyndham has collaborated with Agiles Australia in the development of its first voice chatbot. This will very shortly be accessible through the Wyndham app, end users can gain information regarding their Club, where its
contracts, Wyndham has sought to
capabilities will become further
provide ultimate flexibility and acces-
personalised as it becomes increas-
sibility to its end users. “Invariably, if
ingly utilised. “Agiles is a small young
someone buys a timeshare ownership
startup company and have been very
from us, 50% will also borrow money
easy to work with. They’re an exciting
from us as well. The sales contract is
bunch and they’ve got other ideas that
therefore not just a deed of sale, but an
they’re trying to get off the ground in
application for a loan, which is incred-
the Australian market place,” adds
ibly detailed,” explains Hawkins.
Hawkins.
“We have not only digitised the
“I think voice is really going to take off.
contract but have automated the loan
You’ve got the Amazon Echo, Google
decision process. Through the use of
Home, Cortana with Microsoft and Siri
tablets, we use DocuSign to digitally
with Apple, and they’ve all become
capture the signature for the contract
stronger and stronger. If you don’t
as well, which is quite a slick beast.
adapt to innovation then you get left
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
283
behind and if you follow the curve and
which houses fairly simple questions
you’re at the back end of the curve your
and answers regarding Wyndham’s
investment is going to be very similar,
service offering. However, phase two
but people will think, ‘Well about time’
(set to go live in Q3) will enable the
or, ‘You’ve finally caught up.’ Whereas,
Australia to provide more granular data,
if you don’t want to be on the bleeding
such as an owner’s available credit,
edge, but want to be somewhere near
loan balances and monthly payment
the front, if you can be one of the first
amounts. Lastly, phase three will focus
people to deploy innovation in your
solely on providing exceptional
particular vertical then people are
hospitality.
impressed and view the company not only as progressive but vibrant.” Set to go live imminently, Wyndham will launch phase one of its voice box,
“You’ll be able to say, ‘I need another pillow’ and the voice box will say ‘Have you tried looking in the cupboard above the bed?’ If not, we’ll be able to send w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
W Y N D H A M D E S T I N AT I O N S A S I A PA C I F I C
284
C O M PA N Y FACT S
• Wyndham Destinations has sought to streamline its services and provide an experience like no other
a message to housekeeping and say, ‘guest in room 123 needs another pillow,’
• Witnessing steady growth across the Asia Pacific region, the business is set to open a new office in Clark, the Philippines in early 2019
and we can tell them that a pillow will
• Wyndham’s extensive footprint now spans the entirety of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and South East Asia, encompassing close to 60,000 owner families
and so forth,” explains Hawkins.
be bought to their room shortly. We’re also hoping to interface it with the internet so guests can ask questions, such as the best places to eat nearby
EXPERIENCES LIKE NO OTHER Another area being worked on, and will hopefully be live before the end of 2019, is beacon Australia. When a timeshare owner arrives at a club hotel
MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
says Hawkins. Looking towards the growth in Chinese tourism both inside and outside of the Asia Pacific region, Wyndham has also embraced digital payment options, such as Alipay and WeChat pay, as digital and mobile wallets are becoming the leading payment methods in the region.
INSPIRING INNOVATION While the business has embraced new technologies, securing such services has become the single biggest risk across Wyndham’s digital infrastructure. Housing a global or resort, Bluetooth beacons will be
security platform, the business is
able to sync with their mobile phone
continually looking to ensure all data
and alert the front desk staff. Once the
remains protected. Hawkins uses
Australia recognises the owner,
Marriott Hotel and Resorts’ recent
bespoke information can be provided,
news as a prime example to explain
such as cultural landmarks, places to
that “you can never be fully secure,
visit and much more.
but to always look at ways to remain
“It’s increasing the owner experience, is a great opportunity and increases
ahead of the curve.” “Because they’re in the same vertical,
efficiency. The same happens when
it’s a wakeup call if we needed it,” he
they walk through reception, where
says thoughtfully. “We’re always fighting
we know who they are, which room
with end users because everybody
they are staying and so can be greeted
wants to use the latest app, share data
accordingly throughout their stay,”
and be on social media, and all of w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
285
W Y N D H A M D E S T I N AT I O N S A S I A PA C I F I C
these things are risk vectors that. From an IT perspective, we’ve got to be mindful. They say that the average penetration takes at least 12 months to spot. It took Marriott four years, but it’s not unusual and is in fact very, very common. You then have other things to worry about, such as shadow IT, where people in the business – for all the right reasons, are not necessarily doing the right things and placing vulnerabilities out there which need to be eradicated.” This has no doubt fed into Wyndham’s consistent commitment to develop its 286
employees and equip them with the necessary tools to not only inspire innovation, but take the business to new heights. Recently recognised as one of the Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes, the business has looked to support local communities on a global scale. Hawkins has recently explored a possible partnership with Griffiths University in southeast Queensland in a bid to provide project-based internships to local students as a key example. “We’ve previously held internships where people have worked here for 12 weeks, but these project-based internships will last as long as the project. We would propose some interesting ones which would be ‘nice to have’, but if they are unsuccessful it’s not MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
“Personalisation is now very important. You need to tailor that message and understand who your target audience really is” — Clive Hawkins, Director of IT
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
287
W Y N D H A M D E S T I N AT I O N S A S I A PA C I F I C
something that we would have otherwise invested in,” he says. Building such partnerships with educational institutions would enable students to gain significant experience and an understanding of the industry, and the controls and project practices Wyndham has in place, providing advantages for all. “I was hoping that we could run also series of projects with the same interns. The longer that someone’s with us the more they have to offer,” 288
adds Hawkins. “They’re able to understand the business, and if they are working on multiple projects, they can see how they cross correlate. From a university perspective, it’s a good feature which they can advertise. From the student perspective they get real life experience and some of them may get a job at the end. Even if we don’t have an opening, we can give a good reference for a job somewhere else. The benefit to Wyndham as a company is that students can work on ideas, which otherwise may not come into fruition.” Such is the success of Wyndham’s IT transformation, Hawkins was officially MARCH 2019
AUSTRALIA
recognised as Senior Employee of the Year at the end of 2018, alongside Employee of the Year and infrastructure manager, Brad Byrne. A prestigious award within the Wyndham Destination Asia Pacific company, such acknowledgement reflects Hawkins’ continued desire to remain at the top of his game, while adopting best prac-
“Increasing the owner experience, is a great opportunity and increases efficiency” — Clive Hawkins, Director of IT
tices and building a culture that thrives on innovation. Wyndham will remain focused on providing personalised vacations, with numbers steadily increasing each year. Strengthened through collaboration and bringing new ideas to the table, Wyndham will soon be on its next phase of growth, where Australia will fully underpin further possibilities to fully ‘put the world on vacation.’
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
289
290
A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WITH KEY PARTNERS AT THE CORE MARCH 2019
CANADA
291
WRIT TEN BY
DA LE BENTON PRODUCED BY
JA MES BERRY
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
TRAFFIX
CARLOS TRIVINO, DIRECTOR OF IT, EXPLORES HOW PARTNERS AND PEOPLE PROVE KEY AMIDST TRAFFIX’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
F
or more than 40 years, Traffix has provided comprehensive third-party logistics and transportation solutions to
customers across North America and established itself as a true market leader. Key to the company’s continued success had been a strong vision that 292
places its customers, carriers and internal teams at the forefront of everything it does. The company describes itself as ‘the transportation people’ and this in particular continues to be a true competitive advantage at a time where technology has completely redefined the industry over the last decade. Carlos Trivino joined Traffix back in 2014 as Director of IT for the company, bringing with him an extensive history of experience in transportation, logistics and technology implementation. He joined the company with a simple mission of looking at how Traffix could increasingly utilize technology to better serve its customer base and he admits that joining Traffix was almost a no-brainer. “I had done some consulting with Traffix and after a while I just felt that it was a great company,” he says. “It’s a privately held company and has some key partners MARCH 2019
CANADA
293
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Carlos Trivino With 28 years’ experience in various disciplines in the transportation industry, Carlos’ career has encompassed a number of roles from dock floor right through to management. With a passion for systems and technology, he took on the role of System Operator and his career path changed. As Information Technology Manager, Trivino was tasked with supporting the growth, design and development of new functionality within an in-house FMS (Freight Management System).
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
Driving Digital Transformation Digital Transformation Starts Here Now, more than ever, technology plays a critical role in an organization’s ability to evolve and continue to increase business value. Transformation is imperative for all businesses, from small to enterprise, in order to survive and advance in a digital economy. By leveraging modern technology in all areas of your business, you can improve customer experience, workforce enablement, and operational agility, keeping your business competitive, profitable and relevant. Gibraltar Solutions offers a wide selection of products and services to assist companies in their digital transformation journey.
REQUEST A CONSULTATION TODAY
ABOUT GIBRALTAR SOLUTIONS Gibraltar Solutions is a leading Canadian technology provider with over 20 years of experience in the IT industry. We help customers streamline and manage their IT processes to improve productivity, performance and profitability.
VISIT OUR SITE TO LEARN MORE
CANADA
“ IT’S A PRIVATELY HELD COMPANY AND HAS SOME KEY PARTNERS WITHIN THE COMPANY THAT KNOW THE BUSINESS VERY WELL AND HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL” — Carlos Trivino, Director of IT, Traffix
extreme pressure on the company as its existing technology architecture was only capable of handling the original number of users. This prompted the company to invest and embark on a digital transformation which would see Traffix respond to this growth spurt and be ready to experience further growth in the future. “We had to make a quick decision as to what type of technology we wanted and needed and what we were going to leverage to achieve our goal, which is to be one of the top logistics companies in Canada,” says Trivino. Key to this growth plan, and to Trivino’s own remit, was striking strategic partnerships with technology vendors
within the company that know the busi-
which could accelerate Traffix’s growth
ness very well and have been extreme-
–this is where the company turned to
ly successful. Over time, as Traffix has
Gibraltar Solutions and Trimble Transpor-
grown and evolved, my role now looks at
tation and Logistics (TMW). As a leading
the technology partnerships, ensuring
Canadian technology provider, Gibraltar
that software and hardware partners
Solutions recommended Nutanix
are vetted and align to what we want
hyperconverged cloud infrastructure.
to achieve as a company.”
Nutanix will allow Traffix to leverage
In 2018, Traffix experienced signifi-
cloud-based technology to effectively
cant growth as its existing user base
monitor and manage a 24/7 operation
of 60-70 users skyrocketed to close to
across its entire footprint. It also allows
300 users at any given time. This placed
Trivino and his IT team to “focus more on w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
295
TRAFFIX
Trimble Transportation Trimble Transportation provides solutions to create a fully integrated supply chain. With an intelligent ecosystem of products and services, Trimble Transportation enables customers to embrace the rapid technological evolution of the industry and connect all aspects of transportation and logistics—trucks, drivers, back office, freight and assets. Through the combined legacy of PeopleNet, TMW Systems and 10-4 Systems, Trimble Transportation delivers an open, scalable platform to help customers make more informed decisions and maximize performance, visibility and safety. ► Analytics
► Transportation
► Driver Apps
and Efficiency
► Navigation, Routing ► Regulatory
and Final Mile
Compliance
Management
Systems ► Vehicle ► Video
Health and Maintenence
and Safety Solutions
Get moving and find out more at: trimble.com
transforms TECHNOLOGY THAT
TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS
CANADA
297 the user experience and performance,
information and visibility and accurate
rather than worrying about the technol-
data within their systems. “They want
ogy and troubleshooting X or Y”, notes
to be able to do more analytics on their
Trivino. “We focus on the things that
side so that they can realize greater
really matter and that allows us to drive
cost savings and performance,” he says.
true value across the organization.”
“The information would historically be
Traffix also leverages Citrix’s digital
accessed by a server or a PC but now
workspace to deliver applications, which
it’s about remote desktops and hyper
allows the company to have greater
converged technology, which is where
access to and understanding of data
Citrix comes into play. The technology
flow. Trivino recognizes this as a key
through Citrix makes the data flow faster
trend across the industry. He notes that
and more efficient than ever before, not
companies and users were satisfied
only for end users to be able to access
with “minimal” information, but in recent
but for us to be able to produce that
years customers are demanding more
information.” In addition to Citrix Workw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
TRAFFIX
“ WE FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER AND THAT ALLOWS US TO DRIVE TRUE VALUE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION” 298
— Carlos Trivino, Director of IT, Traffix
This is where TMW, through its TruckMate solution, has been instrumental. “Trimble Transportation is pleased to be a critical part of the technology and application backbone helping to fuel Traffix’s explosive growth,” says Harald Fritz, Vice President, TruckMate. “Traffix’s collaboration and partnership drive continuous improvement within the TruckMate TMS including Command Center, CRM, Agent Mobile Solution and several complimentary, 3rd party software solutions. Embedded business intelligence (BI) capabilities and KPIs provide critical data into the entire decision continuum, from Sales through
space, Traffix, with Gibraltar’s assistance,
execution to billing and the company’s
also deployed Citrix SD-WAN, a next
accounting and financials. Traffix is one
generation WAN edge platform that
of the most innovative brokerage and
provides high performance and consist-
logistics providers always challenging
ent application delivery to its branch
themselves and us to capitalize on
offices. Within the branch, Citrix SD-WAN
new opportunities.”
also consolidated expensive routing and
When it comes to scalability, the
security hardware, simplifying network
Nutanix platform holds the key to Traffix’s
management and reducing costs.
technology transformation, as it enables
In order to monitor and understand this
the company to stack and grow without
information flow it requires a comprehen-
“ripping everything out and buying a new
sive and proven multi-modal dispatch,
Storage Area Network (SAN)”. Through
operations and accounting system that
Nutanix, Citrix, Gibraltar Solutions and
truly enables efficiency and scalability.
of course TMW, Traffix can invest and
MARCH 2019
CANADA
299
put more resources into its infrastruc-
is investing heavily in cloud solutions and
ture as the business continues its rapid
automated technology, but how does
growth with a significantly lower up-front
it ensure that this data is being stored
cost. For Trivino, it represents the value
securely and that customers can trust
both he and the company place in the
the company with sensitive information?
relationships Traffix looks to strike on
Traffix has a wide number of monitoring
its continuous growth journey. “We look
systems that look closely at system
to partner with people that want to
behavior. Should the system behavior
grow together with us. If we succeed,
seem out of turn or erratic, then it creates
the partner succeeds and so over time
an email response to the personal and
they become strategy partners with us.�
alerts them to it. Citrix also plays a key
With vast amounts of data and great-
role in the security of data, securing
er access to that data, the conversation
laptops and servers when out of use
inevitably turns towards security. Traffix
to mitigate the risk of data leaks. Trivino w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
TRAFFIX
300
MARCH 2019
CANADA
“WE ALWAYS LIKE TO LEVERAGE THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN WITH THE BUSINESS A LONG TIME. SOME HAVE BEEN HERE MANY YEARS, OTHERS ARE NEW. EACH AND EVERY PERSON BRINGS A LOT OF VALUE TO THE COMPANY” — Carlos Trivino, Director of IT, Traffix
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
301
TRAFFIX
notes that restructuring the technology
1979
Year founded
300
Approximate number of employees
architecture of the company provided him with an opportunity to look a little closer at how Traffix could better monitor the security of its data and effectively build in a new level of threat protection. As the company continues to explore the possibilities of technology, the very core of the business remains the same. Part of the very reason Trivino joined the company was the way it invests in its people, and while Traffix introduces more new technology, such as automation, to its operations,
302
MARCH 2019
CANADA
these people will always remain key.
“We can strategically place them some-
“We always like to leverage the people
where where we can use their years of
that have been with the business a long
experience in another area, and they
time. Some have been here many years;
can focus more on the company itself.”
others are new. Each and every person
Trivino points to an example where the
brings a lot of value to the company,” he
business would place an employee
says. “In the artificial intelligence (AI)
in a Team Lead role and support new
space, we are looking at the repetitive
people coming in, helping them get to
nature of capturing information and
grips with the technology and overall
removing the person from that and
Traffix operations. “They are teaching
moving them into a role that will bring
the new employees and helping them
a different but more important value
understand that this is how we operate,
to the business.”
this is how we do things, and basically 303
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
TRAFFIX
304
“EACH PARTNER HAS DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOFTWARE THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE FROM AND SO WE WILL LOOK MORE AT GETTING THAT DATA INTO OUR SYSTEM, AND VICE VERSA, TO BE ABLE TO GIVE OUR END CUSTOMER THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED A LOT QUICKER” — Carlos Trivino, Director of IT, Traffix MARCH 2019
CANADA
overseeing that department and letting go of that repetitive task that is very mundane,” he adds. Traffix’s digital transformation journey shows no signs of slowing down. In line with the company’s growth ambitions, Traffix will continue to invest and adopt innovative technologies in order to continue to achieve rapid growth and process information. 2018 proved a pivotal year for achieving this as the company focused on investing in its network infrastructure, laying down the foundation for the company’s digital future. “What we’re focusing on now is the user facing and customer facing technology, so more software development and more integration between key partners,” says Trivino. “Each partner has different types of software that we can leverage from and so we will look more at getting that data into our system, and vice versa, to be able to give our end customer the information that they need a lot quicker.”
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
305
FROM E-MAIL ROLLOUTS TO BIOMETRIC SCANNERS:
306
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION AT THE CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE We talk to Helen Knight, Director of IT, and Paul Twigg of Sierra Systems/NTT DATA Services, exploring their technological transformation of the Calgary Drop-In Centre to better the lives of its staff, volunteers and the city’s homeless community WRIT TEN BY
HARRY MENE AR PRODUCED BY
ARRON R A MPLING
MARCH 2019
CANADA
307
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE
H
elen Wetherley Knight, Director of Information Technology (IT) at the Calgary Drop-In Centre (The DI), has
always been excited by computers. “My parents met through computer dating,” she mentions, “so I’m the product of that technology from the early 70’s. I started programming when I was nine and I was very interested in technology, however, in high school, I learned that ‘tech was for boys’, so I backed away for a few years. Now, I am a pretty loud advocate for keeping women engaged in technology.” Knight has worked in IT for over 20 years, spending 12 of those years at Suncor 308
Energy while also running her own consulting business, Helen Knight Consulting Inc. During that time, she was also a regular volunteer at the Calgary Drop-In Centre in the city’s downtown. Serving over 10,000 people a year, the DI provides essential care, health services, employment training and housing support to those in need. In 2018, the DI provided Calgary’s homeless population with over 100,000 pieces of clothing, served over 400,000 meals in its dining hall, and provided 420,000 individual nights of shelter. When, in 2016, the DI began searching for a new IT Director, Knight’s volunteering record put her at the top of the list. “There was a focus on having someone with non-profit experience. I was lucky to be considered because I had been a volunteer.” She explains: “That speaks to one of MARCH 2019
CANADA
309
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE
310
the opportunities at non-profits: there’s
profits, her current and future plans to
so much emphasis placed on non-profit
use cutting-edge biometric technology
expertise, and there are so few people
to increase efficiency and security, as
that have technical backgrounds with
well as putting confidential personal
non-profit experience, that the
data back into the hands of Calgary’s
technical needs of non-profits have
homeless population. In addition, Paul
gone underserved for years.”
Twigg, VP of Technology at Sierra
With the support of the DI Board,
Systems, an NTT DATA Services
Knight is effecting a four-year complete
company, serves as the centre’s
technology transformation at the
strategic partner and plays a large
Calgary Drop-In. She was keen to
role in helping Knight implement her
discuss how her team is approaching
ambitious technology transformation.
organizational change management
“I’m lucky that I walked in with years
across one of Calgary’s largest non-
of experience and a Master’s Degree in
MARCH 2019
CANADA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘FUELLED BY KINDNESS’ 311
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE
312
IT strategy, because there was a lot of
they liked and trusted.”
low hanging fruit,” explains Knight,
Knight admits: “I had a lot to learn
acknowledging that in the non-profit
about appropriately engaging this
sector, technology is difficult to invest
compassionate, service-focused
in without donor support. When she
audience with technology.” However, the
arrived at the DI only 70 of 270 staff
first steps of her technology transfor-
had email addresses, so the first task
mation quickly yielded fruit. By
was to roll out Office365 across the
calculating the opportunity cost of
organization. She notes, “I made a mis-
wasted time due to the DI using
take by just sending out videos on how
multiple free and donated tools and
to use the new tools – it took me about
databases, Knight was able to prove a
four months to realize that I would be
return on investment of US$1.5mn per
more successful supporting this user
year, and return 20 hours per week
group in a room with a human being
per person that could be spent manag-
MARCH 2019
CANADA
“ IT’S A LABOR OF LOVE, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THESE TOOLS WILL EFFECTIVELY IMPROVE EVERY ASPECT OF THE STAFF’S LIVES” — Helen Knight CIO/Director of Technology Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre
ing relationships. “We went from our volunteer and donor department using five different calendars, answering the phone full-time and carrying the burden of disparate systems, to having a push system where the donors and volunteers engage directly by registering on a website, being onboarded by a system, and signing up for the shifts that they wanted, so the staff were able to focus on relationship building,” she recounts. “There was significant change management and it was a really careful process, but it’s a labor
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Helen Wetherley Knight, MBA Fighting poverty with technology, Helen is the Director of IT for the Calgary Drop-In Centre, the most effective Homeless Shelter in Canada. Leading an IT Transformation that will deliver annual savings of $1.5 Million USD, Helen is driving meaningful change for vulnerable Calgarians. Helen is also a passionate advocate for increasing gender diversity in IT, serves on two non-profit boards and was a Canadian CIO of the year finalist for 2018.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
313
Rooted in Community
We are proud to support The Calgary Drop-In Centre with innovative technology solutions that help make a positive emotional impact in the community, and in people’s lives.
sierrasystems.com
of love,” Knight insists, “because I
thing to do,” she reflects. “I fully accept
believe that all of these tools will
that my skill-set ends at the technology,
effectively improve the staff’s lives.”
and that the front-line workers are the
Knight stresses that the essence of her technological transformation at the
experts in client care” Twigg, who has been working along-
Drop-In is the empowerment of its staff
side Knight and her team to bring
and volunteers. “I’m not here to replace
Sierra Systems’ expertise to bear on
anybody,” she insists. “I’m here to take
the challenges of technological trans-
away busy work and pain. I think tech-
formation at the Drop-In, agrees. “It’s
nologists get into a lot of trouble when
not about cool tech. It’s about giving
they feel so confident that they reach
a person experiencing homelessness
past their level of expertise and start
a bed, a sandwich, a laundry service
making policy decisions, or feel that
and everything else that comes with it,”
just because they can prove something
he emphasizes. “All non-profits require
with data, that it’s the right and humane
technology. They just haven’t been
CANADA
“ IT’S NOT ABOUT COOL TECH. IT’S ABOUT GIVING A HOMELESS PERSON A BED, A SANDWICH, A LAUNDRY SERVICE AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT COMES WITH IT” — Paul Twigg VP of Technology, Sierra Systems /NTT DATA Services
able to invest in it because the charity funding model makes it difficult to put money into technology even though it will save money down the line.”: Sierra Systems, an NTT DATA Services company, specializes in IT consulting in order to provide its clients with innovative, forward-thinking solutions. The process of choosing a strategic partner was fairly unconventional. “We spent six months figuring out what the exact problems were that we wanted to solve instead of running to a bunch 315
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Paul Twigg Paul Twigg is the National VP of Technology for Sierra Systems an NTT DATA Services Company. He is an award winning IT business leader with executive and hands-on experience in delivering leading edge cloud, data and innovation services. He is a recognized speaker and thought leader in the technology field driving innovation and digital transformation ideas. Paul is security cleared (Canadian Secret Level) and has vast experience creating technology strategy to develop creative and innovative data centric services tailored towards increasing efficiencies and reducing costs within an organization. He is a motivational leader who enjoys building successful and productive teams.
CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE
of vendors and doing multiple demonstrations,” Knight explains. “It’s the opposite of how teams engage vendors normally.” This approach helped Knight choose a company that would offer a complete service. “We were really looking at solving the entire problem,” she says. “The finance, the HR, the IT, the client relationship, the client service; the entire problem, instead of discrete solutions.” This is where Sierra Systems, a company already involved in donating and 316
volunteering at the DI, came into play. After identifying Microsoft Dynamics as a customer relationship management system that could cater to the Drop-In’s needs, Knight considered two companies. “One brought me standard pricing, and Sierra, with evidence of being donors and volunteers, brought me their proposal at half price,” says Knight. “I knew they were in it with us. Sierra had the imagination that we needed.” Since then, the relationship has evolved from client-vendor to much more. In addition to back office initiatives to improve efficiency and foster digital engagement within the DI’s staff, Twigg MARCH 2019
CANADA
1.2mn Meals served in total
100,000+ Items of clothing distributed
420,000+ Individual nights of shelter provided
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
317
CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE
and his team have worked with Knight to bring one of their more cutting-edge initiatives towards maturity. For 10 years, the Calgary Drop-In has used fingerprint scanners in order to identify and admit its clients. “It took anywhere from about seven to 30 seconds to let an individual in,” says Twigg. “Considering that, since 2 February, it’s been about -30ºF every day here in Calgary, when you’ve got several hundred
“ GLOBALLY, ONE BILLION PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT ID, INCLUDING PEOPLE WHO NEED EMERGENCY SERVICES” — Helen Knight, CIO/Director of Technology Calgary Drop-in & Rehab Centre
people coming and going every day, upgrading the intake systems will make 318
entering the facility much more efficient.” To solve this problem, Knight is turning
unique needs.” At the heart of the new
to more modern forms of biometric
biometric identification system the DI is
technology with higher accuracy rates,
trialing is the desire to not only improve
reducing admission times to around
the quality of patient care, but also to
three seconds.
“put the client in charge of their data”.
In addition, the nature of the DI’s
“There are 43 conflicting legislations
work requires it to keep client records.
and ethical agreements governing
“One billion people in the world don’t
client data,” Knight explains. “I’m
have ID, including people who need
a co-chair of a collaborative work group
emergency services, are victims of
trying to improve communication
crime, have been evicted, are human
between homeless-serving agencies
trafficking victims - maybe they’re
in the City of Calgary, and when we
using drugs or have mental health
tried to create a decision guide to
issues. Regardless of the client’s
navigate them, there was no way to
history, we need to know who they are
figure it out; they all conflict and there’s
so we can ensure we are meeting their
no way to prioritize the disparate
MARCH 2019
CANADA
319 agreements.” By putting the decision
a solution. “We are designing an arch-
to share personal data back into the
itecture that implements blockchain to
hands of Calgary’s homeless popula-
allow a client’s health information to
tion, Twigg and Knight believe that
remain encrypted and afford the client
agencies serving vulnerable people
the ability to share that information as
across the city can improve communi-
they move between agencies, or
cation and build a shared database to
decide what can and can’t be shared.”
better serve their community.
In addition, the biometric data record-
Ensuring the potential for privacy
ed by the DI’s new systems, Knight
and control remains in the hands of the
explains, is anonymous by design.
client, however, is a top priority for the
Another place where Knight wants to
venture. “There’s a lot of personal
deploy biometrics down the line is in
identifiable information that can’t be
the way clients at the shelter supply
shared between agencies,” says Twigg,
personal information, as well as book
whose team has been collaborating
medical and other appointments. “I’m
with Knight and the working group on
more comfortable being vulnerable to w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE
“THE CLIENT OWNS THE KEY, AND THE DATA IS ANONYMOUS WITHOUT THEM BEING THERE” 320
— Helen Knight CIO/Director of Technology Calgary Drop-in and Rehab Centre
a system than a person,” she admits. “On 3 January, we put a client selfserve kiosk in the dining hall of the Calgary Drop-In Centre. The feedback from the clients has been very positive. Wedesigned this kiosk with our wood shop, where our clients learn woodworking skills, added a touchscreen monitor, and a donated PC. We built it so that you could use a wheelchair or a chair, so we didn’t have to move the screens around to account for height differences. All it does right now is two things: it plays a video on data sharing, why we want your data, and that it is safe and secure; and it presents a form where you can tell us what your barriers are to finding housing.” The form asks questions used to identify the client’s barriers to housing: “For example, are you comfortable talking to a landlord?” says Knight. “Some people can be afraid of authority and may not be comfortable speaking to a landlord. If we identify that is a barrier, we’ll go with them.” Knight notes that a client’s mistrust for human authority may result in a reluctance to reveal the information that would result in them receiving help – but the kiosk
MARCH 2019
CANADA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ROOTED IN COMMUNITY, SUPPORTED IN THE CLOUD - CALGARY DROP-IN CENTER AND SIERRA SYSTEMS’ 321
has built in anonymity and lacks a human
biometrics in the kiosks, so clients can
element. “Through a touchscreen com-
choose to opt in and receive personal-
puter, we’re reaching a vulnerable
ized services: book things like laundry
clientele and are serving them in a new
and medical appointments, find out
way,” she says. Knight has now ordered
when they’re meeting a landlord - they
two more kiosks based on this success.
would have a portal to their lives.”
“We are fulfilling an unmet need for some
Clients would also be able to opt out of
clients and finding new ways to build
the biometric customization. “We put in
relationships,” she adds.
this fabric flap,” she says, “so clients
Knight and Sierra Systems’ plan to
know for a fact that they’re not being
use biometric identification in the DI
recorded, and still have access to
also extends to the kiosks. “Once we
helpful information, opening hours,
finish a comprehensive privacy impact
times and maps.”
assessment,” Knight says, “we can put
Knight’s plans for the DI are extenw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CALGARY DROP-IN CENTRE
I N F O R M AT I O N
322
The Calgary Drop-In Centre (the DI) is more than an emergency shelter. They provide essential care as well as health services, employment training, and housing supports to people who need help. Their programs and services connect people to permanent housing that meets their individual needs. To donate to support this project please visit calgarydropin.ca/tech
sive and ambitious, but she and Twigg are eager, excited and optimistic. Knight is working with the University of Calgary and the University of Taiwan to test biometrics with the potential to detect sepsis and necrotic wounds, as well as planning on using the proposed transformation of the DI’s HR system, in conjunction with weather and environmental data, to predict workload. “Helen’s a fantastic advocate, not just for the Calgary Drop-In Centre, but for the homeless community across MARCH 2019
CANADA
323
Canada,” says Twigg. “It would be our
over other agencies in Canada. “Non-
dream if Helen was at the Calgary DI
profit, especially the homeless-serving
for the next 10 years, because we
sector, is ripe for disruption, transfor-
believe we could solve amazing
mation and return-on-investment,” she
problems together. She understands
says. “I see nothing but opportunity.”
how to solve big problems, and we believe we can match those ideas with the technology and the thought leaders that we have at Sierra Systems and NTT DATA Services.” Knight makes it clear that the technology transformation she’s bringing to the DI isn’t about giving the DI ‘competitive advantage’ w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
TM
INSURANCE LIMITED
324
NORTH AMERICA
Rewriting the rule book for Canada’s insurance brokers WRIT TEN BY
L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY
GLEN WHITE
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
325
PBL INSURANCE LIMITED
Delivering one-to-one insurance services with cutting-edge technologies, PBL Insurance is reshaping the way Canadian insurance brokers do business
D
igitization is shaking up industries across the globe and it seems the insurance sector is no exception.
For PBL Insurance, which has provided risk and insurance services to Canadians for almost a century, there was no doubt that digitization would be a central pillar of its 326
strategic plan. The firm’s Director of Technology, Joey Faraone, says that by undertaking a root-and-branch digital transformation and overhauling its legacy systems, PBL Insurance is “re-writing the way insurance companies do business in Canada”. “I would say that technology is playing a very big role in driving PBL’s transformation,” he explains. “We went from having some very old technology pieces running our network to understanding that now is the time to invest and prepare the company for the next 20 years of the technology curve.” Previously, Faraone says that PBL Insurance didn’t have a focused internal MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
327
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z i n e. com
Right security. Right place. Simplified. With Cisco Meraki.
Data Center/ Private Cloud
Devices & Things
Campus & Branch Users
SD-WAN + SECURITY
SaaS
IaaS
Mobile Users
Branch Office for the Digital Era - Cisco SD-WAN: Smarter. Deeper. More Flexible Than Ever
800-465-9961 www.microage.ca
NORTH AMERICA
technology direction and so the Canadian firm decided to bring its digital strategy in-house. “The company wanted to get a better grasp on today’s technology and look at where technology will take the insurance industry in the future,” he says. “I was brought in to lead the development and management of new technologies and ensure that they align with the company’s business strategy.” Becoming a digital broker is no easy feat, but this transformation was firmly at the top of PBL’s agenda. Starting from the ground up, the
329
Ontario-based company set up brand new back-end infrastructure, including new fiber circuits, routers and switches. E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E
Joey Faraone is a dedicated, dynamic and enthusiastic certified IT professional who specializes in project managing innovative data solutions to improve system stability, functionality and efficiency. Faraone is quick to familiarize himself with the latest technologies and industry developments while demonstrating a logical and analytical approach to solving complex problems and issues. Faraone is the Director of Technology at PBL Insurance where he possesses excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to develop and maintain positive internal and external relationships.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
PBL INSURANCE LIMITED
330
“We’re wiping the slate clean and
away from the confines of traditional
redesigning everything. We’re rolling
insurance technology software. In
out new technologies to help us
using a cloud-based, analytics-driven
minimize the equipment footprint but
system, Faraone says it’s reducing
not sacrifice the service to our
administrative burdens while simulta-
clients,” says Faraone.
neously enhancing the visibility of
One of the company’s most cogent uses of technological innovation has
its operations. “We are the first Canadian company
been how it has selected a new
to move to the TechCanary platform,”
cutting-edge broker management
notes Faraone. “You could say
system. By adopting TechCanary,
there’s a lot of eyes on us to see how
a solution based on Salesforce’s
the solution is being rolled out in the
platform, PBL Insurance is breaking
Canadian market.” With such a wide
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
“ We have a one-on-one direct relationship with our clients. Our brokers, our account executives and our staff treat our clients and customers as one of their own” — Joey Faraone, Director of Technology
331
range of clientele and data, Faraone
ability to leverage efficiencies and
believes that the platform will help the
create a more reliable network. It also
company meet its customers’ needs
gives the broker the option to use data
and see what else it can do for them
optimization and analytics while
as an organization. “It means that
leveraging a breakthrough in routing
we don’t have a one-way path for our
efficiencies, enhancing performance
clients, we can have a four-lane
and reliability with the flexibility and
highway,” he notes.
affordability of a cloud service.
Shifting away from costly, hardware-
“With our new network being rolled
defined private networking solutions,
out, we’ve also put a lot of new contracts
PBL Insurance has also implanted
in place and we’ve implemented a new
a new software-defined wide-area
managed service provider (MSP),”
network (SD-WAN). This gives PBL the
Faraone says. “This is helping us roll w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
PBL INSURANCE LIMITED
out our network and enhance our user
“We are moving towards the cloud
experience internally. The experience
more and more every day,” Faraone
that our internal staff has been used to
says. “There’s no downtime and there’s
versus where they are today has been
no lag, so efficiency is huge with this
a complete 180-degree turnaround.”
roll out. It’s ensuring that slow technol-
Cloud technology has been a major trend in the insurance industry. Aside
Our new broker management system
from its ability to lower costs and boost
also uses cloud technology which
productivity through mobile working,
means our Account Executives can log
it also offers a business continuity plan
into our system from anywhere and do
and security. Not one to stay in the
business right on the spot.
shadows, PBL Insurance is embracing
332
ogy isn’t being used as a scapegoat.
“We also have a very good system
cloud technology through its new
where we back up everything on our
broker management system and
network nightly and then we move it to
colocation site.
a colocation site which has its own
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TECHCANARY OVERVIEW’ 333
“ We are the first Canadian company to move to a TechCanary platform. You could say there’s a lot of eyes on us to see how TechCanary is being rolled out in the Canadian market” — Joey Faraone, Director of Technology
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
PBL INSURANCE LIMITED
back-up there. Then we move it to the cloud,” he continues. “It may sound like there’s a back-up of a back-up, but it’s very important to make sure that we know where all of our data is and that it’s accessible to us at a drop of a hat. “It’s promoting efficiency and productivity, but it will also change the customer experience,” he continues. “By using cloud technologies like TechCanary, our customer will be able to get faster quotes and faster service while we tie everything together.” With cutting-edge technologies 334
being rolled out every day, technology partnerships have become critical to any digital transformation. Faraone believes that the company’s alliance with technology innovators like MicroAge is helping to drive new ways of thinking. “MicroAge is a global company which provides insights with network engineers,” Faraone explains. “We collaborate to work on developing and understanding the latest technologies to see how we can implement them here at PBL Insurance. We have continuous improvement sessions on how we can cut a little here, add a little there. This ensures that we run in a very lean but efficient way.” MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
Behind any successful transformation is the right team and a culture that fosters innovation. With this in mind, PBL Insurance strives to engage staff by asking for opinions on the direction they’d like to see the company go. “When we decided to change broker management systems there were a lot of discussions, not just at the top but among all users about who is going be impacted by it. It’s changing the complete way our staff do work on a day-to-day basis,” comments Faraone. “The system was received very well. I think the fact that we are evolving our technology and our way of doing business is helping to attract top talent to the company because they want to be part of this journey.” With over 200 employees and 10 offices spread throughout the province, PBL prides itself on being uniquely Ontario based. Driving efficiency and productivity with its new digital tools, Faraone says that this transformation is not just reducing costs and administrative burden, it’s also freeing up more time so that it can give its clients the personable and responsive service they expect. “We have a one-on-one direct w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
335
PBL INSURANCE LIMITED
336
“ We’re wiping the slate clean and redesigning everything. We’re rolling out new technologies to enable us to minimize the equipment but not sacrifice the service to our clients” — Joey Faraone, Director of Technology
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
relationship with our clients,” notes Faraone. “I think that’s where we differ from other brokers. With 10 strategic office locations throughout the province, we have the ability to service our clients locally, and we take pride in servicing communities big and small in Ontario. Our brokers, our Account Executives and our staff treat our clients and customers as if they are one of their own.” Technology and customer service go hand in hand at PBL Insurance, and as the industry shifts under the influence of the technological revolution it seems the company is ready for any dynamic changes that may come its way. “In five or 10 years, I expect PBL Insurance will be the top broker in Ontario, building partnerships yearly with other brokerages in the industry,” predicts Faraone. “I believe we will be a leader in innovation and that we will be an example to other brokerages on how they can leverage the latest technology to their advantage. It’s not always about spending the most money and getting the latest and greatest, it’s about understanding and fine-tuning technology to your company’s needs.”
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
337
338
CA M PU S -W I D E TEC H N O LO GY TR A N S FO R M ATI O N WRITTEN BY
HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY
CRAIG DANIELS
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
339
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
B O I S E S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
340
BRIAN BOLT, DEPUT Y CIO OF BOISE STATE U N I V E R S I T Y, D I S C U S S E S T H E U N I Q U E CHALLENGES OF EFFECTING T E C H N O LO G I CA L T R A N S FO R M AT I O N I N A N E N T E R P R I S E - S CA L E E D U CAT I O N A L I N ST I T U T I O N
F
or the most part, the days
in 1997, and then as a full-time employ-
when an employee would
ee in 1999. After leaving for a couple
graduate school or college,
years, Bolt returned and has been with
secure a job, work for 30 years and
the University’s IT organization ever
collect a commemorative watch have
since. He earned his MBA from Boise
gone the way of the stegosaurus, the
State in 2006 and became Deputy
French Monarchy and Betamax. The
Chief Information Officer in 2015. His
US Bureau of Labor found that, in 2018,
long career in higher-ed IT allows for
the median number of years wage and
an increasingly unique perspective as
salary workers spent in a single job
an innovator and solutioner.
was just 4.2. Brian Bolt began working at Boise State as a student employee MARCH 2019
“I came to Boise to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree. I built on my fondness for
NORTH AMERICA
341
computers and joined a pilot program learning something that doesn’t exist anymore called Novell NetWare,” he reminisces. “It was basically a file and print service. And that’s where I got my start that led to a student employment job on campus.” Bolt’s career with Boise State has long outlived Novell NetWare, which released its final update in 2009. Over the course of his 20-year IT career he has been at the heart of major changes to the campus’ w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
Protect your cloud, network, endpoints and campus through automation, analytics and integration. Get consistent security across clouds, networks and endpoints. paloaltonetworks.com
NORTH AMERICA
343
IT governance. We sat down with Bolt to find out about the challenges of effecting technological transformation and change management across an enterprise-scale higher learning institution, and about Boise State’s current plans to implement a campus-wide Customer Relationship Management (CRM) approach to use data analysis to improve and maintain Boise’s university-student relationships. Located in the West of Idaho, Boise State University was founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, becoming an w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
B O I S E S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
independent junior college two years later. In 2019, wwwwit has over 24,000 attendees and was reclassified in 2015 as a Carnegie doctoral research university, as well as placing 45th on the US News and World Report’s 2019 list of Most Innovative Universities. This year is also on track to have the institution’s largest first-year class in the university’s history. To manage the ever-growing student body, Bolt and the rest of the Boise State’s IT department are working 344
to begin the implementation of their campus-wide CRM over the next year, with incremental rollouts expected to begin in late 2019. “We don’t yet have a CRM for students that are in the K-12 environment. They’re our future
important part.” Managing IT govern-
pipeline if you’re looking at it from
ance strategy at an enterprise-scale
a strictly sales point of view. And at the
educational institution presents its own
other end of the spectrum, we have
unique difficulties, particularly when
programs at the university that cater to
implementing campus-wide technol-
the retirement community and ongoing
ogy transformation. Bolt reflects on
education. The lifespan of a customer
the challenges to be faced in order to
for us could be 60 years long,” explains
successfully roll out the CRM: “There’s
Bolt. “But right now, we only have a
managing technology change in a very
CRM for the bookends of our lifecycle:
disparate environment, learning how
applicants and alumni. We have noth-
to manage change rollouts, and also
ing in between that manages the most
being accepting of the fact that some
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
345
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Brian Bolt Brian began his academic studies at Boise State in 1996 and started his IT career the following year. After learning about the higher-ed environment as a departmental Network Administrator, he moved to the central IT office as a Systems Engineer. From there, he progressed into management roles within technical operations until founding the Project Management Office in 2011. He currently serves as Deputy CIO.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
B O I S E S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
“ T H E L I F E S PA N O F A C U STO M E R FO R U S COULD BE 60 YEARS LO N G , B U T R I G H T N OW W E O N LY H AV E A CRM FOR THE B O O K E N D S O F T H AT L I F E CYC L E : A P P L I C ANTS AND ALUMNI” — Brian Bolt, Deputy Chief Information Office, Boise State University
of the technologies we have may have reached the end of their lifecycle.” Over the course of his career at Boise, Bolt has faced each of these challenges and more. Though his career at Boise State began working with the Novell NetWare operating system, by 2007 Bolt could see that transformation and transition were long overdue. “At one point in time, universities were looked to as leaders with regard to technology and its adoption,” he says, “but I think in the 90s the corporate world started to get
346
ahead.” Technology, Bolt points out, became more entrenched and slower moving in academia. “So, we held onto our Novell infrastructure for a lot longer than the corporate world ever did. Which is fine. It’s just kind of the way that universities work, and there’s a reason why universities have been around for a long time. They’re typically deliberate about their decision-making process.” Boise’s relationship with Novell came to an end as a result of reduced reliability due to vendors not being able to invest as much money in maintenance updates. “We were probably one of the last schools running MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MILLION DOLLAR SCHOLARS’ 347 Novell’s technology,” he says. “It was
the idea to management and IT “and
a dying technology that wasn’t being
that was the first domino of remov-
maintained as well as it could be.”
ing Novell from our environment.” He
Bolt reflects that the transition that
laughs before admitting that “it was
followed Boise leaving Novell behind
kind of the Wild West of IT govern-
was one of the “big breaks” of his
ance back then. We kind of inflicted
career. “I received an invitation to the
change on campus, and the first year
Googleplex to learn about Google
afterwards was pretty rocky. We had
Apps for Education. This was 2007,
some people that were very satisfied
remember,” he notes, “the early days.”
and some people that were really not.
Bolt attended the Googleplex in 2007
We had rocked their world by taking
to learn about the work being done
away their email client and calendaring
to bring Google apps to educational
system they’d been using for ten years.”
institutions. Excited by the possibili-
The fallout from the implementation of
ties, Bolt returned to Boise and pitched
Google Apps taught Bolt valuable lesw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
B O I S E S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
24,000+
Approximate number of students
200+
Programs of study
348
1,135
Full time staff
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
349
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
B O I S E S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
sons about the benefits of staggered rollouts and pilot programs. “I learned a lot about what happens after a project goes live in a large, disparate organization such as a higher-ed institution,” he says. “If you’re afforded the opportunity to start small and rollout incrementally, that’s a good path to take.” Bolt has worked with Boise State’s current Chief Information Officer, Max Davis-Johnson, since he joined the university from Arizona State in 2010. “Max was a game changer in terms 350
of how the university viewed technology as more of a strategic partner rather than just a cost center,” says Bolt. Davis-Johnson was responsible for implementing the university’s Roadmap series of transformational projects across campus. Excitedly, Bolt says, “As a result of that, we got a data warehouse off the ground, and we implemented our first student and faculty portal.” Then, he explains, the IT department used these large projects as a base on which to build up its governance structure. With either large-scale projects or gradual transformation of IT governance strategies, Bolt reasserts the MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
fact that technological transformation across universities is about managing the expectations and response of diverse user groups. “Thankfully we’re in 2019 now, and not in 2008,” he says, reflecting on the overall level of technological literacy. “Our faculty and staff have become more adept at using technology. I think ten years has made a lot of difference.” On the other hand, the expectations of students have changed, influenced by a generation of social media users and online consumers. “Some of our applications and systems had more of a legacy look and feel,” didn’t provoke positive responses from the student body. “They want to see the stuff that provides convenience more than anything else,” explains Bolt. “And that takes us into the current generation of thinking, which uses data to provide that,” which is at the heart of Boise’s new CRM. “Right now, we have a task force in place. We have a charge that’s been given to us by three of the University’s six Vice Presidents,” says Bolt. The task force is exploring a unique approach to the process, which took shape during the department’s exploration of the w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
351
B O I S E S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
solutions offered by Amazon Web Services. “We decided to go down the AWS route,” says Bolt, reflecting that it took a year-and-a-half to unite the IT, purchasing and legal departments in support of “buying a commodity as a service, not a capital investment.” He laughs, “no kidding. So after eighteen months, we had a signed contract with AWS, which provided us a suite of tools to use for new projects.” Once the department had access to AWS, their governance strategy took a note from 352
“ T H E R E ’S A R E A S O N WHY UNIVERSITIES H AV E B E E N A R O U N D FO R A LO N G T I M E . T H E Y ’ R E T Y P I CA L LY D E L I B E R AT E A B O U T THEIR DECISIONM A K I N G P R O C E S S” — Brian Bolt, Deputy Chief Information Office, Boise State University
the academia playbook: “we work a lot with faculty members that seek out grant opportunities. Granting agencies, such as National Institute of Health,
wanted to be our project manager was
will put out a call for proposals along
actually our solutions architect, so he
the lines of ‘we have a need. Write your
really decided to stretch his skills.” He
response, and we may or may not give
reflects that, “one of the reasons why
you money to do the research’. We
this worked is that we had the business
decided to do something similar within
unit say they wanted to be part of it as
our own organization and call it a ‘call
well. They actually brought the problem
for participation’.” The team drafted up
to us. They wanted to forecast demand
a call for participation, asking for appli-
for the Summer sessions so that they
cations and solutions for AWS machine
would know how many classes to
learning and data lake storage. “The re-
schedule and how many adjunct pro-
sponse was interesting,” chuckles Bolt.
fessors to hire.” Regardless of the level
“We have seven participants from our
of success the project achieves, Bolt is
technology office, and the person who
excited to both broaden the horizons
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
353
and skillsets of the participants, and
a campus-wide CRM are just two of
to use it as a springboard for the next
the many projects on Bolt’s desk. He
initiative: exploring applications for
reflects that, “one of the biggest things
Amazon Alexa. “It’s going to be done
I’ve been involved with the past year
by our Director of Development,” Bolt
has been restarting our IT govern-
says. “He wants to invest in Alexa skills
ance structure. There’s not necessar-
and figure out where those fit in our
ily a command and control model in
environment, because smart speakers
the university. So, when it comes to a
are everywhere in our personal lives.
finite resource such as IT, we have a
Trying to figure out where they best
lot of demands placed on us to deliver
fit in an educational environment is
x, y and z, and without structure as
definitely an interest.”
to which large projects we should be
Of course, finding applications for AWS and planning the rollout of
working on and where we’re going, the gap in stakeholder support creates a w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
B O I S E S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
fair amount of chaos.” To solve this, over the past year Bolt and his committee co-chair, Boise’s Dean of Extended Studies, have put together a list of large development projects. The system has added structure, Bolt explains that “getting that framework put into place has been a good thing. It’s been a year-long process to get that set up and I think we’ll benefit from that. So will the university. Because we’re working on their goals. Not necessarily our goals. And that’s hugely beneficial to 354
all parties.” “It’s great that we have a scope for what we want to deliver, an area we want to deliver to, and a partner in a particular school on campus that’s willing to work with us,” he says. Bolt’s team is currently in the procurement phase. Hoping to learn from their experiences with AWS, Bolt estimates “we’ll shorten that process from 18 months down to a four-or-five-month process. We’ve learned a lot, and I think we’ve learned how to partner better with areas on campus to expedite things like this. So, we’re hoping to have a technology and a path chosen by early summer. MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
355
“This has a chance of being a trans-
tory of an institution he knows like the
formational project for us because it
back of his hand. “Our challenges and
essentially creates a CRM with a very
successes over the past ten years
long lifecycle.” The Boise State CRM
have put us in a spot where we can be
will manage student data, allowing the
successful with something as large as
university to “know how to best advise
a campus-wide CRM.”
its students by pulling information from its systems of record. That can really help us understand the entire makeup of the individual,” says Bolt. Looking back on a career of large technological changes, incremental progress and unique challenges, Bolt looks forward to another exciting chapter in the hisw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
INFOR, USA
The Infor OS Platform: Leveraging an API gateway and data to unlock human potential
356
WRIT TEN BY
HARRY MENE AR PRODUCED BY
CR AIG DANIEL S
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
357
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
INFOR, USA
We sit down with Joseph Pascaretta and Massimo Capoccia of Infor, USA to talk about Infor OS, Infor ION,Birst Analytics,Coleman AI and Infor Data Lake
I
was actually a customer of Infor before I joined the organization,” remembers Joseph Pascaretta, Vice President & General
Manager Infor OS at Infor, USA. “I liked it as an organization so much that I joined the company. It feels like a large start-up.” Massimo Capoccia, 358
Senior Vice President Infor OS, Technology confirms: “I have a career where I’ve had the opportunity to build a platform from scratch, from the beginning. That has been an amazing journey.” Between them, Pascaretta and Capoccia have over 16 years’ experience at Infor. Headquartered in New York and with 168 offices globally, as well as over 15,000 employees serving 68,000 customers, Infor is a global leader in business cloud software products for companies in industry specific markets. “We believe that data is really at the center of unleashing human potential,” says Pascaretta. “We have an Intelligent Cloud Digital Gateway: a way to be able to bring all of that data together, but then allow organizations to innovate effectively and quickly, leveraging real tools and assets all delivered in the Cloud.” MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
359
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
INFOR, USA
“I was actually a customer of Infor. I liked it so much that I joined the organization” — Joseph Pascaretta, Vice President & General Manager, Infor
360
From the Infor OS API gateway and
the major differentiator”. He adds:
integration of third-party applications,
“No other enterprise software organi-
to its own Coleman Artificial Intelligence
zation is doing what we’re doing. They’re
(AI), to an infinitely scalable Data Lake,
doing elements of it in pockets and silos,
Infor understands the necessity for
but not all together as one integrated
powerful machine learning systems
platform solution delivered fully in
to handle the vast quantities of data
the Cloud.”
inherent to Industry 4.0. Infor is applying
“Thinking about data as the critical
machine learning to Big Data and
asset is really the foundation of all this,”
scaling it infinitely using the power
says Pascaretta. Traditionally, compa-
of cloud computing. Pascaretta notes
nies store data in data warehouses
that the integration of data, AI and
which filter all incoming data that has
cloud scalability is “the huge value
already been processed for specific
proposition of what we’re doing and
purposes. “The first mistake that
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
enterprise organizations make when you want to have data storage for multiple person consumption is that they think that the data warehouse is the place to be,” notes Capoccia. “But that’s actually what people were doing five or 10 years ago.” With the everincreasing quantities of data enterprises are presented with, the necessary approach Infor recognises is to pair Big Data with AI applications. “If you want to use the same data that has been filtered for analytics for an AI application, you’re going to miss a lot of other types of data,” Massimo explains. E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Joseph Pascaretta
Joseph is Vice President & General Manager for the Infor OS business unit where he is responsible for global growth, business development and strategic partnerships. During his career, Joseph has held a number of business development, business strategy, engineering, sales and marketing roles in software and technology fields and has been recognized as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Product Solutions. Joseph specializes in building businesses and launching innovative new products and solutions.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
361
INFOR, USA
362
E XECU T I VE PRO FI LE
Massimo Capoccia
An experienced and impassioned technology executive, Massimo Capoccia specializes in technology, software architectures, and enterprise software strategy. He has built three architectures and platforms from the ground-up and understands the life-cycle management of a software product. In his current role as Senior Vice President Infor OS, Technology, he invests his time meeting with customers and prospects, discussing strategic value of software, and supervising architecture development projects.
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
“We really believe in offering complete solutions, both on the platform and on the application.So if a functionality is not really our core,we partner with a third party” — Massimo Capoccia, Senior Vice President Infor OS, Technology
363
“If you want to do an enterprise search,
market data, all the documents, all the
you’re going to miss other types of
IoT readings”. “Everything you think of
data as well. So, a data warehouse is not
when you think about data – it can go
complete, per se. You need a different
there,” he adds. “From the Infor Data
type of storage that allows you to store
Lake, we will integrate automatically
structured and unstructured data all
with a data warehouse. We have an
together in a very cheap way.”
elastic search as well as an index, so
This is where Infor’s Data Lake comes
you can search the data warehouse
into play. “The Data Lake stays on
even built for indexing data like you
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Ama-
would do with a Google search.”
zonS3 technology, which is available all
Infor ensures the security of its Data
the time and is very cheap and scalable,”
Lake using its proprietary security
Capoccia explains, adding that the Data
platform. “We have a huge investment
Lake stores “all the transactions, all the
in security,” says Massimo. “We provide w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
NORTH AMERICA
CLICK TO WATCH : MASSIMO CAPOCCIA, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT INFOR OS, TECHNOLOGY - INTRODUCTION TO INFOR OS
a single sign-on, user management, and permission management platforms.” Traditionally, there is a danger of gaps in security appearing between a core platform and third-party software, but Infor prides itself on the degree to which its OS integrates with third-party applications. “Even if you would build an application on top of Infor, maybe an AOI platform, it would still respect the security,” Capoccia notes. Once Infor has gathered a customer’s data, its AI and analytics services come into play. “Being able to consume
“You need a different type of storage that allows you to store structured and unstructured data all together in a very cheap way” — Massimo Capoccia, Senior Vice President Infor OS, Technology
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
365
INFOR, USA
C O M PA N Y FACT S
•●19 of the top 20 aerospace companies •●9 of the top 10 high tech companies ● •●18 of the 25 largest US healthcare delivery networks •●18 of the 20 largest US cities
366
•●19 of the top 20 automotive suppliers •●17 of the top 20 industrial distributors •●15 of the top 20 global retailers •●4 of the top 5 brewers •●17 of the top 20 global banks •●9 of the 10 largest global hotel brands •●8 of the top 10 global luxury brands
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
and leverage analytics and business intelligence across all of an enterprise’s back-end systems is definitely key,” says Pascaretta. “So we leverage our Infor Birst Analytics platform that is designed to optimize complex business processes. The idea is that it’s faster time to value and it’s deployed in the cloud. So once you have that data together, being able to see into the data and leverage analytics and business intelligence around it is definitely critical.” Named after the inspiring physicist and mathematician Katherine Coleman Johnson, whose trail-blazing work helped NASA land on the moon, Infor’s Coleman AI platform represents a giant leap for artificial intelligence at scale. This platform allows users to retrieve, analyse and leverage data into business decisions such as preventative maintenance, inventory optimization and inventory predictions. The Infor Coleman AI platform also recognizes patterns in behavior to help businesses automate processes like purchasing. “Every time multiple users ask a question, we’ll apply machine learning to optimize the answers back to the users,” Capocw w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
367
INFOR, USA
INFOR, USA
$3.1bn+ Approximate revenue
2002
Year founded
15,000+
368
Approximate number of employees
cia explains. Coleman’s automation
“We really believe in offering complete
services also extend to ordering and
solutions, both on the platform and on
invoicing. To transfer paper invoices to
the application. So if a functionality is
a digital format for Coleman, Infor has
not really our core, we partner with a
partnered with Ephesoft for its ocular
third party,” says Capoccia.
character recognition (OCR) needs. With such a strong focus on propri-
“HCL Technologies is another one of our great strategic partners, not only
etary software, Infor draws a sharp
from an implementation side but also
divide between high investment, high
for next generation digital transforma-
focus in-house products and the use of
tion engineering and delivery,” Pas-
trusted third-party partners also
caretta adds. He explains that HCL
working on the cutting edge of tech.
provides customer-specific engineer-
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
369
ing expertise when a client wants “to
external users. “Once you have data,
take their technology to the next level”.
being able to unleash and innovate -
The two companies first partnered in
that’s a key thing to what we’re
2015, with HCL dedicating hundreds of
providing,” Pascaretta concludes.
employees to support Infor. 2019 will be an exciting year for Infor, Pascaretta and Capoccia agree. The Infor Data Lake will have a global compliance platform built on top of its existing security systems, and new features on Coleman AI are set to launch, as well as Infor OS support for w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
370 WRIT TEN BY
ANDRE W WOODS PRODUCED BY
TOM VENTURO
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
371
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CHOICE FINANCIAL
We speak to CIO Tim Heilman at Choice Financial regarding its recent technological innovations that place people front and center
T
here is a certain tale that typifies Choice Bank, according to its Chief Brand and Innovation Officer, Tim
Heilman. “We had a customer call one of our locations, simply needing to run to the bank to do a deposit; I believe the account was overdrawn,” Heilman explains. “However, this 372
customer had run out of gas on his way to the bank and so he was simply calling the bank to say: ‘You’re not going to believe this but I am on my way to see you, and now my car’s out of gas.’ I think the typical response from a bank would be something like, ‘Oh, we apologize, that’s too bad. Just run that check in whenever you can.’ However, the employee said, ‘Where are you at? I will be right there.’ The employee went straight to the customer, took receipt of his check, and actually delivered some gas to get his car started, so he could go about his day. People first, banking second,” he summarizes. People First is an enduring mantra for the North American community bank. Headquartered in North Dakota, Choice is a financial MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
373
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CHOICE FINANCIAL
“ This isn’t banking first: it’s whatever you’re shopping for, or whatever you’re doing, that initiates a desire or a need for banking” — Tim Heilman, Chief Brand and Innovation Officer, Choice Bank
institution that prides itself on a communal responsibility and personal touch. Heilman often describes the company has having a family feel – and the loyalty this engenders has kept him at the company for the past 15 years, where he has seen the bank grow immensely since its founding in 2001. Choice is the result of a merger involving four local banks: Citizens State Bank GraftonPetersburg (with locations in Grafton and Petersburg), First Capital Bank of North Dakota (with locations in West Fargo and Goodrich), First State Bank Langdon and Walhalla State Bank.
374
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
375
Each local bank was known for its strong community banking culture and it’s clear that Choice Bank has kept this up as a sum of those parts.
PEOPLE FIRST Heilman is in charge of the bank’s technological solutions and his enthusiasm is infectious. “I am in charge of the overall brand for the organization. Choice is a community bank and forwardthinking in the technological sense so we blended that together in People First. We truly put people before banking. We w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CHOICE FINANCIAL
376
have created an atmosphere of empowering employees to do things that go above and beyond what a typical banking experience would be. That is our focus.” Heilman has been involved in a lot of technological changes at Choice since he took on the role. The North Dakota native has overseen and directly led numerous IT operations, with his role evolving to include brand marketing and innovation. “My role allows me to really focus in on communication,” he explains. “Externally, we are building MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
some great community involvement
more banking locations in a specific
pieces where we take a truly philan-
community, we might partner with
thropic approach, when it comes to
a handful of other community leaders
giving back to our community. Obvi-
to help build something that the com-
ously, that’s a responsibility of a commu-
munities can actually use. We’d rather
nity bank, but we really like to show in
do that than have a lavish facility; it just
big ways how we can make those diff-
isn’t that important to us. We’d rather
erences to people’s lives in the comm-
give back to our communities.”
unities we serve. I want to have genuine,
Choice has recently reinvigorated an
authentic relationships and be able to
initiative to get children interested in
serve customers with value-add services
personal finance and savings called
that are not expected or typically deliv-
Adventure Club, which incentivizes kids
ered by a bank. Part of what we’re doing
to save. “If you empower your children
internally is the initiative I call ‘being
to make their own decisions, they might
philanthropic’. Instead of adding five
actually impress you with what they
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Tim Heilman Tim Heilman joined Choice Financial in 2004 where he started as a single IT department. Through the years, Tim’s role has expanded into executive leadership and currently serves as EVP, Chief Brand and Innovation Officer. Tim’s leadership has guided Choice to be a leading edge innovator in community banking technologies, and an early adopter of IP technology and online account opening. He has successfully guided Choice through multiple software and system conversions and several other organizational initiatives. Tim believes in the concept of high tech and high touch, and above all else the importance of great culture and great service.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
377
CHOICE FINANCIAL
EMPOWERING
the Financial World
At FIS, we provide the technology and solutions to allow financial institutions of all sizes to empower their customers, their transactions, and their business. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW FIS CAN EMPOWER YOU, VISIT www.fisglobal.com
decide to do with their money,” Heil-
savings accounts) in what has been
man explains. “The solution has an app
a two-year relationship.” Every one of
that the child and parents both share
Choice’s fintech partners has to be
on their own devices. You can create
a cultural fit, first, offering a product the
goals, objectives, rewards; it could be
bank firmly believes in.
anything that the parent and children agree on. Once those goals and rewards
INTERNAL OPERATIONS
are set and achieved, then the money
2009 represented a seismic shift at
slides from the parent account to the
Choice when its internal communica-
child, which is instantaneous within the
tions became audio-visual. “It’s been
app. Apple Pay is tied to it, and it has
a 10-year transition,” Heilman explains.
real time notifications of what the child
“In fact, before that, in 2006 we switched
is spending their money on. We also
everything to full-on voice-over IP.
have a company working out of San
I think the biggest shift for us, and the
Francisco that does HSAs (health
biggest opportunity we have taken
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
379
“ Again, we’re using a lot of Cisco equipment but we do have other vendors in the back that are helping us monitor the network very closely” — Tim Heilman, Chief Brand and Innovation Officer, Choice Bank
advantage of, with technology, involves the ability to communicate. Geographically, we are quite spread out across two states, and people that work with others on a daily basis now have the ability to see who they’re talking to at any given time. There’s nothing better than a face-to-face, in-person discussion.” A new employee receives a video phone on day one so they can start building relationships with other team members. “This has made an organization with close to 400 employees feel like a small, intimate and authentic w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CHOICE FINANCIAL
organization,” Heilman explains. “I’ve been really proud of how it’s brought people closer together.” Choice’s vendor of choice is Cisco which takes care of all of the network, infrastructure and security at the bank. “We’re using a lot of Cisco equipment but we do have other vendors in the back that are helping us monitor the network very closely.” Video communication, they like to call video collaboration, has allowed the bank to build greater bonds after a number of acquisitions. Choice is committed to keeping people in jobs 380
during acquisitions, a time when typically 30% of staff can be laid off right out of the gate. “Our goal, commensurate with our culture, is to not lay anybody off, and we’ve now done three acquisitions,” says Heilman. “Plus, the cultural shift (following an acquisition) can take three to five years to sync up when you bring two organizations together and video collaborations really help to reduce that timeframe.” Choice views its fintech vendors, such as Cisco, with the same value as its customers and they work together through those situations that need to be fixed, or tricky installations that require collaboration. “Collaboration MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
381
gets results,” says Heilman. “So, I think maintaining the relationships and constantly seeing if there’s some reciprocating value that we can give back and forth always goes a long way.”
FINTECH Regarding the fintech side of Choice’s operations Heilman is proud to be building Banking-as-a-Service. “For about two years now, we’ve gotten into what we like to call Banking as a Service. If you have a really good idea that can improve banking, or you have a way to w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
CHOICE FINANCIAL
“ PeopleFirst is what makes our organization come together. We have true purpose in defining why we do what we do, and not just what we do” 382
— Tim Heilman, Chief Brand and Innovation Officer, Choice Bank
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
reinvent banking and the experience that surrounds it, then we’d love to talk to you. We started that process a couple of years back.” Heilman enthuses about frictionless banking, which he sees as shaping the very future of fintech. “This isn’t banking first: it’s whatever you’re shopping for, or whatever you’re doing, that initiates a desire or a need for banking. It’s where we kind of come along for the ride,” he explains. “That’s currently being built into an existing system that’s already successful to provide a service that way. It’s another area that I see banking, as an industry, expanding into. As far as growth strategies, and what’s over the horizon, that’s typically what I’m seeing. We’re also going to work with a company in Sydney, Australia, which is getting a product developed that incorporates AI into mobile banking. It’s almost a personal finance coach and that’s where I see things going.” And It’s this rich combination of technology, fintech and people that will see Choice Bank continuing to grow across the everchanging financial landscape.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
383
384
Protecting companies on their digital transformation journeys WRITTEN BY
SOPHIE CHAPMAN PRODUCED BY
CRAIG DANIELS
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
385
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
D I M E N S I O N D ATA
As a supplier to Fortune 100 firms, Dimension Data continues to expand its digital offerings to a variety of industries
G
lobal system integrator – Dimension Data’s operations span across 47 markets on five continents. The company employs
more than 28,000 people and serves over 8,000 386
clients, and as a member of Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Group, services 70% of Fortune 100 and 60% of Fortune 500 businesses. Dimension Data was established in the South African capital city, Johannesburg, in 1983. The company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange four years later, with international expansion beginning in 1993 into the firm’s first international market, Botswana. In the following years the business reached the Asia Pacific region, followed by the northern hemisphere. At the turn of the century, Dimension Data listed on the London Stock Exchange, raising raised US$1.25bn. As the company continued to grow it won over 100 client, vendor, and industry awards in 2015, and over 50 in the first half of the following year.
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
387
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
D I M E N S I O N D ATA
‘We are one of their largest global partners with a shared heritage spanning more than 25 years – and we have Gold Partner status in every region in which we jointly operate’
the agreement, the company provides
— Dimension Data
The firm aims to use technology to
Microsoft in 21 countries and Titanium Partner status with Dell EMC. US firms such as NetApp, McAfee, and Oracle have also partnered with the IT services provider. In 2015, the company also partnered with the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), agreeing to a five-year deal to be the technology partner of for cycling events. As part of telemetrics for the sports. accelerate the business of its clients, targeting four key areas within its
388 The company currently operates in
services: digital infrastructure, hybrid,
29 cities across 15 states in the US,
cloud, workspaces of tomorrow, and
and partners with the some of the
cybersecurity. Dimension Data noticed
largest global companies based in the
the growth of IT-as-a-service across
country, such as Cisco. “Cisco is the
these four sectors, allowing the
worldwide leader in networking for the
business to cover a range of offerings
Internet since 1984, and today, more
from cloud advisory services to
than 85% of all Internet traffic travels
on-premise cloud solutions. Due to its
across Cisco’s systems,” Dimension
work with both public and private cloud
Data states. “We are one of their
computing, the company’s operations
largest global partners with a shared
are defined as hybrid cloud services.
heritage spanning more than 25 years
The company has a holistic approach
– and we have Gold Partner status
towards its clients – from consulting
in every region in which we jointly
engagement to the management of IT
operate.” Dimension Data has also
operations. Dimension Data also offers
established Gold Partner status with
what it dubs “omnichannel customer
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WHO’S DIMENSION DATA?’ 389
experience”, covering mobile, digital,
have been designed for a variety of
physical, Internet of Things (IoT),
industries – education, financial
automation, bots, virtual agents, video
services, healthcare, manufacturing,
and artificial intelligence (AI). “It’s
media and communications, pharma-
this frictionless switching between
ceutical, retail and sport, stating: “We
channels that defines the omnichannel
offer broad technology expertise in
experience… Our Omnichannel CX
a range of verticals. Combined with
works with you to get measurable
our strategic partnerships and robust
results in terms of winning new custom-
services portfolio, we can help you
ers, retaining existing customers,
achieve your digital transformation
improving productivity, and reducing
objectives … Whether you’re an
cost to serve.”
educational institution, a manufacturer,
As well as its wide range of offerings, the company’s technology solutions
or a healthcare provider, we can ensure your IT platforms and services w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
NORTH AMERICA
‘The company’s technology solutions have been designed for a variety of industries – education, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, media and communications, pharmaceutical, retail and sport’
391
Team Dimension Data sponsors a professional cycling team partnered with Qhubeka, a charity programme in South Africa that aims to fund 5000 bicycles each year to help children attend schools and adults to attend work. The team boasts Mark Cavendish in its ranks, a former World Champion and winner of an incredible 30 stages of the Tour de France.
w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
D I M E N S I O N D ATA
392
‘Security is enabling digitization. If you look at fintech or technology businesses, they are leading this charge’ — Dimension data
are fit for purpose and future proof.” For Dimension Data, cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly profitable business. “Cyber-attacks abound in the digital age. Digital transformation and hybrid IT are pushing security perimeters off premises, into the cloud, and into the workplace. As a result, enforcing cybersecurity policies is more complex than ever,” states the
MARCH 2019
NORTH AMERICA
1983
Year founded
28,000+
Approximate number of employees
HQ
Johannesburg, South Africa
what cybersecurity is doing to the world. Security is enabling digitisation. If you look at fintech or technology businesses, they are leading this charge. Many of these businesses are asset light, whilst ensuring secure transactions, so we think that security expands beyond the physical perimeter into the cloud environment.” Dimension Data promises to enable clients to keep up-to-date with new technologies, tackling cybersecurity, data and the cloud, and infrastructure. “We deliver wherever you are, at every stage of your technology journey,” the company promises. “We invest heavily in innovation to bring together the world’s best technologies, from consulting, technical and support services to a fully managed service, to our global
company. The firm’s moto of “risk less,
client base.”
achieve more” allows customers to continue to embrace ongoing developments and ensure their operations are secure. The company offers a range of solutions, including formulated policies, predictive protection, and assessments and responses. “Security is and always will be big business. Big dollar figures are quoted in terms of w w w.gi ga bi t ma ga z in e. com
393
March 19-21, 2019 Rancho Bernardo Inn, San Diego, CA
50+ Inspiring Speakers Including Chris Holt Leader, Global Healthcare Amazon
Kevin Thompson Chief Supply Chain Officer SharpHealthcare
John L. Wright VP Supply Chain/Support Services, Supply Chain Organization Intermountain Healthcare
William Mosser Vice President Supply Chain Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System
Laurel Junk SVP, Enterprise Shared Services Kaiser Permanente
Marc Rottink VP, Supply Chain Medtronic
Be part of the only conference that brings the entire end-to-end healthcare supply chain together. PLUS, save an extra
25%
with code LM19BIZ
Visit logimedusa.com for more info