David Sundaram
Associate Professor of Information
Systems & Operations Management
“
Organisations cannot afford to be
the last to go there when it comes
to technology. The rise of the “digital
native” – within both the workforce and
the consumer base – makes technology
investment imperative. These natives
are the young adults who have never
known a world without the internet.
They don’t just use technology to make
life more efficient – they use it to build
their identities and form relationships.
When these natives enter the workforce
and start spending more heavily, the
technological bar will be substantially
raised. To stay competitive, organisations
will have no choice but to respond
quickly. The key message for Chief
Executives is that natives expect
technologies to be interactive, usable,
flexible and connective. It would be well
worth involving natives in technology
designs, to meet these requirements.”
Arvind Tripathi
Associate Professor of Information
Systems & Operations management
“
Cloud solutions offer a number of
business advantages, and if you invest
in good advice on how to seize those
advantages, your organisation will reap
benefits in terms of cost savings and
better customer service. Cloud allows
you to quickly scale up or down your IT
infrastructure. So, for companies seeing
online traffic variations, it is very helpful.
Because you pay per use, you can add to
the number of servers (computers) when
all of a sudden demand goes up, and
you can do the opposite when it goes
down. Cloud is also a great way to serve
globally distributed clients and vendors,
giving easy and seamless access.
If you currently use applications with
different software and licensing, planning
can be challenging. Cloud can help in that
area too.“
Ross Johnston
Partner, IT Law
“
Organisations can spend a lot of money
on their IT systems and related business
processes, but few check that their
business processes and contractual
arrangements with suppliers ensure
they achieve best value for money from
their spending. Common risks are buying
products and services that are not the
best fit for your organisation or do not
deliver best value for money, because of
hidden ‘extra’ charges, lack of flexibility
and higher-than-market rates. We advise
clients to think about how they are
managing their risks and achieving best
value in their systems and IT equipment
purchases. They should also think about
the challenges they face in relation to
support issues from their IT systems and
services, and what they can put in place
to overcome them.”
Greg Cain
Partner, Employment Law
John Meads
Partner, Property Law
“
New technologies can result in the
need to reduce or redeploy staffing
in certain areas, or downsize office or
manufacturing / warehouse space.
Do your employment agreements
and / or policies give you maximum
flexibility in dealing with restructuring
or redeployment issues? It is currently
a ‘tenants’ market’, particularly in city
areas where there are rising vacancy
rates. This presents some opportunities
to renegotiate your leases for less
space in exchange for extended tenure,
particularly if your leases are coming up
for renewal.”
sheana wheeldon
Partner, ip Law
Charlotte Henley
Partner, ip Law
“
Where new technologies are developed
internally by employees, or by external
contractors, ownership should be firmly
secured to avoid problems with future
enforcement. If new technology is
developed specifically for your business,
ensure you have a contract that clearly
confirms intellectual property ownership
in the technology, as in the absence of
such an agreement it is not necessarily
the commissioning party that owns the
intellectual property in the technology.
It is always worth investigating the
possibility of obtaining registered
intellectual property rights. With cloud
technologies and social networking front
of mind, think about how you protect
confidential information relating to
your business. Are you exposed if a
key employee or contractor relationship
goes sour?”
key findings //
3:
responding to emerging technologies cont. . .
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