Towards the end of a lazy weekend, I was TV channel-hopping when I happened on a programme about Madonna – and she is 50. I checked the Internet, and so is the Barbie Doll! So, my Quiz Team was robbed on Byte Night, and I didn’t let them down as I was led to believe. There’s no justice in this world!
I see that the Government is halting flexitime reforms in response to the economic crisis, which is a pity. I can understand that the administration of such changes could represent a significant additional load, especially on hard-pressed small businesses but, in the longer term, I’m convinced flexible working arrangements will support greater efficiency.
I was interviewed, at the DCSF offices in Great Smith Street, as part of an OGC Gateway Review of the Employee Authentication Services project. This contributed to Gate 1 & 2 reviews. There were 3 reviewers (all from outside the DCSF). Once I got to the meeting (I was late being directed to it as the person I was told to ask for was on leave, and no-one had told the Reception staff I was expected) I enjoyed the discussion, which was my first experience of the OGC Gateway process – and it gave me the opportunity to expound my views about pan-Government security vision and a single Government Security infrastructure!
Since the conference, ‘though, I feel like I’ve entered one of those phases in life when one is running just to stay still – on top of which I’ve another 171 Competition entries to judge in the next week. Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to take the weekend off!
Monday, 20 October 2008
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Organising for our Customers' Convenience
I spent Thursday catching-up with correspondence and all day Friday in Newham at an Employment Appeal Panel.
The latest copy of Local Government IT in Use magazine included Helen Olsen’s article, “Get it Right First Time”, which followed a survey of Councils who do not send “bounce” messages in response to misaddressed e-mails. This was prompted when Helen was frustrated when e-mails to my PA went unanswered because she got the address slightly wrong.
“This made us here at LGITU start wondering if this was ‘normal’ operations for a local authority email system. And if so, what effect could that have on citizen service – most pertinently, in relation to National Indicator 14, ‘reducing avoidable contact’.”
Helen therefore surveyed all Local Authorities, sending slightly misaddressed e-mails, to see how they responded. Sixty-four, like Newham’s, were not responded to. Newham has now changed its policy and sends bounce messages when misaddressed e-mails cannot be delivered, but the reason that it, and other Councils, previously did not is that nearly all such e-mails received are spam with randomly generated addresses. Responding to these e-mails validates the addresses and lets the Spammers know that they’ve found valid targets.
The exercise convinced Newham that it should change its policy – organising for the benefit of its customers, rather than for administrative convenience, but that got me thinking about other ways in which we can make life difficult for customers. Among my pet hates are the frequent failures, in our industry, to organise services for access online rather than by “traditional” means. Magazines, such as "Local Government IT in Use", typify this when they are produced as A4 landscape editions with print columns that mean you have to scroll up and down the page to read them. I, and I’m sure many others, generally print them to read – but that’s something we should clearly be avoiding in the names of efficiency and greenness. I asked Helen about this, and part of the answer was that people say it’s not something they want. (I do, please.) Part of the answer was to do with the extra cost that would be involved.
And there’s the rub; very often service providers are faced with decisions about convenience versus cost – in local government terms, higher Council Taxes or better services? Newham analysed the e-mails it received in one week. The results are below. (I don’t know what happened to Friday and Saturday. Presumably, the analysis was done on working days for the previous days.)
The first column in the table contains the total numbers of e-mail received. The second column contains those that are not immediately identified as Spam. The third is those that have invalid addresses, and the final column is the estimated number of those, following manual examination, that have invalid addresses, but are not deliberate spam.
The latest copy of Local Government IT in Use magazine included Helen Olsen’s article, “Get it Right First Time”, which followed a survey of Councils who do not send “bounce” messages in response to misaddressed e-mails. This was prompted when Helen was frustrated when e-mails to my PA went unanswered because she got the address slightly wrong.
“This made us here at LGITU start wondering if this was ‘normal’ operations for a local authority email system. And if so, what effect could that have on citizen service – most pertinently, in relation to National Indicator 14, ‘reducing avoidable contact’.”
Helen therefore surveyed all Local Authorities, sending slightly misaddressed e-mails, to see how they responded. Sixty-four, like Newham’s, were not responded to. Newham has now changed its policy and sends bounce messages when misaddressed e-mails cannot be delivered, but the reason that it, and other Councils, previously did not is that nearly all such e-mails received are spam with randomly generated addresses. Responding to these e-mails validates the addresses and lets the Spammers know that they’ve found valid targets.
The exercise convinced Newham that it should change its policy – organising for the benefit of its customers, rather than for administrative convenience, but that got me thinking about other ways in which we can make life difficult for customers. Among my pet hates are the frequent failures, in our industry, to organise services for access online rather than by “traditional” means. Magazines, such as "Local Government IT in Use", typify this when they are produced as A4 landscape editions with print columns that mean you have to scroll up and down the page to read them. I, and I’m sure many others, generally print them to read – but that’s something we should clearly be avoiding in the names of efficiency and greenness. I asked Helen about this, and part of the answer was that people say it’s not something they want. (I do, please.) Part of the answer was to do with the extra cost that would be involved.
And there’s the rub; very often service providers are faced with decisions about convenience versus cost – in local government terms, higher Council Taxes or better services? Newham analysed the e-mails it received in one week. The results are below. (I don’t know what happened to Friday and Saturday. Presumably, the analysis was done on working days for the previous days.)
The first column in the table contains the total numbers of e-mail received. The second column contains those that are not immediately identified as Spam. The third is those that have invalid addresses, and the final column is the estimated number of those, following manual examination, that have invalid addresses, but are not deliberate spam.
Newham is just implementing the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server that has additional functionality to improve the detection of spam, including “probing” spam, but prior to that the manual effort involved in dealing with incorrectly addressed e-mails was reckoned at one full time equivalent per day. So, does the extra cost merit the added customer convenience? I’m still not totally convinced – I can request a “read receipt” if I want to know that my e-mail has got through, but there’s nothing I can do about magazine articles that I find inconvenient to read online!
Incidentally, Socitm also publishes material online in traditional formats. We have the same considerations of cost and customer requirements as Helen. I’d be interested in your views!
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Conference Report - 11th to 15th October
Well – life, for me, has been so hectic in the past four days, that my feet have barely touched the ground, so no time for my usual daily updates!
Saturday
Chris and I drove down to Newport in the Tuscan. Despite the lovely weather, we couldn't take the roof off because we had too much luggage, and there wasn't enough room in the boot to stow the roof!
At the Celtic Manor, we were booked into the "Chairman Suite". Very nice! Robin Carsberg, from the Socitm Events Committee, showed me the exhibition and conference spaces. The great thing about the Celtic Manor is its ability to accommodate a sizeable conference, exhibition and delegates at the same venue. He showed me the final figures; it was looking like a record year, with 84 exhibitors, and over 400 delegates, speakers and exhibitors booked for the formal dinner on Monday night.
At six, Sue and Cindi from the US, and Arend & Robin from Holland, together with Peter & Linda Ryder, joined us in our suite for pre-dinner drinks. Thorbjorn and Christian, from Sweden, were arriving late. Dinner was in the Conwy Room with the Events Team. Ken Boxhall said a few words of welcome and thanks to the Team for their efforts and work to come in the next few days! We then adjourned to Merlin's Bar for drinks, and were joined by Thorbjorn and Christian, who flew-in to Cardiff.
Sunday
Peter Ryder leads Socitm's International engagement, and led our hosting activities for our International guests. He created an itinerary that, today, included an excursion that took us to Bristol to tour the SS Great Britain, and visit the Clifton Suspension Bridge and nearby Camera Obscura, and to Bath for lunch at "Sally Lunns" followed by a visit to the Roman Baths. The day-trippers included next year's President, Steve Hopson, and his wife Sue, Peter's wife, Lin, and Chris and I followed in our car, as I needed to ensure I could get back in good time to prepare for the conference opening, and returned after lunch. The weather couldn't have been better, and everyone had a wonderful day!
My Welcome Address was at six 'o' clock. I've added the speech as a separate Blog entry, if you're interested. TV Presenter, Sara Coburn, was again our conference host. Her professionalism really helps to make a polished conference - contrasting sharply with the President's last minute attempt to use a teleprompter for the first time! Paul Sloane's keynote address, which followed, is reported on Socitm's website.
Prior to the 7.30 Reception for all delegates, the international guests and their hosts were invited to the President's suite for drinks. A magnificent dinner followed the Reception, and I have to say that the Celtic Manor's service and food were superb throughout the event.
Monday
The Events Team had arranged an optional Partners' Programme, today, for delegate partners, and Peter's programme for the International guests was joined by Lin, Sue and Chris.
Today's opening address was given by Wayne David, MP, Deputy Minister for Digital Inclusion, and he was followed by the CESG's Harvey Mattinson. Their speeches are also reported-upon at the above link, as are other plenary presenters'.
My mission, today, was to support the Government Connect workshops and the package of support that was launched. (A Press Release was also issued, today.) I attended at least the last 15 minutes of each of them to support Simon Norbury. They were all standing room, only, and I'm very pleased to say that there was overwhelming support for the initiative and the position that Socitm has adopted. We are "sticking our neck out", given the Government Connect inglorious track-record and patchy support across Government, but I believe we will make it work. We now need to see our commitment matched by all other Government Departments, and agreement to just one secure infrastructure (rather than separate Codes of Connection) for the whole of Government.
The Socitm Board of Directors met in my room over lunch. We kept the agenda to a minimum, but it included presentation, by Christine Peacock, of the Auditor's Report for the 2007 Financial Year, and our agreement of actions arising.
I reflected on the fact that the reorganisation, in which we're engaged, was kicked-off in earnest in a similar meeting in Rose's Presidential accommodation, exactly a year ago. The next key stage in that process was voted on at an EGM at 5.15pm. We needed at least 75% of attending members to vote in favour of the two special resolutions in order to carry them, so it was an enormous relief, and enormously gratifying, to gain the overwhelming support of members. By the time you read this, a Press Release should have been issued reporting the result but, in summary, our Society is now for all who work in ICT in the public and third sectors, and we have just two membership classes – "Member" and "Senior Member", and "one member, one vote".
There was a further Reception at 7.30, followed by the Gala Dinner and entertainment from 8.30. A number of us were up until the wee small hours, but I told myself I was allowed to "let my hair down" after the relief of today's successes, and progress made this year.
Tuesday
Today's keynote speaker was James Woudhuysen – Professor of Forecasting and Innovation at De Montford University. I thought his session – berating the "worship of youth", and saying, in effect, "what goes around comes around", was brilliant – and not a little heartening for oldies like me! (Also reported on the website.)
Chorley Borough Council Chief Executive Donna Hall's session was also very good. From Dan Jellinek's report on the website…' In response to a question from Socitm President Richard Steel expressing scepticism that another quango was needed to try and improve local government efficiency, Hall admitted there was a risk the new body would not be effective: "it does seem sometimes like central government departments always need to create another board to justify their own existence."'
Following which the President's Team were interviewed by Helen Olsen, Editor of Local Government IT in Use magazine, and I was amused to find that she seemed to be in a far worse state than I following the night's partying!
This year's Graham Williamson Travel Award winner was Frances Kettleday, from Cambridgeshire County Council, who has chosen to travel to Sweden.
After lunch, Siemens sponsored "Citizen Sally – Power to the People" – an entertaining piece of theatre that invited us to consider how we may be perceived by our ultimate customers – our citizens.
The conference finished with Tea, at three 'o' clock.
I'm tremendously grateful to my colleagues for putting-on such a great event, for the support of the exhibitors – I got to as many as I could – and, of course, the sponsors. I got loads of feedback, which was nearly all very positive. Well done everyone!
In the evening, our International guests were invited to the President's Suite for drinks, for one last time. Peter and Lin, Steve and Sue and Chris and I were also joined by Adrian Hancock and David Bryant. Peter had arranged for us then to dine at The Bell at Caerleon, which, I recommend you visit if you are in the Newport area.
Wednesday
Chris and I joined Peter and Lin for a leisurely breakfast - before we drove home in dismal weather, but now it didn't matter!
Saturday
Chris and I drove down to Newport in the Tuscan. Despite the lovely weather, we couldn't take the roof off because we had too much luggage, and there wasn't enough room in the boot to stow the roof!
At the Celtic Manor, we were booked into the "Chairman Suite". Very nice! Robin Carsberg, from the Socitm Events Committee, showed me the exhibition and conference spaces. The great thing about the Celtic Manor is its ability to accommodate a sizeable conference, exhibition and delegates at the same venue. He showed me the final figures; it was looking like a record year, with 84 exhibitors, and over 400 delegates, speakers and exhibitors booked for the formal dinner on Monday night.
At six, Sue and Cindi from the US, and Arend & Robin from Holland, together with Peter & Linda Ryder, joined us in our suite for pre-dinner drinks. Thorbjorn and Christian, from Sweden, were arriving late. Dinner was in the Conwy Room with the Events Team. Ken Boxhall said a few words of welcome and thanks to the Team for their efforts and work to come in the next few days! We then adjourned to Merlin's Bar for drinks, and were joined by Thorbjorn and Christian, who flew-in to Cardiff.
Sunday
Peter Ryder leads Socitm's International engagement, and led our hosting activities for our International guests. He created an itinerary that, today, included an excursion that took us to Bristol to tour the SS Great Britain, and visit the Clifton Suspension Bridge and nearby Camera Obscura, and to Bath for lunch at "Sally Lunns" followed by a visit to the Roman Baths. The day-trippers included next year's President, Steve Hopson, and his wife Sue, Peter's wife, Lin, and Chris and I followed in our car, as I needed to ensure I could get back in good time to prepare for the conference opening, and returned after lunch. The weather couldn't have been better, and everyone had a wonderful day!
My Welcome Address was at six 'o' clock. I've added the speech as a separate Blog entry, if you're interested. TV Presenter, Sara Coburn, was again our conference host. Her professionalism really helps to make a polished conference - contrasting sharply with the President's last minute attempt to use a teleprompter for the first time! Paul Sloane's keynote address, which followed, is reported on Socitm's website.
Prior to the 7.30 Reception for all delegates, the international guests and their hosts were invited to the President's suite for drinks. A magnificent dinner followed the Reception, and I have to say that the Celtic Manor's service and food were superb throughout the event.
Monday
The Events Team had arranged an optional Partners' Programme, today, for delegate partners, and Peter's programme for the International guests was joined by Lin, Sue and Chris.
Today's opening address was given by Wayne David, MP, Deputy Minister for Digital Inclusion, and he was followed by the CESG's Harvey Mattinson. Their speeches are also reported-upon at the above link, as are other plenary presenters'.
My mission, today, was to support the Government Connect workshops and the package of support that was launched. (A Press Release was also issued, today.) I attended at least the last 15 minutes of each of them to support Simon Norbury. They were all standing room, only, and I'm very pleased to say that there was overwhelming support for the initiative and the position that Socitm has adopted. We are "sticking our neck out", given the Government Connect inglorious track-record and patchy support across Government, but I believe we will make it work. We now need to see our commitment matched by all other Government Departments, and agreement to just one secure infrastructure (rather than separate Codes of Connection) for the whole of Government.
The Socitm Board of Directors met in my room over lunch. We kept the agenda to a minimum, but it included presentation, by Christine Peacock, of the Auditor's Report for the 2007 Financial Year, and our agreement of actions arising.
I reflected on the fact that the reorganisation, in which we're engaged, was kicked-off in earnest in a similar meeting in Rose's Presidential accommodation, exactly a year ago. The next key stage in that process was voted on at an EGM at 5.15pm. We needed at least 75% of attending members to vote in favour of the two special resolutions in order to carry them, so it was an enormous relief, and enormously gratifying, to gain the overwhelming support of members. By the time you read this, a Press Release should have been issued reporting the result but, in summary, our Society is now for all who work in ICT in the public and third sectors, and we have just two membership classes – "Member" and "Senior Member", and "one member, one vote".
There was a further Reception at 7.30, followed by the Gala Dinner and entertainment from 8.30. A number of us were up until the wee small hours, but I told myself I was allowed to "let my hair down" after the relief of today's successes, and progress made this year.
Tuesday
Today's keynote speaker was James Woudhuysen – Professor of Forecasting and Innovation at De Montford University. I thought his session – berating the "worship of youth", and saying, in effect, "what goes around comes around", was brilliant – and not a little heartening for oldies like me! (Also reported on the website.)
Chorley Borough Council Chief Executive Donna Hall's session was also very good. From Dan Jellinek's report on the website…' In response to a question from Socitm President Richard Steel expressing scepticism that another quango was needed to try and improve local government efficiency, Hall admitted there was a risk the new body would not be effective: "it does seem sometimes like central government departments always need to create another board to justify their own existence."'
Following which the President's Team were interviewed by Helen Olsen, Editor of Local Government IT in Use magazine, and I was amused to find that she seemed to be in a far worse state than I following the night's partying!
This year's Graham Williamson Travel Award winner was Frances Kettleday, from Cambridgeshire County Council, who has chosen to travel to Sweden.
After lunch, Siemens sponsored "Citizen Sally – Power to the People" – an entertaining piece of theatre that invited us to consider how we may be perceived by our ultimate customers – our citizens.
The conference finished with Tea, at three 'o' clock.
I'm tremendously grateful to my colleagues for putting-on such a great event, for the support of the exhibitors – I got to as many as I could – and, of course, the sponsors. I got loads of feedback, which was nearly all very positive. Well done everyone!
In the evening, our International guests were invited to the President's Suite for drinks, for one last time. Peter and Lin, Steve and Sue and Chris and I were also joined by Adrian Hancock and David Bryant. Peter had arranged for us then to dine at The Bell at Caerleon, which, I recommend you visit if you are in the Newport area.
Wednesday
Chris and I joined Peter and Lin for a leisurely breakfast - before we drove home in dismal weather, but now it didn't matter!
Socitm 2008 President's Welcome Address
Socitm 2008 President’s Welcome Address
A very warm welcome to this year's Society of IT Management Conference.
Please join with me in also welcoming our International guests - from the USA, Sweden and Holland. Do let us know if there's anything at all we can do to help ensure that your visit to the UK is enjoyable and productive.
2008 has been a pivotal year for the Society…
In stemming our financial losses
In reorganising our management and administration
In renegotiating our commercial arrangements
In reconsidering our partnering and events management
In reviewing membership services
In proactively engaging with Government, and other stakeholders, on behalf of our membership
In committing to the adoption of a policy driven agenda
On behalf of Socitm's Board and National Advisory Council, I'd like, now, to urge you to support the next major step in our Society's transformation, through the adoption of a new membership model to be voted upon at tomorrow's Extraordinary General Meeting.
To some extent, the proposed resolution formalises changes that have been happening by stealth! Having started out as the "Society of (Local Government) IT Managers" – we have gradually grown our membership beyond the confines of local government, and quietly changed the "managers" to "management" some years ago.
But now's the time to commit ourselves to a fully inclusive Association for anyone who works in ICT in the Public or Third Sectors.
The new Socitm will enable us to lead transformational government developments through a membership that's drawn from all of the requisite constituents.
The new membership model will enable us to support the professional development of our members from Universities or Colleges right through to CIOs and their seats at the "Top Table" - covering the breadth of information, communications and technology services.
We are continuing to work on our professional development capabilities – through discussion with the BCS, NCC and others – and have committed ourselves to propose a comprehensive professional development model for formal adoption at the Society's next Annual General Meeting.
And at this Conference, Socitm Consulting will be launching its service offerings based upon the Aspire tool that was developed by Leeds City Council to support the Skills Framework for the Information Age – all part and parcel of the Society's development.
I want to turn, now, to our Society's aims and aspirations. For too long, I believe, we've been predominantly inward focussed. We have established a firm basis of assessing service performance through benchmarking our own services and measuring our ICT users' satisfaction - but now it is time to look beyond our own services to challenge our stakeholder communities to use the potential of ICT effectively.
Well, in the main, our services are pretty damn good, aren't they? But does that mean they are necessarily used effectively? No – it doesn't. In fact, I'd argue that too many of our customers are still closeted in silos; and some wear their ignorance of IT as badges of honour; they are happy to use ICT to do things the way that they know, love and are comfortable with, and are resistant to change.
ICT - Corporate ICT - holds the high ground. We have the bird's eye view of the organisation. We see the poor data quality that results from silo'd mentality. We see the opportunities and benefits that flow from shared datasets and services. We must see that ICT should not only be business driven; it has to be a driver of business change.
The Customer Access Improvement Service, launched this year by Socitm Insight, is an important step towards assessing how effectively ICT is used to deliver real customer outcomes.
I was also delighted with the recently published "Web 2.0: What it is and why it matters" report - which really challenges us to exploit new media to positively transform our services and customer experience.
At this conference, we are announcing the development of a set of new and revised benchmarking services with the aim of fostering both service and organisational improvement facilitated by ICT.
The new benchmarking services will enable members and business managers to both assess and improve their performance in a number of key customer-facing areas.
The services will offer what we call a Dashboard – a simple graphical means of seeing at a glance how the organisation is performing in just the same way as the dashboard on a car. The services will include: business transformation, Information assurance, security, flexible working, shared services and end-to-end customer service delivery.
Also branded as part of the same stable will be services such as:
Benchmarking, User Satisfaction, the Website Assessment Service and Customer Access Improvement Service and the National e-Service Delivery Standards; all augmented to really focus on demonstrating effective use of ICT, rather than just measuring its efficiency – all part of the organisational "Dashboard".
We have recognised that, previously, Socitm service delivery has been a little fragmented; it hasn't been clear which part of the organisation was responsible for what service, or even how some of them related to one another.
It's therefore planned that this development will constitute a cohesive set of services under a new, easily identifiable, brand, and, although delivered jointly by Socitm Consulting and Socitm Insight, accessible through a single customer interface.
On 19th November, Socitm will be holding a workshop in London, to develop the detailed requirements and service design.
We will be mailing you about this workshop and your Conference material includes reference to the workshop. We would encourage you to participate and give us your guidance on how this new service can meet your organisations' requirements.
It's vital that Socitm services reflect the Society's developing policy agenda, and our developers will work very closely with Socitm Futures to ensure the new set of services are tailored to meet Members' requirements.
Socitm policy and service development in this area will support the CIO agenda, working with the board and executive to reinforce ICT's pivotal role in business transformation. We, of course, recognise that we must work with our colleagues in other professional bodies to deliver a truly transformational programme, and are already seeking the advice, support and co-operation of other key stakeholders, like SOLACE, CIPFA, the PPMA, the LGA, Intellect and RIEPs. Socitm's new service developments are being designed to support partnership working, including Local and Multi Area Agreements.
Following the workshop on 19th November, we aim to publish a detailed prospectus before Christmas.
I'd like to say a few words , now, about Government Connect and its "CoCo" – the Code of Connection.
You are aware, I'm sure, of the challenging target that has been set by the Department for Work & Pensions, which will mean, from next April, the only supported means of sharing benefits data will be via the Government Connect infrastructure. Socitm has committed itself to work with the Government Connect Team to facilitate achievement of the Code of Connection with which Authorities must comply in order to join the Government Connect network – and I'm pleased to announce that a package of support, developed with Socitm, is being launched at this Conference.
I'm confident that we have a pragmatic way forward that will cement Local Government commitment to what will become a pan-Government strategy for appropriate, safe and secure data sharing…And I'm convinced that by throwing our weight behind the achievement of a secure Government infrastructure after, let's face it, years of fragmentation, procrastination and wasted effort, the public sector ICT profession can considerably extend its authority, consistent with the new agenda that we're setting today.
Whilst I may be passionate about the need for Socitm to seize the mantle, to drive the transformation of Government services and to set the direction for ICT enabled change in Society, I fully recognise the need to avoid throwing babies out with the bath-water! Technical workshops, discussion forums, sharing of best practice and skills development will remain as key weapons in our armoury.
Tomorrow, we will be providing an overview of the background to, and progress in, developing and implementing Socitm's new organisational structure before the Extraordinary General Meeting, tomorrow. For now, I do want to stress, however, that, although I hope that Socitm's leadership will be able to challenge and stimulate our membership to fully realise the potential that our profession has to offer, above all our aims are to be inclusive, responsive to Members' needs and wishes, and to be transparent and open about the conduct of our business. There are ample opportunities to become involved with the Society's work and help us to deliver the ambitious agenda that we are setting ourselves.
Socitm is your Society. Get involved. We are always in need of people to help with research, to represent us on various bodies or forums, to report back from meetings and events and to ensure that you - Socitm's members - remain the lifeblood of your Society.
By the way, I should mention that we also corrected a long-standing omission from our web-site. There is now a comments, complaints and plaudits facility! Please do use it.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks to the Socitm Events Team, and colleagues throughout the Society, for all the hard work that's gone into preparing for this occasion.
I hope you have a good conference – and don't forget about the Photo Competition!
A very warm welcome to this year's Society of IT Management Conference.
Please join with me in also welcoming our International guests - from the USA, Sweden and Holland. Do let us know if there's anything at all we can do to help ensure that your visit to the UK is enjoyable and productive.
2008 has been a pivotal year for the Society…
In stemming our financial losses
In reorganising our management and administration
In renegotiating our commercial arrangements
In reconsidering our partnering and events management
In reviewing membership services
In proactively engaging with Government, and other stakeholders, on behalf of our membership
In committing to the adoption of a policy driven agenda
On behalf of Socitm's Board and National Advisory Council, I'd like, now, to urge you to support the next major step in our Society's transformation, through the adoption of a new membership model to be voted upon at tomorrow's Extraordinary General Meeting.
To some extent, the proposed resolution formalises changes that have been happening by stealth! Having started out as the "Society of (Local Government) IT Managers" – we have gradually grown our membership beyond the confines of local government, and quietly changed the "managers" to "management" some years ago.
But now's the time to commit ourselves to a fully inclusive Association for anyone who works in ICT in the Public or Third Sectors.
The new Socitm will enable us to lead transformational government developments through a membership that's drawn from all of the requisite constituents.
The new membership model will enable us to support the professional development of our members from Universities or Colleges right through to CIOs and their seats at the "Top Table" - covering the breadth of information, communications and technology services.
We are continuing to work on our professional development capabilities – through discussion with the BCS, NCC and others – and have committed ourselves to propose a comprehensive professional development model for formal adoption at the Society's next Annual General Meeting.
And at this Conference, Socitm Consulting will be launching its service offerings based upon the Aspire tool that was developed by Leeds City Council to support the Skills Framework for the Information Age – all part and parcel of the Society's development.
I want to turn, now, to our Society's aims and aspirations. For too long, I believe, we've been predominantly inward focussed. We have established a firm basis of assessing service performance through benchmarking our own services and measuring our ICT users' satisfaction - but now it is time to look beyond our own services to challenge our stakeholder communities to use the potential of ICT effectively.
Well, in the main, our services are pretty damn good, aren't they? But does that mean they are necessarily used effectively? No – it doesn't. In fact, I'd argue that too many of our customers are still closeted in silos; and some wear their ignorance of IT as badges of honour; they are happy to use ICT to do things the way that they know, love and are comfortable with, and are resistant to change.
ICT - Corporate ICT - holds the high ground. We have the bird's eye view of the organisation. We see the poor data quality that results from silo'd mentality. We see the opportunities and benefits that flow from shared datasets and services. We must see that ICT should not only be business driven; it has to be a driver of business change.
The Customer Access Improvement Service, launched this year by Socitm Insight, is an important step towards assessing how effectively ICT is used to deliver real customer outcomes.
I was also delighted with the recently published "Web 2.0: What it is and why it matters" report - which really challenges us to exploit new media to positively transform our services and customer experience.
At this conference, we are announcing the development of a set of new and revised benchmarking services with the aim of fostering both service and organisational improvement facilitated by ICT.
The new benchmarking services will enable members and business managers to both assess and improve their performance in a number of key customer-facing areas.
The services will offer what we call a Dashboard – a simple graphical means of seeing at a glance how the organisation is performing in just the same way as the dashboard on a car. The services will include: business transformation, Information assurance, security, flexible working, shared services and end-to-end customer service delivery.
Also branded as part of the same stable will be services such as:
Benchmarking, User Satisfaction, the Website Assessment Service and Customer Access Improvement Service and the National e-Service Delivery Standards; all augmented to really focus on demonstrating effective use of ICT, rather than just measuring its efficiency – all part of the organisational "Dashboard".
We have recognised that, previously, Socitm service delivery has been a little fragmented; it hasn't been clear which part of the organisation was responsible for what service, or even how some of them related to one another.
It's therefore planned that this development will constitute a cohesive set of services under a new, easily identifiable, brand, and, although delivered jointly by Socitm Consulting and Socitm Insight, accessible through a single customer interface.
On 19th November, Socitm will be holding a workshop in London, to develop the detailed requirements and service design.
We will be mailing you about this workshop and your Conference material includes reference to the workshop. We would encourage you to participate and give us your guidance on how this new service can meet your organisations' requirements.
It's vital that Socitm services reflect the Society's developing policy agenda, and our developers will work very closely with Socitm Futures to ensure the new set of services are tailored to meet Members' requirements.
Socitm policy and service development in this area will support the CIO agenda, working with the board and executive to reinforce ICT's pivotal role in business transformation. We, of course, recognise that we must work with our colleagues in other professional bodies to deliver a truly transformational programme, and are already seeking the advice, support and co-operation of other key stakeholders, like SOLACE, CIPFA, the PPMA, the LGA, Intellect and RIEPs. Socitm's new service developments are being designed to support partnership working, including Local and Multi Area Agreements.
Following the workshop on 19th November, we aim to publish a detailed prospectus before Christmas.
I'd like to say a few words , now, about Government Connect and its "CoCo" – the Code of Connection.
You are aware, I'm sure, of the challenging target that has been set by the Department for Work & Pensions, which will mean, from next April, the only supported means of sharing benefits data will be via the Government Connect infrastructure. Socitm has committed itself to work with the Government Connect Team to facilitate achievement of the Code of Connection with which Authorities must comply in order to join the Government Connect network – and I'm pleased to announce that a package of support, developed with Socitm, is being launched at this Conference.
I'm confident that we have a pragmatic way forward that will cement Local Government commitment to what will become a pan-Government strategy for appropriate, safe and secure data sharing…And I'm convinced that by throwing our weight behind the achievement of a secure Government infrastructure after, let's face it, years of fragmentation, procrastination and wasted effort, the public sector ICT profession can considerably extend its authority, consistent with the new agenda that we're setting today.
Whilst I may be passionate about the need for Socitm to seize the mantle, to drive the transformation of Government services and to set the direction for ICT enabled change in Society, I fully recognise the need to avoid throwing babies out with the bath-water! Technical workshops, discussion forums, sharing of best practice and skills development will remain as key weapons in our armoury.
Tomorrow, we will be providing an overview of the background to, and progress in, developing and implementing Socitm's new organisational structure before the Extraordinary General Meeting, tomorrow. For now, I do want to stress, however, that, although I hope that Socitm's leadership will be able to challenge and stimulate our membership to fully realise the potential that our profession has to offer, above all our aims are to be inclusive, responsive to Members' needs and wishes, and to be transparent and open about the conduct of our business. There are ample opportunities to become involved with the Society's work and help us to deliver the ambitious agenda that we are setting ourselves.
Socitm is your Society. Get involved. We are always in need of people to help with research, to represent us on various bodies or forums, to report back from meetings and events and to ensure that you - Socitm's members - remain the lifeblood of your Society.
By the way, I should mention that we also corrected a long-standing omission from our web-site. There is now a comments, complaints and plaudits facility! Please do use it.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks to the Socitm Events Team, and colleagues throughout the Society, for all the hard work that's gone into preparing for this occasion.
I hope you have a good conference – and don't forget about the Photo Competition!
Friday, 10 October 2008
Socitm 2008 Photo Competition
This year, thanks to sponsorship from GOSS Interactive, we’re running a photo competition for delegates using the photosharing website Flickr. We hope lots of you will enter!!
Here’s how it works:
The competition is open to anyone attending Socitm 2008
Entrants are invited to take photos with phones, cameras or other devices, and upload them to www.flickr.com/groups/socitm2008/pool/. Images must be posted by midnight on 21 October.
Judges are Richard Steel, President, Socitm; Ken Boxhall, chair, Socitm events committee; and Rob McCarthy, Managing Director, GOSS Interactive. The judges’ decisions will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Winners will be announced on http://www.socitm.gov.uk/ and http://www.socitmweb2.net/ during w/c 27 October
The four prizes are:
- 1st prize - Samsung NV20 digital camera including 4mb flash card.
- 2nd prize (x2) Samsung Digimax S760 digital camera including 4mb flash card.
- President’s special prize Canon Digital IXUS 70 digital camera
Prizes can be viewed at the GOSS Interactive stand (no 19). There is no cash alternative to prizes.
Socitm and GOSS will use images and publish winners names and organisations on its websites and via its other communications channels
Get involved……!
Use the above link to our Flickr page to view all pictures. The latest images will be pulled through to http://www.socitmweb2.net/photos/
To upload pictures or comment on other people’s you’ll need to sign up with Flickr and join the Socitm 2008 space (its really easy). Then you just follow the instructions (there may be a short delay before your picture is added due to Flickr account moderation).
PCs and internet connections are available in the delegate work area.
Web 2.0 content rich functionality, that can enhance citizen engagement, is provided as standard with GOSS Interactive’s Web Content Management System – iCM.
Ready for the Annual Conference!
Telecommuters are more productive, healthy and loyal. I tend to agree. What really makes telecommuting work, 'though, (in my view) is the technology that enables shared calendars,and collaboration, instant messaging, "follow me" desktops and "presence" information that provides colleagues' availability and preferred communications medium. Hopefully, we are all becoming used to exploiting these on our corporate networks and for remote working "in-house", but the real challenge, now, when we are increasingly working in diverse partnerships, is federating office automation. Working with Socitm for the last six months, the absence of colleagues' calendar information and presence has been my biggest frustration!
I attended the Socitm London Committee meeting, hosted by David Wilde on the 18th floor of Westminster City Hall (which, of course, we all love for its fabulous views).
We discussed proposals being put to Capital Ambition - London's RIEP - into which London Connects, along with the London Regional Centre of Excellence, is being subsumed. It's proposed that the London Connects Steering Group will become the "London Socitm Efficiency Group" with reporting lines to both the Capital Ambition Board and London Socitm. This mirrors the arrangements being put in-place for other London professional bodies, such as the London Society of Treasurers and, I think, may be a model that could work in the other regions. The existing London Connects work programme and budget will be ring-fenced and managed by the new board.
I outlined the package of support for the Government Connect programme and Code of Connection that will be launched at the conference. (There will be a press release on Monday.)
We also decided upon the agenda for the next London Branch meeting, which will have a security theme with, hopefully representation from the DWP, DCSF and CESG.
Hope to see you at the Conference!
I attended the Socitm London Committee meeting, hosted by David Wilde on the 18th floor of Westminster City Hall (which, of course, we all love for its fabulous views).
We discussed proposals being put to Capital Ambition - London's RIEP - into which London Connects, along with the London Regional Centre of Excellence, is being subsumed. It's proposed that the London Connects Steering Group will become the "London Socitm Efficiency Group" with reporting lines to both the Capital Ambition Board and London Socitm. This mirrors the arrangements being put in-place for other London professional bodies, such as the London Society of Treasurers and, I think, may be a model that could work in the other regions. The existing London Connects work programme and budget will be ring-fenced and managed by the new board.
I outlined the package of support for the Government Connect programme and Code of Connection that will be launched at the conference. (There will be a press release on Monday.)
We also decided upon the agenda for the next London Branch meeting, which will have a security theme with, hopefully representation from the DWP, DCSF and CESG.
Hope to see you at the Conference!
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Benefitting from Colleagues' MBA Studies
The Microsoft Agreement Project Board met today. Rob Anderson presented the options that have been identified. I agreed with the preferred option, which is essentially a role-based model covering desktop, client access and server products. There was extensive discussion about issues such as perpetual versus subscription licensing, support, upgrade rights, capital versus revenue (or “Admin” as Roy Marshall calls it) and central registration of licences. Other items included benchmarking – versus other sectors and within the public sector – and communications strategy. Next steps will include a Workshop to identify the detailed requirements. There are many issues still to consider; I am concerned, for example, about inter-organisational roles, and personal usage, but didn’t raise these as there will be ample opportunity through the workshop and Project Team. As a prototype for shaping public sector engagement with suppliers, this seems to be shaping-up pretty well.
As part of our continuing consultation with the private sector, I met with Mark Raleigh and Gerry Gebel, of Burton Group, to discuss a prospective relationship with Socitm to provide added membership value in access to research expertise and material and, possibly, co-operative research.
Geoff, Shane, Priya and I met to discuss the learning from Priya’s MBA assignment based on Newham ICT’s Portfolio Management service. Geoff had drafted suggested ways in which the service should be developed, based on Priya’s recommendations, to address Executive and Management feedback, which we agreed.
As we develop, in Socitm, our engagement with the Government IT profession, I still think that MBA studies offer the most rounded approach to professional development for management and future executives, and represent very good value to sponsoring employers, especially where studies can be grounded in their own environments.
As part of our continuing consultation with the private sector, I met with Mark Raleigh and Gerry Gebel, of Burton Group, to discuss a prospective relationship with Socitm to provide added membership value in access to research expertise and material and, possibly, co-operative research.
Geoff, Shane, Priya and I met to discuss the learning from Priya’s MBA assignment based on Newham ICT’s Portfolio Management service. Geoff had drafted suggested ways in which the service should be developed, based on Priya’s recommendations, to address Executive and Management feedback, which we agreed.
As we develop, in Socitm, our engagement with the Government IT profession, I still think that MBA studies offer the most rounded approach to professional development for management and future executives, and represent very good value to sponsoring employers, especially where studies can be grounded in their own environments.
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