Letter From the Editor
Grab a Broom
Welcome to the first issue of Tech Journal in 2024. Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a major topic of discussion last year, with many conversations taking place in the media and increasingly in boardrooms and budget meetings.
Since then, not only have we seen the technology evolve, but we have also heard about the possibilities tagged to the technology.
For example, South Australia Department for Education has harnessed the power of AI to build and trial a chatbot that has been designed specifically for teaching and learning. ‘EdChat’ is the first chatbot of its kind in Australia and one of the first in the world to be introduced in an educational setting.
To keep up with the possibilities, organisations must first ensure they are keeping up with their technology ecosystem. However, as any IT decision-maker can attest, “keeping up” is no small feat. Many leaders have seen their digital transformation ambitions derailed by unexpected — and unseen — challenges.
Between the vision and promising returns on investment is a pathway filled with obstacles. Chief among them is technical debt — an estimated measure of the cost to replace an aging or recently adopted solution that provides limited benefits. It is a messy prohibitor, but not a lost cause. In fact, our experts will show you how to view technical debt as an opportunity. They will coach you on how to expose, untangle and strategically wrangle it.
Let's talk about people. As technology continues to progress and evolve, it is crucial to ensure that our people are progressing along with it. We can't achieve growth without investing in our employees and teammates and their development. Generative AI is an exciting opportunity to achieve a variety of business outcomes, from optimising processes to improving customer and employee experiences. However, we know from surveys and client conversations that there's work to be done around generative AI training. Employees are eager for guidance and direction. So, change management is a critical step along the ongoing AI adoption journey, bringing every team member and department along with you, and critical to realise the full value from the investments — whether you’re actively deploying everyday AI via, for example, Copilot or scoping or deploying a game-changing AI use case.
Leaders are often on the front lines of trends, waiting (sometimes impatiently) for their teams to catch up. But change fatigue is real and pervasive; we need to be careful with how many new initiatives we launch and how much we ask of our teams.
For many organisations, this means taking the time to build and nurture the right foundations. Uncovering and strategically addressing technical debt is not easy, but it is necessary. Auditing and cleaning up your data estate is not quick, but it is valuable. Digital transformation is never easy, but ultimately it is worth it and required.
We hope this issue of Tech Journal will inspire you to take on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Thank you for your continued support and readership.
P.S. What do you think of the cover art? We created it with generative AI (and a lot of prompt engineering).
Sincerely,
Athena ThompsonAPAC Alliances & Marketing DirectorEditor-in-Chief
Managing editor: Jillian VinerProduction manager: Shika WijesundaraCopy editor: Jesse ReevesWriters: Lauren Kawalec, Jesse Millard, Justin Morris, Joseph Slade, Shelby Payne, Jason Rader, Jesse Wilker
Contributors: Amol Ajgaonkar, Marcus Benson, Jeff Bozic, Mike Gaumond, Rachel Jenkins, David McCurdy, Michael Nardone, Jeremy Nelson, John O'Shaughnessy, Juan Orlandini, Carmen TaglientiArt director: Chris ReddochArt & production managers: Charles Cruz, Rovi SiaArt & design: Charles Cruz, Calvin Dar Juan, Mervin Lorenzo, Anthony Ubrano, Rovi Sia
Video: Roberto Aldrete, Treyvon Thomspon, Andy RoberstonSocial media: Josette D'Espyne, Jarrod Piper, Nicola StammPublic relations: Shelby Payne, Scott Walters; Ben Chelliah
