To listen to this interview, click on this MP3 file link.
DISCUSSION:
00:027:Charles profiles his remarkable history in the IT industry."...I'm celebrating, later this year, my fortieth anniversary of being in the IT industry...."
05:28:Charles talks about his current company, eManagement Ltd."...eManagement Ltd. works in a consultation and advisory role (programs and projects) in several different guises .....I also specialize in working on the interface between private sector (particularly the IT supply side) and central government. Having worked in both, it became very obvious that they are very different worlds and often they ignore each other or don't recognize what it is that the other does...the fact is that they are mutually dependent. They have different drivers, they speak different languages, their understanding of the different policy making methodologies differ substantially and often it is difficult for them to communicate successfully....I also work on the development of professionalism in our IT industry on a very broad base...."
09:05:Charles shares some stories and lessons he has gained from his many experiences."...When I returned (to the industry) from working for central government, a lot of people asked what it was like being back in the 'real world', obviously implying that the governments (politics) is not the 'real world'. It certainly is a different world, but it is absolutely real and the impacts the public sector and government have on the IT industry are absolutely fundamental...."
12:06:Charles profiles the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP), the task force and the Professional Practice Programme. He provides the background to what the BCS and other organizations such as CIPS have been doing over the past years to form the foundation of the task force. He also discusses professionalism in the IT industry."...An article in the Times a short while ago referenced this report from the Royal Academy of Engineer and British Computer Society, and said (in other words), 'the IT industry is sloppy'.... I think that is a charge that we have to counteract...."
18:52:Charles expands on the early leadership taken by the BCS in meeting the challenges nationally and then taking it to the international stage and what the profession is working towards."....Our profession, more than many others, is international and we do need to have an international perspective. We were delighted to be invited to the keynote address to the World Computer Congress in August, 2006. As a result of the that and the workshop that was organized in parallel with the conference IFIP council took the decision that running an international program for Professionalism in IT would be beneficial for practitioners, suppliers, and all the potential users of the IT systems....The program itself has to be a high profile program, we need to develop the standards, the benchmarks the measures for an international positioning of professionalism in IT...."
24:46:Charles comments on how the outcomes of the IFIP Professional Practice program will significantly impact: industry, business, government, etc. and the ICT professional and industry."...We think that the industry has just about reached the state of maturity where a program like this (international) can gain a lot of attraction..."
27:22:Charles discusses some of the critical issues facing organizations today and how can they be addressed and how this extends to leadership lessons that are essential for business and technology executives."...Create transformational values (rather than just implementing IT projects)...Building the capability from ongoing change....Creating a climate of open communication....Managing the confidence and the risk..."
37:41:Charles comments on some of the biggest issues facing user group communities, IT societies today and his recommendations for meeting these challenges."User societies, professional institutions in our industry have got an even bigger role to play today than they have ever had....Of paramount importance today is that IT practitioners are themselves professionals.....the people who use the IT technology to offer services and benefits to end users, customers...need to recognize that we have an industry here that is fundamental to everything else. It is very difficult to think of any activity (health, transport, finance, government, industry, commerce) that doesn't almost inevitably depend already on the products and services that our industry has implemented. That gives us a tremendous responsibility and professional institutions have got a major role to play, in developing the professionalism of the industry practitioners. The BCS Chartered IT professional is one which is regarded as a gold standard for IT practitioners (in Canada, CIPS has got the I.S.P.) ......"
42:58:The world today is such a dynamic environment. Charles gives his predictions of future IT/Business trends and their implications and opportunities.