MIS100 2009:Bubbling under

Suncorp Group
Senior IS executive: Andrew Diver, CIO, Vero New Zealand
Total screens: 1205
Industry: Finance and insurance
Website: www.vero.co.nz

Suncorp Group (NZ) includes well-known brands such as Vero Insurance, Tyndall Investments, Asteron, Guardian Trust, Autosure, Comprehensive Travel and Mariner Insurance. It will continue to pursue a greater presence in the New Zealand broker market and direct markets; saying regulation, taxation and the introduction of the KiwiSaver scheme are expected to create future growth opportunities.

Suncorp executive management changes in the past six months include the departure of CEO John Mulcahy and the appointment of Chris Skilton as acting CEO.

Andrew Diver leads New Zealand technology operations and acts as both CIO for Vero New Zealand and executive general manager for Suncorp’s technology operations here.

Diver reports to Jeff Smith, group executive, business technology. He says key ICT projects for the coming year are the adoption, rollout and proficiency of Agile delivery practices and the adoption and utilisation of open-source technologies.
Kristin School
New Zealand Steel
Manukau City Council
Housing New Zealand Corporation
Stella Travel Services
Diocesan School for Girls
Senior IS executive: Craig Harrison, information systems manager
Total screens: 1727
Industry: Education services
Website: www.diocesan.school.nz

Diocesan School for Girls will provide the best in academic, cultural and sporting facilities and resources.

Challenges include achieving more personalised communication with stakeholders through web portals, as well as increasing risk management in an education environment experiencing reduced government funding and increased competition. “The falling New Zealand dollar is increasing our cost of ICT purchasing, whereas budgets are reducing due to current economic climate,” says IS manager Craig Harrison.

To address these challenges, he says 2009 will see further development of Diocesan’s web portal access to information, along with development of DR capabilities.

Each year, obsolete staff laptops are replaced along with an annual intake of more than 200 new students with laptops. Harrison says protecting the network from malware and risks is always high on the list of priorities, and solutions from Trend Micro and SurfControl are used to secure the network. The 2008 deployment of Microsoft Vista with its enhanced security features, has also had a positive impact on the security of the network.
Turners and Growers
Bunnings
Hawkes Bay District Health Board
Bay of Plenty Polytechnic
Television NZ
Senior IS executive: Damian Swaffield, general manager technology
Total screens: 1603
Industry: Information
Website: www.tvnz.co.nz

Cost efficiency and the need to do more with less are key points of focus for TVNZ. ICT tools and systems deliver the resources, skills and support for the appropriate levels of governance and intellectual thinking a digital media organisation like TVNZ relies upon, says CIO Damian Swaffield. He says broadcast and IT based technologies sit at the heart of the media revolution, both in emerging business channels such as online, video on demand and IPTV as well as in the core of video processing for linear TV. IT systems are needed to manage and store content as well as deliver it to audiences. ICT continues to implement business supporting projects such as digital transformation of the content value chain with workflow-driven, digital asset management systems to replace manual tape-based business processes; as well as a transformation of the advertising sales business through replacement systems and technology, and continued investment in the online products. Also planned are investments in networking technologies to support the move to a digital workflow, along with storage, virtualisation and wireless technologies.
Tyco Fire & Security
Senior IS executive: Antony Mayo, group IT manager NZ
Total screens: 1254
Industry: Manufacturing
Website: www.tyco.co.nz

Organic growth is a major focus for Tyco Fire & Security New Zealand, which provides electronic security systems, fire protection, detection and suppression systems; sprinklers and fire extinguishers; and security services.

Tyco Fire & Security has completed implementation of cash parcel track-and-tracing via GPRS wireless technologies and mobile devices. Other achievements included completion of a major implementation in conjunction with the NZ Fire Service in which new technologies were used to increase the reliability of signals received from fire and safety alert panels on buildings.

In 2009, the company is focused on cash processing, workforce management and data management systems; and an internet access and security upgrade.
Customer interface initiatives are also planned.
Coca-Cola Amatil
Senior IS executive: Donna Wright, CIO
Total screens: 1355
Industry: Manufacturing
Website: www.ccamatil.com

Attracting, developing and retaining high-calibre people, accelerating growth and investing in new beverage categories and acquisitions are key organisational goals for Coca Cola Amatil in 2009. The company has to deal with the impact of the recession on its internal costs as well as how its retail customers and consumers purchasing behaviours are affected, says CIO Donna Wright. From an ICT perspective she says a key focus is to review the number of ICT vendors the organisation deals with. Overall ICT strategy is focused on application rationalisation through implementation of SAP technologies. The largest ICT projects by budget for 2009 are development of a mobile sales force tool, a call centre technology upgrade and expansion and integration of VOIP technology.
Statistics New Zealand
Senior IS executive: Matjaz Jug, chief information officer
Total screens: 1650
Industry: Government and defence
Website: www.stats.govt.nz

the ICT team at Statistics NZ is focused on projects including systems in support of the census, development of statistical processing systems and data dissemination systems. Also on the agenda are integrated respondent management and strategies for the mitigation of business continuity risks related to legacy systems, and ongoing software and server virtualisation. CIO Matjaz Jug says facilitating ease of access to official statistics and internet data collection are among the challenges the IT team faces. ICT is needed to build a sustainable, technological platform, yet there is constant pressure to do this in the most cost effective way. The internal team maintains servers and PC hardware and outsourcing is used for extra support around some systems and network management.
Tait Electronics
MediaWorks
Senior IS executive: Paul Thompson, group IT manager
Total screens: 1420
Industry: Information
Website: www.mediaworks.co.nz


VoIP and unified communications are high on the MediaWorks ICT agenda for 2009. Group IT Manager Paul Thompson says the company is keen to benefit from the increased productivity unified communications can provide, and the cost savings associated with VoIP technologies and services.

From a business perspective, MediaWorks is working to increase revenue share through its television stations and national radio brands. There has also been a marked increase in online interaction between the company and its customers, leading to a significant focus on all online assets and activities.

Telecommunications services to MediaWorks are split between three separate suppliers, a less than ideal solution and a key driver for the move to a unified communications solution, says Thompson. Currently, WAN services are supplied by TelstraClear and phone services are moving to TelstraClear as the VOIP project is rolled out. Mobile services remain with Vodafone.

Unlike many organisations, MediaWorks is yet to be convinced of the cost justification of server virtualisation and wireless technologies, which can’t deliver the bandwidth required for TV and radio file transfers and streaming.
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
Senior IS executives: Adri Noordover, IT network and technical manager; and Stephen Tanner, IT customer services manager
Total screens: 995
Industry: Educational services
Website: www.nmit.ac.nz

NMIT seeks more accurate targeting and streamlined deployment and running of IT services, and easier access to services and information. IT network and technical manager Adri Noordover says better awareness and management of organisational cost and income structures is also sought.
In 2009, NMIT is focused on selecting and implementing a Service Oriented IT framework and supporting toolset. Other focus areas include implementation of a new finance and business intelligence system, implementation of unified messaging solutions, and extended use of national (Karen) and regional (The Loop) education networks for video conferencing and shared services. Upgrade of timetabling and student management systems is also occurring.
Software and server virtualisation is ongoing, and NMIT is extending wireless infrastructure throughout its campus to better meet student expectations. NMIT is also extending its e-business connections and developing improved web portal connections and business-to-business transaction platforms. The NMIT ITS team leader role has recently been split into two separate roles – Adri Noordover is IT network and technical manager; and Stephen Tanner is IT customer services manager.
Restaurant Brands NZ
Senior IS executive: Kerry Cross, information services manager
Total screens: 565
Industry Accommodation and food services
Website : www.restaurantbrands.co.nz

Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited operates the New Zealand outlets of KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks Coffee. Its core competency is taking the expertise and systems of its brand franchisors and applying it locally, to deliver both the food and the total experience on a consistent basis across the company.

Kerry Cross, information services manager, heads an ICT team of six. According to its website, Restaurant Brands says behind its success is the marshalling of business systems designed to facilitate the careful and intelligent procurement of quality ingredients. This includes efficient distribution to and through three retail networks, and the employment of advanced tracking technology to meticulously track and report on costs, sales, margins and replenishment.

In April, the New Zealand Herald reported Restaurant Brand directors were cautious about next year's outcomes, despite this year's trading results being satisfactory in the current environment and an improvement over the past two years' performance. The report said the company would evaluate some potential store sales to independent franchisees and continue its programme of unprofitable store closures.
Ministry of Economic Development
Deloitte
Senior IS executive: Eugene Piercy, IT manager
Total screens: 1306
Industry: Business management and scientific services
Website: www.deloitte.co.nz

Deloitte has more than 1000 specialists operating in quality professional services including audit, tax, technology and systems, risk management, corporate finance, recovery, forensics and business advisory services.

It has offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Centralising knowledge and intellectual property is a key goal for Deloitte in 2009, says national IT manager Eugene Piercy.

He says key IT investments designed to leverage these goals include document management and unified communications systems, along with server virtualisation and consolidation. Other projects include a Windows Vista operating system upgrade, as well as relocation of the Deloitte Auckland and Hamilton offices.

While ICT budgets have decreased slightly from last year, ICT people numbers remain steady at the firm, reflecting its ongoing recognition of ICT as a platform for business excellence and outstanding client service delivery.