The Australian University sector is heading down the path of seemingly inevitable and fundamental change in both its operating model and role within society. The forces at play are numerous and diverse, fueled in part by the capabilities of modern technologies. These include factors such as increasing global competition for tertiary students, the shift towards a self-funded corporate operating model whilst having to retain academic independence and rigor – all in an environment of the increasing commoditisation of knowledge and intellectual property through emerging vehicles such as MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses). In the midst of these structural changes, how well Australian Universities navigate through the current swathe of emerging and potentially disruptive technologies whilst mitigating the longer term systemic risks associated with their adoption is not necessarily a trivial exercise. In this session, Rob Livingstone offered some practical insights into how CIOs of ‘the University of the future’ can play an active part in helping their institutions thrive in the new environment by maximising the upside potential of new and emerging technologies with known cost and risk, whilst simultaneously managing the multiple versions of reality that exist in the new IT environment.

1. Maximising the opportunities offered by emerging
technologies within the changing Australian University
environment
CAUDIT Briefing
Sydney, 6th Feb 2013
© All rights reserved. Rob Livingstone Advisory Pty Ltd. Unauthorized redistribution prohibited
without prior approval. ‘Navigating through the Cloud’ and ‘Success is our story, let’s make it
yours’ are Trademarks of Rob Livingstone Advisory Pty Ltd.

2. Agenda
• Context
• Disruption: Weathering the sea of perfect storms
• BYOD – Tip of the individual empowerment iceberg?
• MOOCS – Distraction or Destruction?
• Move spotlight from technical risk to systemic risk
• Unhappy symbiosis: IT agility and organisational inertia?
• Concurrent multiple versions of reality
• The pivotal role of the CIO of the University of the future
– Insights
• Interactive Q&A

3. Context
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world.”
- Nelson Mandela
University CIOs can play a dual role:
•Lead the transformation of the tertiary education
sector through appropriate technologies and
innovative processes
•Educating key stakeholders about optimal
adoption of emerging technologies with known
risk.

4. Disruption: Weathering the sea of perfect storms
• Good news is that University sector is not alone
• … essentially, no industry is immune….
• Example of technology enabled change in legal industry
“As more and more companies bypass
law firms and go straight to LPO
providers, Australian firms are now
realising the influence LPO providers
have in the market and are turning to
them to co-pitch for new clients.”
http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/news/power-shifts-to-lpo-providers

5. Disruption: Weathering the sea of perfect storms
December 2012
http://info.publicintelligence.net/GlobalTrends2030.pdf

6. BYOD – Tip of the individual empowerment iceberg?
• BYOD is an extension of requirement for universal mobility
• It’s inevitable
– Usage of mobile devices outstripping laptops and PCs
• Consider your policy approach
– Useful reference: NIST Guideline
• Implementation of effective BYOD capability is a
cornerstone of eLearning, MOOCs
For discussion in Q&A:
What BYOD strategies are you adopting?
What impact will BYOD have on pedagogy outcomes?
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-124r1/draft_sp800-124-rev1.pdf

7. MOOCS – Distraction or Destruction?
• MOOCs are about the democratisation of education and
knowledge.
• Accredited Degrees now emerging
• Nil barrier to entry, global, device agnostic reach via the
net
• Very active marketplace, lots of new entrants

8. MOOCS – Distraction or Destruction?
“The next disruptor will likely mark a tipping point: an entirely free
online curriculum leading to a degree from an accredited institution.
With this new business model, students might still have to pay to
certify their credentials, but not for the process leading to their
acquisition”
- The MOOC Model: Challenging Traditional Education - James G.
Mazoue, January 28, 2013; EDUCAUSE Review Online
Acid test: Would you take your sick child to visit a Doctor that
was MOOC trained?

9. MOOCS – Distraction or Destruction?
What about Australia?
http://theconversation.edu.au/universities-seek-copyright-law-reform-to-enable-moocs-11524

10. MOOCS – Distraction or Destruction?
Questions for Q&A:
•In what way will MOOCs influence your ICT strategy in the next
2 years?
•What faculties/ courses are contenders, and which IT services
will be impacted?

11. Move spotlight from technical risk to systemic risk
Technical Risk:
“All systems are running
perfectly, Captain!”
Systemic Risk: “What
iceberg Captain?”

12. Move spotlight from technical risk to systemic risk
• Historically, IT’s domain of risk management largely related to
technological and security risks and their organisational impacts.
(Think ISO27001 etc.)
• IT should be a driving force in shaping the discussions relating to
systemic risk at the enterprise level.
Why:
• IT has a unique perspective of the organisation:
• Cross functional and detailed view on how the organisation
works (current state), and therefore identify potential
opportunities that individual faculties do not.
• Technology pervades all aspects of the organisation.
• Senior executives may have limited view on how, precisely,
their organisations operate.
• IT understands interconnectedness and information
taxonomies.

13. Unhappy symbiosis: IT agility and organisational
inertia?
• Technology aside, are Universities reshaping their strategies,
structures at an equivalent or faster pace sought from IT?
• Effects of enterprise inertia on rapid adoption of technologies
• Departmental / Faculty myopia
• Effects of incentive schemes and/or individual self interest
For discussion in Q&A:
Is IT expected to be more agile, innovative and
transformative than the overall organisation?

14. Concurrent multiple versions of reality
Schrödinger’s cat
and enterprise IT?
Schrödinger’s Cat is alive and kicking in the Enterprise…..
•Concept of multiple and concurrent versions of reality – all of which
may be correct at the same time.
•Simultaneous versions of reality held by key stakeholders on how,
what, when and where enterprise IT solutions should be applied - all
seemingly valid.

15. Concurrent multiple versions of reality
“I have opinions of my own - strong opinions -
but I don't always agree with them.”
― George H.W. Bush
Everyone is a consumer of technology, and
therefore is entitles to an opinion…….

16. Concurrent multiple versions of reality
Why enterprise IT is like Broccoli?
From end user’s perspective, it’s bland, not
sexy, has the occasional bug in it, but it’s
recognised as being important for the health
of the organisation. Most importantly it’s how
it’s presented that’s the kicker
• As a CIO you may know what technology best suits the
organisation, but how will it be used?
• Consumerisation of IT, mobility, BYOD, Cloud and other
emerging and disruptive technologies are rapidly reshaping
the perception of enterprise IT by their users.

17. The pivotal role of the CIO of the University of the
future
Key insights:
1. Actively manage stakeholder perceptions
2. Recognise the power of Brand, Marketing and Communications
3. Lift the lid on systemic risk
4. Transform IT staff at every level
5. Flip from service provider to service broker
6. Educate – from within

18. Insights
1. Actively manage stakeholder perceptions
• IT’s influence on the enterprise’s view of the use of technology
being diluted
• Achieving all IT departmental KPIs and service levels alone is no
longer a measure success.
• Remove any defensive barriers
For discussion in Q&A:
What approaches could you take in managing stakeholder’s perceptions?

19. Insights
2. Recognise the power of Brand, Marketing and Communications
• Technologists (engineers, scientists, etc) do not always recognise
the relevance and importance of acquiring ‘soft skills’ and related
capabilities to their projects, initiatives and even their own careers.
• If IT does not sensitively and deliberately control its brand through
effective marketing and communications initiatives, others will.
• Marketing in this context must be devoid of misrepresentation and
spin, and be evidence based.
• Does the internal IT function’s brand align with the brand of the
University?
For discussion in Q&A:
Is branding of IT important in the successful transition to a
new business model?

20. Insights
3. Lift the lid on systemic risk
• Play an active part in discussions on latent systemic risk
associated with inappropriate adoption of technologies
• Manage the significant transition risk from legacy environments
• Ensure key stakeholders understanding how current decisions
could influence future risk profile in a volatile environment
• Clarity over the positioning of all aspects of risk need careful
dissection amongst the noise
Systemic Risk
Time

21. Insights
4. Transform IT staff at every level
• Transforming internal IT capability to meet new demands
• Moving internal IT staff up the value chain
• CaaS: Introduce the concept of your ‘Career as a Service’
• Set expectation of volatility, managing commoditisation of skill

22. Insights
5. Flip from service provider to service broker:
• Hone vendor management and governance skills within IT
• Deliver SaaS: Strategy as a Service to all departments seeking
guidance on technology.
On the topic of accountability:
Clearly define the accountability boundary for enterprise IT across
the organisation.
- What’s in-scope for the management of IT services?
- What’s negotiable in the IT portfolio of services?
- What’s non-negotiable in the IT portfolio of services?

23. Insights
6. Educate – from within
• Provide insightful, evidence based, relevant thought leadership
• Dominate the role as trusted advisor, not consultants or vendors!
• Proactively articulate the implications for disruptive and emerging
technologies for your organisation before you’re invited to
comment - Be seen and operate ahead of the curve
• Lead the charge in drawing on (potentially) valuable resources
from within your own or other academic institutions
• ..after all, academics in industry relevant faculties are often
looking for ‘real world’ case studies as a bridge out of pure
academia.
• What role can the (suitable) experts and academics in
business, engineering, IT, legal and other faculties play in
actively advising and supporting the successful transition of
the university to ‘the University of the future’?

24. Interactive Q&A
• What BYOD strategies are you adopting?
• What impact will BYOD have on pedagogy
outcomes?
• Will MOOCs influence your ICT strategy in
the next 2 years?
• What faculties, subjects are contenders, and
which IT services will be impacted?
• Is IT expected to be more agile, innovative and transformative
than the overall organisation?
• Is branding of IT important in the successful transition to a new
business model?
• What approaches could you take in managing stakeholder’s
perceptions?

25. ThankYou!
ROB LIVINGSTONE
- Fellow, University of Technology, Sydney
- Principal, Rob Livingstone Advisory Pty Ltd
W: www.rob-livingstone.com
E: rob@rob-livingstone.com
P: +61 2 8005 1972
M: +61 419 632 673
F: +61 2 9879 5004
Tw: @rladvisory
© All rights reserved. Rob Livingstone Advisory Pty Ltd. Unauthorized redistribution prohibited
without prior approval. ‘Navigating through the Cloud’ and ‘Success is our story, let’s make it
yours’ are Trademarks of Rob Livingstone Advisory Pty Ltd.