GET TO KNOW
“
TECHNOLOGY
NEEDS TO ENABLE
ORGANISATIONS
TO PARTNER WITH
ONE ANOTHER
BY EXPANDING
VALUE CHAINS TO
ADDRESS CLIENT
NEEDS.
capabilities, as well as being an enabler for
Digital Transformation. However, I must
point out that cloud is not a solution looking
for a problem; anything solved utilising cloud
technology needs to be grounded in solving
business problems.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside the office?
I enjoy spending time with my family, playing
sport, experimenting with IoT (Internet of
Things) devices and cloud IoT stacks.
If you could go back and change one
career decision what would it be?
I often miss the sense of achievement that
I enjoyed while I was a practising engineer
where most of the work completed had a
definitive visual output e.g. a light switching
on, a motor running, etc. Whereas, in
IT the output is mostly focused on the
manipulation of data in some form or
fashion. Therefore, if I went back to change
one thing, I believe it would be to stay in the
engineering field instead of moving to IT.
What are the region-specific
challenges when implementing
new technologies in Africa?
Lack of expertise and skills, both in the
implementers of these new technologies and
the end users of these technologies.
What changes to your job role have
you seen in the last year and how do
you see these developing in the next
12 months?
More and more CIOs and IT professionals
need to revisit their purpose in an
organisation; the IT organisation is no
longer there to provide technology solutions,
provide governance around technology
acquisition, implementation and support.
CIOs and IT professionals need to be
considering how to best construct an IT
organisation which enables a business to
be nimble and agile in order to respond to
threats and take
advantage of opportunities. Technology
needs to enable organisations to partner
with one another by expanding value chains
to address client needs. No longer is a
CIO’s role focused on how to make the IT
organisation better but rather the focus has
moved to how to enable business to be fit for
the future.
What advice would you offer
somebody aspiring to obtain
C-level position in your industry?
Leaders aren’t leaders without followers;
chiefs aren’t chiefs without a tribe. Ensure
that you practice the discipline of servant
leadership, hire the right people and
create an environment for them to thrive.
Motivated knowledge workers will achieve
phenomenal results. Only by unlocking this
intrinsic motivation of people, will you be
able to enjoy success in the C suite. n
What do you currently identify as
the major areas of investment in
your industry?
The major area of investment specifically in
South Africa and Africa in our industry has
to be in skills; one of the major inhibitors for
economic growth in South Africa is the lack of
skills that are required to take advantage of
the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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