Biz Bytes

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There is no doubt that technology is one of the key differences between now and previous global pandemics

It's helped us:

• Stay informed
• Be productive
• Be entertained

Compare that to the 1918 flu - information sharing was limited to the radio or print media.

Today we can all get an alert on our phone at the same time.

And technology is ever changing, there is always an evolution and with it comes the next big thing.

But what is that?

It's hard to predict because it depends on a range of factors.

Like the company, the customer experience, or use case.

And the current climate accelerated everything

What analysts were predicting would emerge in 5 years is emerging now.

Companies are faced with two choices:

Cut costs, contract, and survive. Or take this as an opportunity to thrive.

Which one will you be?

In this episode, I take some time with Eduard Liebenberger to explore this more

About my guest

Who is Eduard? He describes himself as having been a bit all over the show over the past 15 years, leaving Austria to live in Wellington, then moving back across the world to Frankfurt, hanging out in the Mediterranean for a while on the Rock of Gibraltar before coming back home to Christchurch. One thing however has never changed: exploring and finding real-world applications for emerging technologies.

Since returning to New Zealand Eduard has joined Jade Software as their CTO and the AI Forum NZ as a member of the Executive Council. He's been active in the public, using everything in his toolbox to make AI and other emerging technologies more approachable and interesting to the wider public.

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DevOps.
Its more than just the sum of it's parts - Development and Operations
It's a software development approach that ensures that the people writing code are now responsible for the outcome of the design, not just throwing it over the fence to be someone else's problem.
In a world where IT and the business they serve are increasingly aligned in their strategic goals, DevOps is becoming a way to ensure that software development is now a product and not just an activity.
It's removes bottle necks from your delivery cycle in order to deliver faster outcomes for your customer, better.
But where do traditional technology roles and practices fit? What do you do with the technology you already have?
And how to you combine activities which are fluid with practices that are seen as bureaucratic?
In this episode I talk with Jakob Diness, my first international guest, about DevOps and why you should treat technology like cattle, not a pet.
About Jakob
Based in Denmark, Jakob is a Digital Business Consultant.
He is an IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Expert certified trainer having been teaching ITIL courses for several years.
As a consultant with BusinessNow his focus is advising large and medium-sized companies on their digital journey and transformation with ServiceNow as the central platform. Linkages to previous episodes:
Ep 14. If you can't give certainty through change, give clarity - Christy Law
Books we reference:

1. The Agile Manager: Dr Cherry Vu and Robert England
2. A Seat at The Table: Mark Schwartz
3. From Project to Product: Mik Kersten
4. The DevOps Handbook: Gene Kim, John Willis, Patrick Debois, Jez Humble

And if you want to know more about the Phoenix Project, talk with Jacob Diness or James Gander at https://www.gander.co.nz/

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While it's possible for any company to transform, the adoption of new technology doesn't constitute digital transformation.
And it's not a big bang deliverable.
Nor is it something that you can copy from other organisations - each transformation journey is personal.
Transformation is a series of iterative change that a business undertakes in order to shift their model.
And it has nothing to do with technology - that is only the enabler, not the outcome.
Transformation is a goal, not a deliverable.
Afterall, you don't make a butterfly by sticking wings on a caterpillar.
So how do you deliver successful transformation?

• Where should the CIO sit during change?
• How do you communicate to different audiences
• And how do you know you're done?

In today's episode, I talk with Owen McCall about digital transformation
About Owen
While a qualified accountant Owen has worked with and in technology for all of his career. He is a passionate believer in the power of technology to not only fundamentally transform how we live, work, and play but also to deliver tremendous value to organisations. With that in mind, the premise of all of Owen's work is that organisations should only invest in technology because they believe it will make their business better. This however is easier said than done. Through his work Owen continually witnesses organisations struggling to deliver value from their IT investments. Wondering why this is, Owen has dedicated high career to understanding this phenomenon and supporting organisations to improve the value they receive from their IT investments.
Owen is the author of High-Performance IT, a collection of short stories and unique IP that provides insights into IT leadership and delivering on the promise of technology. A qualified accountant, Owen was a partner in Deloitte Consulting for over 5 years and led Deloitte’s Australasian outsourcing business before returning to New Zealand to take up the position of CIO of The Warehouse Group. He's regular blogger and contributor to CIO and iStart publications, event speaker and judge of industry awards including CIO 100 and the NZ Hi Tech Awards.

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Technology is one of the fastest changing industries in history. In the last decade we've seen new language, new standards, and new ways of working.

For those who work in the industry the result is that we can't just sit on the skills we've learned and expect to stay at the top of our game.

If you step out of the industry it won't take long before you're rusty.

Employers and recruiters are very aware of this and are always looking for people who are developing themselves.

To avoid the rust you must keep the machine oiled.

That career gap on your CV isn't harmful, but it will help if you spent some time upskilling yourself.

And if you're still in a job, seek out what skills you will need to solve tomorrows problems today.

So take charge of your own destiny! Make yourself more valuable to the market by adding necessary skills.

In this episode I talk to Chloe Piper about why Pivoting is not just for business, and the value a good recruiter brings to the table.
About Chloe

What do fitness and recruitment have in common? Helping people to become the best version of themselves. Having the right job is as important as having a healthy body and mind.
That's the philosophy that Chloe has used over her 10 years recruitment experience, both internally and externally, and both overseas and locally. Established in Christchurch for the past 9 years, Chloe is now an adopted kiwi and combines her passion for technology and recruitment through her own business, XO recruitment

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"There's an app for that"
so goes the joke when any manual task comes up.
And you've heard the one about how Automation and Robots will take our jobs.
Or Chatbots are more efficient than people.
And how to replace your accountant with booking keeping software.
Yeah, right.
Technology is a great enabler, but it's not a true replacement for people. Especially when it comes to high-value activities that involve complex decisions.
Because Automation isn't the same as Expertise
There are some things technology can't do. For everything else, there's People.
In this episode, I talk with Irene Bennetts about how people are still an important part of your business
Irene Bennetts is an award-winning bookkeeping and virtual assistance expert who has successfully developed solutions across key areas for growth-driven entrepreneurs and businesses to focus on their goals, rather than their financial administration.
Founder of Admin Army, which offers progressive services in bookkeeping, accounting, business administration and virtual assistance, Irene has led her team to employ the most effective combination of personal connection and modern technological automation. Her clients have access to the most agile, proactive business services.
Irene was named as one of the Practice Ignition Top 50 Women in Accounting 2019 and was the only New Zealander to be recognised with this prestigious accolade. Admin Army was also the 2019 Institute of Certified NZ Bookkeepers Bookkeeping Business of the Year.