1. Bringing our 2014-2017 Strategic Plan to fruition
2. What is the ACS Digital Business Strategy?
3. Bringing ACS' Digital Business Strategy to life
4. Creating the foundations of the ACS Digital Business Strategy Project
5. Establishing and explaining the purpose of the ACS Digital Business Strategy
ACS’s three-year Strategic Plan was implemented on 1 July 2014. From the five (5) pillars of the Strategic Plan, one of these strategic initiatives led to the creation of ACS’s Digital Business Strategy:
- Fit For The Future F.3 - Fast track core business systems and applications improvement to enhance our engagement with and between Congress, Secretariat, members and stakeholders
With the assistance of our ICT Standing Committee, in January 2015 ACS embarked on a process to leverage leading edge technologies and platforms that would improve the agility, innovation and effectiveness of ACS initiatives, products and services. To do this, ACS engaged the Brabham Group to assist us with the review of our current strategy and systems and to develop our future Digital Business Strategy.
Following this process the Digital Business Strategy committed ACS to:
- be 'digital first' in our delivery of benefits, products and services
- be customer centric always
- be seen as digital thought leaders in everything we deliver
- influence and shape the ICT Profession
- look to capture new digital business opportunities
- be the ICT member community of choice for professionals
- grow digital intelligence across ACS to provide better service and engagement to our members and stakeholders.
As a result the Digital Business Strategy project was born. With this strategy we will create a contemporary digital environment that will bring our digital assets to the forefront, improve their functionality on mobile devices, reduce latency and allow us to establish online communities.
We will be keeping you updated with information on how the Digital Business Strategy project is progressing, the benefits and improvements that are being made and, when possible, unveiling previews of the new designs and functionality. In the meantime, if you have any questions feel free to email [email protected]
Posted 1 March 2016:
ACS launched our website in 1996. Fast forward to 2012 and a lot changed when we moved to our existing website.
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Now in 2016, our 50th year of operation, a lot more is set to change as we implement our Digital Business Strategy Project to deliver on key parts of our Strategic Plan. As part of this we will relaunch our website and enhance your overall engagement as a member to provide you with a personalised and contemporary digital experience.
Posted 8 March 2016:
The Brabham Group recommended a pilot phase of 12 weeks to allow ACS to undertake discovery and investigative work regarding how we engage with potential and current members through customer journeys, from the initial contact all the way through the membership and professional lifecycle, and the development of a customised portal for members to interactively engage with ACS and other members.
In March 2015 the ACS's elected Congress and Management Committee representatives endorsed ACS’ Digital Business Strategy and supported this through a significant investment. This support made a commitment to:
- be 'digital first' in our delivery of benefits, products and services
- be customer centric always
- be seen as digital thought leaders in everything we deliver
- influence and shape the ICT Profession
- look to capture new digital business opportunities
- be the ICT member community of choice for professionals
- grow digital intelligence across ACS to provide better service and engagement to our members and stakeholders
This project will ensure that ACS’s digital information and physical resources combine in new ways to create sustainable value for our members. Ultimately we believe that we aren’t simply changing our website but are creating new, innovative ways to better serve our members – now and into the future.
Each week we will be reaching out to you to keep you updated with information on how the Digital Business Strategy Project in progressing, the benefits and improvements that are being made and, when possible, unveiling previews of the new designs and functionality. In the meantime, if you have any questions feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Posted 18 March 2016:
In June 2015 Deloitte were engaged to undertake and develop a 12-week Proof of Concept. There were a number of key learnings from this pilot, with feedback from a range of members and stakeholders. From this Proof of Concept, support and approval was provided by our elected members in November 2015 to move to full implementation.
Deloitte commenced the development of a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system in December 2015. The platform enables automation around core processes such as member management, event management, professional development, sales management, learning and assessments. In conjunction with this work, SapientNitro were engaged in January 2016 to begin the website design component of the project, to deliver an innovative, cutting edge customer and user experience.
As we look to the future it is important for the ACS, and for our members, that we are representative of the industries we serve, the sector and our profession.
Part of this is having a relevant and contemporary online presence which not only meets the needs of our members and stakeholders but exceeds them to deliver a first class experience where our members can engage with ACS – when they want, how they want and where they want.
We will be reaching out to you to keep you updated with information on how the Digital Business Strategy Project is progressing, the benefits and improvements that are being made and, when possible, unveiling previews of the new designs and functionality. In the meantime, if you have any questions feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Posted 22 March 2016:
The Digital Business Strategy (DBS) vision is to 'Transform from our existing web presence to a complete customer-centric online engagement experience'.
ACS realises that our members and stakeholders work across a range of verticals and broadly speaking, many are time poor. We want every person that engages with ACS online to have a great experience, with content that is relevant to members and stakeholders visiting our website. In today’s world, a 'one size fits all' approach is outdated and we intend to personalise your experience and interaction with ACS.
To be clear, we want you to be able to access our new website and content however you want, whenever you want, from a small device or a desktop. We also want you to have a personalised membership journey with relevant content to suit your needs and interests. Importantly, we want you to make the most of your ACS membership by accessing all of the relevant products, services and information on offer, including enhanced digital interaction with other members.
Sapient Nitro were engaged to create the website design and during the initial phase, a range of workshops were facilitated with a number of internal stakeholders. Sapient Nitro then conducted a full review of the website's information architecture using information from these workshops, our current site map and current website analytics in order to consolidate the website into a more streamlined format. The goal of the new information architecture structure is to eliminate redundant content and provide a contemporary, responsive website that is easier and quicker for users to navigate.
Over the last few months the DBS Project Team has sought feedback from approximately 400 stakeholders on the initial design direction and information architecture produced by Sapient Nitro. This was a huge task given our current website has close to 2,000 pages.
We thank all stakeholders that provided feedback and below is the new information architecture structure incorporating this feedback:
After four consecutive weekly updates, we'll be moving to a fortnightly schedule for upcoming announcements. Look for the next update the week of 4 April 2016.
Soon we plan to unveil the design elements that shape the new website's look and feel. We'll also begin sharing some of the exciting enhancements, what these mean and how they could benefit your overall member experience.
Over coming weeks we'll be keen to get your feedback. In the meantime if you have any questions, feel free to email [email protected].
Posted 12 May 2016:
Dear Stakeholders,
Your update this week is a short presentation on the design principles being incorporated into the development of our new website.
With the build of the CRM nearing completion, designs are at an exciting stage bringing the builds to life and providing the first insights into UX.
You’ll see the discussions from Congress where ACS is seeking to perform the role of enabler of innovation feeding into the design principles. Sapient Nitro our UX designers are calling this being a ‘catalyst’, however while remaining true to our history of being the guardians of professional standards.
Please take a look at this short video.
We look forward to your feedback.
Please take a look, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].
Posted 19 May 2016:
This week is a very exciting week, as it marks the beginning of our new website build. Sapient Nitro, the architects of our new website design are commencing construction, and we are pleased to be able to provide you with a glimpse of the new ACS website design on mobile phone.
This link provides an insight into the look and feel, and ease of use of the responsive site, from the perspective of a member and her boss. This is just a sample of what is to come, and your valuable feedback has been taken into consideration in the design of this app.
Please take a look, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].
Posted 04 July 2016:
ACS’s digital first business strategy represents a major investment in transforming the online member experience of engaging with ACS.
Our profession is well aware of the benefits of Cloud -- platforms that have global scale afford our members a superior experience at a price point that would otherwise be unattainable.
To extract the best possible value for members and take advantage of the costs efficiencies afforded by Cloud, the realisation of the likelihood that data would be stored outside of Australia was a central consideration of the Digital Business Strategy Steering Committee.
As a professional body, it is a given that the security of our member data is of the utmost importance. In addition to utilising the security mechanisms within selected products to protect member data, which includes encryption of key data and audit trails, we also implement strict security policies and codes of conduct with regards to access of member data by ACS staff.
Specifically:
- data is encrypted at rest in all our systems
- data is encrypted in transit
- audit records track access to data stored in the cloud
- two-factor authentication is required for member data access
- access is restricted to only those members of staff who require access for their role
- strict policies govern how and when member data is accessed and under what circumstances.
We have selected a CRM solution to house member data that has been certified by the Australian Signals Directorate through their ASD Certified Cloud Services program.
Finally, we are fully compliant with the Australian Privacy Principles (APP).
If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
Posted 05 August 2016:
Welcome!
ACS's investment in our Digital Business Strategy is seeking to transform from our existing web presence to a complete customer-centric online engagement experience. We are focused on providing personalisation and customisation as the strategy rolls-out.
To maximise the return on investment for members, we are also committed to an agile approach and will release new functionality as and when it becomes available. We'll seek your feedback and fine tune upon release, all the while focused on the release road map of additional functionality.
The first step will be a mobile friendly homepage which will be your gateway to a vastly improved MyACS, where your digital products and services will be available.
In keeping with contemporary online security practices, you will be using your email address instead of your membership number to access the member features of the ACS website. There are many benefits in using your email address as your login instead of your membership number, which include:
- your email address is a unique identifier that's easy to remember
- in the event you forget your password it will be easier to reset.
When you first login to the new website you will be asked to provide your Member ID and your old password. You will then be required to provide your preferred email address and answer to a security question.
Upon completion of this process, you will receive an email containing a link and instructions to authorise the new login.
As we get closer to the launch at the beginning of September you will be provided with more detailed information.
If you have any questions please email [email protected], and we look forward to seeing you on the new site!
The ACS Digital Business Transformation Project Team
Posted 21 September 2016:
As foreshadowed in the August update, the transformation of our web presence will be progressively released over coming months.
Before the end of September, this will involve a responsive design homepage and MyACS section for ACS members. Not all pages will be cut-over to the new Content Management System with immediate effect.
Naturally during the first phases of release we will adopt a break-fix strategy. This will be accompanied by collecting feedback from day one on member experience, and we'll constantly seek feedback over coming months.
We are committed to delivering the road map that has been planned, and will take stock of all feedback received in January 2017 before determining improvement areas.
Our business strategy has been developed in response to member feedback, however we are cognisant that as more and more members utilise particular features and provide feedback, we may need to pivot 2-3 times in the first 12 months, tailoring functionality to best meet member need.
We can't wait to take this journey with you, and look forward to providing the infrastructure that allows members to participate in communities of practice and build their networks across the country, and indeed internationally.
If you have any questions please email [email protected], and we look forward to seeing you on the new site!
The ACS Digital Business Transformation Project Team
Thanks to all our members who have visited the new site this week. We have transferred around half of the previous website into the Adobe Experience Manager platform. This is hosted with Adobe Managed Services and ties into a Salesforce Enterprise backend that will allow us to provide more tailored services to members, helping you find content relevant to your interests. This also allows us to leverage an integrated solution and provide new services in the future, such as the ability to interact with other members via Adobe’s Community social platform.
A key development goal is a considerably faster and more responsive experience, with a mobile-friendly design to access the website and its services on the go - no matter which device you’re using.
Highlights include a fresh modern look with easier navigation, a custom MyACS dashboard to see your membership details and career development at a glance, and recommended content based on your preferences. Other changes include easier access to our reports and publications, faster interaction to our extensive video library of 33,000 professional development videos, and a centralised email-based login system to make it easier to access your membership account.
If you have not already done so, you will need to first login via the 'Member Update' button on the homepage and then click 'Update Login' on the top right to setup your preferred email address.
The launch represents the first stage of the new website and related services, and as a result not all pages may be accessible at this time.
We will continue to iterate short sharp updates phasing out pages remaining on the previous Content Management System in coming months. There may also be growing pains, so your patience is appreciated.
We welcome your input so please send your feedback to [email protected] to help us improve the experience, and we look forward to seeing you on the new site.
The ACS Digital Business Transformation Project Team
Posted 5 April 2017:
Our Digital Business Strategy committed ACS to always be customer centric and to grow digital intelligence across the organisation to provide better service and engagement to our members.
One of ACS’s current investments to demonstrate our commitment has been the enhancement and transformation of our events system, ACS Certified Professional (CP) directory and introducing PayPal as as a payment option.
From Friday, 7 April, members will notice a new and improved way of searching, booking, managing and attending ACS events.
Specifically, members can look forward to:
- one-click registration
- improvement in aesthetics and UX with our Events pages
- ease of use when searching for an event
- recommended events based on your interests
- managing events from one place
- a member profile for non-members who register for events
- visibility of all your events via an Events Calendar listing
- mobile capability so you can register and manage your events anywhere, at anytime
- use QR codes at our events to mark your attendance digitally
- CPD will automatically update once attendance is confirmed.
To effect these changes and improvements, our Member Portal, myACS will be offline from 2pm EST on Thursday, 6 April until 9am EST Friday, 7 April.
We appreciate that these changes may present members with different ways of dealing with us.
If you have any queries or feedback please feel free to call your Member Services Team directly on +61 (02) 9299 3666. Alternatively, you can contact the respective Events representative in your state, as listed below.
Canberra: Ms Jenalle Wei, +61 (02) 6143 5503
New South Wales: Ms Amiee Stewart, +61 (02) 8296 4459
Northern Territory: Mr Robert Chirgwin, +61 (08) 8981 1005
Queensland: Ms Kylie Barringer, +61 (07) 3316 5700
South Australia: Mrs Michelle Bayly, +61 (08) 8363 6660
Tasmania: Mr Marc Portlock, 0414 214 481
Victoria: Ms T’arne Whelan, +61 (03) 9249 6700
Western Australia: Ms Alexandra Mollo, +61 (08) 9260 3701
Thank you for your patience. We look forward to sharing this development with our valued ACS members.
The Digital Business Transformation Project Team