Joint Meeting with the Consultancy Specialist Group

Tuesday 7th September 2010, 6:30 pm.

Speakers: Ian Burgess and Alan Fowler.
Chair: Rajan Anketell

University of Edinburgh Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB - map (click on Informatics Forum in the list of buildings).

This event is free of charge. Refreshments available from 6:00 pm.

Synopsis

Ian Burgess

The IT Industry is currently at a tipping point which if embraced will allow it to fully become instrumental in the facilitating the growth of the business that it is housed within. Will this tipping point require IT staff to think differently? is it a change away from the traditional IT skills? How do we position our IT teams to embrace this?

Alan Fowler

Business leaders have to be seen to take radical decisions to cut costs to maintain their personal reputation in the market. Understanding and meeting their needs dictates a radical new way of thinking about how to make business cases for change. There is good news for the IT industry in the results of eight years of case studies using this new approach, but it requires a 180° shift in outlook for some people in the industry.

About the speakers

Ian Burgess

Ian is currently the CTO of SymetrIQ the technical arm of MyKey Global Holdings focusing on Technology outsourcing and Enterprise Cloud Computing (IAAS). With a background in IT Project Management, Product Management and an interest in the impact of technology and the way it shapes the future it is no surprise that he has ended up in the cloud computing space.

With a mixed background which encompassed a study of oriental strategy, Commerce his working past has been as an advisor and project manager in several countries throughout the world. This lead to the discovery, that the main issues are common although they may be affected by cultural influences and distance.

Ian is a Fellow of the Institute of Business Consultants and the Scottish Chair

Alan K Fowler

Alan is an Edinburgh-based, energetic and motivating researcher and director who has worked in more than 50 organisations (public and private sector) over 30 years. He has mentored, trained and advised business and IT directors across the UK and in the USA.

He has practical and research experience of business change and building major IT systems, both as a user and as a provider. He has a deep knowledge of change management, systems analysis, project management, structured methods, procurement, quality, and training. In 2001-2002 he was interim IT Director for Martin Currie Investment Management.

Alan worked for 11 years with Ernst & Young, latterly helping the major modernisation programmes in the UK Government’s Department of Work & Pensions and in the Inland Revenue. He left at the end of 2002 to set up Isochron Ltd., a UK-wide network of experienced and authoritative project and programme management consultants based in Edinburgh and London.

Isochron have perfected modelling techniques that allow them to work backwards from sought-after consequences to arrive at solutions that work. This allows Isochron to deliver a range of innovative techniques to accelerate projects and complex programmes. Their many case histories have produced fascinating, counterintuitive and valuable insights into the feasibility, costs and returns of change in both the private and public sectors.

Alan has published research papers on change management at the International Working Conferences on Dynamic Information Systems based at Delft Technical University. His book, co-authored with well-known project expert Dennis Lock on ‘Accelerating Business and IT Change: Transforming Project Delivery’ was published in June 2006 by Gower.

He has lectured on his research and business project experiences at the QA Forum, the IBM Annual Conference, the Project Management Institute, Business Performance and Project Management exhibitions and at numerous other meetings, and was a regular lecturer for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Alan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Commerce and Manufactures and of the Social Return On Investment Network. He also mentors a small number of senior managers and directors on a one-to-one basis.