MEDIA RELEASE

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ACS Predicts People Issues to Dominate IT&T Industry in 1999

Wednesday 17 February 1999 - People issues are emerging as the defining factor between IT projects that succeed and those that fail, according to Australian Computer Society (ACS) President Prins Ralston.

Speaking to a gathering of over 120 senior executives at the CIO'99 Conference in Sydney today, Mr Ralston said organisations would increasingly need to consider the impact of the IT skills shortage and changes in workforce dynamics when planning their technology and business strategies.

"Most large companies are already feeling the effects of the current shortage of experienced IT professionals and many industry observers expect the situation to deteriorate further," he said.

"Chief Information Officers trying to align IT strategies with business goals will need to carefully consider the human resources available to them before committing to timeframes and budgets."

Mr Ralston said the skills crisis was further complicated by changes in workforce dynamics which meant that traditional project teams have gradually been replaced with 'virtual teams'.

While traditional teams shared a common experience, vision and belief systems as well as a high degree of trust in each other and loyalty to the company, today's virtual teams usually comprise a number of free agents who are chosen for their specialist skills but who usually have little commitment to the team itself.

"The last two decades has seen a radical shift from the 'jobs for life' approach of the 1960s and 70s to today's more complex organisational environment featuring high turnover of short and medium term contracts," said Ralston.

"Nowhere has this approach proven as successful or popular as it has in the IT industry, where contracts are seen as a flexible and cost-effective way of gaining specific valuable skills.

"The challenge facing today's CIOs is finding people with the right skill set and level of experience and then keeping them for the term of the project to avoid the delays and inconvenience experienced when a technical specialist leaves a project mid-stream."

Mr Ralston said the hype surrounding the Internet, electronic commerce and other technologies offering competitive advantage had prompted management at some organisations to set aggressive targets for implementing new systems or infrastructures.

"While it's important to leverage emerging technologies to improve productivity and gain competitive advantage, even the most supportive and IT literate board of directors can do little if workers with the appropriate experience and training are not available. The reality is that over the next couple of years, many projects will fail to proceed purely for the lack of skilled professionals."

Mr Ralston encouraged CIOs at the conference to consider technical and business issues within the context of their human resource capabilities.

"Even if you do have the right mix of skills and expertise, can you retain your people long enough to be able to focus and mould them into a team capable of delivering the business value you need to remain competitive?" he asked.

Mr Ralston said corporations needed to use the same approach with IT professionals as they did with any other key resource, and act to ensure continuity of supply.

"No manufacturer would stay in business very long if they failed to tie up their supply lines and that's the situation we're now facing within the IT industry. People are the raw materials of IT projects, but supply is drying up. As with any other key resource, companies need to invest in developing new lines of supply.

"The corporate world has always been happy to rely on Government support for the education sector, immigration or standard recruiting and head-hunting practices to fill their requirements for IT professionals, but that is no longer enough," he said.

Mr Ralston called on the business world to invest in developing a pool of IT&T professionals to meet the immediate need and ensure reliable supply for Australia into the future.

"Rather than assuming that someone else will solve the problem, I encourage CIOs and their companies to partner with Government, the industry, the profession and the education sector to train and educate people to provide the expert resources Australian businesses will need in the next millennium.

"The skills crisis is everyone's problem and will require a joint solution. But CIOs are perhaps the people most aware of the impact the skills crisis is having at grass roots level," said Ralston.

"By working with those groups in the front line - the Government, the ACS and AIIA, and the universities and training organisations - CIOs can help ensure their own requirements are met while helping to prepare Australia for an exciting future," he said.

This media release is located on the ACS web site.

ENDS

Media Enquiries:

Prins Ralston, ACS President, Tel: (0411) 755 069, Email: prins@bmconsult.com.au

Caroline New, Caroline New PR, Tel: (02) 9980 8060 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au