Entries Tagged 'podcasts' ↓

The ABC “Big Ideas” series has a great talk from Tim Flannery on the current status of climate change thinking and science:

The response to climate change has focused largely on what we can do to reduce the production of emissions. But leading environmentalist Dr Tim Flannery reminds us that we should not lose sight of the tree fix. Farms and forests could become ‘enormous engines of planetary cleansing’. Join us for an update on the science of climate change and some solutions based on the force of nature.  

There is a sobering assessment of the challenge facing us in terms of reducing carbon pollution, but Dr Flannery demonstrates true leadership with some positive and pragmatic suggestions.

The March 22nd Science Show is dedicated entirely to Nicholas Negroponte’s presentation at the AAAS about One Laptop Per Child.

Inspiring.

Podcasting has had a profound effect on the way that I keep up to date with my industry and the world in general. It turns my daily commute into an opportunity to absorb new ideas. The most powerful aspects of the technology are the ability to listen offline – to timeshift – and and the fact that I don’t need to use my eyes, or my hands, or need a comfortable seat, or can listen while jogging. I’m particularly grateful for the specialised channels that have embraced podcasts – ABC radio allows me to catch up with news, analysis or the Science Show – luxuries which I never had the time for in the past. IT Conversations allows me to attend tech conferences on the other side of the planet which were previously unavailable.

I recently heard a great podcast from MIS magazine called CIOs wrestle with short-term thinking which reinforced a lot of my observations of the state of “Enterprise IT.” Two of the key speakers were Bill Robertson (CIO of DeBortoli Wines) and Ross Dawson. Key points from the podcast were:

• Organizations are sourcing IT through multiple different channels – either by outsourcing services, or through new software as a service models.
• New component-based computing models are enabling this kind of change.
• These changes require more long-term thinking – evolutionary changes to the IT landscape require a tenure that is typically longer than the current average for CIOs and CEOs.
• The nature of the CIO job is changing – moving from being a bureaucratic or procurement role into being more of a technology role.

This resonates strongly with my observations and experience in the industry. Short-term thinking favours “quick fixes” such as buying the latest application or outsourcing the “crown jewels” to the latest services company. Rarely do these actions fix anything – they just move the problems around.

Long-term thinking deals with the harder issues of managing less tangible (but more valuable) assets such as processes and capabilities. IT Architecture becomes a vital organizational capability and good governance drives consistency and interoperability over a longer period of time.