May 21 2019 Transform 2019, Connecting Up conference in Melbourne

I attended the Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Masterclass on 8th May with Sandra Vallance, Acting CEO of Connecting Up and Marcus Harvey, IT Services and Consulting Manager at Infoxchange. It looked at the components of an IT strategy with a focus on understanding organisations’ business strategies and the level of IT sophistication that these strategies require. Sandra had an 80 slide presentation that was an IT Technology Template that could be used for analysing the elements of an organisation’s existing IT infrastructures starting with the use of Heat Maps to show the existing IT technology – i.e. what was working and what needed upgrading. The template showed some existing business processes undertaken by a NFP and the IT infrastructure to support different applications. Part 4 of the session covered trends in IT technology: increased migration to and use of the cloud to host applications which gives the benefit of continuous updates; increased reliance on individualised funding sources for NDIS, aged care and mental health (possibly); explosion of systems to support the NDIS market; users expect to have a good digital experience that is easy to navigate; growth in NFP’s creating their own apps versus buying the app e.g. Ask Izzy to help the homeless find services. Sandra stressed that the Board of the organisation is key to any change in IT infrastructure as risk management issues are involved e.g. MDM – mobile device management. Government needs to use AI to analyse the data to find gaps in service delivery. Gartner refers to a new type of IT person called a “versatilist” with data science skills who can adapt to a variety of roles. The future includes the internet of things, more video conferencing, use of VOIP, chat and collaboration, remote and virtual work and coworking spaces, increased online learning, telehealth, attestation,  self monitoring and tracking devices for worker and in the home safety.!

The lecture by Melissa Kaplan, Digital Adviser at Microsoft’s Technology for Social Impact, entitled “Digital Transformation – A NFP Explainer” was also very interesting. We are now in the 4th Industrial Revolution which entails a total change in our relationship with technology. “Machines learn us” – humans used to have to cater to the technology , now the technology has to cater to us. With human centred design we use discoverability + feedback to create an iterative process. Inclusive design principles means solving for 1 and extending to many. Agile development is the key, as everything is hosted in the cloud – organisations need a growth mindset not a fixed mindset. Digital transformation isn’t a technology revolution – digital transformation is an organisational revolution, enabled by technology.