Technology Magazine December 2020

THE BR AND DRIVING DIGITAL CHANGE FOR ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY

technologymagazine.com DECEMBER 2020

On reimagining the digital experience

USAF - MIT’s ‘AI Accelerator’

Paradigm shift: redefine engagement through AI technology Rebecca Wynn heads up the company leading the ai-powered CX journey

Company CTOs

WELCOME

A

mong this month’s features,

of the information they’ve already

we look at why digitalisation

given via a chatbot.”

has become core to business resilience, the next five years for mobile technologies such as 5G

and the response to COVID-19

by IT asset management.

In our lead feature, we hear from [24]7.ai Global CISO and Chief Privacy Officer, Dr. Rebecca Wynn, who explains to us how the company is leading the AI-powered customer experience journey.

“Companies partner with [24]7.ai because we’re pioneers in the industry,” maintains Dr Wynn. “We’re able to harness strong analytics to provide a seamless transition when customers need to graduate to a human response but don’t want to repeat all

In our top 10, we take a closer look at the Chief Technology Officers occupying the roles at the world’s largest companies, with individuals from companies such as JpMorgan Chase, Apple, Google, Walmart and more.

Don’t forget to read our other feature reports with the likes of the United States Air Force, Aligned, PwC, Endava, and many more.

Do you have a story to tell? If you would like to be featured in an upcoming issue of Technology magazine get in touch at : william.smith@bizclikmedia.com William Smith

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03

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PUBLISHED BY

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

Georgia Allen Daniela Kianickovรก

Mike Sadr Kris Palmer MANAGING DIRECTOR

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Kristofer Palmer

Paddy Smith

Owen Martin Philline Vicente

James White

EDITOR

VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER

SENIOR EDITOR

William Smith

Kieran Waite

CREATIVE TEAM

Oscar Hathaway Sophia Forte Sophie-Ann Pinnell Hector Penrose Sam Hubbard Mimi Gunn

DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Jason Westgate CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

EDITORAL DIRECTOR

Scott Birch

MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

Sam Kemp Evelyn Huang

Stacy Norman PRESIDENT & CEO

Glen White

DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Andy Stubbings PROJECT DIRECTORS

Ryan Hall Ben Maltby

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

CONTENTS

Leading the AI-powered CX Journey 10

26 Digitalisation: Start Now or Prepare to Fail

38 5G, IoT and the Near Future of Mobile Technologies

48

The Unstoppable March of Data Analytics

60

IT Asset Management:

System Reboot

CTOs

70

114 Aligned

88 United States Air Force - MIT

128 T5 Data Centers

144 PwC

162

176

BKW AG

Endava

190 YMCA

204 Evonik Industries

218 Community Health Network

10

DECEMBER 2020

Leading the AI-powered CX Journey 11

WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

RYAN HALL

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

[24]7.AI

Against the backdrop of a growing cyber war, [24]7.ai is providing a safe platform for businesses to communicate with their customers [24]7.ai co-founder and CEO PV Kannan realised, back in 2000, that the key to forward-thinking customer engagement was reaching beyond customers calling up companies to talk to call centre representatives to get answers to queries and moving quickly towards a digital standpoint.

12

“Today, customers want real-time responses to their questions,” says [24]7.ai’s Global CISO & Chief Privacy Officer, Dr Rebecca Wynn.

CONVERSATIONAL AI Conversational AI is redefining customer experience (CX) across business messaging, voice and everywhere else. The journey for [24]7.ai towards meeting the need for more efficient customer interactions is allied to the rise of the chat bot triggering database responses; this inspired Kannan’s team to develop [24]7.ai’s NLP (Natural Language Processing) to build the business globally.

“Companies partner with [24]7.ai because we’re pioneers in the industry,” maintains Dr Wynn.

“We’re able to harness strong analytics to provide a seamless transition when customers need to DECEMBER 2020

“ Today, customers want real-time responses to their questions” — Dr Rebecca Wynn, Global CISO & Chief Privacy Officer, [24]7.ai

13

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

[24]7.AI

“ A paradigm shift was already coming, and now it’s here companies like [24]7.ai, with our expertise through offerings like the Engagement Cloud, can support the global roll out of secure customer communications across a range of devices, at work or at home” — Dr Rebecca Wynn, Global CISO & Chief Privacy Officer, [24]7.ai

will increase our clients’ net promoter scores (NPS), lower operating costs and help drive revenues.”

Dr Wynn believes it’s vital for her

team to work to the mantra “How can 14

graduate to a human response but

we be better tomorrow?” She notes

don’t want to repeat all of the infor-

that recruiting the right personnel is

mation they’ve already given via a

vital to drive excellence. “We need

chatbot. We’ve created a unified digital

to be equipped to analyse customer

customer experience across channels

journeys and make them more efficient

from websites and tablets to social

and secure, not only for the company

media and smartphones to suit the

that hires us but for the consumers

needs of businesses across sectors,

that access them and want answers

from banking to retail. We’re confident

in real-time.”

that positive customer experiences

COMPLIANCE, RISK MANAGEMENT & SECURITY During a year where the pressures of the global Covid-19 pandemic have hastened many companies shift towards digital transformation, how is [24]7. ai offering support? “Businesses are moving decisively towards enabling DECEMBER 2020

Welcome to [24]7.ai CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:17

15 a remote workforce,” notes Dr Wynn

Dr Wynn sees the company’s cus-

of a process [24]7.ai has over a dec-

tomers as partners – a vital alliance

ade experience in delivering. “We’re

when facing up to the enemies beyond

mindful of the pressures that puts on

the keyboard… “We’re in this cyberwar

bandwidth so we regularly commu-

together,” she pledges. “We’re not only

nicate with our customers to analyse

driving a positive customer experience

business continuity and how they are

but also working with privacy, compli-

able to move their workforce quickly

ance and security teams because we

and offer an instant response to their

need to be cybersecurity warriors

customers, even when faced with

together. It’s an ecosystem that needs

disaster scenarios like this pandemic.

to be protected. If anyone on our

It’s something we were well prepared

platform is being attacked we need

for and are able to make key deci-

to let each other know and act accord-

sions quickly to mitigate risk in moving

ingly to stay secure. That’s why when

agents to work from home.”

I look at key vendors it’s not just a box t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

[24]7.AI

16

checking exercise; we’re investing in

messaging. “Proofpoint are able to help

good partnerships that protect ours

us with our top layer of security, to see

and our customers futures to better

where active threats are coming from

protect consumers at large worldwide.”

before those attempts start trickling down into our architecture,” explains

PARTNERING TO INNOVATE WITH PROOFPOINT, TANIUM & SUMO LOGIC CROWDSTRIKE

Dr Wynn. “It means we don’t have to

In its quest for cybersecurity innovation

board providing real-time dashboards

[24]7.ai partners with Proofpoint, tak-

for threat analysis of our firewalls.”

ing advantage of a raft of compliance

She applauds Proofpoint’s ability to

solutions to protect customers across

carry out deep dives that ensure

every channel from email, web and

a company is equipped to deal with

cloud to social media and mobile

constantly morphing phishing attacks

DECEMBER 2020

spend time training our personnel because we have their specialists on

and ransomware, dealing with issues

so many patches to go ahead and

effectively in real-time with a turn-

apply, they’re all important. But which

around time of less than 45 seconds.

one on what system do you patch

Gaining an overview of the cyber-

first? And then which server of that

security posture of a firewall and

system do you patch? First you have

enabling real-time filtering is vital for

to be able to know the risk that you’re

[24]7.ai. “You’re going to need patch

carrying on each server or each

management but it’s not the old

system; then you can know the order

school approach anymore,” says Dr

of precedence on that. That’s why we

Wynn. “I tell people when you have

work with companies like Tanium who

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

Dr Rebecca Wynn

17

Title: Global CISO & Chief Privacy Officer Industry: Computer Software

Location: Greater Phoenix Area

Dr Rebecca Wynn is lauded as a “game-changer who is ten steps ahead in developing and enforcing cybersecurity and privacy best practices and policies.” She is a “big picture” thinker who brings nearly 20 years of experience in Privacy, Compliance, Risk Management, Information Security, Assurance & Technology. She led the information security, privacy, and compliance pre-acquisition, acquisition and postacquisition of LearnVest, Inc. to Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company – a Fortune 100 company.

She is well known for being a gifted polymath, having deep understanding of current cyber security challenges and privacy issues, and is always open to new opportunities. t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

Call-Center Automation Leader [24]7.ai Enlists Proofpoint for People-Centric Cybersecurity

If you’ve ever felt trapped in a telephone menu tree, a nonsensical exchange with a chatbot, or even a call with a human customer-support rep who won’t go off-script, [24]7.ai feels your pain.

The 20-year-old Silicon Valley company is on a quest to make customer service easier and more enjoyable—a mission that has grown ever more urgent amid a major shift to digital commerce and remote work.

“If you have clients who go to your website and they can’t find information very quickly and efficiently, they usually go away,” says Rebecca Wynn, [24]7.ai’s global CISO and chief privacy officer. “People don’t have any patience anymore with that.”

Two critical aspects of [24]7.ai’s business are protecting its intellectual property and keeping clients’ information private.

[24]7.ai’s customer base runs the gamut of industry sectors. Many of those—such as healthcare finance and government—are highly regulated. [24]7.ai must keep customer data out of the hands of cyber criminals and compliant with a growing myriad of regulations.

“Cybersecurity plays a big, big role in what we do,” Wynn said. “We’re fighting a cyber war with people who are behind another keyboard and who are trying to harm us all.”

In any war, you need allies. Wynn enlisted the help of Proofpoint, a cybersecurity vendor she calls a strong partner in her fight against cyber threats and compliance risks.

“Proofpoint allows me to sleep at night because of what they are doing for me.”

Rebecca Wynn Global and CISO Chief Privacy Officer, [24]7.ai

Today’s threats target people, not technology.

That’s why Proofpoint takes a unique peoplecentric approach to cybersecurity. It offers a complete portfolio of security and compliance solutions designed to protect today’s “people perimeter.”

Proofpoint protects against a wide range of email and cloud threats. It helps customers control access to sensitive data and prevent data loss. And it trains users to be more resilient against the threats that target them.

“One of the things that I look for is who can be a good partner with me,” she said. “We are in a cyber war and I need people who can be in that cyber war with me.”

With Proofpoint, [24]7.ai can easily scale up its cyber defenses, using Proofpoint to augment its internal security team.

Having a trusted partner such as Proofpoint helps [24]7.ai identify which cybersecurity functions it does not need to duplicate because Proofpoint already provides them.

Learn more For more information visit proofpoint.com

[24]7.AI

E N GAGEM EN T CLO U D

20

[24]7.ai Engagement Cloud is the industry’s first integrated suite of conversational AI services designed to power both virtual and human agent interactions seamlessly across voice and digital channels. With Engagement Cloud, IT and CX leaders are able to rapidly diagnose customer intents and build, automate, monitor and optimise customer service and sales journeys. The intuitive, self-serve interfaces in Engagement Cloud empower both experts and non-technical users to make quick decisions.

Powered by [24]7.ai’s AIVA conversational AI technology, informed by decades of contact centre operations excellence,

DECEMBER 2020

and combined with expert human insight, Engagement Cloud anticipates your customers’ needs to streamline resolutions and strengthen relationships.

Engagement Cloud supports a consistent, branded customer experience while making every interaction more cost efficient and satisfying for customers and agents alike. Offering a single point of control for creating and managing human and bot interactions across digital and voice channels, its self-service tools can be used to set up intent selections and build conversational bots, business logic, conversation flows, user interfaces, and more.

“ Proofpoint are able to help us with our top layer The Total Economic Impac of security, to see where active threats are coming [24]7.ai Engagement Cl from before those attemptsOfstart trickling down Through customer interviews and data aggregation, Forrester concl into our architecture” [24]7.ai Engagement Cloud has the following three-year financial im — Dr Rebecca Wynn, Global CISO & Chief Privacy Officer, [24]7.ai

“Being able to consolidate our endpoint agents with an extensive SUMMARY OF BENEFITS Three-year risk-adjusted platform that grows and adapts to our

$22.3M company’s needs without complex-

ity has been great,” says Dr Wynn. are more than just a vendor, they’re

She explains that “having systems

a trusted partner thinking beyond the

$8.2M in place that use machine learning

security space into risk management,

$1.9Mbefore to ensure that breaches stop

compliance and privacy to help us win

they occur isLiveparamount is today’s Live phone agent chat agent Decomissioned

the cyberwar. Because, again, it’s not

productivity productivity legacy system fast-pace technology world.

That

only the return on investment, it’s a

is especially true when you add on

21

return on the efficiency of an investment that really counts.”

[24]7.AI ENGAGEMENT CLOUD BY THE NUMBERS

Completing a trio of trusted partners, CrowdStrike empowers

25% NPS score increase

world-class intelligence to [24]7.ai to provide a full picture of attacks and the context needed to pivot to a protective security posture. Described

by Dr Wynn as a “next gen endpoint security on steroids”, it combines

42% IVR containment improvement

next gen anti-virus protection, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and proactive threat hunting in one platform.

50%+ live agent productivity increase

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

This document is an abridged version of a case study commissione

[24]7.AI

fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks and how fast malware, botnet attacks, and other cyber-attacks can move through a network.

“Without a EDR and threat hunting platform, it might take dozens of analysts to do those correlations, but CrowdStrike’s use of machine learning and real-time response capabilities speeds up investigations and remediations in our environment. It’s not just correlating the data, it’s about being able to correlate and stop an attack 22

as quickly as possible.”

FUTURE PROOFING CX Dr Wynn highlights a growing trend for businesses, particularly retail, moving online; something which has been accelerated by the global pandemic. “We’re supporting new customers as they develop communication channels to be able to manage this shift,” she says. “With our full web presence, we can manage their transition seamlessly. We’re also being approached by the education and healthcare sectors to help them meet the challenge of keeping their people connected.”

DECEMBER 2020

2000

Year founded

1.3bn

Self-service interactions/year

10,000 Number of employees

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

23

[24]7.AI

24

“ We’ve created a unified digital customer experience across channels from websites and tablets to social media and smartphones to suit the needs of businesses across sectors, from banking to retail” — Dr Rebecca Wynn, Global CISO & Chief Privacy Officer, [24]7.ai

DECEMBER 2020

Recognised as a leader in The Forrester New Wave: Digital-First Customer Service 2020, and working with a host of Fortune 500 companies, organisations across multiple sectors can trust [24]7.ai to deliver.

Dr Wynn believes a global paradigm shift that has seen millions working remotely has offered an opportunity to move forward in a better way. “Businesses are looking

25

at their physical footprint and asking

customer communications across a

if they need so much real estate, can

range of devices to securely manage

they find ways to be more efficient?

that change to a hybrid way of working

Startups have been operating via this

between office and home. We’re pio-

model for years, leasing space that

neers for strategic thinking with much

allows them to expand and contract.

more to come.”

A paradigm shift was already coming, and now it’s here companies like [24]7. ai, with our expertise through offerings like the Engagement Cloud, can support the global roll out of secure t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

D I G I TA L I S AT I O N S T R AT E G I E S

26

Digitalisation: Start Now or Prepare to Fail WRITTEN BY

PADDY SMITH

DECEMBER 2020

27

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

D I G I TA L I S AT I O N S T R AT E G I E S

Digitalisation has become core to business resilience.

Lead from the top, consult your staff, use caution and don’t forget your customers

T

wo words have topped the ‘boardroom bingo’ card in the past five years: ‘Amazon’ and

‘disruption’. Amazon is a threat to many busi-

nesses precisely because it was such an effective

early disruptor and because most businesses did not prepare for the company to go beyond being 28

an online bookseller. When people cite Amazon in meetings, they usually do so because it is the alpha male of disruption. And disruption, in modern business parlance, means digitalisation.

Amazon took bookshops and removed the premises, the cashier and the journey to the shops.

That’s digitalisation. Uber took taxis and removed the dispatch centre and much of the ride-hailing hassle. That’s digitalisation. And so on.

Digitalisation is important to your business. If you don’t do it, someone else will. And they will scale faster, work more efficiently and succeed better.

As Andrew Duncan, partner and UK CEO at Infosys Consulting puts it, “digitalisation is the future.” His view is that companies who were slow to start digitalisation have been thrown into a “sink or swim economic landscape” by the onset of DECEMBER 2020

29

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

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“ Where digitalisation was once reserved for industry leaders, it is now widely necessary for business survival” — Andrew Duncan, Partner and UK CEO, Infosys Consulting

“These companies had a distinct advantage during the outbreak of the pandemic, with stronger capabilities in risk management, greater visibility over their supply chain, and the flexibility needed to make quick decisions and adjustments. As we continue into the ‘new normal’, business viability will only become further reliant on the leverage of available technology.

Covid-19, a tectonic shift that promises

“This is not just my prediction. The

to entrench the divide as businesses

importance of digitalisation in busi-

weather the incoming recession.

ness continuity is supported in the

“Before Covid-19, businesses typi-

success of the companies which have

cally took incremental steps towards

taken a proactive approach to digitali-

rolling out digitalisation programmes,”

sation through a decisive and global

he says. “We are now seeing a widened resilience gap between digital leaders and digital laggards – a gap that is likely to continue to grow during the economic downturn.”

COVID-LED TRANSFORMATIONS He points to the competitive advantage granted to early adopters of digitalisation, who were more easily able to weather the onset of the pandemic while others struggled to implement systems to deal with sudden changes to their working practices. te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

31

D I G I TA L I S AT I O N S T R AT E G I E S

D I G I T I S AT I O N V S D I G I TA L I S AT I O N : W H AT ’ S T H E D I F F E R E N C E ?

32

To put it simply, digitisation is a process; digitalisation is a way of doing things.

Digitisation takes things from the analogue world and converts them into a digital format.

So entering fuel receipts into a spreadsheet in the back office is digitisation. A film shot in full or in part on analogue cameras must be digitised to be shown on Netflix.

Digitalisation, on the other hand, is the handing over of an entire process to the digital realm. In business, that might mean using Slack or Zoom

DECEMBER 2020

instead of visiting someone in their office or calling a meeting.

In a supermarket, it might mean scanning your own shopping and paying via a self-service terminal.

For businesses, digitalisation represents both an opportunity and a challenge. Done at scale, it creates huge efficiencies in costs and time. But managing the transformation is difficult and it is costly to implement and integrate systems. IT leaders must also weigh the benefits of early adoption against the double whammy cost of migrating to newer technologies later.

Leeds Building Society and the Modern Data Platform CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:12

33 transformation programme – one

demand, he says. “No one knows

that’s a top-three priority for the CEO

what will happen over the next 18

and driven by management across

months, but the wealth of data that’s

the organisation. Where digitalisa-

being captured now because more

tion was once reserved for industry

people are buying online and via con-

leaders, it is now widely necessary

tactless payments will create some

for business survival.”

interesting data points.”

It’s a view shared by Richard Allen,

The data alone, he argues, needs

Director at Infinity Works, who also

to be marshalled and acted upon. To

sees opportunities for the future

remain relevant, businesses need

as a silver lining in the Covid-19

to use the data to understand their

cloud. “The pandemic has placed

customers and “create environments

greater importance on brand loyalty,

where they embrace innovation,

user experiences, and rapid supply

accept failing fast, and be able

chains to handle often unpredictable

to pivot where necessary.” te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

D I G I TA L I S AT I O N S T R AT E G I E S

THE ROAD TO DIGITAL NIRVANA On paper digitalisation makes sense, but for companies struggling to make real-world progress, the route to digital nirvana is cluttered with obstacles, not least how to begin.

Peter Walker is CTO EMEA at Blue Prism, which specialises in robotic process automation. His view is that the process of digitalisation has to be led from the top. “While IT and technical leaders are vital to ensuring smooth rollouts and the ongoing running of 34

the platform, it’s down to business

projects that are making it far easier

leaders who best understand their

to spin up new prototypes and, in many

operational challenges and demands

cases, show promising signs rapidly,”

to make judgments about where digital

though he also advocates a ‘look

workers will have the greatest impact

before you leap’ approach.

on swiftly delivering positive business outcomes,” he says.

“Where companies often go wrong with AI and machine learning (ML)

“This also means taking time to

is that you cannot use these tech-

evangelise the benefits right across

nologies effectively without truly

the organisation to educate potential

understanding the challenges they

internal customers to turn them into

are trying to resolve.

positive proponents and adopters of the technology.”

“Too often, businesses buy into technology ‘hype’ rather than solutions that

Matt Shearer, Director of Product

are actually best suited to long-term

Innovation at Data Language, says

improvements of their processes. This

there is “an ever-increasing plethora

can lead to solutions being designed

of ML SaaS products and open-source

around an expensive technology

DECEMBER 2020

“ The pandemic has placed greater importance on brand loyalty, user experiences, and rapid supply chains to handle often unpredictable demand” — Richard Allen, Director, Infinity Works

CASE STUDIES SOURCE: BLUE PRISM

Leeds Building Society increased its deployment of digital workers to cope with the high demand for mortgage holidays requests that now exceed 2,000 a day. This is reducing call centre calls by 75% and providing answers to most of these requests within 21 seconds. This also allows front-line colleagues to focus on quickly resolving issues, delivering better customer experiences and enabling back-office processing teams to work on other priorities for the business.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is seeing a significant acceleration of eReferral processing and automation of that workstream has protected its existing back-office resources from the impact of that increase. Automating the private patient billing function has sped up the process and removed processing errors. The team has been freed to focus on developing relationships with customers, and to chase debt in a more sympathetic and empathetic way that only people can do. te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

35

D I G I TA L I S AT I O N S T R AT E G I E S

investment, instead of being focused on true problem resolution, and is particularly common when a generic solution is purchased over something specifically focused on their sector or digitisation challenge.”

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP John Appleby, CEO of Avantra, calls digitalisation “an imperative for almost

“ The value locked in your employees heads is a large part of your core business advantage” — Matt Shearer, Director of product innovation, Data Language

any business to survive today”. He

36

also urges a more cautious approach

transformation strategy and a detailed

to AI-led digitalisation. “It’s not so

execution plan is required, whereby

much that digitalisation with ML/AI

silo walls can be broken down and

is easier, but rather that intelligent

replaced with open communication

technologies are a necessary conse-

channels between every department.”

quence of digitalisation,” he says. “We

Collaboration is “key”, he says,

expect vendors to make purchase

adding that it is “not about remov-

recommendations, we expect to

ing departments or bringing them

understand what other buyers like

together under a single umbrella”

ourselves are interested in. ML/AI

but “establishing a new mindset:

are required to deliver the consumer

networks instead of silos, flattened

experience that we expect.”

structures instead of hierarchies,

Culturally, digitalisation needs to be

and speed over precision.”

approached holistically, says Duncan.

Companies, agrees Shearer,

“The transition to digital represents a

must “involve your employees”.

collective-action problem, and there-

“Spend some time and tease the

fore businesses should approach DX

information out,” he urges. “The value

as a company-wide solution. From

locked in their heads is a large part of

the very beginning, a multi-phase

your core business advantage.”

DECEMBER 2020

37

DON’T FORGET YOUR CUSTOMER

their disposal and ensure they have

He adds that too many companies

the capabilities to act upon this infor-

think of digitalisation as a single

mation at speed. They must create

project. “But,” he adds, “This is a fun-

a data-driven strategy that enables

damental misunderstanding – digital

deeply informed decision-making

transformation is an ongoing process,

across each tier of the organisation,”

rather than one with an end goal.”

he says.

In all the back-and-forth about

Appleby agrees: “Businesses

digital transformation and digitalisa-

simply need to put their customers

tion, one important element often gets

first. What are the customer’s needs?

forgotten: the customer.

How can we service them? What digi-

Michael Chalmers, MD EMEA

tal approach do we need to help our

at Contino, says companies must

customers be successful in what they

become customer focused. “To do this

need to achieve? If we put this lens on

they need to drive actionable insights

our activities, the approach to digitali-

from the masses of data they have at

sation will take care of itself.” te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

MOBILE

38

5G, IoT and the Near Future of Mobile Technologies WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH

DECEMBER 2020

39

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

MOBILE

As 5G and IoT technologies edge closer to the mainstream, we take a closer look at the next five years for mobile technologies

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has in small part been mitigated by the maturation of mobile technologies which have enabled the social

distancing necessitated by the virus. Whether

that’s internet of things (IoT) devices being used to sense body temperature (a key indicator of infec40

tion), or the continued rollout of next generation 5G communications technology enabling lower latency and high-speed connections useful for video communications.

Many point to technology as being, aside from a vaccine, one of the key methods of emerging from the pandemic. Take Apple and Google decentralised approach to contact tracing, using the bluetooth capabilities of mobile phones to track proximity and provide notifications to those who have spent significant time near someone later confirmed to have COVID-19. As the importance of mobile technologies is reiterated by the pandemic, it’s worth considering the directions such technologies are taking through COVID-19 and beyond.

DECEMBER 2020

41

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

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“ The sweeping changes that are taking place in the 5G ecosystem [...] open ample opportunities for malicious actors to take advantage of vulnerabilities in IoT devices” — Bhaskar Gorti, Software President and Chief Digital Officer

of UK consumers own a 5G-enabled device. Meanwhile, 47% said that 5G’s benefits will be overblown and 37% said it would be too expensive. Despite these tidings, the faster connections enabled by 5G were 5G’s most appealing feature to 58% of consumers.

Like all technology trends, however, overuse has led to devaluation of the term, as Chris Newall, Chief Commercial Officer, Indigo Telecom, explains: “The 5G currently being rolled out today (known as “NSA – Non Stand-Alone Mode) is effectively just

5G 5G has been a constant in the public conscience for a while - at least since the announcement of the first 5G-enabled smartphone by Samsung in early 2019. The recent reveal of a suite of 5G iPhones from Apple has brought the mainstream advent of the technology a step closer, but even now consumers remain sceptical. A recent study for simulation firm Ansys shone the light on customer attitudes towards 5G, with key findings including the fact that only 13% te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

43

MOBILE

“ The real benefits [of 5G] are only realised when we move to true ‘SA – Stand-Alone’ mode” — Chris Newall, Chief Commercial Officer, Indigo Telecom

44

an upgrade to the radio interface on

distances as a trade-off with their high

the existing 4G network. The real

speed. “True SA requires the deploy-

benefits are only realised when we

ment of thousands of new compact

move to true ‘SA – Stand-Alone’ mode

base stations in buildings, on lamps-

with a new 5G core and link that to a

posts, on rooftops - in fact, just about

massively ‘densified’ cell-site infra-

anywhere where we need a high-

structure.” Implementing SA demands

performance signal. It also requires

far more infrastructure, due to 5G

connecting them over fibre-optics

radio frequencies decaying over short

to new compact ‘Edge Data Centres’

DECEMBER 2020

5G is coming. What’s the future of NB-IoT? CLICK TO WATCH

|

4:25

45 where the smarts to process the signals will be housed.”

That’s led Western companies to rapidly build up their own 5G infra-

That endeavour has been made

structure capabilities to fill the gap.

more difficult by the removal of mar-

Nokia and Ericsson, for instance, were

ket leader Huawei from many nation’s

selected by French telecom com-

5G networks, with Sweden being

pany Orange to manufacture its 5G

one of the latest examples, due to

network equipment in France. And in

concerns about Huawei’s perceived

July, Ericsson delivered its first ever

closeness to China’s ruling party

US-manufactured 5G base station to

compromising national security.

telecom giant Verizon.

Before that, the UK, which originally decided to allow Huawei into non

IOT

“core” elements of its 5G network,

It’s hard to discuss 5G without also

mandated that all Huawei technology

mentioning IoT technology, with the

be removed by 2027 at the latest.

two feeding into one another. As the te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

MOBILE

HOW 5G WILL MAKE YOUR HOME SMARTER, ACCORDING TO INTEL

• “Limits of local Wi-Fi networks and mismatched hardware connection protocols are currently preventing smart home technology from reaching its full potential.”

• “Speed, capacity, low-latency and ubiquity of 5G can address these issues and improve

46

lower-latency and higher speeds of 5G proliferates, IoT devices from drones to medical devices to smart home systems are making use of the technology to do more than ever before.

An increasingly connected world is, however, leaving the door open to new forms of cybersecurity threats, particularly when it comes to IoT. Nokia’s recent Threat Intelligence report found that 33% of infected devices are part of the internet of things, up from 16% in 2019. Bhaskar Gorti, Nokia Software President and Chief Digital Officer, said: “The sweeping changes that are taking place in the 5G ecosystem, with even more 5G DECEMBER 2020

everything from security to general performance of smart home devices.”

• “Improved connectivity will also enable new experiences using AR, VR and telepresence devices, which could be particularly important in a post-coronavirus world.”

“ Breached baby monitors, video cameras, cryptocurrency mining… all of these are recent incidents we have faced and continue to face” — Boris Cipot, Senior security engineer, Synopsys

networks being deployed around the world as we move to 2021, open ample opportunities for malicious actors to take advantage of vulnerabilities in IoT devices. This report reinforces not only the critical need for consumers and enterprises to step up their own cyber protection practices, but for IoT device producers to do the same.”

This new age of technology requires a new level of vigilance, as Boris Cipot, senior security engineer at Synopsys, explains: “We are now entering a new era of technology; that is the 5G era, which brings along with it another set of threats. The world of IoT is evidence that we are still a long way from achieving this.

Breached baby monitors, video cameras, cryptocurrency mining… all of these are recent incidents we have faced and continue to face.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the rollout of mobile technologies, the problems that remain are all centered around security, whether national or personal. Regardless, 5G, IoT and other mobile technologies will be a key force in creating the postpandemic world. te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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I N F O R M AT I O N A S S E T M A N A G E M E N T

IT Asset Management:

SYSTEM REBOOT WRITTEN BY

48

PADDY SMITH

DECEMBER 2020

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I N F O R M AT I O N A S S E T M A N A G E M E N T

IT asset management has been thrown out of joint by Covid-19 with unprecedented changes to working life forcing change at every level of procurement

T

he greatest change in working habits of the

digital age is underway. A sudden temporary

shift to remote working has rendered legacy

servers virtually obsolete and use of personal devices for work has snowballed. Meanwhile, beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, companies are

50

bracing themselves for longer-term changes with employees working from home, meetings going online and a blur between personal and corporate device management.

For IT asset managers, it’s all change in hardware, software and data. And with different stakeholders holding the keys to each, it presents a challenge in terms of speed, connected thinking, cost efficiency and forward planning.

“Complexity,” says Dan Ward, head of IT practice at Proxima, “is now at an all-time high.”

As an IT procurement expert, Ward has led several large-scale IT transformation and costreduction programmes but nothing compares to what he is seeing play out now, in real time, as companies with legacy systems scrabble to move to cloud platforms.

DECEMBER 2020

51

“This transition process leaves companies with a combination of cloudbased and legacy operating systems which make IT asset management a far more challenging process. Companies then need to implement holistic IT asset management procedures that deal with these complex hybrid estates and a permanent state of change, managing operational changes alongside commercial changes. “For example, we work with clients in financial services who still have more than one mainframe, and some te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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Procurement COVID Response CLICK TO WATCH

|

53:03

53 of these systems will become unsup-

However, in most cases that’s far from

ported in the near term. They are

the reality and there simply isn’t an

therefore having to assess the best

option to move everything to the cloud.

options for transition which might

Therefore, you will always have differ-

mean a migration to cloud. Thus, they

ent layers of operations involved which

must deal with the complexity of the

makes it more difficult to manage.”

retained legacy estate, legacy estate

All this goes hand-in-hand with a

through transition and future state.

revolution in organisational hardware

Shaping your commercial and contrac-

use, and the software and security

tual arrangements effectively at this

ramifications for companies.

time is pivotal. A fundamental building

Libby Bagley is community manager

block to doing this effectively is under-

at Licence Dashboard. Her view is that

standing your data.

the gold rush will turn up plenty of fool’s

“Many people saw cloud as a singular

gold. “To combat the sudden shift to

solution to simplify or solve this issue.

remote working, 58% of companies te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

I N F O R M AT I O N A S S E T M A N A G E M E N T

have ordered new devices such as laptops, tablets and mobiles. Whilst it’s great to see businesses adapting so quickly to a new way of working, this knee-jerk response could potentially cause them more harm than good.

“More than a third of companies are not upgrading their security systems to include their new hardware, and this lack of IT infrastructure means inexperienced companies could face challenges.

“This is why software asset management (SAM) is so important. Security 54

and SAM teams work together to understand exactly what is installed across remote devices and how it’s being used, to protect from cyber attacks and leave the organisation vulnerable.

“Organisations we’ve spoken to are planning a hybrid of home and office working, only coming into the office when they have to do certain parts of their job, therefore asset management will need to be flexible and have clear activities that end users need to do (such as signing on to the VPN) to fully understand their compliance position and remain competitive.

“It’s inevitable that some previously office-based employees will become DECEMBER 2020

“ Whilst it’s great to see businesses adapting so quickly to a new way of working, this knee-jerk response could potentially cause them more harm than good” — Libby Bagley, Licence Dashboard

permanent ‘work-from-home’ employ-

assistance from a tool. SAM teams rely

ees even after restrictions have lifted,

on remote discovery solutions in order

and so remote discovery will become

to build their inventory.”

even more important for SAM teams.

Ward agrees. “The widespread

Depending on their structure, com-

introduction of personal devices into

panies will have hundreds, thousands,

the corporate estate have posed

or sometimes tens of thousands of

myriad risks to IT security,” he says.

hardware assets in use, often within

“Risks include what software is on

various locations around the globe. It

the devices, whether employees can

is, therefore, almost impossible for a

download software, and what risks

SAM manager to physically locate

their personal downloads might pose

and inventory these assets without

to the corporate estate. To manage these risks, IT asset management teams primarily need to understand the data on their platform.

“Having monitoring tools allows companies to gather relevant data to monitor this risk, but companies need the right tools and systems in place to measure and consume that data.

There is a clear disconnect here as many companies fail to act on the data that they have pulled from their estate, whether that be identifying and dealing with risk, or using data to shape commercial decisions with vendors.

“In light of Covid-19, many companies have lacked the skills necessary to use their data effectively, and Tier 1 vendors will increase their auditing te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

55

I N F O R M AT I O N A S S E T M A N A G E M E N T

56

activities. Software revenues have

to use it, and the latter sits on a hoard

taken a hit, and vendors will look to

of data that no one is using. This data

recover these losses by activating

is then only drawn out during a vendor

the audit clause and attempting to

audit in which vendors overlay it with

reshape their commercial agreements.

their own interpretation. This provides

There is also often then a disconnect

significant advantage to the vendor

between procurement and software

and will be used to land companies

asset management. The former is

with massive retrospective bills for

unsure what data they need and how

software usage they were unaware of.�

DECEMBER 2020

“Increasingly we’re working directly with end user teams without the involvement of procurement, which suits us all just fine” — Martin Wilson, Bright

accelerated by the sudden shift to remote working caused by the Covid19 pandemic, and the public sector is no exception,” Wilson says.

“Suddenly, being able to access software systems from any location – ie home – has become essential.

While many of our public sector clients have VPNs in place to access their internal systems, that adds an extra level of complexity that most people working remotely could do without.

Organisations that were just starting to think about a move to the cloud before the pandemic have decided to bring forward their plans.

“When we first started selling Asset Bank 15 years ago, almost all our local government clients wanted the software installed on their own servers. The given reasons were security

Martin Wilson, director of Bright, the

and perceived cost savings – their

company behind Asset Bank and Dash,

IT departments provided the neces-

is an advocate for lean start-up tech-

sary infrastructure, which was often

niques and agile working. Working with

seen as being effectively free to the

the public sector, he says, has been par-

team procuring the software. This has

ticularly interesting since Covid-19 came

changed a lot in recent years.

about. For him, the journey is positive.

“Many public sector organisations

“For all sectors the transition to

are now open to cloud-hosting – being

cloud, and SaaS in particular, has been

more confident in its security and te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

57

I N F O R M AT I O N A S S E T M A N A G E M E N T

realising the benefits of outsourcing server management. This does continue to lag behind the commercial sector though, where cloud hosting and SaaS are now the default.

“In the past we would usually work with the procurement department of public sector organisations, as they had to be involved in any purchase above a certain threshold (often £5K) and one-off server licenses of our software were above this. The adoption of SaaS has changed this. Getting 58

procurement involved adds an extra layer of complexity for both the vendor and the team wanting the software.

SaaS enables those teams to fly under procurement’s radar, as monthly fees

Covid-19 as organisations aimed to

tend to be under the thresholds. So

cut more from the bottom line and

increasingly we’re working directly

remove unnecessary risk. At the

with end user teams without the

same time, organisations needed

involvement of procurement, which

to rapidly deploy remote working

suits us all just fine.”

capabilities and unified communica-

Ward feels trustworthy data should

tions programmes, such as the mass

be at the heart of all sensible com-

introduction of Zoom or Teams across

mercial decisions being taken in asset

companies or a large-scale rollout of

management procurement.

remote working laptops.

“Procurement teams face increased

“The need for companies to act fast

pressure to make greater savings,

in implementing these new IT systems

and this has been intensified by

meant that many were forced to

DECEMBER 2020

forego normal risk analysis processes – risks which have been exaggerated by the increased use of personal devices for professional communication.

“This has forced procurement and risk management teams to retrospectively conduct risk analysis and fit these new IT operating systems into their company roadmap. Ultimately, Covid19 has accelerated complexity and introduced unknown risks that need to be reactively combatted and mitigated.

“The key question here is ‘can you track your assets and use the data?’

This data is essential to shaping your commercial arrangements and deci-

“ You cannot create a coherent IT roadmap without understanding your corporate estate, and you cannot understand your estate if you don’t understand your software asset profile” — Dan Ward, Proxima

sions in future. You cannot create a coherent IT roadmap without understanding your corporate estate, and you cannot understand your estate if you don’t understand your software asset profile.

“When you make continual changes, which every organisation is currently experiencing at an accelerated pace, then this becomes even more critical because you cannot know what to do with your corporate estate if you don’t understand the data behind it.” te c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

59

D ATA M A N A G E M E N T

60

DECEMBER 2020

The Unstoppable March of Data Analytics WRITTEN BY

PADDY SMITH

61

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D ATA M A N A G E M E N T

62

DECEMBER 2020

Big data is no longer a boardroom buzzword. Even small businesses recognise the value of mining their data for insights

B

ig data. It’s a phrase that has done the rounds of the world’s boardrooms and – for once – survived intact. No company wants

to know less about its customers, or not be able to meet their needs. The competitive advantage that used to be gained by running customer forums, studying the accounts, and putting those learnings into next year’s strategic thinking has been usurped by always on, number crunching that can affect business decisions in the moment.

WHAT’S NEW IN DATA ANALYTICS? Increasingly, machine learning is being adopted to spot patterns in the data and automate responses. Building algorithms that allow more complex data to be processed and fed to either a machine or human means companies can act faster and identify risk more effectively. It also allows for software to model any number of future scenarios to offer predictive analytics, enhancing business strategy confidence.

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

63

422% ROI for IoT Connectivity The Total Economic Impact of Pelion Connectivity Management for Logistics, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Arm. Measuring ROI is still a struggle for the logistics industry looking to prove the value of IoT. In their study examining Pelion Connectivity Management, they found benefits totalling $421,080 USD.

Reliable, robust and resilient cellular connectivity delivered on an international basis Resilient network infrastructure that delivers optimum levels of security Connectivity management capabilities

Learn more at arm.com/resources/ report/forrester-logistics-spotlight

“ Machine learning allows companies to act faster and identify risk more effectively�

safety. Setting standards for data quality is paramount in order to produce reliable pattern information to drive business success.

There has also been progress in data mining technology, a software driven

With bulging databases being fed

approach to surveying large blocks

ever more information from any num-

of data to identify patterns in order to

ber of sources, it’s critical that data

determine what is relevant and what

is marshalled properly. Poor data

may look relevant (but is actually cor-

management leads to poor decision

related to an external modifier). And

making, and in a worst case sce-

this approach now goes beyond hard

nario makes would-be valuable data

data: text mining can analyse data

worthless. Unsettling in a business

from the web, books, social media,

environment, it could be lethal when

emails and surveys using natural lan-

applied to healthcare or industrial

guage processing.

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

65

D ATA M A N A G E M E N T

66

WHY DATA ANALYTICS MATTER While traditional business reporting

FIVE OF THE BEST DATA ANALYTICS TOOLS

(still widely used) tells a company and its stakeholders what has

IBM Cognos Analytics

already occurred, data analytics has

Key strength: natural language

shifted the focus towards examina-

processing

tion of why things have happened, and how companies might operate

With increasing focus on data that

differently in future to improve perfor-

can’t be found in existing datasets,

mance. The crest of this information

IBM’s Cognos Analytics has adopted

wave is to nudge businesses to ask

the natural language processing

questions they hadn’t previously

skills of its stablemate IBM Watson,

sought answers for, lead decision

which adds text mining options and

makers towards less obvious pos-

language generation. Best used in tan-

sibilities for future direction, and model

dem with an existing IBM enterprise

scenarios to help them make deci-

platform, an emerging Cognos skill is

sions with confidence.

ML-driven forecasting.

DECEMBER 2020

“ Poor data management leads to poor decisions” Microsoft Power BI

SAP Analytics Cloud

Key strength: integration with MS

Key strength: end-to-end analytics

software family

solution

Microsoft’s Power BI is the market

SAP’s Analytics Cloud uses a variety

leader in data analytics, and has envi-

of approaches to offer data solu-

able AI/machine learning capabilities,

tions, integrating predictive analytics,

driven by Microsoft Azure Cloud. Its

natural language processing, open-

integration with the world’s most

ended data mining exploration and

widely used productivity tools, such as

augmented analytics to build a busi-

Office 365 and Excel, allows company-

ness picture. Its approach to the user

wide implementation with pop-up

– offering preset models, trending and

reminders to encourage behavioural

templates, and outputting results in

adoption with staff.

natural language – is a core appeal.

Power BI: Amazing exploration experiences CLICK TO WATCH

|

4:23

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

67

D ATA M A N A G E M E N T

SAS Viya

Tableau

Key strength: scalability and

Key strength: data visualisation

performance It’s ease of use makes Tableau a

68

An early entrant into the data business,

popular choice with lay personnel

SAS is widely used by data scientists

(non-data scientists), while its power-

and has a large user base globally.

ful data processing and management

That means that while it’s accessible

tools mean it is also embraced by

to data professionals who do not have

data experts. The company was

extensive training, they have an envia-

acquired by cloud giant Salesforce

ble expert support network. The range

in 2019, a move expected to enhance

of options includes complex modelling,

its artificial intelligence and machine

interactive visualisations and machine-

learning capabilities.

led predictions.

DECEMBER 2020

… AND FIVE TO WATCH

managing physical assets such as vehicles and machinery. Samsara’s

Domo

strength is its integrated approach

Domo’s strength is its simplicity.

to software, hardware and cloud.

Designed to provide simplified data outputs for decision makers without

Tonkean

the need for IT intermediaries, it con-

Tonkean bestraddles power and

tinues to impress.

usability, with drag-and-drop programmability, wide interoperability and

Infor Birst

contextual event triggers. It prides

Already respected for its automated

itself on being a no-code platform.

inventory management tools, Birst has been acquired by Infor, which in turn

Yellowfin BI

has been acquired by Koch Industries.

Challenger analytics from Yellowfin

Expect a power-up.

prioritise user adoption and engagement, with end-to-end automation and

Samsara

impressive dashboards that prioritise

IoT platform that concentrates on

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

69

T O P 10

70

We take a look at the Chief Technology Officers at the world’s largest companies with such a role, with reference to the Forbes Global 2000 WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH

DECEMBER 2020

71

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

T O P 10

72

10

Kyle Malady Chief Technology Officer, Verizon

Telecommunications company Verizon’s position of Chief Technology Officer is occupied by Kyle Malady. Having studied for a Bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and an MBA in Finance, he assumed his current position in 2019. Of the company’s progress on 5G, he has detailed innovations including power over fibre: “So when we’re running small cells up the street, we don’t have to connect power to each and every one of them. We think that could speed up our deployment time.”

DECEMBER 2020

09

Suresh Kumar Global Chief Technology Officer, Walmart

Suresh Kumar serves both as retail giant Walmart’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer, a role which focuses specifically on internal digital transformation. As CTO, his responsibility is setting technical strategy in order to deliver improved customer experience. Kumar is a veteran of technology giants Google, Microsoft and Amazon, saying at the time of his announcement: “With more than 11,000 stores ... the potential for technology to help people at scale is unparalleled, and I am excited to be part of this.�

73

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

The Department of Defense trusts the cloud with the most tools, technology, and accessibility at the tactical edge.

www.BuildOn.aws

T O P 10

75

08

Mike Whitaker Head of Enterprise Infrastructure, Operations & Technology, Citi

Mike Whitaker’s role is as Head of Enterprise Infrastructure, Operation & Technology at financial services multinational Citi. He studied for a Master’s degree in Financial Markets at City, University of London and assumed his current role in 2009. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he oversaw efforts to increase its remote working capacity from 35,000 concurrent users, saying: “All large organisations that have designated disaster-recovery sites are thinking, Do we need them, or can we have less?”

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

T O P 10

07

Kevin Scott Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft

Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott has been in the role since January 2017, having previously been SVP of Engineering & Operations at LinkedIn, now a Microsoft subsidiary.

Prior to that he occupied various engineering roles at Google. One of his focuses is harnessing AI to help with societal issues, such as healthcare. Accordingly, he has said: “If our objective as a society is to get higher-quality, lower-cost health care to every human being who needs it, I think the only way that you can accomplish 76

all three of those goals simultaneously is if you use some form of technological disruption”

DECEMBER 2020

77

06

Will Grannis Managing Director, Office of the CTO, Google

Will Grannis is Managing Director, Office of the CTO, Google, with his unusual title belying the fact that he oversees a “CTO collective”.

Since 2015, it has been his responsibility to build Google’s first CTO function, which is intended to support Google’s next generation of enterprise products. Of the role, he has said: “Google doesn’t have chief technology officers. So in a strictly functional organisation of engineering, product, sales, marketing, we also had to define for ourselves what we wanted this job to look like.”

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

Pack the essentials for your business trip: Laptop Charger Business insights Payment solutions

From T&E expertise to business insights to payment solutions, the American Express Corporate Program gives you all the tools and services you need, so you’re fully prepared for business wherever you are.

To learn more about the American Express Corporate Program, visit www.americanexpress.com.

T O P 10

05

Andre Fuetsch Chief Technology Officer, AT&T

Andre Fuetsch has been in the role of Chief Technology Officer at telecommunications giant since 2016, overseeing the company’s global technology direction and roadmap. Of 5G, perhaps the single most important trend in the industry, he has said: “5G [...] opens up the aperture to connect everything else. So it’s going to be more about connecting the machines in our lives, the gadgets, these objects, whether they be in our homes in our cars, or where we work or play.”e objects, whether

79

they be in our homes in our cars, or where we work or play.”

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

T O P 10

04

Kevin Lynch VP Technology, Apple

While not strictly a CTO, Kevin Lynch is in charge of Apple’s technological comings and goings as VP Technology. Lynch was previously Chief Technology Officer for Adobe Systems, where he first came to prominence. He was educated as a Doctor of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago and joined Apple in 2013. He recently summarised Apple’s ethos, saying: “We wanted to be seen as a helpful addition, rather than another source of frustration and anxiety,” he said. “We try to take the broad ideas of what is possible and hone it 80

down as simply as we can, and then try to simplify it some more.”

DECEMBER 2020

81

03

Tony Kerrison Chief Technology Officer, Bank of America

Bank of America’s Chief Technology Officer is Tony Kerrison, a position he has occupied since March 2020. Prior to joining Bank of America in 2018, he occupied technological roles at a number of banks including Barclays and ING. In his previous role, he is quoted as saying of the banking industry: “Don’t underestimate how reliant modern day banking is on infrastructure and the plethora of systems, processes, hardware/software applications that come with that!”

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

E M E A | A PAC | N O RT H A M E R I CA

AMERICAS APAC FIND|OUT MORE | EMEA

FIND OUT MORE

T O P 10

84

02

Ahmad Al Khowaiter Chief Technology Officer, Saudi Aramco

Ahmad Al Khowaiter occupies the position of Chief Technology Officer at state-owned Saudi Arabian petroleum company Saudi Aramco. He is a veteran at the firm, having joined the company in 1983 and worked his way up the ranks. He assumed his current role in 2014, having previously been Chief Engineer. He has said: “We believe technology leadership drives continued and future success in the energy sector and is essential to achieving our aspirations to help solve global energy challenges and to stimulate the local knowledge economy.�

DECEMBER 2020

85

Ahmad Khowaiter Aramco’s CTO CLICK TO WATCH

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3:28

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T O P 10

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DECEMBER 2020

Andrew Lang Global Chief Technology Officer, JPMorgan Chase Andrew Lang serves as the Global Chief Technology Officer for financial services giant JPMorgan Chase. Lang’s role includes responsibility for the firm’s global technology strategy, with technologies under his remit including AI, machine learning, and blockchain. He has said of cloud technology: “There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to designing and building a cloudbased infrastructure. Navigating a cloud-first strategy can take time, but as with any type of new technology, the benefits can make the challenges worthwhile.”

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

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88

USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR: COLLABORATION FOR NEW AI SOLUTIONS WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY

MIKE SADR

DECEMBER 2020

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USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR

MICHAEL KANAAN ON THE USAF AND MIT’S AI ACCELERATOR, AND ITS MISSION TO USE AI TO INCREASE CAPABILITIES WHILE ADDRESSING SOCIETAL DEMANDS

M

ichael Kanaan is Director of Operations, U.S. Air Force and MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator, having previously been at the

Pentagon as the co-chair of AI for the Air Force.

The USAF-MIT AI Accelerator began in January 90

2020. “It’s pursuant to a cooperative agreement with MIT, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the Department of the Air Force,” explains Kanaan.

“Our efforts stretch across three main lines. The first is to execute a number of flagship AI projects and the related work to bring that into existence.

The second is developing scalable AI education for the workforce – all demographics, all ages, and all ranks. And the last is to lead the dialogue in AI ethics and safety. It’s all about making AI real for our workforce.”

Aside from the three flagship projects which we are covering in depth, the initiatives include such things as natural language processing for communication with machine and foreign language training, swarming unmanned aerial vehicles for

DECEMBER 2020

2019

Year founded

50

Number of employees

91

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USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR

“ IT’S ABOUT BEING MORE ACCURATE, DELIVERING BETTER LOGISTICS, WORKING ON HUMANITARIAN AID MISSIONS WHILE ALSO SAVING THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS” — Michael Kanaan, Director of Operations, U.S. Air Force and MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator

92

The MIT and Air Force collaboration is of a lineage with some of the most illustrious projects in the history of the United States. “There’s a triangular

deployment on humanitarian aid mis-

relationship between industry, aca-

sions, and using big data to illuminate

demia, and government in the United

weather circumstances in areas with-

States, that’s very special and very

out a ground station. The projects

storied throughout our past.” Kanaan

are linked by a shared focus, as

emphasizes that it stems from a com-

Kanaan explains. “The most important

mon language between government,

thing is to ensure that we all have a

industry, and academia which must be

common and shared dialogue and

nurtured. “We have to reinvigorate the

understanding of what AI is, what it

relationship that, for instance, brought

isn’t, how it works, and how to walk

the internet into our homes. Artificial

along that journey.”

intelligence is something that’s going to be viewed as equivalent to electricity in our lives, because of the way it affects us every single day. What could be more important than something like electricity being shared by the

DECEMBER 2020

Michael Kanaan | USAF-MIT AI Accelerator CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:14

93 greatest minds, by those who build the

the largest. “This is a team sport. It’s a

best technologies and by the govern-

whole-of-nation effort, with small busi-

ment as representative of its people?”

ness innovation and research crucial to

The work has been enabled by the

the success of the United States Air and

participation of a number of key part-

Space Force. Meanwhile, our traditional

ners, whose professional experts and

partners understand us better than

contractors have worked alongside

anyone else. They know how to integrate

MIT and the USAF. “A lot of work that is

technologies with the legacy architec-

necessary to bring modern technolo-

tures that we must rely upon. We can’t

gies like cloud to bear, without which

buy a new thing every single day, and

you would not have artificial intelligence.

many of those things we can’t put in the

We want to make sure that it’s as easy

cockpit of a jet, of course. And then lastly,

as possible for our workforce to grasp.”

nontraditional partners help to reinvigor-

Kanaan emphasizes that partners run

ate the conversations that we need

the gamut of sizes, from the smallest to

to have on AI today.” t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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Building trusted, secure, and safe AI systems Ron Keesing,VP of AI and Machine Learning, discusses how Leidos is exploring the applications and addressing the challenges of modern automation tech Leidos’ mission is to make the world safer, healthier, and more secure. We take on some of the world’s most interesting, challenging, and data-centric problems,” says Ron Keesing, VP of AI and Machine Learning at Leidos.

Among the company’s core technical competencies is the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which it hopes to incorporate into all of its solutions. Leidos often begins by adapting technology developed in the commercial and academic world to the missions and domains of our customers. On the DARPA ACE (Air Combat Evolution) program. Keesing says, “We’re taking a technology that came from the commercial world and using it to transform aerial combat. AI allows us to invert traditional battle paradigms, from one where many people control a single aircraft into one where a single person can control a team of manned and unmanned assets to complete complex mission objectives.”

Reliable, resilient, and secure AI solutions

“We combine humans and machines to be able to perform these missions better and faster. Leidos’ role as an integrator of AI technology comes from many different sources, and we bring them all together into solutions that the U.S. Government can use. Currently, we’re using AI to transform the processing of veterans’ health benefits to make sure they’re receiving improved healthcare through natural language processing (NLP). This will enable faster claims and benefits processing with much higher accuracy and speed than was possible before.”

Keesing emphasizes the importance of keeping up with the latest AI-based research and promoting understanding among clients regarding the best way to use it. “Many across the community are also starting to appreciate what it means for AI systems to be ethical; we wouldn’t want systems making crucial mistakes that could put human safety at risk or behave in a manner we perceive as unfair.” As such, Leidos believes in building trust between humans and AI to foster comprehension and encourage its more comprehensive application.

Keesing closes by encouraging everyone, from students to senior decision-makers, to invest their attention in AI’s development. “This is such an exciting time for people thinking about launching careers in AI and machine learning, making sure how people understand AI will affect their systems and programs. Whether we want it or not, this technology is going to transform every aspect of our world, and Leidos’ is staying ahead to make sure the systems we’re building are safe, secure, and can be trusted.

USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR

96 The fruits of the labor being put into these projects are not only for the Air Force’s benefit, with wider society also

to detecting people in flooded areas, and delivering telemedical health.”

In that spirit, public challenges have

standing to gain. Kanaan cites humani-

been established for the two-way

tarian disasters, such as the wildfires

sharing of information. “The public

and hurricanes which have had a

challenges will ultimately help develop

devastating impact on the US this year,

the associated projects for use in pub-

as examples of situations that could

lic society. And I think what I’m excited

benefit from its work. “Humanitarian

about is our release of some of these

aid is a huge mission of the United

public challenges like magnetic navi-

States Air Force, as it is of the Army,

gation using earth’s magnetic sphere,

the Navy, Coast Guard, and so on. AI

for which you can find the public

has a role to play, and that can stretch

GitHub repository today.”

across swarming drones to using computer vision, to predicting fire lines, DECEMBER 2020

The initiatives are standing the Air and Space Forces in good stead

for the future by embracing digital

taxpayer dollars and making sure that

transformation. “Once upon a time in

we are good stewards of that money.”

the industrial age, you had to make

Kanaan views the collaboration

trade-offs between speed, accuracy,

that has enabled the accelerator as

and cost,” says Kanaan. “In the digital

key to its success. “I can’t emphasize

age, thanks to machine learning, arti-

enough how grateful we are to MIT,

ficial intelligence or any of the number

to academia, to industry for being a

of other automation techniques that

part of this conversation and to our

are part of digital transformation, you

airmen and workforce for wanting

can now do all three at once. For the

to have the dialogue. What makes us

Department of the Air Force, it’s about

special is that, while we are certain

being more accurate, delivering bet-

to make mistakes along the way, we

ter logistics, working on humanitarian

hold a dialogue afterwards. It’s all

aid missions while also saving the

about diving in.”

97

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

Michael Kanaan Title: Director of Operations

Industry: Academia and Defense

Location: United States Captain Michael Kanaan is the Director of Operations to the USAFMIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator and the former co-chair of artificial intelligence for the U.S. Air Force. He was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” list and received the US Government’s 68th Arthur S. Flemming Award (an honor shared by past recipients Neil Armstrong, Robert Gates, and Elizabeth Dole). Kanaan is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and previously led a National Intelligence Campaign for Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Iraq. t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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them launch recoding and visibility into their your vision team’sofstrengths,

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weaknesses progress time.

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“One of the

nice things about Digital U is that because it’s leveraging commercial products like Pluralsight, it’s providing the Air Force same type create and customize rolesthe that align toof training and skill development that you’d find your unique needs, and see role proficiency at the tech giants.”

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USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR

David Jacobs | USAF-MIT AI Accelerator CLICK TO WATCH

|

0:37

100

MAJ. DAVID JACOBS, US AIR FORCE: MAGNETIC NAVIGATION Having graduated from Stetson University College of Law as a patent attorney, Maj. David Jacobs, U.S. Air Force, got to ply his trade while stationed at an Air Force research lab. “I became the only active duty patent attorney, and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to get where I am today as both the chief legal counsel to work on intellectual property, data rights, contracts, industry, and, of course, ethics, and then also a program manager for the robust neural differential models for navigation and beyond.”

Considering his role, Jacobs

with the Department of Army to

emphasises the focus on ethics that

develop a simple two-page guide to

pervades the Air Force’s work with

help Air Force and MIT researchers

AI. We embed in all of our projects a

understand when something is human

consideration of artificial intelligence

subject research under AI, and when

ethics and how it’s done. The Air Force

it is not, so that we’re following ethical

wants to be a leader in AI, and to do

guidelines at all times.”

that you have to focus on ethics.” He

In line with this ethical considera-

gives the example of the possibility

tion are the public challenges. “The

of human research subjects being

Air Force can actually be a partner

implicated from AI research based

in advancing the state of the art for

upon data. “One of the things we did

everyone, and be leaders in this field.

is work with the Air Force 711th Human

While it’s not new for academia to put

Performance Wing and coordinated

forward challenges for other academics, it is new for the Air Force to get involved.” That new approach has required a number of advancements to make possible. “Some of the things

“ THE AIR FORCE WANTS TO BE A LEADER IN AI, AND TO DO THAT YOU HAVE TO FOCUS ON ETHICS” — Maj. David Jacobs, US Air Force t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

101

USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR

102

that we’ve had to address include the

alternative GPS could look like and

Air Force sharing data at such a public

magnetic navigation is one of the

level. On the legal side, we’ve devel-

possibilities,” says Jacobs. “Magnetic

oped a data sharing agreement which

navigation takes the earth magnetic

enables the Air Force to share data

resonance and a magnetometer reader

publicly with academia and industry.”

to pinpoint where you are in relation

That collaboration is key to the

to the earth. Because this technique

Magnetic Navigation project, which

doesn’t rely on any external sources,

Jacobs works on, and is aimed at

it becomes particularly useful in

developing an alternative to GPS

areas where other signal sources are

systems which are vulnerable to dis-

uncommon, such as over water.”

ruption, especially in a conflict setting,

The role of AI in the project is

which would create huge problems

threefold, as Jacobs explains. “One,

in both a military and civilian setting,

we’re using AI to reduce excess noise

considering the extent to which the

on the system. Have the AI cancel

technology is embedded in our lives.

out what is coming from the plane

“The government is looking into what

and recognize what is interference

DECEMBER 2020

and what are actual readings. Two,

Joint Artificial intelligence Center and

determine your position in real time

the Department of Defense. “We’ve

with faster speeds. As we go to other

had some talks with DARPA, with

vehicles like an F-16, we’re breaking

NASA and of course, academic insti-

the sound barrier and so we need to

tutions and industry. We’re happy

determine location at much faster

to work with small business, large

speeds. And then finally we’re com-

business and other academic institu-

bining that magnetic parameter with

tions, because the more people that

other systems in the aircraft to cre-

tackle this problem, the better. We’re

ate a complete picture.”

approaching it as a chance to provide

The project has attracted a number of interested partners, such as the

something that is good for the community at large.”

103

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

David Jacobs Title: Chief Legal Counsel

Industry: Academia and Defense

Location: United States Maj. Jacobs is the legal advisor to the USAF-MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator. In addition to providing advice on contracts, intellectual property, fiscal, ethics, and cutting-edge AI legal developments to the Accelerator program; he also works as the Air Force lead on Robust Neural Differential Models for Navigation and Beyond. Jacobs earned a B.S. in Biology from Arizona State University and earned his law degree from Stetson University College of Law. He served as a patent attorney before commissioning in the Air Force.

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

Mission driven.

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Tableau and the USAF: data as a strategic asset Tableau’s Michael Parker on the benefits its data analysis and visualisation platform brings to the United States Air Force

Data analysis and visualisation company Tableau offers its customers the capacity to make better use of the data they have.

Michael Parker is VP, Business Development at the company. “ Tableau’s mission is simple,” he says. “We help people see and understand their data. We provide that through a single pane of glass view of their data in a secure environment, ensuring the right people have the right access to the right data at the right time.”

It’s that capability that is behind Tableau’s partnership with the United States Air Force, as Parker explains. “They’re looking at data as a strategic asset and as a common service component of digital transformation. We use the tools specifically around a couple of use cases that draw a great return on investment.

One was civilian hiring. We needed to understand where the choke points are, where’s the lag and the slack in the process. By pulling the data in from end-to-end in that whole civilian hiring process, we could look at it through an operational lens to really understand where we were experiencing challenges.

Strategic decisions made along the

way ultimately compressed the timeline by two thirds.”

With chief data offices now established in each of the services, Parker believes the full value of data is now being appreciated. In standing that up, it’s been recognised that data is a strategic asset and a powerful tool for both the business and warfighting domains.”

The partnership has also proved its worth in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Having tools for personnel use, personnel accountability, tracking of individuals and even return to work processes was really important, and so the partnership was critical at that point.”

Parker emphasises that the partnership is built to last. “At Tableau, we plan to continue to build our partnership and understand the strategic and operational needs of the Defense Department and how the platform can help solve issues and provide capabilities in strengthening our partnership over time.”

tableau.com

USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR

TSGT. ARMANDO CABRERA, US AIR FORCE: SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR

Geospatial Intelligence. “I worked

“I’m first generation everything,” says

school and graduated as a distin-

TSgt. Armando Cabrera, US Air Force.

guished graduate.”

really hard in the Air Force technical

“First generation American, first in

106

Having demonstrated his potential,

my family to graduate high school,

Cabrera was eventually selected for

college and first to join the military.”

a program usually reserved for offic-

Having graduated with a Bachelor’s

ers to be sent to Amazon to learn best

in Mechanical Engineering, and

practices for machine learning. “I was

after some time struggling to find a

there for a year, playing two kinds of

job, Cabrera joined the Air Force for

roles. First, I was a student taking all

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

Armando Cabrera Title: AI Flight Chief

Industry: Academia and Defense

Location: United States Tech. Sgt. Armando Cabrera is the flight chief for the USAF-MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator’s Multimodal Vision for Synthetic Aperature Radar (MV4SAR) project. Carbrera earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California and worked as a geospatial intelligence analyst for the Air Force before being accepted as one of the first enlisted members into the Education with Industry program. Cabrera was assigned to Amazon for a year, and was the first DoD employee to complete Amazon’s Machine Learning Education University. Currently, he is a lead researcher for SAR to EO image translation, and is a content developer in AI education for MIT Lincoln Lab. DECEMBER 2020

Armando Cabrera | USAF-MIT AI Accelerator CLICK TO WATCH

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0:49

107

their courses, starting from the fun-

the Multimodal Vision for Synthetic

damentals of mathematics, machine

Aperture Radar project. “What I bring

learning, all the way to neural networks.

is the operational experience of how

And then also I was building training

to use these types of sensors, so I can

guides for how to use their equipment

field questions.” The goal of the project

and software.”

is to turn the images taken by special-

That background has led him to MIT, where he is now responsible for

ized sensors into more human readable and interpretable photos. “That way

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

108

“ THE TWO YEARS THAT I WAS ABLE TO SPEND WITH A NON-STOP FOCUS ON MACHINE LEARNING AND AI HAVE MEANT I’VE BEEN ABLE TO BRING BACK A LOT OF BENEFITS” — TSgt. Armando Cabrera, US Air Force

you don’t need experience as an image

or clouds and easily get additional infor-

analyst, to understand what the images

mation that we normally wouldn’t have.”

show. SAR sensors can penetrate

The project uses learning algorithms

things like weather or smoke, but the

trained on paired SAR and more eas-

drawback is it’s hard to interpret the

ily understood electro-optical (EO)

image itself. I’m hoping that with this

images. “It’s able to learn what a SAR

capability that we’re creating, it can be

image will look like compared with an

used during events that usually don’t

EO image, and over time it will pick up

deploy it for. We can automatically use

the characteristics of the SAR image

the sensor to penetrate through smoke

that are equivalent to EO image. That

DECEMBER 2020

109

way, it can create new images with the

now accessible to far more people.

synthetic EO image attached.” Cabrera

“When I first heard I was going to learn

points to the usefulness of such tech-

machine learning, I didn’t know what

nology in response to disasters such as

it was. But AI is so democratized now

the California wildfires, making previ-

that I could learn a lot of information

ously obscured areas visible to build up

just from searching the internet. The

a better picture of what is happening on

two years that I was able to spend with

the ground.

a non-stop focus on machine learning

Cabrera hails the open nature of machine learning as meaning that it’s

and AI have meant I’ve been able to bring back a lot of benefits.” t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR

CAPT. RONISHA CARTER, U.S. AIR FORCE: C-17 SCHEDULING Having enlisted in the Air Force directly out of high school, Capt. Ronisha Carter started off in the field of server maintenance and boundary protection, before becoming an officer and receiving a Master’s in Computer Engineering. “I

110

was selected for an Education with

of scheduling less time consuming

Industry fellowship at VMware, where

while increasing efficiency and mini-

I was able to work within an Artificial

mizing errors. “Creating an Air Force

Intelligence Machine Learning develop-

flight schedule today, the scheduler

ment team,” she says. “It was at this time

has to account for a multitude of

when I developed a foundation in artifi-

variables we identify as constraints.

cial intelligence and machine learning.”

This includes qualifications or the

Her current role is as a Cyberspace

training a pilot requires for that seat

Warfare Operations officer. “My career

and crew rest – the time they must

field covers the entire communications

take off in between each flight. Also

spectrum,” says Carter. “Everything

the amount of flights that need to

from network defense to base com-

be scheduled, and the time intervals

munications structures, to tactical

between those flights. This process

communications. This background along

is currently being accomplished through

with my AI foundation led me to be one

various manual channels. Separate

of 11 selected to collaborate with MIT

data systems, phone calls, and even

on the integration of artificial intelligence

whiteboards, which causes schedul-

technology into Air Force platforms.”

ing to be immensely complex and

Under Carter’s remit falls the C-17 scheduling project, with the intention

time consuming.”

The remedy to that involves using AI

of bettering the lives of pilots and

to take up the burden. “What we hope

airmen using AI to make the process

to achieve is to create a data driven

DECEMBER 2020

model that can produce the best or

work that we’re doing today could

most optimized schedule for multiple

allow for advancements in sched-

objectives and constraints,” says

uling for hospital staffing, shift

Carter. “We provide decision-makers

workers, cargo and mail distribution,

with a mathematically aided assess-

logistics operations, and even com-

ment that predicts schedules weeks

mercial airline crew scheduling or

in advance and it gives them back time

flight maintenance.”

in their day.”

Wider implications for the project

Carter emphasizes the extent to which ethical considerations guide

involve the gaining of efficiencies

everything which is done with AI.

across the board, from supply chains

“Within all of our projects we are con-

to maintenance. “For instance, the

sidering the implications of ethics.

111

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

Ronisha Carter Title: Artificial Intelligence R&D

Industry: Academia and Defense

Location: United States Capt. Carter is the USAF-MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator’s lead for AI-Assisted Optimization of Training Schedules project.

Carter has a B.S. in Computer Science from Hawaii Pacific University and an M.S. in Computer Engineering from Florida International University. Carter worked as a Cyber Operations Officer before being selected to the Education with Industry program where she was assigned to VMWare to use ML/AI to create content driven intelligence platforms. Her technical papers on ML/AI during this time helped land her a follow-on assignment to MIT to serve as part of the initial core of embedded Airmen for the AI Accelerator. t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

USAF-MIT AI ACCELERATOR

112

“ THE WORK THAT WE’RE DOING TODAY COULD HELP HOSPITAL STAFFING, SHIFT WORKERS, CARGO AND MAIL DISTRIBUTION, LOGISTICS, OPERATIONS AND EVEN COMMERCIAL AIRLINE CREW SCHEDULING AND FLIGHT MAINTENANCE” — Capt. Ronisha Carter, US Air Force

DECEMBER 2020

Ronisha Carter | USAF-MIT AI Accelerator CLICK TO WATCH

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0:36

113 In February, the DoD adopted ethics

Software development teams that

principles for AI based on recom-

vector internal Air Force talent to

mendations from the Defense Board

solve and engineer solutions for the

of Innovation. This mandates that all

really tough Air Force problems. Our

DoD AI capabilities must be responsi-

team of MIT principal investigators,

ble, equitable, traceable, reliable, and

grad students, software develop-

governable and meet the same legal,

ers, human-computer interaction

ethical, and policy standards across

designers, and Air Force software

the department.

development teams ensures we cre-

Partnerships have again made the

ate better solutions for our Airmen.�

project possible. “Our partnership with MIT and Lincoln Lab is essential to developing these technologies, and we also work hand-in-hand with Tron and Airmen Coders, Air Force t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

Adaptive Data Centers

114

DECEMBER 2020

Putting Sustainability at the Heart of Data Management WRITTEN BY

PADDY SMITH

PRODUCED BY

LEWIS VAUGHAN 115

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

ALIGNED

116

DECEMBER 2020

Aligned has completed a historic billion-dollar round of financing specifically linked to sustainability. CEO Andrew Schaap is eyeing the possibilities it opens up

I

t’s a mark of Andrew Schaap’s modesty that he says of the Covid-19 pandemic, “We’re weathering it well.” While other

companies were diving for cover in the second quarter of 2020, Aligned – where Schaap is CEO – “saw a very big uptick in February, March, April, and May”.

“The pandemic has proven to be somewhat of a use case study in capacity planning for our big customers,” he explains. “All of them run analysis on what they can get out of a server, what they can get out of a CPU, what they can get out of a storage device or networking device. But the ones that are really born on web technologies are being pushed to the limit of what they can do. And so, our customers have been able to see just how effective adaptive infrastructure and our Delta3 cooling technology are when it comes to seamlessly addressing those peaks in demand.”

As well as higher headroom capacity, data patterns have changed. Schaap points to a gaming

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

117

ALIGNED

“ This is a capital-intensive business. You need capital partners that understand the business” — Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned

financing led predominantly by ING. This is the first U.S. data center sus-

client using Aligned’s data centres

tainability-linked financing and also

which saw its traditional 6pm to 3am

one of the largest private debt raises

peak capacity shift as schools closed

in data center history.

and the workforce headed home.

For Aligned’s customers, its modu118

billion-dollar sustainability-linked

Previously, after joining Aligned in 2017, Schaap struck a deal with

lar, dynamic and highly scalable data

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real

solutions came into their own. And

Assets (MIRA) (“not your traditional

its finance partners have allowed the

private equity”) to recapitalise the

Dallas-based company to innovate its

business. “This is a capital-intensive

supply chain to meet the accelerated

business. So, you have to have capital

delivery needs of customers, specifi-

partners that are highly capable of

cally in the hyperscale space.

understanding what the business

Another sunny day in Aligned’s fair-weathered pandemic came in September, when it closed a

DECEMBER 2020

looks like.”

Traditionally, MIRA invests in infrastructure such as roads, bridges and

CEO Andrew Schaap Discusses Aligned’s Adaptive Data Centers CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:19

119 highways. Aligned was the operating

leverage that buying power to get

group’s first foray into infrastructure

the best outcome out of the suppli-

of the digital kind. The entity saw

ers. What we did, essentially, was

a clear understanding that in order

approach the supply chain differently

to compete with the buying power

by deploying capital and committing

afforded to publicly traded Fortune

to capacity.”

500 data brands, Aligned needs to be

“Not everybody can do this. The pub-

able to work the angles. Schaap and

licly traded providers have to explain

his team laser-focused the business,

every dollar they spend to Wall Street,

including flipping the traditional data

and get a return on it within a set period

center supply chain / vendor-managed

of time – or they get penalised.”

inventory (VMI) on its head.

“We did it essentially to counteract

“But because of Macquarie, our other capital partners and our business

scale. Those [Fortune 500] guys have

model, we were able to essentially

buying power with scale and they

look at the supply chain and be bullish t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

Munters brings over six decades of innovation to its partnership with Aligned Energy Munters has been developing innovative, energy efficient climate control solutions for over 60 years, and Data Center cooling is a market segment that is very active right now. DC President Michael Gantert explains why as the industry leader in energy efficient climate control solutions, Munters expertise in data center cooling helps Aligned Energy meet growth demands Munters has a long history in delivering innovative, energy efficient climate control solutions. Started in Sweden over 60 years ago, Munters has deployed its technologies in a host of industries.

Munters Data Centers (DC) business, managed

by President Michael Gantert, is a key partner for Aligned Energy. Munters has worked closely with Aligned Energy to manufacture and advance the development of their unique cooling solution.

Munters entered the data center cooling market 12 years ago and has developed a number of cooling solutions that have been widely adopted and are critical to the efficient operation of many data centers.

When Aligned Energy got in touch to discuss a partnership, it wasn’t to purchase an existing solution, but rather to further develop their own cooling solution and manufacture a product that would reduce equipment lead time and cost, while also improving reliability.

“For a data center company to come to us with a pre-designed cooling solution and ask us to manufacture it, while also making it better and easier to install, that was a bit unique from what we’ve experienced over the past 12 years.”

Michael Gantert, Munters

“Aligned Energy recognized in Munters our history of innovation, engineering expertise, and flexible manufacturing capabilities. They saw those aspects of Munters as key to support their growing business.

Our relationship is a true partnership. We share a lot of information including technical engineering details and manufacturing techniques for their cooling solutions.”

“There has certainly been a lot of collaboration between the two companies over the past few years. They have a great cooling technology.

We have embraced that, and we really feel Munters has provided value to Aligned Energy by understanding the technology and continuing to develop and enhance it for them.”

“We’ve worked very closely with Aligned Energy and we’ve been provided selective visibility into their pipeline, which allows us to plan and prepare to best meet their needs. We continuously assess equipment inventory and component stock levels as well as things we can do within our manufacturing footprint to shorten lead times to support Aligned Energy’s growth.”

LEARN MORE TODAY

ALIGNED

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on where the market is going, where we think the market’s going and have manufacturers hold on to the inventory inside their warehouse or factory before shipping it on a just-in-time basis. We’ve done very well with that over the years; and it has proven effective during the pandemic. We had a handful of transactions that we were able to win on speed of delivery and our ability to get a customer moved in faster than the competition.”

“We didn’t start the VMI because of the pandemic, but It worked in our favor DECEMBER 2020

“ Our customers have been able to see just how effective adaptive infrastructure and our Delta3 cooling technology are when it comes to seamlessly addressing those peaks in demand” — Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned

in a big, big way because we already

allocate manufacturing to quieter peri-

had that gear forward committed.”

ods, keeping productivity stable, and

By ordering before equipment was

workers off furlough.

needed, Aligned was able to offer

“What we try to do is to stabi-

manufacturers flexibility over their

lize the throughput in the factory.

throughput. Rather than a lumpy

Everyone we’ve spoken to has had

work-to-order production schedule,

phenomenal feedback about what

with workers on triple overtime when

we’re doing because it solves a

demand surges, the company’s pre-

big problem for them – removing

ordering allowed manufacturers to

the lumpiness.”

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

Andrew Schaap Title: CEO

123

Location: United States

Industry: Information Technology & Services Andrew Schaap is CEO of Aligned, dedicated to accelerating business growth by delivering data center solutions with industry-leading technology and adaptive infrastructure. Since beginning his tenure, Schaap has exponentially grown revenues, completed several successful capital raisings, and cultivated an ecosystem of innovation that advances Aligned’s commitment to reducing the social, economic and environmental impact of the digital era. He is a data centre, IT, private equity and real estate executive with more than 20 years of complex transactional experience and multidisciplinary senior leadership. Prior to joining Aligned, he held numerous leadership positions over an 11-year period with Digital Realty Trust. t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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It’s just one example of Schaap’s approach to partnerships, which revolves around listening to partners,

their problem is our problem. So, we have to be mindful of their problem.”

While Macquarie’s financing allows

understanding their challenges, and

Aligned to game the supply chain, its

earning their respect. “Sometimes

debt financing with ING has beefed

2013

Year founded

90

Number of employees DECEMBER 2020

up its efforts to continue pursuing a strategic vision in sustainability.

“On the debt side, we’re very pleased with the first sustainability-linked financing done in the United States.

And ING really drove that with us and has just been a great partner.”

“We can be sustainable, have great uptime and reliability, and provide great service and support to our

“ Because of Macquarie, our other capital partners and our business model, we were able to essentially look at the supply chain and be bullish on where the market is going” — Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned

customers. We do all three and we do them in a thoughtful, meaningful way. So, we’re delighted with it and looking forward to showcasing our sustainability even more. We’re doing it because our customers care about it and it’s part of our DNA.” Schaap gesticulates towards a 40-inch monitor on the wall where he can survey the top line performance metrics in real time. Unsurprisingly, he’s big on data, and Aligned is keen to pass on its data to help clients. “If we sell a customer a megawatt, let’s give them

Aligned IAD-01 Build Timelapse CLICK TO WATCH

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2:15

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125

ALIGNED

126

“ We had a handful of transactions that we were able to win on speed of delivery and our ability to get a customer moved in faster than the competition” — Andrew Schaap, CEO, Aligned

thing to do. No stranded capacity; that’s

the tools to figure out how to use as

ing to where the puck is going to

much of that megawatt as possible

be versus where it is now,” asking

because that’s the most sustainable

Schaap to gaze into his crystal ball is

DECEMBER 2020

the best thing for the environment.”

For someone who is always “skat-

127

to open a window to a new genera-

of dollars – or Euros or Yen – that

tion of data technology.

are being put into it is incredibly high

“Everybody is thinking about energy

because that’s the new gold rush, to

storage right now. How do you get

figure out how to store energy. And

as creative as you possibly can on

on the data side, we use a lot, so we’re

energy storage? That’s the number

really paying attention to what’s next.”

one problem with green energy: it’s cyclical. The sun, wind, hydro, all those things are somewhat cyclical.

Adaptive Data Centers

And so, you’ve got to find ways to store the energy. And so, the amount t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

128

THE COMPLETE DATA CENTER SOLUTIONS COMPANY DECEMBER 2020

129

WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

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

T5

Meet a company at the cutting edge of customized turnkey development, facility management and mission critical services; keeping your business ‘on’ forever

N

ow in its 13th year, T5 evolved out of the services sector representing data center users. Back in 2008 T5 started

out as a development company before growing a full lifecycle of services geared towards hyperscale and enterprise customers. These extend 130

across the lifecycle of the core data center ranging from customised turnkey development and facility management to data hall operations, mission critical construction services and sustainable approaches to power genera-tion. T5 is serving the needs of the hyperscale and enterprise data center user across North America and at strategic international locations.

“Our roots in the development of cutting-edge data centers for leading corporations gave us a platform to evolve,” remembers President & CEO Pete Marin. “Those same customers looked to us to operate those DCs. There have been numerous changes inside these structures that required construction activity which drove us to create T5CS (T5 Construction Services). Everything we do revolves around that discerning data center customer in DECEMBER 2020

131

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

T5

132

“ We advise our customers on lowering the cost of their operations going forward by evaluating power and cooling systems and helping them design and procure the best system that’s going to use the least amount of energy throughout a data hall’s lifecycle” — Pete Marin, President & CEO, T5

two different sectors of the business cycle - hyperscale and enterprise. We’ll continue to grow with those strategic customers and the markets they want to be in, and we will continue to add the services they need as we evolve our assets to support them.”

A DATA CENTER LIFECYCLE PARTNER Marin highlights that T5 is the only company across the sector offering a full lifecycle combination of assets and services in strategic markets.

From delivering a fully functioning data center building at a competitive cost to producing the lowest possible cost of occupancy and then going on to operate it for the customer, T5 can utilize a build to suit approach delivering tailor made specs - for everything from power to cooling - inside the data hall.

Evolving assets through the data center lifecycle is a big part of the philosophy that drives T5 explains Marin: “We advise our customers on lowering the cost of their operations going forward by evaluating power and cooling systems and helping them design and procure the best system that’s going to use the least amount of

DECEMBER 2020

energy throughout a data hall’s lifecy-

these developments are all inter-

cle. With that comes a big focus on the

twined. “We’re making sure we have

reduction of carbon footprint. We’re

the right cooling methodologies to

very supportive of that and have devel-

meet future needs. Simple things like

oped the capabilities to construct

having water at the rack for our cool-

solar installations and we’ll continue to

ing systems which allows a deeper life

expand that expertise as the technol-

cycle for that asset. And of course,

ogy evolves for the hyperscalers.”

we’re agnostic to networks, but we’re

Marin notes that, as electrical densities across data centers increase,

very supportive of having a robust network in all of our buildings.”

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

Pete Marin

133

Title: President & CEO

Company: T5 Data Centers

Industry: IT

Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States

As President and Chief Executive Officer of T5 Data Centers, Pete is responsible for setting the overall strategy of the firm, maintaining client relationships, capital management, and creating and executing the firm’s vision for growth. Pete has more than 20 years of experience in the data center sector ranging from development, securing debt and equity capital, to tenant representation including site selection and incentives.

Pete’s understanding of end-user needs has enabled T5 Data Centers to reduce project cycle-time and cost, which leads to successful relationships, and repeat business.

Pete received a B.S. in Finance from the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech.

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

T5

T5 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

• 400+ FM FTEs

T5’s commitment to greener ways to power data centers has seen it extend

• 500 MW IT load currently managed in over 55 data centers

its construction services to include

• 100% data center focused

into the delivery of solar projects a

• Battle-tested leadership experience

few years ago, and we’ve had a lot of

• Award-winning operations platform

134

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

• Multiple recipient of uptime institute’s continuous availability award and M&O certification • Commitment to military veterans and diversity

DECEMBER 2020

solar and renewable energy. “We got

repeat business,” reveals Marin. “The technology continues to improve and evolve, and it really comes down to the battery technology which I think will bring us to a point where we will see a huge reduction in traditional power sources. It’s going to be interesting to see how this develops because you’ve got some competing forces…

T5 Atlanta Hyperscale Data Center CLICK TO WATCH

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0:46

135

“ We have the ability to give visibility to as many touch points as a customer wants all the way down to the circuit level, so they have that vital input into how their building is operated” — Pete Marin, President & CEO, T5

You want to reduce carbon footprint and carbon emissions because this industry has a lot of generators that are fired with diesel fuel. We need to address that. The evolution of solar represents a great opportunity to do that so we will continue to develop a skill set to deliver these solar projects.

Already, a lot of the big hyperscale customers will typically build a solar deployment to offset what they’re taking from the grid. Eventually, I think you could see solar deployments that are directly set into the grid, so we’re moving in the right direction.” t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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137

“ We’ll see continued investment as 5G implementation ramps and the move to the Edge continues” — Pete Marin, President & CEO, T5

“Being able to go from bricks and mortar all the way through to the white space and be able to operate inside the data hall is unique in our business. We ensure we have the right EPMS and BMS systems to run the facility with a proper model that works all the controls throughout the data hall,” assures Marin. “We have the ability to give visibility to as many

THE T5 DIFFERENCE

touch points as a customer wants all

It’s one thing to build a great build-

the way down to the circuit level so

ing and deliver it, but another beast

they have that vital input into how their

entirely to operate it believes Marin.

building is operated.” t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

T5

CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM

138

“COVID-19 is a challenge for all of us but we got up to speed as quickly as we could,” says T5’s President & CEO Pete Marin. “Right out of the gate, we were ahead of it with extra safety protocols instituted across our sites. We were one of the early adopters of testing and, with the use of smartphone cameras that read a barcode, our staff must complete a questionnaire each day before they are cleared to enter a site. Communication is key - that simple approach, along with best practice when it comes to PPE and social distancing, has limited the spread of COVID-19 at our sites. I’m very proud of how we’re tackling this but we’re not out of the woods yet. Our view is that we’re going to be managing and living with COVID-19 for the next year or two, so we need to make sure we take care of our people first. People first and then we’ll grow the business

DECEMBER 2020

and keep moving forward.”

Mission critical facilities rely on highly specific processes to ensure seamless IT deployment and migration, low redundancy and secure connectivity - much of which is handled by on-site IT or remote hands staff. An industry leader in critical facility management, T5 formed a cross-functional Crisis Management Team to further support its customers with expanded emergency action and business continuity plans to make sure “the lights never go out” as they navigate a global pandemic. By keeping many of its staff on the ground and avoiding the implications of an IT-less facility T5 has been able to continue performing preventative maintenance and server updates to mitigate the risk of downtime and outages while guaranteeing uptime and continuous availability.

The open book approach Marin

at how to improve the data center and

describes gives T5 the flexibility to

to solve the problems of hyperscale

build to suit offering a best in class

and enterprise users.”

service. “We work with the brightest

Marin maintains that recruiting the

and the best partners out there, from

right people, often with mission critical

design and construction through to

backgrounds in the military, and training

services inside the data hall. If there

them to the highest level is paramount.

are services our customers want and

“It’s a big part of making sure the lights

we’re not delivering those today, we

never go out,” he says. Training is the

will go out and find the best to do that

front-line philosophy, to keep our people

and develop that capability internally,

at the cutting edge and allow the group

or acquire it. We’re constantly looking

and its work culture to grow.”

139

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

T5

THE EDGE Evaluating the industry today, Marin believes that on the asset front it’s still important to have space that’s ready to occupy and in key strategic markets. “Over the past couple of years, it’s been just a few buyers of data center space picking up the majority of it. That’s the hyperscale phenomena. That’s going to continue.

However, we predicted last year that enterprise business would come back and we’re seeing that with a combi140

nation of both cloud operations and data centers all supporting the hybrid platform. There’s going to be a combination strategy there. We’re seeing the enterprise return with more build to suit, as well as just leasing traditional data center sites.”

A key development for the future of connectivity is the impending 5G roll out. Marin is excited to see what this will mean for The Edge. “Thanks to 5G

data centers that can be deployed

we’re going to see more Edge deploy-

quickly in multiple locations bringing

ments,” he says. “There have been

compute and storage as close to the

a number of new companies estab-

users eyeballs as possible. We’ll see

lished that are looking at data centers

continued investment here as 5G

from a different perspective, not as

implementation ramps and the move

big, scalable operations but micro

to the Edge continues.”

DECEMBER 2020

2008

Year founded

400+ Number of employees

SCALING UP

to continue to scale the breadth of our

Last year, in partnership with QuadReal,

operations,” confirms Marin. “We have

T5 launched a $2.5bn fund to develop,

significant equity to build our asset

acquire and operate data centers

deployment while remaining nimble as

which has proved to be very success-

a private company.”

ful, allowing the company to scale on

T5 recently acquired an asset in

multiple levels. “We’re well positioned

Chicago, which it is currently building t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

141

T5

“ Continuing to grow our third-party services will be at the heart of our strategy to remain the industry’s premier data center lifecycle partner” — Pete Marin, President & CEO, T5

142

out on a turnkey basis. Located in the

Oregon, just outside of Portland with a

Elk Grove Village Technology Park,

maximum capacity of 17.6 MW,” adds

T5@Chicago will provide 103,000

Marin. “We’ve also acquired an exist-

square feet of white space and up

ing turnkey data center in Northern

to 27.6 critical megawatts of power

California in Silicon Valley where we’ll

capacity, purposefully designed to

be able to deliver in excess of 17 MW.

serve enterprise and hyperscale cloud

Elsewhere, we’ve acquired a large

computing customers. “We’re con-

tract of land (80 acres) in Atlanta,

structing a new building in Hillsboro,

where we’ve started what we call the

DECEMBER 2020

143

‘horizontal construction’ of a facility

their facilities, so continuing to grow

with a total design capacity of 217 MW.”

our third-party services will be at the

“This is just a taste of what we’re up

heart of our strategy to remain the

to at T5 with many exciting develop-

industry’s premier data center lifecy-

ments in the pipeline. So far, we’ve

cle partner.”

deployed 30% out of our fund and we’ve got a lot more work to do,” pledges Marin. “Some of the world’s best brands have entrusted us with t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

144

REDUCING COMPLEXITY IN IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT

WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY

BEN MALTBY

DECEMBER 2020

145

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

PWC

PWC’S IVO VAN BENNEKOM AND DUANE CARSTENS ON THE ROLE OF IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT IN FACILITATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

P

wC has identified a number of trends. affecting organisations, centered around a digital landscape that was growing in

complexity even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are in a very strange and unprecedented situation - the ‘new normal’, as we call it within PwC,” 146

says Ivo Van Bennekom, Director, Digital Identity.

“What that new normal means, is that it’s accelerated a big change that was already happening prior to the COVID-19 situation, where we see clients changing from a traditional value chain that was very direct, to starting to become more part of a digital ecosystem, collaborating to delivering a variety of services towards the end consumer.”

Increased digital complexity and ever-changing employee roles within an organisation means identifying and allowing the access of users is all the more important. “Managing identity is vital, but it’s also a daunting task for many organisations who lack proper identity and access management (IAM) for governing their digital identities,” says Duane Carstens, Director, Cybersecurity & Privacy.

“That’s regardless of their IAM service maturity DECEMBER 2020

147

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PWC

“ W E ARE IN A STRANGE AND UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION -THE ‘NEW NORMAL’, AS WE CALL IT WITHIN P W C” — Ivo Van Bennekom, Director, Digital Identity, PwC

and whether they are adopting or replacing digital technology through their digital transformation”.

To help organisations with digital identity, the company maintains more than 950 digital identity professionals as part of a broader cyber team that is 3,500 strong, with extensive experience across various industries.

PwC consequently differentiates itself from competitors in the space along a number of lines. “One of the biggest benefits that clients see when work-

148

ing with us, is that we can deliver an integrated approach to the whole breadth and depth of cybersecurity and digital identity management,” says Van Bennekom. Carstens believes in the transformative power of PwC’s cyber business. “The purpose of our cyber business is to help build a secure digital society. This is done through three key aspects, including 1) serving our clients, 2) extensive research and disruption to the market and to threat actors which is done by challenging conventional thinking, and 3) shaping society by being an exemplar.

These three key aspects are encompassed by our DNA which includes DECEMBER 2020

empowering an innovative and

which companies must respond to.

diverse team.

“We see key emerging cybersecurity

PwC is equally focused on forging

risks as a result of COVID-19,” says

strong bonds with their customers.

Carstens. “There are a lot of opportun-

“Our value is defined by the relation-

istic threats at the moment.

ship with the client,” says Carstens.

The increasing attacks on businesses

“That relationship is born from an

means that identity and access man-

intelligent, engaged, highly collabora-

agement continues to be of paramount

tive process. It’s about helping them

significance, in the risk management

through their digital transformation

priorities of organisations.”

journey, through their challenges and

“The focus should be on provid-

providing the insight to assist clients

ing the right people, with the right

to reach their objectives.”

access, at the right time through the

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in innovative attack vectors

identification, authentication and app­ ropriate authorisation information

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

Ivo Van Bennekom Title: Director, Digital Identity Location: Arnhem-Nijmegen Region Ivo leads the PwC Digital Identity Impact Center for the EMEA region.

Ivo has over 15 years of experience within the digital technology space, with a specific focus on global identity market patterns and translating them to business objectives for clients. He is a strategic and tactical Subject Matter Expert on digital identity topics advising Client Senior management. Ivo works for a variety of sectors, with a main focus on Finance, Retail and high-tech firms. He is engagement leader of several global Cyber Security & Digital Identity programs. t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

149

PwC and Okta: delivering cloud identity solutions

Okta’s Paul Rooke, Managing Director - GSIs and Advisories, on the company’s provision of its cloud identity platform alongside PwC Okta is a cloud identity platform focussed on enabling organisations to use technology securely, as Paul Rooke, Managing Director - GSIs and Advisories, explains: “We promise to always protect the identities of our customers’ work force and their customers.

We have 14 offices around the world, 2,700 employees, approaching 9,000 customers and six and a half thousand integrations with other technologies.”

As companies look at their digital transformation programmes, they don’t want to get locked into legacy applications that take years to roll out, and they don’t want to be locked into identity solutions that are stuck onto those applications as an afterthought. We take away the headache of identity, allowing PWC to focus on the business requirements of their clients.”

The partnership has afforded Okta the ability to get a broad view of client requirements, as Rooke explains. “PwC are authoring not just identity strategy, but across digital transformation as a whole. With PwC at the forefront of a client relationship, they work very strongly with our own professional services team, our own customer success organisation, and our engineering teams, to really get deep into our technology and make sure that our technology fits the requirements of those large programmes and customers.”

Rooke identifies legacy migration as one of the keys powering the relationship into the future.

“We’re able to leverage Okta’s Access Gateway into legacy tools, whilst at the same time moving that organisation, as part of it’s transformation program, into the new world. That involves replacing on-premise apps with cloud apps, and at the same time, having Okta sitting on top of everything as a cloud technology that retains a gateway into legacy systems.” The company is further empowering users by putting its technology into the hands of developers. “Developers can actually build Okta into their own home-grown applications. That’s something that PwC can offer as a service to clients, guiding and helping them strategise around that.”

Rooke remains confident in the strength of the partnership and its ability to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges it has presented to clients. “The remote work piece has obviously developed at pace this year, and that’s something PwC and Okta can deliver solutions for. For example, a soft drinks organisation is now managing the relationship with suppliers and their distributors globally using Okta as the identity solution. That’s something we’ve only seen accelerate this year.” okta.com

PWC

1998

Year founded

9,400

Number of employees in Africa

27,600

Number of employees globally 152

DECEMBER 2020

security principles” Carstens adds.

“Identity and access management is not just about the technology, it also involves the organisation’s people, processes and governance on the service. This holistic approach will provide secured flexibility for your remote workforce to remain productive and ‘work from anywhere’.”

Defending against those threats requires capabilities across a range of arenas. “Digital identity can roughly be carved up into four different areas,” says Van Bennekom. “One is the work­force identity space, so access management, but also identity governance. Second, is privileged access management, for users such as database administrators that, basically with one press of a button, can wipe out a complete IT estate. Thirdly, we have customer identity, from B2B customers to consumer scenarios, or even governments and how they interface with their citizens. Lastly, we have artificial intelligence, RPA and the identity of things.”

With such a wide range of areas to be aware of, a holistic approach is necessary. “What’s most important t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

153

what tools, how are they using those tools, are they the right tools and governing the usage along your journey.

Imagine if Hilary and Norgay just tried to climb without

STEVE BRADFORD

Senior Vice President, EMEA SailPoint

knowing all the information about the route and having the 350 porters, 20 Sherpas and the tons of supplies to support the expedition.

COVID-19 has changed the business landscape, with

On May 29, 1953 two men shake hands around noon.

over 55% of companies now looking to invest in new

One a 33-year-old bee keeper, the other a 39-year-old

digital experiences and requirements to support their

Tibetan climber. At that moment Edmund Hilary and

business. Also over 54% recognise the need to improve

Tenzing Norgay transformed the climbing world and

their cybersecurity and resiliency in light of the changing

achieved the accolade of being the first people to climb

workplace, according to PwC CIO Pulse survey. But after

the world’s highest mountain—creating a path for those

stay-at-home restrictions and social distancing suddenly

who come after them. To say in passing that you’ve

forced more collaboration and commerce online, over

“climbed Mount Everest” always implies that you did

52% of companies now recognise that they need to invest

the impossible.

in new technology and AI enabled business models to support their transformation.

Why is this important in today’s world? Whether it is COVID-19, new competitors, expansion, operational

Unfortunately, legacy technology complexity in the

efficiencies, all organisations need to transform to a new

current security landscape and outmoded platforms

digital era and one of the only ways you can do this is

remain major obstacles to the pace and success of

mapping out the path as to who in your organisation has

digital transformation efforts. Many companies have

hundreds—if not thousands—of systems running their business, with their security approach being siloed.

Conventional IT approaches to these problems are not helping. Large programs, re-platforming, and complex replacements take many years, cost more than most companies can afford, pose risks, and are highly

•

Proactively detect and revoke inappropriate access

•

Enable stronger collaboration and effective governance

•

Automatically check access policy before granting

•

Unify and centralize access certifications across data

•

Model the future of a company’s access so they

unlikely to deliver on the promise. Accelerating digital transformation requires a new approach and with SailPoint Predictive Identity, organisations can build and adapt the route that supports their journey for their employees, partners, RPA’s and other stakeholders.

Studies have found that undergoing a digital transformation can improve an enterprise’s productivity, collaboration, and innovation among employees.

Additionally, it can improve prestige in the modern marketplace, streamline business processes, consolidate corporate assets, and improve the bottom line overall.

The growth of cloud adoption (86% of the SailPoint EMEA Virtual User Group has predicted growth in SaaS applications in the enterprise over the next 18 months) will mean the integration of your business processes across endpoint devices, operating systems, applications and resources. It enables access to endpoints outside the traditional enterprise structures and across disparate locations to corporate assets, all of which will form part of the digital transformation; with SailPoint Predictive Identity and PwC we can help your enterprise handle transitioning to the cloud through its centralization mechanisms, structured approach and by ensuring regulatory compliance through the platforms monitoring capabilities.

SailPoint’s Predictive Identity approach can help an organisation prepare for their transformation journey, as well as supporting it along the way and adapting when

and policy violations to strengthen security

across business, IT and audit/compliance teams

new access privileges

centre, cloud, and mobile systems

can assess the impact of a transformation on their application landscape

With SailPoint and PwC we are able to create an identityfocused digital transformation strategy that enable users – whether internal or external, human or nonperson – to streamline actions, duties, or processes on the journey. An identity enabled enterprise can scale to heights previously inaccessible as it ensures that you can climb to those heights responsibly and profitably. With identity governance as a key foundation for your digital transformation, it means that user permissions need to be tightly controlled more than ever. Your enterprise must be able to maintain security as well as ensure that business processes are smoothly managed and conducted.

Digital transformation enabled by identity is a key for every organisation as it attempts to ascend their Everest.

Tenzing later revealed in his autobiography, “Tiger of the Snows”, that Hillary had in fact preceded him, something they kept a secret for years. Because to a mountaineer, it’s not about who sets foot first, it’s about supporting each other through tough times and letting your partner shine.

With SailPoint and PwC supporting you, there will be no summit you cannot conquer in your security journey.

encountering hurdles or new paths.

With SailPoint Predictive Identity you can…

•

Map your current user estate and answer who has access to what, how did they get access and do they need access on an ongoing basis

•

Provide proof and irrevocable evidence of compliance to internal and external auditors

Visit us at www.sailpoint.com to learn how SailPoint can help transform your business with Identity.

PWC

PwC BriqBank helps with digital identity CLICK TO WATCH

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0:41

156 in terms of digital identity is that

“The vendors that we typically work

management should have a complete

with are on a journey together with us to

vision for their identity and access

actually decrease the technology debt

management program. Coupled with

that you need in order to fulfill a lot of

that vision should be capability in man-

those use cases,” adds Van Bennekom.

aging and governing identity, as well

“Cloud solutions, for instance, simplify a

as controlling and monitoring access,”

lot of the technical digital identity com-

Carstens says. “Capabilities have to

plexity while also reducing the cost of

run across different groups, including

operating such a system.” The effective

human and non-human users, who

utilisation of appropriate technologies

will be in contact with your organisation

will allow organisations to spend more

and the assets that you’re trying to

time on what really matters: managing

protect, from applications in the cloud,

business risks related to digitalisation.

to on-premise solutions, databases and

An accomplished cybersecurity

operating systems and the data that

strategy is a vital complement to digital

resides on these assets.”

transformation. “Digital transformation

DECEMBER 2020

“ M ANAGING IDENTITY IS VITAL, BUT IT’S ALSO A DAUNTING TASK FOR MANY ORGANISATIONS” — Duane Carstens, Director, Cybersecurity & Privacy, PwC

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

Duane Carstens Title: Director, Cybersecurity & Privacy Location: City of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa Duane is an Associate Director in the PwC cybersecurity and privacy practice, providing comprehensive cybersecurity solutions to assist businesses with assessing, building and managing their cybersecurity capabilities, and enabling effective management to a myriad of potential threats from strategy to execution.

Duane’s working experience spans over 15 years working with listed entities across various industry sectors, in numerous countries, and within multiple roles. He is engaged in the understanding of technology and trends, and being able to articulate and make comprehensive, pragmatic decisions for businesses and consumers.

Through Duane’s career, he has worked on security programs / ISMS development, vendor & client management, assessments, governance, risk & compliance, formalizing innovative business operating models, improving processes and optimizing controls, while achieving strategy and objectives.

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

157

PWC

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“ O UR VALUE IS DEFINED BY THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CLIENT” — Duane Carstens, Director, Cybersecurity & Privacy, PwC

can result in a company becoming a target for attackers because they know that there’s a lot of volatility within the organisation,” says Van Bennekom.

“We understand how to integrate cyber­security into those types of transformations, because technology continues to be the driver and it’s evident that security is an enabler of those digital journeys.”

DECEMBER 2020

159

PwC consequently ensures its cyber

processes and take the right approach

defence offering keeps up with the

to help organisations become smarter

pace and evolving trends. “We are

in terms of cybersecurity defense,”

already in the fourth wave of digital

says Van Bennekom.

transformation. Agility is becoming

While as a consulting and advisory

more important and, with that, the

house PwC remains technology and

required agility of cyber defence is

vendor agnostic, SailPoint, OKTA and

also increasing. We’re also bringing

CyberArk are some of the solutions

in consultants from other PwC com-

it employs to help clients achieve

petencies to understand business

their goals. “The technology vendors t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF INNOVATION Privileged Access Management for the New Digital Landscape.

Move fearlessly forward into the new digital landscape with CyberArk and secure access to the organization’s entire digital business, protecting all privileged credentials.

LEARN MORE

“ W E ARE ALREADY IN THE FOURTH WAVE OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION” — Ivo Van Bennekom, Director, Digital Identity, PwC

will continue to add the desired value to our client engagements.”

Going forward, the two are clear that PwC stands in good stead to assist not only its clients but society at large with transformation in access management, decreasing complexity and improving the utility of digital environments. “We’re focused on building

that we work with are a big part of

trust in society and solving important

helping clients to decrease their IT

problems while making sure that

complexity so that there’s more room

we are looking at this from a broader

to create business value,” says Van

perspective rather than just creating

Bennekom. “Typically, the vendors

locks,” says Van Bennekom. “You need

that we work with are capable of cover-

to understand what an organisation

ing a whole ecosystem of use cases

wants to achieve from a business

and different types of identities, all

perspective to understand how

from the cloud.”

cybersecurity can support that most

The companies with whom PwC

effectively. We’ll continue integrating

works with are therefore carefully

all those different competencies to

selected through a consultative

decrease the complexity and the risks

approach, based on product value

of our clients’ ecosystems.”

and market need. “Digital identity for us as a business is one of our growth priorities over the next few years,” says Carstens. “Together with the right partnerships, matching a solution to a client problem, and our robust methodologies supported by our global network of subject matter experts, we t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

161

Driving Digital Change for Energy and Technology 162

DECEMBER 2020

163

WRITTEN BY

DOMINIC ELLIS PRODUCED BY

MIKE SADR

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

BKW GROUP

Thomas Zinniker, Chief Information Officer at BKW Group, explains how business is thriving through synergies across energy, grid and services

T

homas Zinniker, BKW Group’s Chief Information Officer, pops up on Zoom against a striking Alpine backdrop and

for the next hour, speaks with refreshing clarity about the changing nature of energy and technology, and BKW’s pivotal position at the heart 164

of these changes.

Whether it’s urbanisation, climate change or digitalisation, BKW Group is a driver of change and comfortable embracing solutions, innovations and data, as befits its vision to create “infrastructure solutions for a future worth living”.

One of its core messages is decentralisation and maintaining flexibility amid volatility, across its three central business sectors – Energy, Grid and Services. Specifically, it has expertise in five key areas; Energy, Power Grid, Infra Services, Building Solutions and Engineering.

The numbers speak for themselves. In the half year to 2020, BKW’s revenues shot up 12 per cent to around CHF1.5 billion and operating profit rose 5 per cent to CHF219 million.

DECEMBER 2020

165

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BKW GROUP

“ We have grown dramatically over the last couple of years and we’ve taken the strategy to build up a network of companies rather than integrate them” — Thomas Zinniker, Chief Information Officer, BKW Group

166

Recently BKW announced its entrance into the gas market, primarily for two reasons; it has significant par-

“We have grown dramatically over

ticipation in power plants, enabling it to

the last couple of years and we’ve

buy gas more cheaply, and many of its

taken the strategy to build up a

business customers are demanding

network of companies rather than

turn-key solutions.

integrate them,” Zinniker says, “which

Fuelling Energy, Grid and Services

means we need technology to create

One key factor in the group’s ongo-

that network, to combine skills, for big-

ing success is its ability to diversify

ger projects and all the collaboration

and keep one eye on the bigger pic-

elements that are essential.”

ture – whether it’s entering the gas market and providing end customers with a comprehensive energy offering from a single-source supplier; opening

DECEMBER 2020

Diversity I Corporate Film I BKW CLICK TO WATCH

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2:11

167 up new distribution channels with

With half of energy consumption

electricity suppliers and installation

occurring within buildings, the group

partners; or growing its end-to-end

is striving to develop solutions to save

Home Energy system. Underpinning

energy and reduce CO2 emissions.

all these elements is the technology;

Zinniker believes technology is a

each day computers with “100 engi-

“key enabler” in the fight against cli-

neering years’ worth of performance”

mate change.

scan the entire BKW network.

From a ‘pure energy’ company, BKW

“With the increase in decentralised power production – be it wind or

has grown into a service company

solar – the grid has a completely dif-

across Europe, specifically Germany,

ferent meaning and capacity issues,”

Switzerland and Austria. In future,

he says. “Technology helps us get

Zinniker believes the energy sector

better insights into where the bottle-

has to come up with solutions in

necks are and also what we need to

a more smart way.

change to adapt to new consumption t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

DIGI AL makes it work.

The energy and infrastructure service provider BKW relies on SAP solutions as the basis for a successful digital transformation. As a digitalisation service provider, T-Systems in Switzerland supports companies end-to-end with the continuous development and operation of their SAP landscape. www.t-systems.ch

and production patterns, and to a

energy consumption dropped, but the

certain extent, steer the new ways

group has not been heavily impacted.

of consumption.”

In its company presentation, it states

In terms of engineering services,

Mühleberg nuclear power plant

BKW has been appointed as general

disassembly is ‘on course’ despite

planner for the overall build-up of the

the pandemic, while innovative, tech-

Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin – a pres-

oriented buildings include the Tic

tigious win for the group. Besides

Tric Trac solar-power cooling system

that, infrastructure services focuses

in Zurich and Lonza’s new laboratories

on the large transmission grids, com-

in Visp biopark.

munication networks, and drinking water supply.

On the business side, COVID-19 has impacted its services area and

“Due to our model to hedge prices and sell production in advance, we were in a good position when energy prices dropped due to lower consumption,”

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

Thomas Zinniker Title: Chief Information Officer

Industry: Utilities

Location: Switzerland Thomas Zinniker joined BKW in 2016. As a CIO he is responsible for further developing ICT services – supporting the transformation of BKW from a pure utilities company to an international Infrastructure Services Supplier.

Zinniker has a degree in Computer Science and Business Administration. Prior to BKW, Thomas worked in various global companies as a software engineer, consultant and CIO. t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

169

BKW GROUP

170

says Zinniker. “When it comes to work-

from home, that we give employees

ing from home, we were well prepared

stability and structure from a working

and ready from the first day of the

perspective,” adding that the group

pandemic. We have been building our

ranks among the top 10 recruiters

remote working platforms for many

in Switzerland.

years in the light of networking the

Industry 4.0 is a hot topic in the area

newly acquired companies, so when

of power generation and power grid as

the lockdown came, it was quite easy

it switches to a decentralised model.

for us to transition.”

“Electricity cannot easily be stored

But Zinniker acknowledges that in a

so you need insights into what’s going

world of volatility, there will be ongoing

on with the power grid,” says Zinniker.

challenges and technology is going

“We will now have more room to influ-

to be increasingly crucial. “It’s impor-

ence production and consumption.

tant, during this period of working

With the combination of technologies

DECEMBER 2020

“ We have been building our remote working platforms for many years so when the lockdown came, it was quite easy” — Thomas Zinniker, Chief Information Officer, BKW Group

Clean tech is another key area, though Zinniker wishes the debate wasn’t so “dogmatic” when assessing energy consumption benefits. The flexibility of a gas plant, for example, can be much better controlled and use less CO2 serving as a bridge to solar or other new technologies.

Last year, BKW became the first

and combining new ways of storing

publicly listed Swiss company to

energy, we are better equipped to

launch a green bond for trading on the

deal with these uncertainties. In other

Swiss stock exchange, with CHF200

areas, AI is enabling us to plan with

million allocated to fund sustainable

new piping, leakages and installations

projects throughout Europe.

and check everything fits by using Augmented Reality technologies.”

The cloud supports the group as a

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Strategic partnerships across markets

tool to gain flexibility – but it is just a

and sectors are vital for BKW Group,

tool, Zinniker stresses. “Digital trans-

he adds. They add the crucial flexibility

formation is not just automation – it’s

and resilience in our growth path and

the smart integration of people, pro-

let us focus on our core business. For

cesses and technology. You need to question everything, have the right culture and be allowed to make mistakes.”

He highlights Uber as a good example of a company which could have created an app that just bundled call centres but they completely re-thought the model from the consumers’ viewpoint. t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

171

Intelligent tech needs ingenious humans Explore how Extended Reality is changing the way people and companies work at accenture.com/xr

“ I like to see myself as the coach on the sidelines, there when they need help, rather than to interfere with the game itself” — Thomas Zinniker, Chief Information Officer, BKW Group

customers. “It is crucial to think out of the box, when developing new prod-

instance T-Systems is a strong partner

ucts for a changing market. Strategic

in the SAP area. We just outsourced

partner help us to bring in new ideas

the total SAP infrastructure to them.

an shed light on bling spots we all have.

“With their very strong position as a

Especially in areas, where we are

service provider to the energy market,

working since decades more or less

we are continuously exploring addi-

the same way”.

173

tional opportunities to further grow in to new areas.” As an operator for critical infrastructure in Switzerland we need to be resilient in case of major incidents in order to guarantee an up and running energy supply for our customers. With HPEs services for data storage and backup solutions we have implemented additional resilience. Our goal was to build a fallback scenario which has to work in case our own security measures are failing.

But not only in the infrastructure area, but also in the business part we rely on partners such as Accenture bringing in expertise and new ideas to develop new services for our

DI D Y O U K N O W?

• Production sites: 103 • Countries: 8 • Shareholders: Canton of Bern (52.54%), Others (37.50%) and Groupe E (10%) • Employees: 3,200 (Building Solutions), 2,900 (Engineering), 1,700 (Energy) and 700 (Power Grid) t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

BKW GROUP

174

“ Digital transformation is not just automation – it’s the smart integration of people, processes and technology” — Thomas Zinniker, Chief Information Officer, BKW Group

BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY “From a career perspective I was always in the area of bringing IT into business, and making technology benefit the business. I’ve worked as a consultant for many years, in large multinational companies.

But my philosophy has changed over the last couple of years. I’ve seen that the increased speed in

DECEMBER 2020

175

change can only be achieved through

help, rather than to interfere with the

self-organisation and self-sufficient

game itself. Always trust people – trust

employees. As a manager you can’t

is essential. Mistakes happen but be

always tell people what they have to

transparent and look for solutions.”

do. Provide people with guiding principles, give them a clear target – but let them find the way to that target themselves.

I like to see myself as the coach on the sidelines, there when they need t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

176

DECEMBER 2020

177

REIMAGINING THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE WRITTEN BY

WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY

BEN MALTBY t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

ENDAVA

CIO HELENA NIMMO DISCUSSES ENDAVA’S BLEND OF CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY, AND HOW THAT HAS SERVED IT WELL IN ITS RESPONSE TO COVID-19

H

elena Nimmo joined global software company Endava as CIO a year and half ago, having been in the technology industry

for 20 years. A native of Finland, she started her career at Finnish technology giant Nokia in the logistics division, before joining Symbian Software 178

and moving to London in 1999. “From there I worked at Fujitsu, then spent a good six or seven years in publishing through both Euromonitor and Thomson Reuters. Working in those different sectors has given me a breadth of understanding that I think has been truly beneficial as I’ve taken on more senior leadership roles.”

Endava has operations across the globe, including the Americas, Europe and Asia. Nimmo says the company occupies a specific niche in the industry.

“We’re in a sweet spot between your traditional IT providers, the SIs, the digital agencies, which are obviously much smaller and much more nimble, and also the business and technology consultancies.

We sit in amongst the nexus of all three of those, so we help businesses define, design, develop, run, and evolve their technology and their products.

DECEMBER 2020

179

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ENDAVA

“ CLOUD-FIRST SHOULDN’T BE INTERPRETED AS A PUBLIC CLOUD-ONLY APPROACH” — Helena Nimmo, CIO, Endava

180

As an organisation, Endava wants to

a pivot in cybersecurity as we moved

reimagine the interface between people

to home working.” With much of the

and technology and make the digital

estate being software-as-a-service

experience something really positive.”

solutions, that pivot has been made

Nimmo considers herself fortunate

easier, but it brings its own set of chal-

to have inherited an IT estate that

lenges around the digital experience.

was already fairly digital, which greatly

“The challenge is making sure that the

helped the organisation pivot to remote

data connections are there,” she says.

working within 48 hours globally due

“So you’ve got that flow of data between

to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

the various different systems. That will, for

“Making sure that we have got the right

instance, help you if you were to start

types of collaboration tools in place

a new role in an environment where

has been absolutely critical, as well as

you don’t actually get to meet your

DECEMBER 2020

EX EC UTIV E PROFILE:

Helena Nimmo Title: Chief Information Officer Company: Endava Industry: Information Technology & Services Location: London

colleagues, making onboarding much easier and much slicker.”

The company operates on a hybrid of private and public cloud, but Nimmo is clear that the cloud mustn’t be considered a fix-all. “Cloud-first shouldn’t be interpreted as a cloud-only approach.

There will always be certain systems and data in any organisation, depending on what your industry or unique selling point or critical dependency is, that you

Helena joined Endava in May 2019 and has global responsibility for Internal Tech across the Group. Helena has over 20 years of experience in change and organisational design through product development, data management and technology transformation. Prior to joining Endava, Helena has worked in multiple sectors and variety of organisations including Thomson Reuters, Cancer Research UK, Fujitsu and Symbian. She started her technology career with Nokia.

might want to keep on premise. So public cloud-first is an aspiration, but it’s not t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

181

Adv Simplicity

Visibility

Learn more cisco.com/go/securex

Efficiency

Achieve simplicity, visibility, and efficiency with Cisco SecureX Cisco SecureX is a cloud-native, built-in platform experience within our portfolio and connected to your infrastructure. It is integrated and open for simplicity, unified in one location for visibility, and maximizes operational efficiency to secure your network, endpoints, cloud, and applications. It radically reduces the dwell time and human-powered tasks to counter attacks and stay compliant

Paul Maravei @ Cisco

272 customers rated Cisco SecureX threat response as 4 out of 5 stars on average.

Source: TechValidate survey of 275 Cisco SecureX threat response users

ENDAVA

C OM P A N Y F A C T S

15.5%

Year on year growth

£95mn+ Revenue in GB pounds

184

DECEMBER 2020

“ OUR PRODUCTIVITY HAS NOT ONLY STAYED STABLE, BUT IT’S ACTUALLY IMPROVED” — Helena Nimmo, CIO, Endava

our blanket approach.” When it comes to making the most of data, “patience” is her watchword. “Data tends to be one of those really knotty problems that you start thinking about and end up putting in the too-hard-to-dealwith-today box. I think it takes a lot of patience to unpick data, because data is what makes technology relevant.

If the data isn’t right, the system is not going to matter.”

Enabling Endava’s transformation has involved a number of key technology partners. Microsoft’s Azure serves as the cloud provider for the Endava IT estate, with their relationship stretching back around 10 years and encompassing a number of Gold and Silver partnerships in various areas. “When working with Azure, we employ the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework, and the Azure Well-Architected Framework. We also t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

185

ENDAVA

have partnerships with Google and AWS. Our goal is always to create the most secure, high performing, resilient and efficient cloud infrastructures and applications for our users and for our customers.” says Nimmo.

The company also works with the likes of Datadog and Terraform, with Nimmo stressing that “taking the leap into next generation technology with all our partners is something that we pride ourselves on as a business.”

Another of her inheritances was a 186

culture of openness, creativity and trust, which Nimmo has sought to nurture and protect. “Technology and transformation, technology

“ WE PROVIDE OUR CUSTOMERS WITH DIGITAL SOLUTIONS, SO I HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TECHNOLOGY STACK REMAINS RELEVANT” — Helena Nimmo, CIO, Endava DECEMBER 2020

and change, clearly go hand in hand.

If you’re introducing new technology, you are changing the way people behave or interact with the system or the data. The way I look at technology and Endava is that we have a good, strong organisational culture and value system. I’m looking at how to use technology to preserve it, rather than change it.”

That strong culture has been especially important through the pandemic.

2000

Year founded

7,199 Number of employees

“If I look at my own leadership style,

remote working technology. “Working

it’s collaborative and open. I’ve always

from home, working in isolation suits

been of the view that you need to be

some better than others, so it’s impor-

able to challenge me. So I give my team

tant to be better listeners. If you think

members the space to do that if they

about remote collaboration before the

don’t agree with what I’m saying.

pandemic, if you dialled into a meeting

That does prompt a better level of

while others were physically present

conversation, better collaboration

in a meeting room, you were always

and much better results.” The pandemic

a bit of a hanger on. That’s definitely

has created the need for a higher level of

changed. Now, people are given the

sympathy and empathy, which has been

opportunity to talk and encouraged to

necessary to best take advantage of

voice their thoughts and opinions.” t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

ENDAVA

“ WE HELP BUSINESSES DEFINE, DESIGN, DEVELOP, RUN, AND EVOLVE THEIR TECHNOLOGY AND THEIR PRODUCTS” — Helena Nimmo, CIO, Endava

While she sees benefits stemming from the pandemic in terms of drawing people away from cities and leaving space for local innovation and startups, Nimmo emphasises that the downsides must also be recognised. “If I was just starting in my career, I would struggle to only work from home. You learn so much by observing others, collaborating and even stopping to have a drink after work. Those are really key paths to becoming a corporate citizen.”

Nevertheless, she reports that the

188

organisation recorded an improvement in productivity since the transition to fully working from home. “I think the key thing that we’re seeing right now is that home working is clearly possible at a scale that nobody believed it would be.

More and more organisations are coming out and saying that. We’ve already seen that our productivity has not only stayed stable, but actually improved, which is fantastic. That’s where we’re really reaping the rewards of remote working, by providing the flexibility to blend work and personal lives.”

While the pandemic has certainly had an upending effect, Nimmo believes that the traditional stresses on CIOs DECEMBER 2020

Endava Solutions: Digital. Agile. Automation.

CLICK TO WATCH

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2:32

189 are not going away. “Any IT leader will

reputation as a digital organisation.

tell you that we always face the pres-

“We provide our customers with digital

sure to be really creative, innovative

solutions, so I have to make sure that

and cutting edge, while at the same

our technology stack remains relevant.

time, not costing too much money.

Clearly one way of doing that is ensuring

As a business, we have a ‘pass it on’

that we have a seamless user experi-

culture and so I am often asked

ence, whether you’re working from

to share tips and insights. As we all

home or from the office.” That dove-

start to focus on their plans for 2021,

tails with her belief that “technology

I am conscious of the need to be

needs to be a platform for efficiencies,

focused on Digital Necessity over big,

not a platform for complexities.

old-fashioned and expensive transfor-

Because with efficiencies ultimately

mation projects.”

comes savings in cost and time.”

Nimmo is focused on ensuring the solutions in place live up to Endava’s t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

190

DECEMBER 2020

Technology Coping with Crisis WRITTEN BY

JOHN O’HANLON PRODUCED BY

KRISTOFER PALMER

191

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YMCA VICTORIA

167 year-old YMCA Victoria is surviving the existential threat of the pandemic thanks to tech solutions and leadership

T

oday YMCA Victoria is a not for profit organisation employing over 5,500 people and providing a wide variety of

services including camps, community recreation and sporting facilities, swimming lessons, as well as children’s programs such as before and after 192

school care, and early learning centres from more than 150 locations across the state of Victoria, Australia’s most populous.

Naturally the YMAC today has evolved as society has evolved, and welcomes all genders, races and religions, though its core commitment to supporting and empowering young people is as strong as ever. Safe to say its founder Sir George Williams couldn’t have predicted this transformation though he’d surely approve. And he’d be sad to learn that problems like social isolation, youth depression and suicide he set out to address then have only grown, or that a new pandemic would threaten the very continuation of not-for-profit organisations like his.

DECEMBER 2020

1853

Year founded

5,500 Number of employees

193

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YMCA VICTORIA

194 Williams founded the YMCA in response to the industrial revolution: today we are seeing the third industrial revolution, and the YMAC is embracing that challenge.

In January 2020 YMCA Victoria brought in Shane Riddle, an experienced ICT professional and CIO, as General Manager of Technology and Strategy to assess its needs and set the organisation up to optimise its services, simplify and strengthen its internal processes and governance, and make sure the YMCA had the technology and expertise to deliver on its mission.

DECEMBER 2020

“ I could never have predicted that my first nine months with theYMCA would see us faced with a pandemic that would see the majority of the business closed!”

— Shane Riddle, General Manager of Technology and Strategy, YMCA Victoria

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

Shane Riddle Title: General Manager of Technology and Strategy Company: YMCA Victoria Industry: Social enterprise Location: Greater Melbourne On his appointment as the YMCA Victoria’s General Manager of Technology & Strategy, Shane Riddle knew he faced a complex challenge to bring the benefits of digitisation to an organisation that had taken only rudimentary steps on that journey but he didn’t think he’d be a crisis leader. In the event he had only seven weeks of ‘normal’ activity before COVID-19 hit.

Everything changed almost overnight. “As a leader I’m not immune to my own doubts and fears on what was happening locally and around the world and where we were going with pandemic. The world was starting to look a very different place. The YMCA’s business model is not-for-profit: with the closure of centres and no revenue, we were facing the very real possibility that this 167 year old organisation was not going to survive.” As a leader and part of the executive team this was a real test of his leadership skills. As the technology leader, his contribution over the next few weeks was critical to the organisation’s survival.

At only seven weeks in at the YMCA, he had a very short time to build rapport with the executive team. “One of the best methods I use when I join any team or organisation, is to create trust, but this is not something that happens overnight. Thrown into the pandemic we were able to rally as an executive. Respect, transparency, collaborating and candour allowed us to work quickly and for me to start influencing the direction of actions we needed to undertake.” t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

195

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#YWeAreHere for Young People | YMCA Victoria CLICK TO WATCH

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0:50

197 Then came Covid-19. Government

5,500 staff, I am proud of what we’ve

restrictions meant that from March

been able to achieve and how we

most of the business (Y activities and

have utilised technology to innovate

services being mainly face-to-face)

through this tough period.”

from recreation centres to camps,

In early April, Australia’s Federal

pools and offices, had to close. The

Government, introduced the

impact was huge: more than 5,200

JobKeeper initiative to minimise job

staff had to be stood down. Shane

losses. “We knew this would be of

Riddle’s job started to look very differ-

great assistance for thousands of

ent: “I could never have predicted that

our staff,” says Riddle. “However it

my first nine months with theYMCA

took several weeks to pass JobKeeper

would see us faced with a pandemic

through parliament and into legisla-

that would see the majority of the busi-

tion.” The details of the process were

ness closed! But while it has been a

not clear, nor what the government

difficult time for the organisation and our

expected from employers to facilitate t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

YMCA VICTORIA

“ We had just over a week from concept to payroll processing to ensure our people could get the back payment before the end-of-April cutoff” — Shane Riddle, General Manager of Technology and Strategy, YMCA Victoria 198

DECEMBER 2020

the self-nomination process so staff could receive the payment. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) finally released a form, to be collected by the employer, outlining the staff member’s nomination. TheYMCA was responsible to hold these forms and advise the ATO of numbers.

Thousands of forms had to be processed, explained, collected, collated and processed into payroll.

The process needed to be robust to pass rigorous ATO audit, and flexible

PA R T N E R S H I P – N O PA N I C

Driven by Covid, with

two days to comply with the ATO’s

almost no time to do it, YMCA

deadline and get eligible staff onto the

Victoria was able to automate

pay cycle to ensure they get paid for

JobKeeper applications.

the month. “We had to ensure that we could get those forms out, get the peo-

Y Victoria had to apply for the JobKeeper support package announced by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) when it had to close more than 150 locations, including swimming pools, gyms, youth programs and camping sites, which had resulted in the standing down of some 5,200 staff.

Introduced by Microsoft, specialist in Power Platform implementation, Melbourne-based Barhead Solutions

ple to review and populate the form, and then send a signed form back,” he said. “Because within the regulations that the ATO had laid out, no one would be paid unless they had a signed form.” The solution also needed to meet good governance requirements in case any of the applications were queried by the ATO later. As well as being easy enough to be used by non-tech savvy users.

developed a solution by which the

Said Barhead founder John Orrock:

application form is pre-populated with

“Our expertise and experience with

an individual’s information required to

Microsoft’s Power Platform allowed us

apply for the support package.

to complete the solution and support

The timeline was more than aggressive: the Y’s GM of Technology and Strategy Shane Riddle reached out at 6pm on a Wednesday asking for a completed solution on Friday the same week! The development of the PowerApp had a turnaround time of

the Y’s team through end-user processing of 5,000+ records. It was a true rapid solution delivery with the appropriate controls.” He also paid tribute to the Y’s approach to teamwork – this was technology partnership at its most effective, agile and result-oriented.

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

199

enough to accommodate individual

we built a replica of the ATO form,

changing circumstances. And all this

we emailed our staff their unique

had to be done in short order. “We

encrypted URL to access their form

had just over a week from concept

as well as details outlining their indi-

to payroll processing to ensure our

vidual circumstances in relation to

people could get the back payment

JobKeeper: the link presented the

before the end-of-April cutoff. Using

ATO form pre-populated with their

a manual approach to this was just

information, allowing the staff to simply

not an option for the size of the task

validate and complete or update any

and organisation.”

incorrect or missing information and

Riddle explains his use of technol-

submit it.”

ogy tools. “Together with our software

On submission, a digital signature

partner Barhead, we used Microsoft

was created, and copies sent to the

PowerApps and 365 Dynamics to

staff member and stored in Dynamics.

achieve this: through PowerApps,

“By using this solution, we were able

DECEMBER 2019

“ Together with our software partner Barhead, we used Microsoft PowerApps and 365 Dynamics to achieve this: through PowerApps, we built a replica of the ATO form” — Shane Riddle, General Manager of Technology and Strategy, YMCA Victoria

staff to review and complete the form.

Microsoft Tech for Social Impact were great support to theYMCA during this rapid development and allowed us to

to automate our processes, reducing

deliver a great platform for our internal

human error, admin hours and associ-

support team.” The rapid turnaround

ated costs” he explains. “Dynamics

had real human impact across the

gave us a platform that our support

organisation by securing JobKeeper

teams could use and refer to as

payments forYMCA staff at a very

they addressed queries from staff:

stressful time, and their feedback bore

across the weekend we asked our

out their appreciation.

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

201

YMCA VICTORIA

The technology Shane Riddle put in place has wider benefits for the business, beyond navigating a crisis and ensure staff were able to receive the full government benefit package. It set the organisation on the route to automate its processes reducing human error, make its data more secure, traceable and auditable, and save costs. Within the business as a whole, the success of the exercise raised the profile of the technology team, and gained them a newfound appreciation.

202 “It highlighted the value technology can bring to all of us at the Y, and was a great example of moving towards a more digitally-savvy and agile culture, something many organisations are having to adapt to amidst the new reality of Covid-19.”

“ We were proud theYMCA introduced online bookings to once again be as facilities were gradually reopened, able to support our with the safety of staff and customers community with inas a priority. Online bookings, perhaps surprisingly, had not previously been person operations” In May as the lockdown was eased

attempted: it was clear, however, that a system would have to be put in place to help restrict numbers and manage compliance with government DECEMBER 2020

— Shane Riddle, General Manager of Technology and Strategy, YMCA Victoria

access to the facility in a fair and equitable way.”

This simple strategy resulted in a real boost for the organisation. Since May, more than 200,000 online bookings have been made at the Y’s aquatic and health and wellness centres. “We were proud to once again be able to support our community with in-person operations, and be able to provide opportunities for many of our staff to return to work. It also took some financial pressure off the organisation, with increased income,” says Shane Riddle as he prepares to meet the further challenges the pandemic will undoubtedly throw up. Meanwhile, the experience has provided a great example of how technology can sustain a vital social enterprise like theYMCA and stimulate guidelines. “As centres reopened,

better service, using digital tools.

customers were able to book via their centre’s website, we created a very simple process for the customers to follow the prompts to book the date and time and make payment. The booking system allowed us to control the headcount at our sites as part of the government restrictions while also ensuring that everybody had the same t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

203

204

DECEMBER 2020

DIGITALISATION OF THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

205 WRITTEN BY

GEORGIA WILSON PRODUCED BY

BEN MALTBY

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

EVONIK INDUSTRIES

Henrik Hahn, CDO Evonik Industries and Chairman of the Management Board of Evonik Digital GmbH, on the importance of technology in the chemical industry, the impact of COVID-19 and digitalisation

206

A

fter graduating with an engineering doctorate in the field of fluid dynamics and Rheology, Henrik Hahn, Chief Digital

Officer of Evonik Industries and Chairman of the Management Board of Evonik Digital GmbH, began his career at Evonik Industries more than 20 years ago, in the process technology and engineering department. Afterwards, he moved to chemical research and development, headed a corporate start-up, later joining the corporate strategy department before taking his current role.

When it comes to establishing a digital innovation strategy, Hahn says that Evonik Industries first approach to establishing a strategy is to establish how the strategic business unit and functional departments can benefit from the use of digital technologies and take advantage of a data centric approach. “Innovation is not fulfilling any self purpose. We are trying to make it a part DECEMBER 2020

207

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

EVONIK INDUSTRIES

BRINGING IN NEW TECHNOLOGY MEANS CHANGE, THEREFORE YOU COULD ARGUE THAT DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS NOTHING MORE THAN A BIG CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 208

of the strategy for a specific strategic model, putting people at the heart of this realisation. While I believe it is unlikely that the chemical industry will see a real disruptive transformational change, it will be lifted into the digital age. So we are looking to see how new technologies and data centric approaches can support our overall strategy and drive efficiency.”

However, Hahn emphasises that “bringing in new technology means change. Therefore, you could argue that digital transformation is nothing more than a big change management program. As a result, everything starts

— Henrik Hahn, CDO Evonik Industries and Chairman of the Management Board of Evonik Digital GmbH

with being aware that we are about to change not only internal processes but processes relating to external operations.” Breaking down digital transformation into four elements: create, communicate, deliver and exchange offerings, Hahn explains that along this journey, each element must be informative and inspirational for people as well as understandable as to why the transformation is taking place. “The people dimension is key. It’s not just about technology, it’s much more about people, trust and

DECEMBER 2020

We are Evonik - Leading Beyond Chemistry | Evonik CLICK TO WATCH

|

0:34

209 explaining why we believe that digital

where other industries have been

transformation is something that will

lost.” Hahn further comments that in

occur in our industry. Without people

today’s digital era, “representatives

even the best technology will never

of our industry have broadened the

materialise if people do not under-

technology discussion from a produc-

stand the benefits.”

tion or R&D standpoint, to harnessing

In the chemical B2B space, Hahn

technology in the administrative

reflects on the industry’s technology-

space relating to the digitalisation

centred approach. “With engineering,

of corporate finance and human

technology and sustainability at the

resources, taking advantage of artifi-

heart of most industries, being an

cial intelligence (AI), robotic process

early adopter - particularly when it

automation (RPA) and blockchain.

comes to production and technol-

With every aspect of our business

ogy - has ensured that the chemical

being affected by technology, we

industry has sustained its place,

need to ensure that we have the t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

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foundations in the form of data to enable this technology.”

When it comes to digital transformation at Evonik Industries, Hahn details that “looking into the production space, everything is centred around smart operations and interconnectedness.

As a result, network and IoT solutions can be utilised to improve the flow of information and improve access to insights within the production plants by taking advantage of sensor technol-

BEING AN EARLY ADOPTER - PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY - HAS ENSURED THAT THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY HAS SUSTAINED ITS PLACE, WHERE OTHER INDUSTRIES HAVE BEEN LOST

ogy and data exchange. From a supply 211

chain perspective, machine learning models increase the efficiency of the entire supply chain network. Then, from a marketing and sales perspective, ecommerce is becoming increasingly important in the B2B space and chemical industry, not only to benefit from transactional efficiency gains, but

— Henrik Hahn, CDO Evonik Industries and Chairman of the Management Board of Evonik Digital GmbH

also the ability to operate and engage almost 24/7 with potential and existing customers.” Another key aspect for Evonik Industries, that has only increased with the impact of COVID19, is the ability to enable remote interaction. “Not only in the current pandemic situation it is advantageous to utilise immersive technologies like t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

EVONIK INDUSTRIES

Collaboration Between Evonik & Alibaba CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:09

212

augmented and virtual reality to con-

where do trends come from and where

duct interactions with our customers

are they being driven forth? Which led

remotely providing expertise on prod-

me to Alibaba and IBM, for example.

ucts and applications.”

Partnerships in my view are really

In order to drive the company’s

essential in order to develop innovative

digital transformation, Hahn explains

business model components, driving

that as part of his role as CDO, he is

collaboration and learning from others.”

tasked with looking into opportunities

Expanding on the impact of

for partnerships within the industry and

COVID-19, Hahn reflects that “in

cross industries. “We have a couple

comparison to other sectors the

of partnerships with large technology

chemical industry is doing relatively

companies as well as smaller compa-

well. I believe that the reason for this

nies and startups. When we started our

is that the industry is still generating

transformation journey, I asked myself:

output. At Evonik Industries we are

DECEMBER 2020

taking it very seriously to comply with

where a company finds itself isolated.”

social distancing while maintaining

Post COVID-19, Hahn explains that

our production. A particular challenge

“it’s of course very hard to tell what

that I have seen within the industry

the future will look like, but I think the

is isolated supply chains. At Evonik

chemical industry itself is robust and

Industries – probably as well as in

we will more or less manage to get

other companies – we need to ensure

through 2020 without too much trou-

that we mitigate the risk of having an

ble, as our world relies on the chemical

isolated supply chain. When it comes

industry. Without chemistry the world

to international supply chains, it is very

would be dull, dark, and simply dis-

important not to undergo a situation

astrous. We would have no iPhones,

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

213

Henrik Hahn Title: CDO

Company: Evonik Industries

Industry: Chemicals

Location: Germany

Henrik Hahn (52) is Chief Digital Officer at Evonik Industries and Chairman of the Management Board of Evonik Digital. Hahn studied Process Engineering and within his Doctorate research in the field of fluid dynamics and rheology he developed a framework for turbulence phenomena using data analytics and modelling techniques. He also obtained a degree in Business Administration and Industrial Engineering and is experienced in information economics and game theory. He has previously worked in various management positions in the area of innovation and technology including the responsibility for a Corporate hightech startup and joined Evonik in 1999. t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

EVONIK INDUSTRIES

214

DECEMBER 2020

INNOVATION IS NOT FULFILLING ANY SELF PURPOSE. WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE IT A PART OF THE STRATEGY FOR A SPECIFIC STRATEGIC MODEL, PUTTING PEOPLE AT THE HEART OF THIS REALISATION 215

— Henrik Hahn, CDO Evonik Industries and Chairman of the Management Board of Evonik Digital GmbH

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

EVONIK INDUSTRIES

AT EVONIK INDUSTRIES WE ARE TAKING IT VERY SERIOUSLY TO COMPLY WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING WHILE MAINTAINING OUR PRODUCTION

216

— Henrik Hahn, CDO Evonik Industries and Chairman of the Management Board of Evonik Digital GmbH

DECEMBER 2020

2007

Year founded

€13.1bn+ Revenue in Euros

32,000 Number of employees

no LED lighting, no almost anything.

Almost everything in our world is centered around chemistry, from the food we eat to health care to mobility.

The chemical industry, in other words, acts as the industry of the industries.

Therefore I’m really optimistic that even if we face challenges we will have a bright future and act as an innovation engine, to enable new or better product solutions.”

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

217

Driving Healthcare Innovation Through Data and Analytics WRITTEN BY

LEILA HAWKINS PRODUCED BY

THOMAS LIVERMORE

218

DECEMBER 2020

219

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

COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK

Community Health Network (CHNw) provides convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, driving innovation through data and analytics

C

ommunity Health Network, headquartered in Indianapolis, can truly call itself a leader in healthcare services. Their Chief

Analytics Officer, Patrick McGill, MD tells us they 220

have one of the highest physician engagement scores in the region, and their patient satisfaction scores also rank amongst the top.

Another key aspect that sets them apart from other healthcare providers is their strategic focus on data analytics. Whereas many healthcare organisations are lagging in this area, McGill says they believe this is the pathway to future success.

McGill first came to work here as a family doctor around 10 years ago. When the organisation installed Epic as their electronic medical record (EMR), he was asked to work on some of its optimization. This led to a series of roles including Medical Director of Physician Informatics, leading training and strategic initiatives around Epic; Senior VP for Clinical Strategy, and two years ago he stepped into the position of Chief Analytics Officer.

DECEMBER 2020

221

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

COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK

222

“One of the decisions the Board of Directors made when they created the role of Chief Analytics Officer was that it had to be a physician,” says

costs. But, as with any big change, it’s not an easy process.

Community took the approach of transforming just two areas initially.

McGill. “When you try and make data

“One is the patient-facing area

analytics a strategic asset, having a

to allow patients to have the same

physician lead the analytics and infor-

experience with healthcare as if

mation technology departments really

they were shopping or paying bills

puts a different focus on these areas.”

online,” McGill explains. “We focused

With his background as a physician,

on things like receiving appointment

McGill understands the need to drive

reminders, scheduling appointments

the digital transformation of the busi-

online and communications between

ness as a way of ultimately improving

providers and patients. Secondly,

patient outcomes while reducing

we focused on operational areas

DECEMBER 2020

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

Patrick McGill, MD Title: EVP, Chief Analytics Officer

Industry: Healthcare

Company: Community Health Network

Location: Indiana

Dr. Patrick McGill serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Analytics Officer for Community Health Network. In addition to serving on the Network Executive Leadership Team, he leads the Office of Network Analytics, Information Technology, Business Process Management and Clinical Informatics. Most recently, he served as the Senior Vice President for Clinical Strategy, overseeing programs to reduce clinical variation, strategies for growth and the transition towards value-based care. Prior, he served as the Vice President of Clinical Transformation. Additionally, Dr. McGill has special interests in clinical data and analytics, patient safety, population health, office workflow efficiency and waste reduction. Dr. McGill is a certified Green belt in Lean/Six Sigma. Born and raised outside of Atlanta, GA, Dr. McGill attended the University of Georgia in Athens, GA graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA and completed his Family Medicine residency at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, IN. Prior to joining Community Physician Network in 2010, he practiced Family Medicine in Pendleton, IN. He is board certified in Family Medicine and continues to see patients at South Indy Family Practice.

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

223

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Healthcare is complicated.

Our mission isn’t.

Visit covermymeds.com to see how technology can improve medication access.

“ Our brand promise is exceptional care, simply delivered, and one of our values is patients first” — Patrick McGill, EVP, Chief Analytics Officer

years. A good example is the da Vinci Surgical System, a robot-assisted system that helps surgeons perform delicate procedures.

“They’ve been very successful,” says McGill. “They have been found to reduce surgery time, improve outcomes, shorten the length of a hospital stay after surgery, and patients recover faster.”

McGill explains that there is still a

that don’t directly impact patient

degree of suspicion of AI in health-

care which we could align our busi-

care. “A lot of the time I feel that AI

ness processes. Things like billing,

is slow to be adopted in the care of

IT operations, and, moving forward, some HR functions like the onboarding of new employees, which we can streamline and automate.

“If we can show people that we’re moving forward as a digital enterprise, it’ll drive the organization forward and achieve the goals that we want, but still preserve that doctor-patient and provider-patient relationship that’s so sacred. We don’t want to disrupt that relationship – we want to enhance it.”

The organization has been deploying state-of-the-art technology to assist the workforce for a number of t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

225

COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK

“ We’re building the analytic platform to understand the patient journey and the clinical journey” — Patrick McGill, EVP, Chief Analytics Officer

patients because physicians, nurses and pharmacists really want to understand what’s in the black box of AI,” he says. “If they don’t understand it and they can’t explain it, then they don’t want to adopt it.

“While easing into the realm of digitalization, we’ve tried to leverage AI tools to help augment their knowledge, so servicing algorithms where patients might be at a higher risk of a fall, to alert the clinician to take some extra precautions with this patient, or

226

in areas where the patient might be

DECEMBER 2020

CHNw Safety Message CLICK TO WATCH

|

0:50

227 faster to deteriorate, to alert the clini-

receive test results or to pay their

cian that they’re at risk of becoming

bills, it’s about achieving a true con-

sicker. It’s about using AI to augment

sumer-driven experience.

their decision-making versus telling

“Leveraging things like Mychart

them what they need to do. We’ve had

within Epic as a communications

some success leveraging predictive

platform, and our partnership with

models and AI in that fashion, versus

CipherHealth that helps us provide

being more prescriptive.”

text-based outreach or post-dis-

In terms of how analytics and AI

charge follow ups when patients leave

can benefit patients, McGill explains

hospital, these types of partnerships

that they provide ease of use and

are key in creating this kind of patient-

convenience. “We’re trying to drive

centric, frictionless experience.”

a patient-centric frictionless experi-

As well as Epic and CipherHealth,

ence, whether that’s to schedule

CHNw has several other important

appointments or consultations, to

strategic partners. Health Catalyst t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

has been a key clinical partner for six

prescribing process, and automates

years, helping to drive them towards

insurance authorization within the EMR

being a data-led organization, while

workflow. CHNw has piloted and will

guiding them on an improvement

be launching CoverMyMed’s Real-time

methodology, reducing unnecessary

Benefit solution across the enterprise.

clinical variation and improving patient

This tool allows providers to see patient

safety. By using the Health Catalyst

cost at the point of prescribing.

DOS operating system enterprise data

They are also partners with phar-

warehouse, CHNw has made tremen-

maceutical company Eli Lilly, who

dous gains in operational and clinical

they work with on patient educa-

efficiency. Over the last three years,

tion specifically for diabetes, and

they have removed more than than

Stanson Health (part of Premier,

$35mn of waste from the system.

Inc), who have provided a tool that’s

Additionally, software created

by CoverMyMeds improves the DECEMBER 2019

embedded into the EMR that ensures appropriate care is given.

“ A lot of the time I feel that AI is slow to be adopted in the care of patients because physicians, nurses and pharmacists really want to understand what’s in the black box of AI” — Patrick McGill, EVP, Chief Analytics Officer

“It delivers curated content and rules into the EMR silently, searches through the algorithms, and can actually look through the patient chart, searching their history, medications, problem lists and past visits,” explains McGill. “It can make recommendations, for example, if a patient comes in with acute back pain, and the recommendation is don’t have an MRI, when I try to order an MRI it will give me an alert to maybe refer them to physical therapy instead. Better quality outcomes with lower costs.”

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229

COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK

1956

Year founded

$2.5bn+ Revenue in US dollars

15,000 230

Number of employees

DECEMBER 2020

231

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

COMMUNITY HEALTH NETWORK

He says a particular area of success with this tool has been with reducing unnecessary lab testing.

“We really strive for partners to help solve some of our problems” he says.

In terms of looking ahead, McGill explains that they’ve paused looking at their five-year strategy given the disruption and pace of change caused by Covid-19, and instead look at their more immediate future.

“I see us continuing to accelerate. Along with our partners, we’ve 232

built the foundation for a true digital transformation,” says McGill. “We’re building the analytics to understand

“ We’re trying to drive a patient-centric frictionless experience, whether that’s to schedule appointments, to receive test results or to pay their bills, it’s about achieving a true consumer-driven experience” — Patrick McGill, EVP, Chief Analytics Officer

DECEMBER 2020

233

the patient journey and the caregiver

reliable housing, continuing to focus

journey, so we will have the ability to

on those things, and leveraging digital

understand that and strive for a fric-

tools as much as we possibly can to

tionless experience.”

achieve those goals and outcomes.

“I’m not sure you ever get to where

“Our brand promise is Exceptional

you want to be because there’s

Care, Simply Delivered, and one of our

always continuous process improve-

values is Patients First,” McGill adds.

ment. But I do think that our goal is to

“When you put those two together,

continue to focus on the patient and

along with the culture at Community,

on our caregivers, on equity, whether

that’s what drives people to come to

that’s race and social equity, health

work here every day.”

equity, outcomes, social determinants of health like food insecurity and t e c hno l o gyma ga z in e. com

Between hope and possible there’s a bridge.

There from the beginning to where we stand today. And to where we will go from here. One company. One promise.

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