Dear colleagues in the NSW ICT industryOn behalf of the NSW Committee of AIIA, I am pleased to present this record of the 2008 NSW Committee’s activities.
In presenting this report, I acknowledge the contributions made by my fellow Committee members, and by the many volunteers from our NSW member companies who are involved in our special interest groups. As Chairman of the NSW Committee it has been my privilege to work again with a group of extremely capable senior ICT executives who have volunteered their valuable time to contribute to our industry and to AIIA.
Focusing on AIIA membersThe key objective for the NSW Committee is ensuring that we provide the highest level of support to enable the AIIA to deliver value to its member companies. Therefore, we have focused on how to get buyers in front of our members to understand what they want; on how to get the committee and our members in front of buyers to help them understand how best we can do business together; and how to work with government to make sure we have a good trading environment to help grow our industry.
Our 2008 objectivesThe NSW Committee is organised along business lines and we established the following objectives at the beginning of 2008:
- Contribute to and support the AIIA Board and AIIA’s national AIIA agenda and activities
- Influence political, government and media opinion of the economic, social and environmental benefits of ICT technologies and solutions to the State of NSW
- Manage and improve our services and our events to help our colleagues remain abreast of industry trends and developments
- Manage and improve NSW Committee operations to provide a return on our member companies’ investment in AIIA
ProgressWe have achieved much of this during this last year through expanding our contacts with NSW Government and strengthening our existing ties, running monthly networking sessions and holding events where leading speakers gave their views on business opportunities and other business topics.
Our special Interest Groups: Our special interest groups allows industry executives to acquire and collate valuable business information on the various marketplaces of interest to AIIA member companies. Our groups also help inform and drive our responses to Government and provide a basis for selecting future events topics. Our special interest groups continue to attract a wide range of interested individuals who normally would not necessarily get an opportunity to work alongside each other. In 2008, we concentrated on the marketplaces associated with the verticals of healthcare, education and training, NSW government, exports, and our new interests of environmental sustainability, and banking and finance.
Our NSW.Net Cluster, and the Females in Information Technology and Telecommunications (FITT) also enjoyed success.
Government relations: We have made input and sought responses from the NSW Government and NSW Opposition on a range of issues concerning workforce, small business programs, government procurement, ewaste and environment sustainability.
To the NSW Government and NSW Opposition, we have been advocating the value the contribution of the ICT to the NSW economy and for the need for policies and programs to:
- develop the NSW ICT industry, especially growing locally based small-medium ICT companies in NSW
- grow a workforce with ICT skills in NSW to assist in growing the NSW economy
- encourage a conducive investment climate in NSW; and
- improve the NSW Government’s system of procuring ICT goods and services.
Communication of our activities: We have regularly reported on our progress and activities generally through the fortnightly AIIA Bulletin, and specifically to members of our special interest groups.
Online survey tool, Survey Monkey was used to get information to help our activities align more closely to the needs of people in ICT companies, and to gather evidence to support our contention of ICT as the enabling agent for productivity dividends from private and public sector organisations.
AIIA business events in NSW: We have continued to face the challenges of getting cut through in a crowded market, identifying appealing as well as relevant topics and then ensuring that the ‘right’ speaker is engaged. During 2008, the committee reviewed its events program, and commenced in the second half of 2008 to deliver relevant and appealing topics to people in our industry.
AIIA events in NSW remain focused on providing people in AIIA member companies with insights into the buyers, buying trends and selling opportunities in specific ICT marketplaces. In addition, our Special Interest Groups have been successful in running smaller scale functions where we have encouraged networking and partnering openings for attendees.
We have participated in joint-hosting events with other business and NSW government agencies where these provided people in AIIA companies with further business intelligence and networking opportunities for people in our industry.
Looking forward to 2009 During January 2009, the new NSW committee will meet to review 2008 and then consider which key areas will drive us forward. There will be many areas we will consider as well as past performance: these will include a review of the impact of NSW Government procurement practices, how to unlock the opportunities within the State, increasing the leverage and relevance of our Special Interest Groups, driving the success of the NSW AIIA events program as not just a source of valuable information but also expanding their networking potential.
AcknowledgementsThe NSW Committee guides the Association’s interests and activities in NSW. This Committee is an elected group of representatives from AIIA member companies who work on a voluntary basis to assist the Association and the ICT industry.
I acknowledge the contributions by my fellow Committee members of the 2008 NSW Committee:
- Luli Adeyemo, Best Case Scenario Pty Ltd
- Craig Baty, Frost & Sullivan Pty Ltd
- Catherine Caruana-McManus, IBM Australia and New Zealand Limited
- Eddie Geller, Unique World Group
- Chris Greig, Macquarie Telecom,
- Kevin Harris, TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute
- Andrew James, iClinix Pty Ltd,
- Charles Lindop, ITFC Pty Ltd
- Patricia Nance
- Bruce Pedersen
- Jeff Smoot, Fujitsu Australia Limited
- Peter Strohkorb, Canon Australia Pty Ltd
- Gil Thew, Wolken Management Services
We thank our many colleagues in our NSW member companies who are involved in our special interest groups, who have contributed to our activities, and who have participated in our delegations to NSW Ministers, Shadow Ministers, government officials in key NSW Government agencies, and other industry associations.
I also acknowledge people in the NSW Government and agencies who have involved the Association in policy development and who are strong advocates for our industry.
ConclusionIn conclusion, I would like to congratulate the 2008 NSW Committee for doing a great job this year in representing the NSW industry; in working with the NSW politicians and officials; and importantly, in helping you achieve better business outcomes.
Our 2009 NSW Committee will continue the work of our past Committees in developing and providing value to people in our member companies.
To help us keep this momentum going, we encourage you to become involved with, and participate in, the Association’s NSW activities in 2009. Please don’t hesitate to contact members of the 2009 NSW Committee for assistance and contacts.
Martin DareState Chairman – NSW
Australian Information Industry Association
November 2008
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