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It is an absolute pleasure to be able to introduce today’s Interview with an IT Professional, Jo Stewart-Rattray. Jo is the Director of Information Security with Vectra Corp. The first woman elected to be the State President of ISACA (Information Security Audit & Control Associations), she is also the Oceania representative, and the only woman on ISACA’s International Security Management Advisory Committee. Jo has travelled the world and has embraced many experiences and challenges along the way.  

Jo, a role model to men and women alike, your career is an inspiration to many. Today you are the Director of Information Security with Vectra Corp. How did your career start and how has it evolved to where you are today?

My career started with the usual amount of indecision as to what I really wanted to do. I ran off to the big city to make my fame and fortune (Sydney and later several European and North American cities). I was still really restless. It wasn’t until I returned to Australia and was in fact 30 that I decided that I should follow the IT path.

I got into IT, then IT education and it was at that point that I was introduced to information security. I was working at Sydney Institute of Technology and was heavily involved in the development of some national competency based courses. I was managing a programme and had a subject called Computer Operations (which no one else wanted to teach let alone develop the learning materials for it). So I took it on. The course involved the history of computing and the evolution of equipment and computer security. I charmed the Officer in Charge of the Computer Crime Unit of the Australian Federal Police to come and speak to groups of students every semester. In the process I became enthralled with security and my career path ever so slightly deviated.

I went into Staff Development and Training at Sydney Institute, initially to provide relevant IT training for both academic and non-academic staff. That developed into providing career development training for a range of professionals including those from IT.

In 1996 my husband and I moved to South Australia and I began working the Utilities sector. My first job here was a supposedly short term contract to document an ERP system. I say supposedly because I stayed with the organisation for almost 7 years! I became project manager, and supervised application security before moving on to infrastructure services management, IT contract negotiation, Information Security Management and finally CIO.

Then in 2002 Vectra made me an offer that would put me where I really wanted to be…full time information security and as they say the rest is history!

Has being a female working in the security industry ever been an issue for you?

I believe that women often find that they need to be better qualified, have more experience and be more decisive to get to where they are going. I think my real issues were in straight IT as opposed to security. There are very few very senior women in this field in Australia so I acknowledge that to some degree I am a novelty but people soon learn that I am no fool and have worked hard to get to where I am. There is a granite ceiling, not a glass ceiling by the way, and you do need to carry a jack hammer with you at all times if you really are determined to succeed.

I did have a curious experience recently. I was at an international information security strategy meeting in the US a couple of weeks ago when I was having a struggle to be heard, a man leaned over to me and said “it must be so hard working in a man’s world”! Of course, my point was heard and acknowledged which I think left this man quite flat-footed. I actually hoped he was joking too!

What is it about security that appeals to you?

The challenge. It’s an ever changing environment which requires you to keep up to date and focused on trends here and abroad as well as enhancing your own skill set and practices. I am in a role where I am often giving high level advice to senior management – and you don’t want to get that wrong! Reputation and trust is of paramount importance in this profession.

Where in the world has your career taken you?

Vienna, Austria; Munich, Germany; Chicago, Illinois; Scottsdale, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Singapore; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Port Moresby, PNG; Auckland, NZ; Wellington NZ; and every capital city in Australia (many times over) and a few regional areas as well.

What has been some of the highlights of your career?

Working for some of the largest corporates in Australia; reach the C-suite; being appointed to ISACA’s International Security Management Advisory Committee representing the Oceania region; my involvement with industry associations such as ISACA, Australian Computer Society, Women in Innovation and Technology and Australian Information Security Association; meeting the Queen of Sweden and then being seated with her for lunch.

The first woman to be elected the State President of ISACA (Information Security Audit & Control Association), you have been responsible for ensuring information security professionals comply with global standards.

You are also the Oceania representative and the only woman on ISACA’s International Security Management Advisory Committee.

What is your current involvement with ISACA, and what do the roles involve?

I am President of the Adelaide Chapter. I oversight all Chapter activities and am involved in ensuring that the needs of members from all three domains of practice are met. Those domains are assurance, governance and security.

I was appointed for a second time to the International Security Management Advisory Committee. I represent the interests of the Oceania region. It is my role to ensure that the research materials and professional development programs and security models that we produce are equally usable here as in any other part of the world. We meet face to face three times every year – usually in the US – which sounds glamorous but means around a 32 hour trip each way for maybe 5 nights on the ground. We conduct subject matter expert and fatal flaws reviews of all security related material and provide specialist input into other areas of the association.

Out of interest, ISACA is a global organisation with 70,000 members representing 149 countries.

As well as your position of Director of Information Security at Vectra Corp, your involvement with ISACA, you are also an active member of the Branch Executive Committee of the South Australian branch of the ACS (Australian Computer Society).

How do you manage your time effectively in order to be able to be active in so many areas?

The secret is to keep all the balls in the air without trying to be Superwoman. It’s about good time management and knowing when to say no and being enthusiastic about what you are involved in.

I guess the other reason is that I do only have two speeds – full throttle, peddle to the metal or completely couch potato, crashed out. So to get a lot done you do need to have a certain level of ‘hyperactvity’ that you can turn on when you need to.

A key note speaker, you regularly present to a variety of audiences around the world on issues regarding security. How did you develop your presentation skills?

I believe that presenting is about infotainment – a combination of information dissemination and entertainment – getting the audience involved. I was first involved in adult education in about 1989 and found that I loved presenting so I started to learn more about it. In fact I started learning about the whole teaching and learning process. My first degree is in adult education with a major in HR and a sub major in psychology, all of which has been invaluable.

I think you have to feel comfortable presenting (that doesn’t mean not being nervous), know your material and let yourself enjoy it. I presented at a conference in Perth yesterday and I was nervous because it was the first time I had presented that particular material but I still enjoyed getting the audience involved.

How has being able to present to various audiences improved your career?

Networking and learning from others! You get an opportunity to meet extraordinary people from extraordinary backgrounds with extraordinary experiences that they share with you; all of which enriches your own experience and indeed your own practice.

As a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and a Certified BS 7799 Lead Auditor, you are able to consult on a variety of information security issues.

What security threats should people be the most aware of?

That’s an incredibly long list! Potential for identity theft, data loss or misuse, information leakage, e-fraud, social engineering and other scams, and the list goes on.

With more social sites and networks popping up all over the net, what advice can you give to people in order to protect their identities and information that is so easily displayed to the masses?

Social networking sounds wonderful on the surface but the under-culture that is developing is frightening. By that I mean, the various types of predatory behaviour, exposing too much about ourselves that is always out there (something you may regret later), exploitation, extortion, bullying – again a long list of stuff to be aware of and to care about.

Just ego surf and you’ll be surprised what you’ll find that is already out there about you.

Finally, what advice can you give to anyone wanting to pursue a career in the security industry?

Get some good solid IT runs on the board first. Find out what you really want to specialise in, do one of the industry level security credentials and then put yourself on the market. However, it is a small field of practice (albeit growing) it is currently flavour of the month and therefore highly sought after, so roles are few and far between for the inexperienced. It’s a bit of a catch 22 really. There are a few graduate programmes out there but they too are hotly sought after.

It is with great pleasure to be able to introduce Didier Elzinga as the latest ‘Interview with an IT Professional’. Didier Elzinga is the CEO of Rising Sun Pictures, Australia’s leading visual effects company. Rising Sun Pictures have been involved in producing visual effects for many Hollywood blockbusters, including the latest Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), as well as Charlotte’s Web, Superman Returns, Batman Returns and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (to name a few). For more information on Rising Sun Pictures, check out their website: www.rsp.com.au

A graduate of Adelaide University, you studied Computer Science before applying as a software engineer for Rising Sun Pictures. What was your career like prior to becoming the CEO?

I started at RSP straight out of uni and worked in a range of roles across the company. I started life as a software developer (writing tools for motion control rigs and colour conversions), moved into compositing (2d image processing), then onto films, running a small team, supervising, operations management, CTO (chief technology officer), head of vfx and ultimately CEO. I tried to leave twice – got convinced to stay, co-founded a software company with the founders of RSP, started a food business and generally made sure I had too much to do.

It is so amazing how someone so young could become a CEO. What was it that made you want to stop developing for the company, and start leading?

Part of it was that someone needed to do it. The other part was that I was naturally a good generalist and I enjoyed problem solving and working with people. By moving into a leadership role I found I could add more value to those around me than by trying to do it myself. Within a couple of years the results, both technically and creatively, that those I was working with were achieving dwarfed what I could have done if I had just kept relying on my own skills.

Were you faced with any challenges once you took on the role of CEO?

Absolutely. Not long after I started working as CEO we made a strategic shift to focus purely on film that almost killed us when the market vanished as a result of 9/11 & a screen actors guild strike. As evidenced by being here today we survived ….

What has been the biggest highlight so far in your career?

Winning work on “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” was, at the time, a pretty huge thing. On the whole though it is more a collection of small wins and satisfaction in the path we have taken than a single moment.

What would you like to achieve that you haven’t already?

Organisationally winning an Oscar and VES (Visual Effects Society) award for best VFX would be up there.

Your career and what you have achieved is inspirational to young people studying computer science all over the world. What advice would you give to people wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Computer science at it’s heart is about understanding how to cope with complexity and to use abstraction. As such it is a great starting point for a career in many areas – just remember that writing software is only a means to an end not an end in itself.

I love that Rising Sun Pictures, Australia’s leading visual effects company is based in Adelaide, with another office in Sydney. What are some of the benefits you have found by having the company based in Adelaide?

There is a shared culture of being able to do the work from anywhere. People in Adelaide tend to bag the city a lot – but then don’t get out and go somewhere else or do something about it. I love the city, like living here and am unapologetic about what it is. We are a smaller city with a great quality of life and we are also a stage upon which you can compete with the best in the world. (Not to mention the advantage of being in some of the best wine county in the world).

What have been some of the challenges?

Culture and people are always the biggest challenge. No matter what you have achieved every day you have to earn the respect of those who work for you and those you want to work for you.

Rising Sun Pictures has worked on many blockbusters, including the recently released Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and other impressive features like: 28 Weeks Later, Blood Diamond, Charlotte’s Web, Superman Returns, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Batman Returns, The Last Samurai and the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

How did Rising Sun Pictures manage to land deals with the biggest movie studios?

Persistence. We understand what we are good at and we work very hard at finding people who value that. Once we work with someone we do our best to develop that into a long term relationship. The rest of it is just hard work.

How were you able to overcome the challenges of working on projects with teams of people based all over the world?

Hollywood is quite good at playing the global game – and as Australians all our customers are thousands of miles away. You accept that and learn to live with it as a reality. And you get up very early and go to bed very late to cover all the timezones …

As a huge Harry Potter fan, are you able to say what scene/s Rising Sun Pictures were involved in with the recently released Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix?

We worked on a range of sequences across the film – with the main one probably being the exterior of the Grimwauld Place house as it emerges from between two other buildings.

According to your website, you are currently looking to recruit more people. How would you describe a typical day at the Rising Sun Pictures office?

There is no such thing as a typical day It depends on your role and what projects are on but the heart beat of our company is whatever films are currently in the building. Several times each day we will review the material we are working on (in dailies or smaller meetings) and for the rest we are working to a schedule on our own work or focussing on improving the environment around us – be it by writing code, setting up training material or debating a decision about what the company should do in a specific situation.

What should people expect if they are lucky enough to land themselves a job working for Rising Sun Pictures?

Lots of hard work. The film industry is notoriously high stress and impact at the pointy end of a show (although we do our best to minimise that). Also an environment in which you are expected to have an opinion and to get involved.

There is nothing worse than someone saying “somebody should”.

What are the future plans of Rising Sun Pictures?

Depends a little on what projects we win but the current plan is to continue to focus on high end hollywood visual effects, consolidate our position as Australia’s most credited film visual effects company and build up our reputation as one of the world pre-eminent vfx boutiques.

I am very pleased to be able to introduce Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama, today’s Interview with an IT Professional. Yasas is a Business Analyst/Consultant. Originally from Sri Lanka, Yasas has worked in various locations around the world. Yasas is an International award winner from Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA, UK) and holds an honours degree in Computer Science from the University of Columbo. Yasas has authored a book on IT and has his very own blog. Yasas is also active in the IT community, and this year is on the Branch Executive Committee of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Computer Society. For more information on Yasas, please visit his blog: http://yasasva.blogspot.com/index.html

Your current role is as a Business Analyst/Consultant. How would you describe the role of a Business Analyst?

I have my famous example to explain the BA role, i.e. The Business Analyst is the bridge between the software developers and the business. These two shores work differently and speak their own languages. The BA comes in to marry these two ends being very understanding about both sides.

At the beginning of this industry, computer programmers used to gather requirements but time proved that most systems had issues with identification of the real business requirements and aligning systems with business objectives, so BAs came into the picture as unbiased professionals to fill this gap and today almost everyone accepts the fact that BAs are essential for crucial business systems. Even though BAs don’t write code, their contribution is mission critical.

Being more specific, in a nutshell we gather, analyse and document the requirements to propose the best business problem solving systems to improve the business processes in order to meet the business objectives in a feasible way.

What components of being a Business Analyst appeals to you?

Overall, I like everything about the BA role. Certain aspects of it get highlighted based on the specific project and the given scenario. However, the best part for me is the interaction I build up with the users or the client interfacing side of it. It opens doors to deal with many people who have different interests, motives and objectives. This is the greatest challenge for a BA where your negotiation, analytical and communication skills play a vital role. Change management is also an area that I love. When I am challenged by such tense situations and require speedy solutions, I feel I work at my best than on a lull slow phase.

A lot of people when they think of IT, they think of a career that involves sitting in front of a computer, day in and day out; writing code. How different to the perception most people have of IT, is a career as a Business Analyst?

Thanks so much for asking this question! That’s a ball I love playing at! This is one of the main things I want to get across to the IT community.

There are so many people who don’t take into IT assuming that it is technical, specially the ladies and people who have prior exposure to non-IT business operations. My message is that IT is not entirely technical but there are so many facets to it. There is something for everyone and all of these are just as important as coding. I started as a programmer myself, but figured out that it wasn’t for me.

BA is the link between the technical developers and the business, so we don’t code all day or sit in front of a computer at all times, but still provide a critical service to the success of IT systems. This awareness is something we need to work on especially at university level, so that we encourage more and more young people from different backgrounds into the industry.

What advice would you give to someone if they wanted to become a Business Analyst?

The most critical thing is the attitude, you have to have a friendly approach and be able to build strong relationships with just about anyone. You never know who your client/business representative/business user would be. So, whilst developing your professionalism it’s important to build-up your ability to mingle with people.

A good attitude is not going to get you far if you don’t get your basics right. Be it the business or IT, know your basics. Sometimes, you get to do requirements analysis in a business where you are not an expert, but if you know your basics, it’s easy to get adopted to and catch-up with things. You need to know about IT solutions and where the industry is at and where it’s heading. How can you advice others if you don’t know those yourself?

Building trust is vital so be honest. If you don’t know something, say so and talk to the appropriate people to learn. If you cant/don’t deliver something, tell early and explain reasons.

Be inquisitive. Improve analytical skills. You need to analyse a lot of underlying business processes to propose new solutions, for which you need to think of every detail and ask the right questions from the right people at the right times.

Be a good planner. You are going to be a multi-tasker. So improve the organizing skills. I personally am a very detailed planner, in and out of work. Whilst I plan every detail at work, I do the same for my personal stuff. I have a plan for everything and think of all the relevant resources, risks and opportunities in order to achieve set objectives. My opinion is that, if you improve those personal habits, you are going to deploy those at work.

Be a lifetime learner. This is very critical! This industry grows at a speed that our previous generation can’t even imagine. If you don’t read and learn, you are going to miss out. The IT train is not stopping to see whether you have dropped off!

Apart from this, have fun! Balance your work-life well. Spend time for the society and the IT industry. It’s going to take you places you never imagined. If you do something good, you are going to be rewarded no matter what.

Throughout your career you have worked in the USA, UK, Sri Lanka, and Australia. What are some of the challenges you have faced by working in the different countries?

I think it’ll be appropriate to explain a bit about my background here, because when most people read my profile, they ask how and why type of questions.

I was born and grew up in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka as a normal local boy and I studied in local schools and attended a local university. Of course I played some cricket as well, even though I wasn’t a Sanath Jayasuriya! I come from a not-so wealthy but an affectionate and respectable family. My father is a very senior pubic administrator heading the Sri Lankan Plantation Ministry, which includes tea, yes Ceylon Tea! And he has dedicated all his life to serve the country and I think he set examples for me from an early age. My first chance at seeing the outside world was when my hard work was rewarded by an international award from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in London, by which time I was half way through the university.

Coming from such a background, it was not that easy to adjust into different countries and cultures. But, I knew what I was doing and what I needed to do. As long as you do your job convincingly, people like to help you out.

I went to the USA and the UK when I worked for my previous employer Virtusa, a USA based Software Company which had branches in the UK, India and Sri Lanka. As a BA, I went onsite to gather requirements and work closely with the clients. The UK stint was with the British Telecom. In an offshore model, we basically talk about a round-the-clock working model which is a result of the time difference between the countries. This created a lot of challenges starting from long hours, getting up at mid night for meetings to communication obstacles such as explaining screen designs over teleconferences.

Cultural differences also created some challenges, but I think I managed to face them successfully. First thing is to get adjusted and understand different accents and the use of words/phrases. For a BA, every expression is important, if a user uses a specific expression to show disgust about a system functionality which is not used elsewhere, we need to be very good at picking those up because that tells a big story, which you need to be aware of and also take care of.

The other challenge to date has been keeping close with my family and friends and the constant disruption to a settled life. New technology has made life better, but there is no alternative to the actual presence!

What skills and experience have you gained by working overseas?

It gives a lot of experiences and exposure and also brings many disadvantages such as living away from family and friends. The best lesson I have learnt by travelling extensively is that it’s humans who live everywhere, as long as you be nice to them, they will be nice to you.

I experienced better working patterns and better use of technology. Meeting the challenge of time difference, different working patterns, language differences, cultural differences are some of the other valuable experiences. I have improved my ability to adjust to different environments quickly by this. I also learnt to respect each and every individual as I figured out that every society has unique features and is different to one another, but still it’s the same blood that runs inside!

As well as your role as a Business Analyst, you are very active in the IT community, whether it is on your blog or by being on the South Australian Branch Executive Committee (BEC) of the Australian Computer Society (ACS). What is it that drives you to do more for the IT industry, than just perform your job?

I think this is a part of my character. I have been a social animal ever since I was in school. I am driven by being involved in social activities. Also as an IT professional I have a passion for what I’m doing so naturally it gives me a higher self satisfaction to be involved in good causes in the IT industry. The key thing for me is to be a help for someone. Those are my objectives when writing things or doing something for the industry.

Apart from this, the social work and my job complements each other and it helps to broaden my understanding about the society. It’s a way of balancing your work-life as well. The support I get from my wife, Sasani in all these activities is immense.

An author of an IT book, a writer of many technical documents and articles, and your blog, all demonstrate your strong writing abilities. How has writing helped you with your career?

I started to write to Sri Lankan papers on IT related subjects in a simple language, and my objective was to take some of the fascinating things of it to the general audiences. Some of these articles were published in international conferences as well, but that was just a by-result. Later, I collected those articles and published as a book. Well, it’s not meant for IT gurus though.

About my writing skills, I don’t think I have the best writing ability, to be honest. In the first place, my first language is not English and I don’t come from an English speaking family or a school. But through education and my personal effort, I have tried to build it up and I am still improving it. However, the skill I already have has helped me greatly in my career. As much as you talk as a BA, you have to write as well because you are responsible for documentation. For a developer, deliverables are software modules, for a BA it’s documents. So, the more I write outside of work, it makes better inside work.

What was the name of the book and how can people get a copy?

The name of the book is ‘A bit of BIT’. The articles in this book can be categorised into the high-level topic of Business Information Technology (BIT), however, since it’s a collection of articles, it doesn’t cover the full breadth of BIT, hence the name! If someone wants a copy, please drop me an email at “vishuabey@yahoo.com“.

Where do you see your career taking you next?

To be honest, I am on the verge of a big career move! Obviously, it will be in the same track but I am planning to move towards a more consultancy role within Business Analysis. Fingers crossed on the move….. I don’t think I will ever move to a total management role, even though I can. I feel that managing projects without really being involved in the business/IT process is not so rewarding for me. So, once I move to a consultancy role, I think I will try to build up in the same lines.

What would you like to achieve that you haven’t already?

Well, I am not satisfied on the service I have done to the IT industry yet. It’s still been a very short journey and I think I need to do more with regard to that aspect. I would like to be a part of a few large critical projects, which could change the way the majority of the people live for the better. I would also like to travel to more different countries around the globe! I also want to do some higher studies as well. There are endless possibilities so you never know where life can take you.

If you could change anything about the IT industry, what would it be?

I would like to see IT being available at affordable prices. Still the benefits of IT are luxuries and not basics in most parts of the world. I come from a country where IT really hasn’t been embraced into the day to day lives of people even though there’s a strong IT industry servicing the international market. Government services don’t use IT effectively, the main reason being the cost, which is un-affordable. So, I would like to see that changed.

It is an honour today to be able to introduce Sheryle Moon as the latest ‘Interview with an IT Professional’. Sheryle Moon is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA). Sheryle has led many leadership roles in her career, that has so far spanned 25 years. Sheryle has been the Vice President of Computer Sciences Corporation and a managing partner with Accenture. Sheryle was the Director of Recruitment and Staffing Solutions, for Manpower Services Australia before becoming involved with AIIA. Sheryle has received several awards, including the Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year in 1999, and in 2000 was inducted into the Business Women’s Hall of Fame. Sheryle is the author of two books ‘SET for Life’ and ‘Selfscape – Success Through Balance’. For more information on Sheryle, please refer to her blog: http://www.talkingtechnology.com.au/ or her Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheryle_moon

Throughout your career you have accomplished so much. You have led numerous leadership roles, have received many awards, and have even written two books. Where did your career start, and how did you manage to get to where you are today?

When I was young I lived on a farm. My father ‘s desire was for me to go to university and have a professional job. So he bent his back for the dollars and his mind in encouragement so that I would be educated at university and go out to work in the professional world.

Another force shaping my working paradigm came from my mother, who lived the 1950′s life style but wanted something else for her daughters. She was denied university education. In her generation inequities in the allocation of household resources saw the pounds required for university education go to her brother , fulfilling the perception that investment in men yielded a greater return than investment in women.

The message from my parents was “Be prepared to have it all”. A parental message that led to young women of my generation enrolling in schools of education, nursing and social work, preparing for careers in the “helping professions” that could, we thought, be combined easily with family life. So I graduated from Sydney University with a degree in Economics and a post graduate diploma in Education. A few years of teaching in country schools under a system which rewarded seniority rather than merit, a failed marriage and a three year old to support saw me turn to the fledgling IT industry for my second career.

My sister suggested I apply for a role with IBM. So in 1981 I joined an industry where the number of female participants was so low that no quantitative data is available from either the Australian Bureau of Statistics or from the Australian Computer Society on how many women worked in the industry or the levels at which they worked. A quarter of a century later I am immersed in a high risk, truly challenging, corporate role which I believe is absolutely critical to the success or mediocrity of the ICT industry. I am passionate about my industry and excited and stimulated by the collective intelligence focused on that need. I have been fortunate to work for success oriented companies such as IBM, Accenture, CSC and Manpower as well as running two start up consulting companies. I was managing partner Australia and New Zealand for one of Accenture’s lines of business, VP with CSC and Director Recruitment and Service Solutions Australia and New Zealand. my final role with manpower was as Global Program Owner for front end applications.

What challenges have you overcome in order for you to be able to achieve what you have?

While I began my career with IBM as a Systems Engineer I moved into sales when I realised that they received incentives, which were a direct reward for effort. I enjoyed seeing my fingerprints on the results and helping clients be successful. The biggest challenge in that time has been achieving balance. In 1990, I recognised that with three children, the last one born prematurely, a demanding job in the IT industry and living away from family support that while I might continue to aspire to “have it all”, I simply couldn’t “do it all”.

Looking back now the whole concept of a superwoman who could do it all, be it all and “bring home the bacon”, fry it up in a pan, read the kids a bedtime story and still remind my husband he’s a man, is beyond a joke. I realized that if I continued in this way I would reach the new millennium exhausted and with no life balance.

What has been the biggest highlight so far in your career?

The biggest highlight is seeing my three children pursue a career in the IT industry. I sometimes wondered if my life in IT would be a positive or negative impact and I am very pleased to see that my children all grew up seeing the stimulation you can get from IT both individually and in solving the big issues for our society.

If you could give advice to anyone on how they too could lead such a fulfilled and rewarding career as yours, what would it be?

Develop a Vision for your life. I use a picture (so each January I spend an afternoon with magazines, scissors and glue designing my pictorial vision for the next12-18 months). then I undertake some planning and set goals to monitor my success against my vision. Most importantly – ENJOY and Have FUN.

In the book titled ‘Selfscape – Success Through Balance’ you wrote about practical steps on how people can achieve success, as well as how to maintain a work-life balance. What inspired you to write such a book?

When I won the Telstra Business Woman of the Year award I did lots of conference speaking and many people asked me to write down the things I talked about.

Where can people go to get a copy of either of your books?

They can email me at “basmoon@ozemail.com.au“.

How have you managed to maintain a work-life balance while achieving all that you have?

Seriously I use the steps in SelfScape every day.

As the CEO of AIIA, part of your responsibility is to guide the association on public policies, as well as lobbying and working with governments around Australia. What are some of the policies that you have been involved in?

They are many and varied:

1. WORKFORCE – a) the attraction of young Australians to the ICT industry, preferably from a national approach based on the Start Here Go Anywhere IP developed by the Victorian government. We continue to see decreasing enrolments in ICT courses at university. b)the retention of people in the industry especially women who continue to leave.

2. INFRASTRUCTURE – pervasive, accessible broadband is critical for Australians to participate in the global ecommerce marketplace, showcase their creative wares on talent repositories such as YouTube, have fun with movies etc on demand. We will also have a better society with access to citizen services, tele-medicine and e-learning. I believe we will have a society that does benefit from the sum of all human knowledge available through the internet.

3. SHAPING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT – seeking a harmonized environment for procurement, tendering and contracting to facilitate better business engagement between SME’s and government purchasers.

4. GROWING THE LOCAL INDUSTRY – AIIA has over 400 micro and small companies involved in collaborative environments (technology or industry sector based) to leverage business opportunities with each other and with larger organisations. We also run courses for SME entrepreneurs to help them take their good ideas to the world and run their businesses effectively.

How have the policies impacted the working lives of those in the ICT profession?

Gaining recognition of the importance of the ICT industry to Australia’s current and future prosperity and having politicians and the average person in the street talking about this contribution will lead all of us to feel more pride in our industry. it will also deliver better projects and work opportunities for practitioners.

On your blog, you state that you are a self-confessed technology addict. What is it about technology that you love so much?

I’ve learnt to balance my life by using the technology available. As a CEO I like to remain connected to work even when I am on leave. However I try to ensure I keep disruptions to friends and family at a minimum. So I am the person who checks e-mail at 5am in the morning. Similarly I like to know what is happening in Canberra and Australia when I travel, so I do access the ABC news website from my blackberry even while seated on a Mayan ruin in Guatemala. I can be on the other side of the world and still proof read and review my daughters Year 12 english thesis overnight for her to submit the following day. And I love my iPOD which I consider not just an entertainment device but also an educational device. So I have my French and Spanish language classes loaded along with episodes of Seinfeld and the Office, the new Don Tapscott book called “Wikinomics”, other audio books and oh yes, of course, some music. After all no one knows where you are in the world, or what you are wearing at the time you send the email or sms. Technology can help you be in two places at the same time and can help all of us achieve a better balance between work and family.

What is the one thing that you couldn’t live without?

My husband and then my black berry. he will argue it’s the other way around – but that isn’t true!

Public speaking has no doubt been very important to the many roles you have had, and continue to have. How did you learn to be a confident speaker?

My mother insisted I take elocution lessons and compete in eisteddfods which I did from an early age. I have always been happy to be centre stage especially when I have the opportunity to influence the way people think. I also love doing the research associated with having an informed view.

Are there any other events coming up in the future that you would like to mention?

The SET Up for Success seminars – they are a culminating of a lot of my focus and activities over the past decade in helping people, in particular women, to combine work and family successfully.

Is there anything else that you would like to achieve, that you haven’t yet?

Yes I’d like to work to make our society a better place for all Australians, where everyone can participate in the benefits of a strong economy. Technology holds the answer for growing the knowledge economy and making social and economic equality a reality.

I am very pleased to be able to introduce Rob Farley, today’s Interview with an IT Professional. Rob is a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP) for SQL Server and runs the Australian SQL Server User Group in Adelaide. In the last year Rob has made several trips to the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, United States to assist with the content released in many of the upcoming Microsoft certifications. Rob also works as a mentor/trainer for Solid Quality Learning and is on the ACS South Australian Branch Executive Committee. Rob is also very active in the blog community, and has his own blog.

Your background is mainly to do with databases, whether it has been Oracle and UNIX systems or using SQL Server. What is it about working with databases that appeals to you?
I guess I just clicked with them. At uni the database subject was considered easy marks, and I didn’t do it. Without realising the connection at the time though, I was doing pure maths subjects like Logic, Set Theory and Number Theory. I’m not sure that makes me more logical, or an expert in sets or numbers, but I did find them quite interesting. During my honours year when I was offered a job at Oakton, the boss said I had better read up on databases before I joined the company. It just made a lot of sense to me, and I could see how to approach them in a set-based, non-iterative way. In many ways, the academic in me finds non-iterative languages (SQL, Prolog, LISP, etc) much more interesting than the iterative ones like C# or VB.

But more than that, databases hold data, and data is what it’s all about – information. It’s the I in IT. Having information can help you understand so much more about your business, so it really matters. Software is great, but data is what’s really important.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to pursue a career as an IT consultant?
Get hired by a consultancy. Haha. But really, that’s a major aspect to it. They will help you be a good consultant, by letting you work with other good consultants. If you are smart and can pick things up quickly, then you can probably succeed. But there’s a lot of things that really help with being a consultant that can be hard to teach, and sometimes hard to implement too. The biggest would probably be to value your clients, and their perspectives. The customer isn’t always right, but in their eyes they are, so you have to understand their perspective on the situation. Befriend your clients if you can, and actually try to help their business work. If that can become your priority, then they will see that and understand you’re actually there to help.

Currently you are commuting between your workplace (Melbourne) and your home town (Adelaide), you run the Australian SQL Server User Group in Adelaide and you are on the South Australian ACS Branch Executive Committee. Where do you find the time to fit everything in?

Well, I’m not working every week, which makes a big difference. Obviously as a trainer I need to make sure I’m ready to teach each course, but I do have the time to spend some with the family, and do a few other things like run the user group and (hopefully) get to ACS meetings. It’s a bit hard if I’m out of town though.

What exactly is a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP)?

An MVP is the recipient of the MVP Award, which is given to people who MS feel have contributed to the MS community significantly. That could be through newsgroups, usergroups, etc… For me I guess it was largely because of what I’ve done with the SQL User Group in Adelaide, but I try to get involved in other ways too, like blogging, newsgroups, things like that. There are currently seven MVPs in the Australian SQL space.

Where has being an MVP taken you?

Well, there was the MVP Summit in March, which was a lot of fun. Bill Gates was there, which is always quite interesting, even though I didn’t get to ask him which Dilbert character he was most like. Being an MVP also gets you access to the MVP newsgroups, which are full of interesting discussions. But really it’s just an award. Probably looks good on a CV. I hope to get renewed in October, because I’d love to go to the next MVP Summit too.

Before I became MVP I’d already had a couple of trips to Redmond to help with certifications. I got to do that because Andrew Coates at MS put me onto the beta exam process, and things progressed to the point of getting some invitations to go there. I’ve been there three times for those trips so far, and I always find it really interesting. But that came about through community involvement, and that’s the key. Community involvement has taken me places. It’s got me the job I have now even.

Already in your career you have achieved so much. You have consulted in Melbourne and London, had many large multinational clients, run user groups and are a mentor and trainer. What has driven you to achieve what you have already?

I don’t really feel I’ve achieved all that much. I know plenty of people many years younger than me who have achieved just as much. Consulting in Melbourne was easy because I lived there. Then as a family we moved to London, so I worked there… that’s not really a big step, even though it may seem a long way. If you are eligible for a UK passport, then apply for it. Once you have that, moving there is just a matter of buying an aeroplane ticket. I guess you should find somewhere to live, but you can always stay in a youth hostel for a while or something. You can line up a bunch of interviews before you arrive, with both recruitment agents and companies, and hopefully you can find work quickly. Having family already there that I could stay with made life easier for me.

So now that we’ve dismissed the “achievement” of working in Melbourne and London, the ‘mentor and trainer’ thing can be dismissed just as easily by the fact that a training organisation wanted to hire me as that. I only run one user-group, and I kinda fell into that. I started attending the Adelaide SQL User Group, and noticed that the guy who was running it didn’t seem to have the time. So I offered to help, and within a few months he had asked me to take over.

So you see, I haven’t really achieved all that much. Why are you interviewing me again?

My proudest achievements are actually persuading my wife to marry me and having my kids. We have two boys who are just brilliant.

What roles have you enjoyed the most?

That would be “husband” and “father”. Oh, work-wise? Sure. I’m really enjoying the training at the moment. I love hearing the stories about when students leave at the end of the day, and immediately log onto their work server to implement something they learned. I have the same with the user-groups, which is really good too. I enjoyed consulting as well though – I would really enjoy talking about things with clients, and helping them smile. I really like the people aspect to my work.

What would you like to do that you haven’t already done?

Technology-wise, I’m not sure. There are plenty of things outside work I’d like to do, though – and many of them involve helping people. A few days ago I met a guy who helps homeless people in Melbourne find somewhere to live. A large part of me wanted to find out how I could be involved, to see if I could go there one night a week when I was in Melbourne, or something like that. But I don’t really have the time, and I need to choose my efforts carefully.

For most people public speaking is something that scares people more than anything. You quite frequently present at many events. What is your secret to being such a confident public speaker?

I’m not sure I am. Really, why are you interviewing me? I keep wanting to find ways of being better – I keep going off on tangents, for one… I think knowing why you’re up there helps. You’re not up there to be about you, you’re up there for the people in the audience. If I’m presenting about something, I’m there to explain it to people. It’s not just an exercise in public speaking, it’s about conveying information. Someone once said people are more afraid of public-speaking than death, so if you’re at a funeral you’d rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy. But if you are giving the eulogy, just remember that it’s about honouring your friend, it’s not actually about you at all.

I’d love to be a comedian. That’s one of the things I’d love to do, for your earlier question. I think I’m quite good at wise-cracks, but there’s a big difference between writing jokes and being able to reply with a nice line. I try to be funny in my user-group mailouts, but I don’t know that I do a very good job. If I quit my day-job to be a comic, my family would probably be trying to get in touch with that guy I met a few days ago.

What other events do you have coming up in the future?

Well, I’m hoping to present at TechEd on the Gold Coast in August. I’ve told the guys organising the data platform stream that I’m available. Now that I’ve said this and you’re going to post it on your blog, I’d better hope that I do, otherwise I’ll look a bit foolish. Other than that, there are plenty of courses being offered – if you want to do a course about SQL, then give the office a call and get on one.

July 7/8 sees Adelaide host Code Camp SA. This is going to be a similar format to the events they have in Wagga Wagga, but being a lot more accessible for Adelaide-based people. I won’t be at the whole thing, but I’m sure I’ll make an appearance, and maybe even present on something.

You have a blog that attracts many visitors every day. If you could offer advice on how to create a popular blog, what would it be?

Funnily enough, this is my second blog. I used to have a blog at blogspot.com, but when I got the MVP award I moved to msmvps.com. But my old blog gets far more hits than my new one. At the MVP Summit they showed a slide of the top sites for SQL Resources – my old blog was quite high on the list, but my new one was nowhere to be seen.

I don’t really know what the tricks are… but if you can write well, then that helps. Having posts that people want to read, of course. One of my most popular posts recently was about the movie “Meet the Robinsons”. It’s had far more hits than some of the posts that I think prefer, but I doubt any of the people that read that post will have subscribed to my blog. There are well established ways of getting readers, but you need to ask why you’re blogging if that’s what you’re after. If you’re blogging as a way of providing a resource, then write things that solve people’s problems, and make sure you use terms that people are likely to use in a search. If you want to make people laugh, then be funny. If you want to be provocative, then be controversial. I tend to be a mixture – I like to write things that help people in the SQL world, but I also tend to use it as a way of communicating with those people I know subscribe, so I tend to just write whatever comes to mind.

But you don’t need advice on writing a good blog, Debbie…

I am very pleased to be able to introduce today’s Interview with an IT Professional, Ed Dawson. Ed Dawson is the editor of PC Authority; Australia’s ultimate technology magazine. As a student or first year graduate member of the ACS, you automatically receive the magazine each month for free. For everyone else, you can either check out the PC Authority web site , or pick yourself up the latest magazine from any newsagency around the country.

Who has the fancier cars? The IT Professional or the IT Journalist?

There is a fairly obvious trend of IT professionals owning souped-up sports and luxury models, while journalists tend to drive cars in the ‘twilight’ of their service life. This is a nice way of hinting that “the floor has rusted off”, “it has a top speed of 70km/h”, and “there is a family of bandicoots nesting in the boot”.

How would you descibe a typical day as the editor of PC Authority?

It can be summarised in a BASIC loop like so:
10 Drink a powerful cup of coffee.
20 Read through around twenty press releases, choose one interesting story.
30 Call a freelance writer whose work is due in and threaten them with death.
40 Hit the phones and find an interesting angle on the story that wasn’t part of the press release.
50 Take an angry call from an IT vendor or their public relations department about your negative story.
60 Call the freelancer back and threaten them with death, ressurection and death again.
70 Write up the story in Word, give it to the designers for the magazine or code it up for the ‘net.
80 Spend ten minutes on planning tasks, meeting with sales department, publishers and visiting IT vendors.
GOTO 10

What would people be surprised to know about you or your job?

We take a lot of heat for negative coverage. Every time we describe something as poor quality or less-than-average, we receive a hailstorm of angry email, phone calls and general vitriol from the vendor, their public relations staff, salespeople, product managers, CEOs and so on. The readers don’t get to see that side of things, rather they can just chuckle at the published story. Of course it takes courage to criticise a large multinational corporation, but this is the special role of the media in society, so it is important to do so.

Is there anything that you don’t like about your job?

Seriously, it’s fairly hard to complain about this job as there are thousands of people who would like to be doing it. We just do our best to live up to our reader’s expectations and make PC Authority a fantastic magazine. On that note, send me your top ten most interesting topics in IT that you’d like to hear about to “edawson@pcauthority.com.au“.

What has been the best moment of your career so far?

I have interviewed the legendary id Software, creators of classic PC games “Doom” and “Quake”, a number of times.

What are some of the perks of being an IT Journalist?

Early access to cool new technology, travel and occasional launch events where they may serve one or two soda waters.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to pursue a career as an IT Journalist?

Walk onto any city street and look for the most run-down, rusty, ramshackle vehicle in sight. Then ask yourself, “Do I really want to drive that car?”. Then look for the most current, modern, sporty, sexy automobile on the street. The odds are, that one belongs to an IT Professional.

It is with great honour that I introduce today’s Interview with an IT Professional, Sonja Bernhardt. Sonja is one of the most influential women in ICT within Australia. In 2005, Sonja was the first Australian inducted into the Hall of Fame for Women in Technology International (Silicon Valley). She is a world class leader, and a mentor to many. Sonja was the mastermind behind the recent Screen Goddess Calendar, which helped raise the image of ICT around not only Australia, but throughout the world.

Sonja, you have achieved so much already in your career. What would be your highlight so far?

Definitely The Hall of Fame, as not only did that place me with ICT greats such as the ENIAC Programmers, Anita Borg and Fran Allen but it also brought together dvd footage of things I had done – and often I just get out and do things and move on – whereas at the HOF ceremony I (along with the audience) sat and watched a dvd production of my achievements in life, family, work, and voluntary involvements and it amazed myself! I walked up to the stage very proud and very very emotional. In fact back in Australia people who have seen the ceremony coverage say when I was giving my acceptance speech that they have never heard my voice so emotional! (and I tend to do a fair bit of public speaking!)

At HOF I met Jean Bartik (eniac programmer) and Fran Allen – photos attached, plus the President of Anita Borg Institute. Besides I had never been to Silicon Valley and it is a major part of the IT industry, driving around and seeing places like Palo Alto, Santa Clara that I have read about was a major buzz. Another buzz was visiting Hawaii, Disneyland and Seaworld-San Deigo before the awards ceremony.
(Sonja with Jean Bartik) (Sonja with Fran Allen)

You have held many roles in the ICT industry, from a published author, to a Director and CEO, project manager and a mentor. Which roles have you enjoyed the most?

Top of the list is owning my own company and having a positive influence on it’s direction. I started my company in February 1999 within a month of being made redundant at a major ICT firm – and from that moment on I never wanted to be made redundant again so have worked hard to ensure that my firm is flexible enough to ride the cyclical ebbs and flows of the industry. It is extremely thrilling to scan the environment, spot possible futures and guide your own firm into that direction in productive and effective ways.

As a side issue the other role I enjoy the most is being mum to my 4 year old darling daughter Kira. I have children from my first marriage a 25 year old daughter and a 23 year old son (had a 19 year break between having my children) and I have to say the experience of being an older parent who is more comfortable with my career, confident in myself, not worried about money or relationships has made parenthood this time around an awesome experience. PS my son and his wife will be having a baby in August so Kira will be an aunty at the age of 4 and I will officially be a grandmother then.

What did you learn from the various roles?

The roles I learnt fundamentals I use in every day life are; call centre operator (I learnt detail analysis and the ability to inquire further) and project manager – with the exception of sales almost everything I do today as CEO has roots in project management – the planning, procedures, methodologies, people management, communications and budgeting I learnt in project management.

In a snapshot things I have learnt from some roles are:

Published author – Listen to feedback take it on board – gathering different people’s comments on your drafts is extremely valuable.

Director – Build relationships, look at how others operate, how they manage board meetings – decide what works best for you and the environment you are in, speak up, ask questions, be informed.

CEO – Value people as individuals – value their ability to think like mature adults and work their way through how to achieve something that aligns best with the overall organization. Provide an environment of flexibility and productivity.

Project Manager – The majority of issues come back to communication – lack of, inappropriate or not with the right people.

Mentor – All parties in a mentoring relationship gain value. There are lessons to learn from everyone regardless of hierarchy, background or experience.

Many people seem to live their lives working the normal 9-5 jobs. In order for you to have achieved what you have, you have obviously worked a lot more. What has been the driving force behind your demonstrated commitment?

Passion passion and a little more passion combined with an everlasting supply of energy and enthusiasm. When you find what you love to do – and IT and it’s immense potential to improve our lives is what I love to do then the passion flows and drives me forward.

In a way the comment about hours is true – once I calculated hours I spent on voluntary industry activity, it came to me ‘giving away’ one quarter of my income earning capacity each year plus half of every weekend spent on voluntary activity – however I don’t see my ‘work’ hours as black and white as that.

I view myself as an integrated being where my life rather than home/work/other is actually a ‘portfolio’ – where almost everything I do in whatever aspect of my life contributes to other aspects/portfolios. Meaning if I am at a social networking event I am both applying skills re: talking, networking, building relationships as well as information and knowledge sharing – and that is of value to me as a person and to my business. If I am working on the business then I am also working to build a future for my family both financially and future technology wise. If I am bike riding with my family then I am clearing my mind to allow clarity of thought and health relaxation which is value adding for my business.

What is your secret behind having such a fulfilling career?

In the end it all comes down to a word most people cringe at…philosophy…

Philosophy and knowing who you are, why you do things the way you do, what your fundamental principles are, how you think and why, why others think the way they do and how they perceive you. When you get that worked out you then take on board things aligned with your philosophy and ‘things’ click.

I am a strong believer in objectivism – where I value reality and reason and writings by Ayn Rand www.aynrand.org I know what I do not believe in and why – and what I believe in and why.

Is there anything that you would like to achieve that you haven’t yet?

I’d LOVE to attend a Grace Hopper Conference

I plan to build my company to a multi million firm yet still maintain the highly flexible work from home arrangements for everyone.

I’d like to win an Anita Borg Award

Through AWISE – Australian Women in IT and Science Entity awise.org.au that I co-founded and am current president and chair of I want to establish an Australian Hall of Fame for Women in IT so that we uncover the many women in Australian who have significant it achievements.

I’d like to see a global linking of all the women in IT groups and active parties around the world – so we can benefit from all the lessons learned and IP and reduce duplicated efforts and wasted funds.

The Screen Goddess Calendar was such a terrific idea. The photos were so beautiful. What have been some of the positive outcomes from producing the calendar?

Worldwide hotly debated discussions – that raised the profile and awareness of the real issues that has since resulted in increased serious publications on the topic of the declining take up of IT studies and careers of females. Stories have been published in dozens of countries and languages.

People moving careers and taking up roles in IT.

Schools adjusting ICT curriculum for year 11 and 12’s to include screen goddess discussions and chats/meetings with the calendar ‘models’.

Universities using goddesss images at induction and career days.

Researchers publishing reports and conference papers that the different approach taken has had positive impacts versus some traditional approaches.

LOTS more in fact we have a screen goddess scorecard that will shortly be available for download from the web site that outlines a large majority of the outcomes. http://itgoddess.info/

Did it achieve what you intended it to achieve?

Over achieved on all the ‘soft’ objectives but underachieved (read failed) on the one hard objective (financial). In fact it personally cost me $25,000 plus 6 months of time away from my business. However it was a risk I chose to take.

The hard objective was to raise funds to give back to the women in IT groups to run projects and activities – obtaining funds is generally a major issue for the voluntary groups and this was one way to have a pool of funds available. And of course I was hoping to receive some funds to pay for my time spent on it – but it did not workout that way – so I lost cold hard cash and time – but gained a worldwide culture change.

PS classic example of portfolio operations as due to screen goddess the media in Australian and overseas came to know me – which has since been of value to my business and will I imagine will continue to be so for the future – re: it seems that when a journalist personally knows and has met you there is a better chance that your media releases will be read and published.

What kick started your enthusiasm and passion to get more women into IT?

Classic story actually – it will sound dramatic but it is true. In late 1996 I was lying in a hospital bed 24 hours from death from an extremely infectious air borne disease – I was given massive doses of medication and had 3 months off work. During that time of recovery I thought through my life and changed a few things

1) decided I did not want to move overseas with my job, as just before getting sick that was the plan

2) decided to buy a house

3) decided to find a partner and

4) realized that I knew some great women in IT but they did not know each other – so I decided to do something about it.

I went back to work, changed my role there so I did not need to move overseas, bought a house and forgot about the other 2 ‘things to do’ – until early in 1997 when one of those great women in IT I knew had lunch with me and during that lunch I remembered my resolve – so I dashed out ran back to work, called the IIB in Queensland – a government body that assist IT industry, and spoke to people there about the concept of a network for women in IT. They provided me with $5,000 funds to get started and also invited a group of women to attend an inaugural meeting – and that is how WIT – Women in Technology in Qld started! www.wit.org.au

Activities WIT has since undertaken have continued to fuel my enthusiasm and passion. And now I have moved on to create AWISE on a national level. http://awise.org.au

And PS it was via a later WIT activity that I met my now wonderful husband (Robin) so all 4 of my resolves were actioned.

What would you recommend to someone if they were to follow in your footsteps?

Life is full of ups and downs you MUST believe in yourself to remain positive throughout them.

To do so make sure you spend time understanding yourself – that will be your armour!

What plans do you have next?

Some other goddess like initiatives (when I financially recover).

Open some overseas arms of my business.

Continue to be myself.

Today’s interview is with Yohan Ramasundara. Yohan is the ACS National Young IT Board Director. Yohan has been very active in the Young IT community for several years now. In 2005, Yohan was the Conference Chair of the ACS National Young IT Conference, which was held in his home town in the ACT.

What would you like to achieve over the next two years as the ACS National Young IT Board Director?

Well where would you like me to start! I have a long list, most importantly it’s not “MY” list it’s “OUR” list of things to achieve. Young IT Board has great initiatives such as the Ambassador program, the annual national conference etc so I like to take them to the next level. I want to make next years conference an International Conference and it might be in your home town, Debbie! We are also working closely with the Federal & local governments to come up with solutions to the current shortage of ICT professionals.

What made you want a career in IT?

There were many reasons, but mainly due to the broad prospects in the IT industry. A career in IT overlaps with most of (if not all) other industries in the world today so you have the opportunity to apply your knowledge in a variety of industries. Also unlike many other professions (e.g. accounting, etc) IT skills are compatible in most countries therefore speak many languages. An IT skill one requires to work in Australia is not much different to what’s required in US, Europe, China or Africa except for the technology used.

What do you like about working in IT?

Mainly the people I work with but I love the opportunities it presents as well. All my friends and colleagues in IT are very nice. My current role is in management systems so I don’t have much contact with IT staff on the floor (

Where are you working now?

IP Australia, the Australian Government agency responsible for administering patents, trade marks, designs and Plant Breeder’s Rights.

What motivates you to give so much of your free time to working with students and young IT professionals?

I believe that I have to give something back to the society, industry and people. As I mentioned earlier all my friends and colleagues are very nice individuals and I enjoy spending time with them. I learn a lot from others as every individual is different. I make a lot of friends and as they progress through their careers and become successful I feel proud and very happy for them.

What advice would you give to students and young IT professionals?

Get involved with your local Young IT groups to share information, experience and learn anything and everything you can because you’ll find a use for it someday. It’s not what you know that matters in the end it’s what you do with what you know and who you know! Also I can’t stop emphasising the importance of continual learning to keep up to date especially since we are in an industry that keeps changing/advancing all the time.

How can someone contact you?

I’m happy for people to contact me via e-mail yohan@acslink.net.au also if you’re attending the National Young IT Conference in Melbourne on the 19th & 20th April, you’ll see me there.

Today’s interview is with Jeff Alexander. Jeff is an IT Pro Evangelist with Microsoft and has been delighting audiences of the annual Young IT Conference for the last two years. This year he will be presenting again. Jeff is also very active in the blog community, and has his own blog at: http://blogs.technet.com/jeffa36/

What can people attending the ACS Young IT Conference expect to see at your presentation?

Attendees are going to hear about our next generation server Codenamed “Longhorn Server” and really the top 5 things they need to know. I think I only have a short time for the session so five will be enough

Will you be available for people attending the conference to be able to ask you a whole heap of Microsoft questions?

Of course I will. They can ask a question but getting an answer might be different!

Will you be attending the social function on Thursday 18 April at the Melbourne Aquarium?

Yes

What exactly is an IT Pro Evangelist and what does the role involve?

Well it’s similar to our Developer Evangelist roles in that we are charged with “Evangelising” new technology that hasn’t been released yet. Anywhere from 6-18 months from release date. We don’t tend to talk much about existing products as we have sales people to do that!

What is your Vista rating?

Depends on which machine. I have about 7 running Vista right now. My ratings go from the very low right up to 4.9 or something like that. The one that has that rating has a 512MB Video card so it rocks!

What other events do you have coming up in the near future?

Well right now I’m starting out quarterly Technet Update events in Brisbane. This will go to all cities with myself doing 3 and Michael Kleef doing three. Then we have the Security and Management Seminars; Mid-Market Security Roadshow; Auscert 2007; another Technet Update in June and of course Teched 2007 in August. Oh and I am attending 2 to 3 user group meetings per month.

What advice can you give to someone starting up a blog?

Make it relevant. Make sure you blog often even if you think you don’t have something to say. Put your own personality to the blog. Add the human element.

Today’s interview is with Peter Griffith. Peter Griffith has been actively involved in many IT communities within South Australia for many years. I have known Peter for quite a while with the ACS and now with the Adelaide Dot Net Users Group (ADNUG).

How long have you been involved with ADNUG?

Since its formation in 1993 on release by Microsoft of VB3

What is your role with ADNUG?

Group Leader

What happens in a typical ADNUG meeting?

Starts off with Pizza. Meeting proper then starts with discussion of member’s dot net problems followed by one or two presentations mainly on dot net topics.

When are they held?

2nd Wednesday of month at Microsoft Innovation Centre, Santos House, South Australia. A lunch time meeting is held most months on last Wednesday but titled MSDN Connect.

Who should attend?

We invite dot net developers from beginners to guru levels. All should benefit from the networking.

ADNUG is membership based, how does someone become a member?

Fill in an application form and submit with $30 to Sec/Treasurer Dan Drake-Brockman.

How much does it cost to join?

$30 pa

What are the benefits of being a member?

Network with Dot Net Developers plus presentations by top presenters

Are there any events or projects coming up that you would like to mention?

CodeCampOz 31st March-1st April at Wagga

Invitation to developers to improve their skills by developing ADNUG web site.

Ad hoc events with Kaz. Expect similar events with Readify this year and possibly Excom.

What else are you up to in the ICT community?

Director family Company Griffith King Systems Pty Ltd T/A GUI-Visuals (IT Consultants

Company Secretary Ehome Corporation (Home Automation)

Member ACS, elected to SA Branch Executive Committee in 1996.

ACS SA held positions as Treasurer, Vice Chair, Chairman, Business Development Manager.

ACS SA BEC – Current responsibilities for ACS Foundation, ICT Council, Curry SIG, Business Communications.

deb.foocode.net