Sunday 4 August 2013

I want a car not a list of parts for self-assembly

There's only one chance to be a 'new starter'. What a golden opportunity this has been - to experience what it is like to roll up as a new employee and be introduced to IT at Nottingham.

I ask for the standard.  What do you normally give the mobile professional?  What do you recommend?  I have simple needs …..I want one device.  I want to move around from wired to wireless, and get to my data wherever I am.  I work at home a lot. Please let me take my office home with me.  (I'm in my kitchen now.) I want to know my data is backed up and safely encrypted.  I want to be able to work off-line on the train sometimes and know that my email and data will synchronise again as soon as I'm reconnected.   I need a core set of applications.

But there are no standard services it seems.

I feel like someone who went to a garage to buy a car - something to get me quickly and safely from A to B.  What I'm given disappoints.  It is a long list of parts...an engine, a few wheels, a gear box.  I'm sure it's a great engine but I don't want to assemble the parts myself,  not even if there is a great instruction book.  (There isn't an instruction book.)


When I talk about service, I mean "a means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks".  I just want a safe, convenient and comfortable way of getting from A to B.  You are the experts guys.  Walk tall and tell me the best way to do that.

Sunday 14 July 2013

New job, so many new people...


Started my new role as CIO at the University of Nottingham this week.  So here's the first challenge…..how to meet 210 people, remember their names, know what they do and where they sit across more than 25 locations.   This is my team and I need to know them all as individuals and by reputation as quickly as possible.  My diary's packed with introductory meetings but I can't meet everyone that way.  So I've sent everyone some introductory stuff about me and asked them to reciprocate  - an electronic business card, with a picture, and a personal profile, as well as hints and tips for me on what I need to know quickly about this place.  Fantastic response!  I have had 36 back so far - all really informative and interesting .  Now I have my pointers to some of the rich information I need.   It's always good to know what's growing in the garden before you start digging!