Headlines - November 2005
Last month, in our press review, we made brief reference to "A live case study" - the move to production of the Imports Module of Australian Customs massive re-engineering program. read
On October 12th, one day after the October IT Governance Letter was published, Australia experienced an IT project failure of potentially catastrophic proportions. The Australian Customs Service introduced the Imports Module of the Integrated Cargo System, bringing to a climax its multi-year program of re-engineering the way imports and experts are handled. read
Fast and accurate responses to questions about security and privacy of sensitive information are important in a competitive world. They are also critical in handling the media and in adherence to privacy issues as well as an array of government and business regulations.
Following its overseas success, the IntellinX solution to these concerns is being introduced in Australia and New Zealand by Advent One Pty Ltd. read
On October 25th, 2005, twenty seven customers and guests of Corporate Information Systems Pty Ltd (CIS) attended a breakfast briefing, at which Infonomics Principal Mark Toomey discussed the intent of the Australian Standard for Corporate Governance of ICT (AS8015).read
On 12 October 2005, news articles reported that Telstra had scored top marks for corporate governance in the Horwath 2005 Corporate Governance Report, which rates the corporate governance practices of Australia's top 250 companies by market capitalisation. Does this make sense? Haven't we been hearing recently that Telstra has made some major errors with investment in its infrastructure? Are these outcomes compatible with good corporate governance? read
The profile of IT as an important corporate governance issue continues to grow. Hard on the heels of the KPMG Global IT Project Management Survey comes a publication from CPA Australia, entitled "IT Governance: A Practical Guide for Company Directors and Business Executives". read
Quite regularly, particularly in US based press, one reads of CIOs having poor career prospects and short tenure expectations. CIO's often struggle in their roles, not because they are incapable, but because the expectations under which they labour are unrealistic. read
Ongoing developments in information and communication technology create opportunities for organisations to change the way they operate, or to offer new services and products. Sometimes the innovation can be so profound that it changes the rules for a marketplace, giving the innovator a major advantage over the competition. read
Not all IT investments go bad. In fact, some organisations have a remarkably consistent track record of getting IT exactly right. Nor surprisingly, most of them recognise this as a strategic advantage, and keep it quiet. But there are always a few good stories and it helps when they are told, to balance the depression we might feel when confronted by unending tales of disaster. read
Of course, Customs has presented us with the major trouble spot for the month. But it's not the only story in the past month where IT has been associated with problems.
Some time ago, Insurance Australia Group introduced a new approach to obtaining quotes for smash repairs, with repairers no longer inspecting the damaged vehicle, but working from digital photographs. The scheme has been controversial, with operators saying that it will reduce quality and compromise safety. Now, according to The Age on November 9th, the NSW Government is looking into the scheme, through an independent investigator. read
New legislative and regulatory requirements are driving a heavy workload of compliance for many organisations. And for many, the sources of compliance pressure are no longer just local. In particular, we keep hearing that the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act creates requirements for organisations that trade in the US, even if they are not domiciled in that country. read
It's unlikely that Infonomics will ever step into the field of offering legal advice. But we do have concerns that the increasing penetration of IT into the core of business raises legal risk, if there is not proper consideration of the legal aspects of IT use in projects and operation. read
Here we present a collection of odd thoughts and minor observations of the past month - things that didn't fit anywhere else. read
Things that may interest you - or have caught our attention. Includes our speaking agenda. read
We are delighted to announce our first sponsor for the IT Governance Letter. Advent One designs and implements business and infrastructure solutions based on IBM software, infrastructure, services and financing options. read
