Thinking(s)
We think (perhaps too much) about Organisations, the Functions they perform, the Information needed to execute those functions, and the Technologies used to implement them. We capture some of our thoughts in writing to share them, please choose a particular category from the menu above.
Fintech Leader
- Details
- Created on 08 September 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
Tucked away in sleepy Castletown is probably not the first place you would look for a global FinTech (Finance Technology) leader, but nevertheless in quiet upmarket offices on the edge of Parliament Square you’ll find one.
Virtual Systems is a spin-out from EIP, a consultancy and managed service provider to the mobile phone insurance industry, set up by ex-Carphone Warehouse executives. Phone insurance is a lucrative business, and through having the captive insurer for Carphone Warehouse on the island the Isle of Man has developed world-class expertise in this niche. EIP staff travel the world helping mobile operators and insurers to set up phone insurance schemes, devise products, market them, and establish claims processes and all the logistics of replacing or repairing lost, stolen or broken phones.
Is IT Strategic?
- Details
- Created on 11 August 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
I am on record as saying that there should be no such thing as IT Strategy. It might be seen as an odd position for an IT leader to take, especially as many IT leaders are expected to provide their organisations’ IT Strategies, but it is in the context that IT provision should only be determined by Business Strategy. Some IT leaders formulate IT rules that dictate “We will use XXXX brand servers and PCs, we will use Microsoft SQL Server databases and Microsoft .Net development tools” etc., and believe they are dictating the IT Strategies for their organisations. Any IT diktat which locks the organisation into using System X or excludes the possibility of System Y may help the IT department be more efficient and reduce the cost of IT to the organisation, but obviously reduces IT’s flexibility to accommodate business needs. There is no “one size fits all” in IT, and anything which restricts the flexibility of IT to serve the organisation is to be deprecated. Having an IT Strategy risks binding the IT department to a technology direction which is not in harmony with the business direction or strategy - especially in dynamic organisations which may change direction quickly in order to respond to market needs and opportunities.
The Digital Estate
- Details
- Created on 27 July 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
So, what happens when I die? What happens when you die? Apart from standing in front of the Pearly Gates trying to explain to St. Peter why he shouldn’t shove us back in the elevator and push the button for the basement?
Are Small Countries Braver?
- Details
- Created on 13 July 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
I, like many come-overs from the UK, used to despair at the UK Government’s repeated waste of money on IT; the number of big IT project failures costing hundreds of millions, or even billions, of pounds is legion. Actually I still despair because my connections with UK IT are still strong, but at least it’s not my tax money that’s being wasted anymore. Almost all of these huge failures have been projects which have been commissioned from big name global IT suppliers to develop custom systems for the UK government. Massive budget overruns are common, and in many cases the software proves to be incapable of performing the job for which it was purchased. One can blame the competence of the people working in the UK Government - and sometimes I do - but one cannot accuse them of using risky unknown suppliers. However one looks at the problem, the way the UK Government procures big computer systems is broken.
The Future of Broadband
- Details
- Created on 14 June 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
Is it just me who gets frustrated with Broadband? Rhetorical question, of course not. I know businesses on the island where the staff go home to upload their multimedia work for clients because the broadband connection at work is just rubbish, but they’re not big or rich enough to pay for leased lines / dedicated fibre. In many cases 4G is better than broadband if you want to upload or download a large amount of data.
Brex-IT, So What?
- Details
- Created on 27 June 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
Last December I attended a meeting of the European CIO Association (EuroCIO) in Berlin, to negotiate the entry of BCS ELITE, the Computing Leadership Forum which represents around 3,000 of the UK’s IT leaders, as the UK’s national body into EuroCIO. Earlier this year we concluded those negotiations and I had the privilege of leading UK corporate IT interests into Europe.
Manx Elastic Computing
- Details
- Created on 02 June 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
We’re fortunate on the Isle of Man to have several very good data centres, and several offer “Cloud Computing”. Cloud Computing is a very broadly interpreted buzzword; an acquaintance collated thirty-seven different definitions from “Cloud” suppliers whilst he was Her Majesty’s Chief Information Officer responsible for all the UK Government’s computing, but a common thread is Elasticity - to properly meet the general understanding of Cloud Computing a service provider must allow the customer to rapidly (on demand) scale up and scale down the capacity (and cost) of their cloud systems. A true cloud service is Elastic, not just a fixed size of contract to buy hosting in a datacentre.
How to get a career in IT
- Details
- Created on 19 May 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
In a previous article I lamented the apparent conundrum of IT employment - lots of employers claim they can’t get the IT staff they need, whilst 30% of computing graduates don’t wind up in IT jobs and nearly half the potential IT workforce, women, have opted out. In that article I referred to the Shadbolt Report studying these issues, to be published later this year.
Panama’s Dodgy Manx Data
- Details
- Created on 12 May 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
Do you know how many customers you have? For many businesses the answer will be no, because they trade through intermediaries, or no, because customers may have multiple accounts, or no, because it’s a cash business.
NOC, NOC, Who’s There?
- Details
- Created on 03 May 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
I’m actually quite excited about this article, because the company concerned is doing something close to my heart. In previous articles I have commented that the Sony hack, the Mossack Fonseca hack, and many other significant data thefts could have easily been prevented with proper network monitoring. Sadly this requires expertise which seems to be beyond the skills of most IT departments, but now you can buy Network Monitoring As A Service - and at a modest price from a new Isle of Man business.
All Change!
- Details
- Created on 17 April 2016
- Written by Steve Burrows
A few months back I wrote to the effect that I wasn’t seeing much “new” technology emerging, the current trend is more about exploiting the technologies we already have. That remains true however the world of corporate IT is undergoing a period of immense change. Corporate IT in the future - within five years, will look very different to the common implementation of IT over the past thirty years.
Thinking(s)