Simon G's Blog

I’ve spent a bit of time at the CIO Summit  in Auckland over the past couple of days and below is a synopsis from the sessions I attended. Key overall themes Digital Transformation (DX) is still a key focus of organisations, with cultural change being one of the most fundamental shifts. Increased use of Cloud/“as a Service” models is prevalent across most organisations. Customer-centricity as opposed to other models such as Product-centric. Connections & ecosystems (internal and external to organisations) is key to DX, with APIs being a key enabler. Smart use of data is becoming increasingly important to drive great customer experiences. Further detail Trends & Insights “The 3rd platform is the key to creating new value” IDG Mobility, Big Data/Analytics, Cloud, Social “By 2020, over 2/3 of Enterprise IT and software spending will be for cloud-based offerings” IDG “70% of CIOs have a cloud first strategy” IDG “By 2019, 42% of IoT data will be process...

Today was the second and final day of the IT & Enterprise Architecture Conference 2015. Below is a summary of my key notes. Going beyond IT. What EA can really mean for your organisation John Pearson, Business Architect, IAG Consider the Demand vs Supply side of architecture IAG is using traditional TOGAF domains (Information, Application, Technology Infrastructure and Security) with business architecture being used to better align with the demand from the business Enterprise Business Motivation Model (EBMM) - Accenture, Nick Malik ( http://www.motivationmodel.com/ ) anchor diagram for business architecture using to understand change impact Bake business architecture approaches in early in the architecture journey Understand the business, its priorities and where value can be added Understand architecture capabilities in service to the business Understand key stakeholder n...

Today I attended the first day of the  IT & Enterprise Architecture Conference  2015 at the Crowne Plaza in Auckland. This was my first time at the event and it was a good opportunity to network with the wider IT & Enterprise Architecture community. Below is a summary of my key notes. Setting the scene: Enterprise Architecture 2015-2025 Craig Pitout, Senior Manager IT Advisory, EY ( @CraigPitout ) Cloud, Mobility, Big Data and Social Media are key forces of Digital Disruption Themes affecting enterprise agility Customer centric Product centric Internal efficiency Regulatory requirements Force for uniqueness vs Force for commonality Quantifying the impact Innovation impact vs Value potential Disruptive - disrupt the core Adjacent - change and expand Sustaining - incremental improvements EY Business Reference Model - Agile ( http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Services/Advisory/EY-t...

I had a great day at Webstock on Day 1 and below is my synopsis of Day 2, which was also excellent. If you get the opportunity to attend Webstock, do it. Some of the key themes from the conference can be summarised as: Build with love, use common reusable blocks, deploy quickly, deploy often, listen to explicit and implicit feedback from real users, understand what their needs are (not what they say they are), consider social and ethical impacts. Repeat. The Lean Startup Eric Ries ( @ericries ) http://startuplessonslearned.com #leanstartup Slides can be found at http://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned/2010-02-19-the-lean-startup-webstock-2010 Why build a startup? Change the world Build an organisation of lasting value Make customers' lives better Pivot: change directions but stay grounded in what you've launched ...

I had heard lots of great stuff about Webstock in previous years so decided to go along this year to experience it for myself. This is a very professional conference and has (mostly) excellent speakers covering a variety of Web related technologies. Here’s my synopsis of Day 1. Opening Mike Brown ( @maupuia ) You will fall in love with things that are made with love Web Design that grabs people Scott Thomas ( @simplescott ) – Design Director for Obama's campaign Web and Print overlap in campaign Deliver clear and concise messaging, focussed on the “We” rather than the “He” Keep the message of hope while dismantling the notion of being aloof Establish a consistency and balance to exemplify stability and experience Persuading people was the mission of the home page therefore needed to be prominent, with localised information Spend more time researching than design Information ...