Chris Quin, CEO, Gen-i Australasia
Connectivity creating real economic value
This is the year in which new fibre and mobile networks will be built across rural and metro New Zealand. The real challenge now facing the ICT industry and business is how we turn that infrastructure into economic return.
This will be achieved by enabling Government services, supporting export-driven companies and making New Zealand more productive, with applications and collaboration delivered over these new networks.
Government shared ICT infrastructure
ICT is a $2 billion spend for the Government. Such investment can potentially drive greater efficiency in public sector spending.
Any savings or efficiencies here can make a real difference for New Zealand. Improved service delivery through integrated information and improved collaboration in key sectors like health, education and justice can achieve tremendous results and is essential in making New Zealand a better place in which to live and work.
Connected health
Connected health holds great potential for all Kiwis – through more efficient and effective healthcare, we will see healthier and happier communities and ultimately a more productive workforce, which is vital for economic progress.
FY12 will be about rationalisation and centralisation in New Zealand healthcare. Secure and trusted data networks linking healthcare providers through high speed broadband and mobile connections will be core to the establishment of a level of excellence that could generate great health outcomes and perhaps even new export earnings.
James Bayly, Chief Financial Officer
Cost focus
The market continues to be very tight and businesses like us will continue to look at every item of expenditure to validate that real business value is delivered by spending the money.
Telecom and Gen-i will be doing this very aggressively and the focus will very much be on what value our customers see as a result of making this investment, whether that investment is in capital or operating expense.
Business intelligence
Another trend that is going to have an impact is business intelligence. In order to get the most out of every investment businesses make they need to understand what the link to customer value is of that effort.
This can be very difficult, particularly in a business the size of Gen-i, which is where better business intelligence is required to enable quick, well informed decisions on what to do, but more importantly on what not to do.
Jo Allison, General Manager Marketing
Gearing up for growth
As we continue to emerge from the impacts of recession, the focus for many businesses will shift from just staying the course to getting back to growth.
To get back to growth will require an investment in technology and processes that enable innovation in order to improve efficiency and productivity. This should ultimately have a positive impact on overall economic activity resulting in a boost for the New Zealand economy as whole.
Achieving marketing excellence
An essential element of getting back to growth will be for organisations to aspire to marketing excellence.
As more businesses increase their marketing activities in an already noisy and crowded environment, it will be harder to achieve cut-through for their messages. Old marketing methods will no longer deliver the results they used to an increasingly savvy and critical audience. New and innovative marketing strategies, such as social media, will be the key to getting your message heard and acted upon.
Rowan Tonkin, General Manager Human Resources
Engagement is retention
As the labour market slowly thaws, one of the top ways to retain talented people will be to provide a career and environment that is more compelling than others.
It is the culture we create and the opportunities we provide which will keep people engaged and playing a key role in bringing our vision to life. Our challenge for the year ahead is to continue to make Gen-i a great place to work – a place where people choose to work and have ample opportunity to develop themselves and their careers.
Leadership is about change
FY12 is set to be another exciting year and now more than ever our leaders will play a key role in leading our people through change.
Effective leadership is about making sure all our people have an understanding of where we are heading and feel excited about their role in achieving it. It is not necessarily the macro change projects that will make the difference, but more the daily dialogue and clarity that people leaders can deliver to their teams – it is about making time to ensure this can happen.
Steve Mills, General Manager Corporate Sales
Consumerisation of business technology
With the ongoing consumerisation of business technology, we will see the “bring your own technology” trend accelerate, as more people choose for themselves the devices they want to use in their work life.
The IT department could struggle to remain relevant and could face disintermediation as users, including their own CEOs, with devices like iPads, can easily acquire the applications they need to be more efficient and productive.
The challenge to IT is to enable this as opposed to blocking it – to embrace these divergent technologies in their environment and policies.
Managing the complexity of mobile technology
Related to the “bring your own technology” trend, our clients are increasingly asking for help in managing the complexity of today’s mobile technology.
Their employees no longer just expect to make phone calls or check email when they are away from their desk – they expect to be able to do much more. Company-issued phones or laptops are no longer sufficient for many people who to want to use a device of their choice in the work lives and demand that their IT department accommodate these into their environment. Many IT departments will need a mental shift to deal with this.
How do these priorities match those in your business? Let us know and go in a draw to win an LG Optimus 7Q Windows Phone 7.