It’s time to speak up
No doubt the drums will be beating ...
02 November 2009
Paul Gordon, Voco
"A major new report co-authored by the chair of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand says that independent data from over 6,000 New Zealand businesses shows no positive productivity impact when they adopt high speed broadband services." Communications Day - Monday 2 November 2009.
Although rather dense reading, this report available here, assesses a large amount of data and finds that while there is a definite productivity shift moving from no broadband to some level of broadband, there is little material benefit shifting from slow to fast broadband.
No doubt we can expect this report to be widely (mis)quoted and used as firm evidence by vested interests.
We would encourage those wanting to understand what this may all mean to pay close attention to the final section of the report, where the authors note the finding that a move from fast broadband (cable) to another form of broadband has no estimated effect, should be interpreted with care. One of the four reasons they give includes the explanation that the full future benefits may not be apparent in the existing data.
This reflects our view, that in itself broadband in an enabler. Business must change in order to realise the potential benefits. Without business change we will simply do the same things - faster, but without any significant productivity benefits (beyond a point, the speed of email has no impact on real productivity).
There will be a tipping point and critical mass where enabled groupings of organisations are able to do new work, in new ways. Studies that use historical data will always be looking at existing business models.
But, the point of the report is very salient - if we simply do the same things using faster broadband, then we will not realise true productivity growth. Sector change needs strong leadership to drive.
No doubt the drums will be beating ...Rural Broadband Symposium - Interesting Split of Subjects
28 October 2009
Next month Voco will be attending the TUANZ Rural Broadband Symposium in Rotorua, and we're looking forward to hearing from a range of speakers.
What will be very interesting to see is how the apparent split between the supply and demand sides plays out. Those who promote a solution, or those who are looking to understand what can really be done with this stuff. It looks like the days are divided nicely between the two.
Our view is that the real value will come from service / demand aggregation and that we must, as a country, remain focussed on the bigger picture. Broadband is a constraint, but not the answer.
Watch this space for an update after the symposium.
Rural Broadband Symposium - Interesting Split of Subjects8 Things You Need to Know About the Health Sector Review
18 September 2009
1. What review? The Ministerial Review commissioned by Health Minister Tony Ryall (pictured) titled "Meeting the Challenge ". This is a review of how the health service is resourced. At the heart of this report is a desire to ensure that our public health and disability system is better placed to meet the many challenges it faces.
2. We'll save you from reading 54 pages plus 6 annexes. This is the report paraphrased (from an IT perspective):
If the recommendations of this report are implemented the Ministry of Health will be vastly reduced in terms of role, numbers of staff and budget. A new body (NHB) will be formed taking budget from both the Ministry and DHBs. This new body will provide centralized services and strategic planning for the sector.
3. Why was there a review? This review is driven by these factors:
a. Increasing cost
b. Expensive overseas staff and an increasing further shortage of staff
c. Overspend by DHBs
d. Mistakes in surgery
e. The sector, including MoH, is struggling to cope with a myriad of IT projects
4. Yet more 3-letter organisations? Afraid so. A new body will be formed out of parts of MoH and the DHBs and will be called the National Health Board (NHB). This is currently the Crown Health Funding Agency. Those services that are national will be removed from MoH and the DHBs and come under this new body. MoH will be asked to review its 2.5 billion funding and indicate which should be transferred to NHB and which should go to DHBs.
5. A reduced MoH? MoH will be reduced in size and will concentrate on policy and regulatory activities. There will be short-term wide spread change to MoH. Overall the report suggests that in the future model there will be fewer staff and much clearer roles and accountability
6. Thankfully there is a recommendation for a common patient record to be implemented within a reasonable time period. The report notes that this should be a safe, shareable and transferable patient electronic health record for the New Zealand health sector, using a distributed approach based on interoperability standards set by the Health Information Standards Organisation (HISO).
7. So it's all fixed then? Er no, the report recognises that its recommendations are meant to improve the framework but the report's writers are not sure that this will be sufficient to meet the challenges ahead.
8. So what happens next? We imagine the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the District Health Boards (DHBs) will have a chance to put their positions forward and then the Minister, Tony Ryall, will decide which parts of the recommendations he will implement.
8 Things You Need to Know About the Health Sector ReviewGovernment's Ultra Fast (UFB) Broadband Initiative Overview
16 September 2009
Well, it finally came out and it still looks pretty much like the original article.
The details on the government's broadband investment initiative, now dubbed the Ultra Fast Broadband Initiative (UFB), were released this morning by Minister Steven Joyce.
Voco welcomes the retention of the local/regional focus and the relaxation of the population-based target regions. We understand that MED officials left no stone unturned in examining the alternate proposals that were submitted in its first round of consultation, concluding that the original plan was sound. This gives a level of certainty that can only be encouraging for potential investors in this new infrastructure.
This is an exciting day for the future of telecommunications in NZ and heralds a fundamental change in the industry structure going forward that will be good for the demand side where economic growth happens.
Government's Ultra Fast (UFB) Broadband Initiative Overview1st Tuesday Club - .nz Registry Services
15 September 2009
We are delighted to announce that .nz Registry Services will be sponsoring the 1st Tuesday Club on October 6th from 5 pm until 7 pm.
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a core technology that enterprise IT and the public Internet depends on. Significant changes in DNS are underway with the increasing adoption of DNSSEC, security extensions for DNS, which provide strong authentication of DNS messages. This talk will explain this technology, the benefits it brings and the risks that you take without it.
NZ Registry Services is 100% owned by InternetNZ and was established in May 2002 to operate and manage the registration of .nz domain names and the operation of the Domain Name System (DNS) in the .nz domain name space. Jay Daley became CEO in March of this year and brings a wealth of ICT and DNS governing experience with him from the UK. Joining Jay will be Debbie Monahan, Domain Name Commissioner.
What is the 1st Tuesday Club?
The 1st Tuesday Club NZ was founded in 2008 by Paul Hortop , Security Consultant from Voco and Kendra Ross, Director at Duo, as a strictly no sales, informal gathering for NZ’s senior professionals in Information Security, IT Risk, IT Audit and law enforcement.
Complimentary tapas, wines, beers and soft drinks are served throughout the evening courtesy of our sponsor, who this month is NZ Registry Services.
Admission to the 1st Tuesday Club is by invitation only so if you know of someone who should be invited along, please let Paul Hortop know.
Innovation in health isn't a "nice to have" ...
11 September 2009
... it's a bloody necessity!
In the developed world, Health is a sector where counter-intuitively technology is driving costs up, not down.
Add to that the well known demographic changes to come; being an ageing population, rising levels of chronic disease, and ever higher expectations of treatment, and NZ Healthcare costs are forecast to double as a % of GDP by 2050.
Now, the weak point with this argument is that the forecast was prepared by Treasury ;) but that aside, the point is that in Healthcare, in New Zealand, innovation is no luxury - it is bloody essential.
And by "bloody essential" we mean directly, personally essential to anyone partaking of health services in the future. That's all of us I think.
Real No. 8 innovation will be required to reverse rather than contribute to the new technology / rising cost spiral. We (NZ) should be good at that right?
Innovation in health isn't a "nice to have" ...Rural Broadband Target a Good Step
10 September 2009
We welcome the announcement by Stephen Joyce of bolder and clearer targets for Rural Broadband, and the recognition that more of the investment pool needs to be shifted into this critical area. Putting this stake in the ground provides a clear measure of success - at the infrastructure level.
However, it's critical that we don't think that the job is done. Broadband alone isn't the answer - although lack of good broadband is an absolute impediment that must be addressed.
The real question remains - what next, what do we do in the way of new services or applying richer information to transform our Rural sector and compete on the world stage?
We will continue to work with those also asking this question, and pushing for the bigger vision to be defined.
A good first step though.
Rural Broadband Target a Good StepTUANZ Innovation Awards
10 September 2009
It was great to be the premium sponsor at this year's TUANZ Innovation Awards and be reminded, and somewhat humbled, by some of the innovations.
Innovation is critical to New Zealand's economy and we took the opportunity to reflect that 77% of our ICT spend is used to just stand still. Voco is fortunate to work with clients who want to change that and move forward. We see that this is hard and requires ongoing vision and leadership, and not just asking the bumper sticker questions.
Our challenge to ourselves, the others in the room and our leaders was to look at the real questions - what next?
Innovation Awards - Introduction Speech
TUANZ Innovation Awards1st Tuesday Club - BlueCoat
29 July 2009
We are delighted to announce that BlueCoat are sponsoring next month's 1st Tuesday Club on 4th August from 5 until 7pm.
'Protect your Mobile Workers'
Protect your mobile enterprise and government employees when they are out of the office. "I can't surf porn at the office with my laptop but when I leave the network and go home or to the hotel then I can do anything I like on the Internet".
Why do large enterprises and government departments allow their staff to do this with corporate assets?
James Wong, Senior Business Consultant at Blue Coat Systems will explain how security managers can effectively deal with this issue by gaining visibility and control at the end point. You will be able to assure the CEO, CIO and Minister that your security policy is now locked into every laptop no matter where it goes - even for mobile users. Michael Dodds, Country Manager for BlueCoat will also be available to answer your questions.
So make sure you keep 5 - 7 pm on August 4th free!
Food and drink will be provided courtesy of our sponsor from 5 - 7pm and we'll be at the usual location.
What is the 1st Tuesday Club?
The 1st Tuesday Club NZ was founded in 2008 by Paul Hortop, Security Consultant from Voco and Kendra Ross, Director at Duo, as a strictly no sales, informal gathering for NZ’s senior professionals in Information Security, IT Risk, IT Audit and law enforcement.
Complimentary tapas, wines, beers and soft drinks are served throughout the evening courtesy of our sponsor, who this month is Symantec.
Admission to the 1st Tuesday Club is by invitation only so if you know of someone who should be invited along, please let Paul Hortop know.
1st Tuesday Club - BlueCoat
Innovation in the Rural Sector
20 July 2009
Landcorp had a challenge - providing responsive data communications services between head office and their remote farms, enabling them to transform their business model.
Voco consultants put on gumboots and visited farms to understand exactly what was needed, and then developed a strategy that enabled Landcorp to identify the right technology - now being implemented.
The following articles provide some further information about this latest innovation for the rural sector.
Landcorp Overcomes Rural Broadband Challenges
Innovation in the Rural Sector
