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Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisCEOs, Boards and executives with big digital ambitions should build digital fitness first to ensure that their muscle is up to their hustle ... In my recent post on a leader's 'Concept of Effect' I described three success patterns learned from a decade of digital transformation in health, human services and policing: (1) Platform+Agile, (2) Collaborative Partnerships, and (3) Ecosystems of Co-Production. Each is a way for a CIO to create the conditions for people to deliver - rather than trying to buy delivery through yet another risky ‘quick fix’ transactional project. The AI moment has made this thinking more urgent, not less. Right now, your organisation is under pressure to demonstrate some 'AI hustle' - either in eager pursuit of quick results or fear of falling behind. Are you attempting this without the digital fitness needed to pull it off? It would be crazy to wake up one morning and decide to compete in the Summer Eights regatta in Oxford without adequate training. Yet this is exactly what happens when ambitious AI initiatives put pressure on weak architecture, data and delivery muscles that have atrophied through years of outsourcing everything to transactional Procurement+Waterfall projects. You can't buy digital fitness by signing a contract or subscribing to an AI agent any more than you can buy physical fitness by purchasing a gym membership or a rowing machine. Fitness is built by doing the work and living the fitness lifestyle over years. The preconditions for exploiting AI productively (rather than performatively) are the attributes of a digitally fit organisation: · Modern, secure, scalable technology platforms · Disciplined data strategy, architecture and governance · In-house teams with hands-on engineering and delivery experience · High cadence, repeatable ways of working · Long-term vendor partnerships built on collaboration · Executive confidence - digital mojo - earned through performance. If your organisation possesses these attributes you will absorb AI naturally, as the next obvious step-up of established platforms and capabilities. If not you will be spending heavily on pilots that never scale - and will conclude, wrongly, that the technology was the problem. So - my advice to leaders feeling the pressure to be ambitious about AI is to put your coach hat on and first build your team's digital fitness. Stop thinking in projects. Invest in your in-house team. Value foundational capabilities and delivery cadence over grand ambition. Treat your strategic vendors as collaboration partners. Build the fitness now that your organisation will need to win tomorrow. Digital fitness, like physical fitness, is a gift that you give your future self. In the AI era, it may be the most valuable gift of all. See links in the comments. #DigitalFitness #PlatformAgile #ConceptOfEffect #AI #PublicSector #DigitalTransformation #CIO #CDO Photo: Steve in the Linacre 1st VIII, Oxford, 1990
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisFeeling pressured to espouse opinions on AI? I found this greeting card in a Dunedin bookshop ... made me smile! Cecily is the creation of Celia Allison in New Zealand ... check out her work at www.cecily.co.nz.
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisAs a leader, what is your 'Concept of Effect'? How do you create a positive effect across the organisations and ecosystems that you lead? In the military they refer to a Concept of Operations - but what about your individual Concept of Effect? What ideas guide the way you lead, and the way you get things done? This is precisely what a recruitment panel is after when they ask you to describe your 'leadership style.' The safe answer (restating how ethical, capable, competent and personable you are) rarely creates a point of differentiation. It describes character, not method. As a CIO or Chief Digital Officer, my Concept of Effect comprises three success patterns learned from leading digital transformation in large, complex public sector organisations. Each pattern reflects a conviction that short-term, mechanistic, transactional approaches fail to bring out the best in people. 1. Platform+Agile Where possible, avoid transactional procurement+waterfall outsourced projects. Instead, make strategic choices about technology platforms, vendors and methods - then leverage them to empower in-house teams to be consistently and repeatably agile. Build sustainable digital fitness and high cadence delivery capabilities one-system-at-a-time (learned via 60+ systems delivered over 5 years in DHHS). 2. Collaborative Partnerships Move beyond transactional vendor relationships. Create and formalise mutually beneficial long-term partnerships using modern relational contracting. Contract for collaborative ways of working, not just deliverables. Nurture the mindsets and behaviours that make collaboration durable (learned via successful renegotiation of IT managed services contracts in Victoria Police using the #VestedWay). 3. Ecosystems of Co-Production Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are already part of connected ecosystems. Embrace them and make them work. Don't fly solo when it is smarter to establish scalable platforms, adopt service-oriented architecture, pool resources, and work together with peer organisations and strategic vendors to co-produce solutions. Loosely-coupled, interoperable systems reduce costs and accelerate innovation for everyone (learned via the incremental evolution of SafeScript as a national real time prescription monitoring system). These patterns share a common logic: create the conditions for people to collaborate, and they do. A surprising, perhaps unanticipated, effect is that this approach delivers better outcomes and makes people happy! That is my Concept of Effect. What's yours? #Strategy #Leadership #Digital #Innovation #Agile #Collaboration #Vested #CoProduction #Ecosystem
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisSafeScript is a Platform+Agile success story of national scale with direct implications for other national systems like the national firearms register. Recent media coverage of the continued rise in the number of Australians dying from drug overdoses - revealed in the Penington Institute's 2025 report - caused me to wonder about the evolution of the SafeScript real time prescription monitoring system that we implemented in DHHS in 2019. I told the story of SafeScript's launch in the attached article: https://lnkd.in/gMSVhn8W SafeScript aimed to reduce the growing harms and deaths caused by high-risk medicines by giving doctors and pharmacists real time information about high-risk medicines taken by their patients. There were two innovation streams in the SafeScript story from my perspective: (1) an innovative IT delivery strategy and (2) an innovative eHealth initiative. Looking back, how did it all pan out? From an IT delivery strategy perspective? Great success! The Platform+Agile approach to launching SafeScript proved to be effective at 'jump starting' the incremental and sustainable development of a nation-wide system in a federated public service context. SafeScript was built by #FredIT and became the basis for a National Data Exchange (NDE) and - incrementally - a national interconnected Real Time Prescription Monitoring solution - comprising SafeScript Vic (2019), QScript (2021), ScriptCheckSA (2021), Canberra Script (2022), SafeScript NSW (2022), NTScript (2022), ScriptCheckWA (2023) and TasScript (2024). Eight loosely-coupled systems ... one platform ... national real time data integration. A good outcome. This vindicates the decision in 2017 by Victoria to disengage from the failing centralised national Electronic Recording and Reporting of Controlled Drugs (ERRCD) project and instead take the lead by pursuing a Platform+Agile approach. We intentionally created a 'win-win' platform for Victoria that other states could subsequently leverage to meet their individual needs while also integrating with a national exchange infrastructure operated by the Commonwealth government. The success of the eHealth innovation is perhaps less clear. The policy intent was better information at the point of care → safer clinical decisions → reduced harm. While the information infrastructure can be seen to have worked it is much harder to assess how this translates into clinical behaviour change and to judge the effect on health outcomes. Others, however, are better qualified than me to comment. What do you think? Regarding the IT delivery approach, perhaps Platform+Agile will work for other federated national systems ... like the National Firearms Register? I wonder what the platform could be and which CIOs and states will lead ... and (as important) which will choose to follow the resulting path of least resistance?SafeScript - the story behind Victoria's Real Time Prescription Monitoring SystemSafeScript - the story behind Victoria's Real Time Prescription Monitoring System
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson posted thisReflecting further on last week's OutSystems One conference ... My interest stems from Victoria Police’s selection of #OutSystems as a strategic enterprise-grade low code app dev platform in 2023 via public tender. A range of systems have been successfully developed, most notably the electronic Penalty Infringement Notices (ePINs) app - which was showcased at the event by #PhoenixDX. A differentiator of OutSystems is its focus on being a great app dev PLATFORM for enterprises. Clients own the IP of developed systems, reducing software licensing costs, enabling modular architecture, reuse, and flexibility. OutSystems is still picking up momentum in Australia, but other organisations are following Victoria Police’s lead and evaluating the platform, so it is timely to learn more about the company’s strategy and prospects. OutSystems, IMHO, is positioning itself to be a market leader in three areas of enterprise Platform+Agile application development: (1) Orchestration of the work of both human and AI coders (2) Legacy system modernisation (3) Sovereign control over hosting. OutSystems has evolved its earlier 'low code app dev platform' positioning, recognising that the state-of-the-art has moved on to increasing use of AI-generated code and AI agents. The new label is 'Open Agentic Systems Platform'. OutSystems can now govern and orchestrate apps built using a range of AI models (Claude, CoPilot, AWS Kiro etc.) in addition to its native Mentor coding model - bringing the SDLC into one governed environment. OutSystems is a unifying platform for creating systems that are enterprise-grade by-design, with governance built-in (high availability & auto scaling, firewall & intrusion detection, immutable audit trail, deployment gates, workflow engine, observability streaming, continuous integration/continuous deployment and security.) An Enterprise Context Graph provides visibility and access to existing enterprise workflows, systems, APIs and data - ensuring that apps and AI agents are built with consistent awareness of, and connection to, the enterprise context - accelerating development and avoiding fragmented solutions. Legacy app modernisation is maturing, with agentic parsers now increasingly capable of extracting business intent from Cobol, Lotus Notes, Java and .NET apps as a basis for redevelopment of a new app in OutSystems. Local sovereignty is now supported for OutSystems Developer Cloud (ODC) as well as previously for O11. ODC can now be self-hosted on-prem or in a private cloud. As a pure-play enterprise app dev platform, OutSystems is a credible challenger to established COTS and SaaS players because it empowers CIOs to exercise greater control over architecture, orchestration, ownership of the IP of developed code and sovereignty. As always, the challenge is making the 'strategic call' to choose a platform and then committing fully to making use of its evolving capabilities. I attended OutSystems One at my own expense.
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisDon't forget to nominate yourself or somebody (else!) you rate highly for the 2026 CIO50 Awards. Nominations close 26 June. I am proud to be judging again this year, and am looking forward to reading some interesting, impressive, inspiring and innovative nominations! Here is the link to the nominations page: https://lnkd.in/g3SBnpzJ
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisJust for fun, did you know that you can stay in a bridge control house in Amsterdam? I stayed in one this week and it was cool! The Sweets Hotel is comprised of a chain of 28 renovated bridge control houses around the city. What is a bridge control house? With all of the canals there are lots of bridges, and each bridge that could open to let canal boats through needed a bridge keeper to control it. The keepers were important people, conducting the flow of canal traffic and having the power to disrupt your day by raising the bridge just when you wanted to go over it ... When the bridges were converted to computerised control the bridge keepers were made redundant (sad), but the little buildings were such a part of the city's canal landscape that a plan was hatched in 2012 to convert the houses into tiny hotel suites. Each house is a one-of-a-kind structure, providing a truely unique experience of the city. I spent three nights in Bridge House 310 Theophile de Bockbrug, which was a tiny but fully functional 1BR with ensuite hotel. It felt less like being in a hotel, remote from the streetscape, and more like being part of the city infrastructure and connected with the history of the city's canals, bridges, barges, canal boats, drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. It was a joy! If you plan to stay in Amsterdam, and a bridge house sounds appealing, check out the link and find your tiny hotel on booking.com 😀 https://lnkd.in/e7yGMp4XSWEETS hotel Amsterdam | 1 HOTEL / 28 BRIDGE HOUSESSWEETS hotel Amsterdam | 1 HOTEL / 28 BRIDGE HOUSES
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisThe OutSystems One event in Amsterdam launched the company's focus on empowering enterprises to "own their agentic future." By "own", CEO Woodson Martin was referring to winning back control over sprawling apps and AI agents - which in many enterprises are becoming fragmented, costly, ungoverned and unsafe. #OutSystems enables enterprises to: - Govern with a unified platform - Engineer systems with Mentor - Orchestrate with Agent Workbench - Accelerate with Industry Solutions. There was a lot to absorb, but here's my take on the main gist of things ... OutSystems is evolving from the earlier 'low code app dev platform' positioning, recognising that the state-of-the-art has moved on to AI-generated code and AI agents. The enterprise need has evolved from faster coding of apps in OutSystems to better orchestration of a rapidly evolving ecosystem of new AI-enabled systems and legacy apps. The new label is 'Open Agentic Systems Platform'. "Open" means that OutSystems can now govern and orchestrate a wide range of AI models (Claude, CoPilot, Kiro etc.). OutSystems is positioning itself as a unifying platform for creating systems that are enterprise-grade by-design, with governance built-in (high availability & auto scaling, firewall & intrusion detection, immutable audit trail, deployment gates, workflow engine, observability streaming, continuous integration/continuous deployment and security.) The unification objective is achieved by two main layers: (1) The Enterprise Context Graph, to provide visibility and access to existing enterprise workflows, systems, APIs and data. (2) The Agentic Systems Platform that brings the SDLC into one governed environment. The context layer ensures that the new apps and AI agents are built with full awareness of, and connection to, the enterprise context - accelerating development and avoiding fragmented solutions. Legacy app modernisation is maturing, with agentic parsers now increasingly capable of extracting business intent from Cobol, Lotus Notes, Java and .NET apps as a basis for redevelopment of a new app in OutSystems. A deepening partnership with AWS was announced, extending the existing hosting arrangements for OutSystems in AWS infrastructure. OutSystems is integrating more closely with AWS AI tooling - Kiro, Bedrock and Transform. Industry solutions - pre-built apps from OutSystems and partners - are a new areas of focus. Local sovereignty is now supported for OutSystems Developer Cloud (ODC) as well as previously for O11. ODC can now be self-hosted on-prem or in a private cloud. Phew! OutSystems is a 'pure play' enterprise digital innovation platform provider - literally the platform in the Platform+Agile approach. Smart CIOs are learning the benefits of choosing a strategic dev platform ... and 'going along for the ride' as their team's skills and the functionality of the platform evolve rapidly. (I travelled to this event at my own cost) https://lnkd.in/er-pMvk6Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisThis morning at ONE 2026 in Amsterdam, we introduced the next evolution of the OutSystems Agentic Systems Platform. Powered by the Enterprise Context Graph, a real-time model of enterprise operations, it gives organizations the foundation to run AI agents with the context, governance, and orchestration enterprises require. We also announced we're expanding our partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). We are helping enterprises modernize legacy systems with AWS Transform, orchestrate secure multi-agent workflows through AWS Bedrock, and leverage AWS Kiro to generate, optimize, and deploy solutions within the safety of the OutSystems ecosystem. AI capabilities are evolving at an incredible pace while enterprises face rising token costs, tool sprawl, and data silos. That's why we are making OutSystems an open, neutral broker, allowing teams to hot-swap models, deploy on sovereign infrastructure, and innovate on their own terms. But the coolest part of the morning was seeing customers like Het Nederlandse Rode Kruis, The HEINEKEN Company, or Trash Butler among many others deliver real-world outcomes with OutSystems. Thank you for the inspiration you give us every day. To learn more about everything we announced today, including the OutSystems Agent Experience, Agentic Enterprise Orchestration, and our new Industry Solutions, you can read our press release here: https://bit.ly/43MGMEc
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson shared thisThe 2026 Vested conference in Amsterdam last week was informative, inspiring and enjoyable - reinforcing my interest in the "What's in it for we" mindset. My takeaway? The Vested way is for leaders who see differently and who mindfully empower people in multi-organisational teams to deliver more by doing better together. This is a breath of fresh air in settings where a more transactional procurement mindset stymies service delivery innovation and creates undesirable costs and risks. Around 60 folks collaborated at the EY offices in Amsterdam to discuss ways to "educate, advise, and empower organisations and individuals on the art, science and practice of highly collaborative win-win relationships that will forever change the way organisations and individuals approach partnerships”. The Vested way is a formal methodology for establishing and governing sustainable win-win outsourcing partnerships in complex organisational settings. The goal is to better align the vested interests of the parties to motivate the co-creation of value. Formal governance arrangements are explicitly defined in the contract to ensure the relationship remains collaborative as organisational circumstances evolve - hence the term 'Relational Contracting'. Most attendees were Vested Certified Deal Architects and deal coaches - some having completed 10+ Vested deals. Others, like me, were executives, procurement professionals or consultants seeking to learn more about the methodology. It was an eclectic and passionate bunch with a unifying interest in collaboration, partnering and innovation at large scale. What did I learn? (1) The Vested way has momentum: 13,000+ people have completed Vested training from 928 organisations, 60+ organisations report successful Vested deals, 25 deals have formal case studies, 197 people are Certified Deal Architects, 47 universities are teaching and researching Vested methodology concepts, 400+ articles have been published. (2) Vested seems to have most traction in Europe ... collaborative mindsets seem more accepted in the EU! Most vested deals have so far been in facilities management outsourcing, but there is growing interest in IT managed services and other areas. (3) A Vested deal can be a new outsourcing relationship but is also commonly created to 'fix' a longstanding deal that is either 'in trouble' or in need of reinvigoration. (4) Procurement legislation does not prevent Vested deals, but the tendering process needs to be carefully designed to enable relational contracting. (5) The common thread in vested deals is a desire to ‘get more’ out of the outsourcing relationship than purchasing a fixed scope of services. (6) Vested deals require visionary leadership to set the destination, an experienced coach to get started and a proven methodology to navigate the journey. This is the Vested way. Thank you Kate Vitasek, Dr Andrew Downard, the #Vestedway team and Fredrik Nikolaev and #EY for hosting the event.
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisDr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisI'm on the lookout for an ICT Product Manager (Digital Evidence Management Systems) to join the team at Victoria Police. We are driving significant changes in our technology landscape and this role will provide critical leadership in uplifting and maintaining our digital record of interview and evidence management capability for our frontline members. https://lnkd.in/gmCMWfh5
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisDr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisWhilst in Melbourne this summer, I received an invite from the Executive Director of Victoria Police Forensics Services, Rebecca Kogios PSM, to attend a meeting of the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences. This was a fascinating experience as the topic of the meeting was “AI, Forensic Science and the Law: Balancing Opportunities and Risk”, presented by the Victorian Law Reform Commission Hon. Anthony North and Victoria Police Chief Forensic Scientist Kaye Ballantyne. I had great conversations with many different people from the Department of Prosecutions to those working in my area of interest, digital forensics. I developed an understanding of how leaders in their respective fields question and challenge potential policy changes at a state government level. In particular, I’d like to commend Kaye on a great talk, demonstrating the potential risks of AI use within the legal system through real-world examples and her expertise. She was even kind enough to entertain some of my questions. I’d highly recommend anyone to look into this growing area. Many thanks to Becky for an eye-opening experience, followed by an even better Italian.
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisDr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisI’m excited to be speaking at OutSystems Innovator Day Australia on 17 September, exploring what it takes to build, connect and scale intelligent agents across the agentic enterprise. We’re moving beyond isolated AI use cases. The real opportunity is in connecting agents, systems, data and people to deliver meaningful outcomes at enterprise scale. Join us for a half-day of keynotes, live discussions and demos, with perspectives from industry leaders and peers shaping what comes next for AI and agentic systems. If you’re exploring what agentic AI could mean for your organisation, I’d love to see you there. 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/gxhyUCVJ #InnovatorDay #AgenticAI #EnterpriseAI #OutSystems
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisDr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisPutin is setting up entire training grounds for brigades of newly mobilized Russians—it is known that special commissions have begun arriving in several regions of the Russian Federation to ensure the Kremlin’s plans are carried out. Moreover, under the pretext of the army’s needs, companies are effectively being forced to hand over equipment, have their production facilities seized, and send workers to the front in large numbers under the threat of complete bankruptcy. At the same time, Putin stated that Russia would enter into peace talks with Ukraine only “based on the realities on the ground.”
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisDr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisWe had the honour of hosting Pascal BORNET, one of the world's leading voices on agentic AI, live for 75 senior IT leaders across Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore. His point stuck with the room: the real value of AI isn't in replacing people, it's in making them irreplaceable. Thank you, Pascal, and thank you to Naren Gangavarapu GAICD and Pedro Carrilho for a panel that pulled no punches. And to every leader who showed up and shared openly, thank you. Conversations like this are why we do it, and we're already looking forward to bringing you all back together for the next one. Powered by Alan Allman Associates #AgenticAI #AIGovernance #ITLeadership
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisDr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisThere seems to be so much pressure to move fast, but have we developed the fitness to do so? In our recent conversation celebrating 10 years of Quietly Powerful, our panellist Dr Steve Hodgkinson, introduced the idea of ‘organisational fitness’ as something that needs to be built before attempting a transformation. We were discussing the relentless pace of work and change, and how organisations want to move at pace without first building their capability. Steve likened this to waking up one morning and deciding to run a marathon without having done any training. Organisations do this surprisingly often: 🚨 A new strategy. 🚨 A major transformation. 🚨 A.I. adoption. 🚨 Restructuring. 🚨 Demanding deadlines. There is pressure to move quickly, yet the foundational capabilities needed to deliver successfully may not have had time to develop. My understanding is that this has been some of Steve’s work, which he names ‘Platform+Agile’. The fitness analogy made me think about another kind of fitness we need: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆. ❇️ Can we handle uncertainty without rushing to certainty? ❇️ Can we allow someone to challenge us without becoming defensive? ❇️ Can we listen when we disagree? ❇️ Can we stay present and thoughtful when the pressure around us is escalating? These are internal capacities we can only build through 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴, not just knowing about them. And perhaps they become even more important as the pace, complexity, and uncertainty increases. Manjula Shaw, another panellist who works in a fast-paced delivery environment, made a point about the importance of leading with calm, which requires this internal capacity. When everyone is becoming frantic, worrying about deadlines and looking for shortcuts, a calm voice can help people work through concerns, regain perspective and find a way forward. Pace requires more than speed. It requires ‘fitness’ - organisational capability, leadership capability and the internal capacity to stay grounded enough to think, listen and respond well under pressure. Perhaps before asking, “How do we go faster?”, there is another useful question: ❔What fitness do we need to build to be ready for the pace we want? 🎁 Throughout August, receive 𝟯𝟬% 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸, 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗤𝗣 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀. If you’ve been thinking about exploring QP for yourself, your team, or someone you know, now is the perfect time. 👉 Find the different resources at quietlypowerful.com.au (specific links in the comments) and use the code 𝗤𝗣𝟭𝟬𝘁𝗵𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘆. 💡 I’ll be sharing further reflections from our QP 10 year celebration and conversation. Read them at #QP10thbirthday or listen to the recording at https://lnkd.in/gc3p2is3. #quietlypowerful #leadership #futureofleadership #talent #leadershipdevelopment
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisTaking a collaborative approach and jointly focusing on outcomes, rather than transactions, is the key to unlocking greater value in strategic business relationships. Listen to my colleagues Jessica JK Schmidt and Fredrik Nikolaev discuss with Kate Vitasek (founder of the Vested model) on the #EY #FitForFuture #PodcastDr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisWhy do so many commercial relationships struggle to deliver the value both sides expect? One reason is that many are still built around managing transactions rather than achieving outcomes together. In the latest episode of the EY Nordic Fit for Future Podcast, I joined Jessica JK Schmidt and Kate Vitasek, lead researcher behind the Vested® business model, to discuss how organizations can rethink traditional business relationships and create stronger alignment through shared goals and incentives. It's a topic I've spent a lot of time thinking about over the years, and one that feels increasingly relevant as organizations navigate a faster-changing and more complex environment. 🎧 Listen to the episode wherever you find your favourite podcasts. Wishing everyone a fantastic summer! Whether you're already enjoying some time off or still looking forward to a well-earned break! Magnus Kuchler Robin Warchalowski Niclas Elfström Oskar Finnström Kim Frahm Morgan MacQuarrie Clara Odqvist David Frydlinger Cecilia Rossing
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Dr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisDr Steve Hodgkinson liked thisA lot was covered at the 30th CIO Edge today, and some clear patterns are emerging around the next phase of AI. 📹 Here’s where we see Australian CIOs right now, and what the top performers are doing differently.
Experience & Education
Publications
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EXCLUSIVE- System integration and information sharing through Cloud Services and Analytics in Victoria
OpenGovAsia
See publicationOpenGov Asia spoke to Dr. Steve Hodgkinson, CIO, Victorian Department of Health & Human Services about his strategy for digital transformation.
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Five big ideas to avoid doing stupid digital stuff
CIO New Zealand
See publicationIt is time for executives to go ‘back to school’ to learn how to drive transformation using new digital technologies. US President Barack Obama coined the phrase “Don’t do stupid sh*t” to articulate his approach to foreign policy. This has subsequently been sanitised by the Whitehouse PR machine to “Don’t do stupid stuff” … but the intent remains clear. His strategy is to avoid making the same stupid mistakes as his predecessors. Fresh thinking is required.
This mantra can also be…It is time for executives to go ‘back to school’ to learn how to drive transformation using new digital technologies. US President Barack Obama coined the phrase “Don’t do stupid sh*t” to articulate his approach to foreign policy. This has subsequently been sanitised by the Whitehouse PR machine to “Don’t do stupid stuff” … but the intent remains clear. His strategy is to avoid making the same stupid mistakes as his predecessors. Fresh thinking is required.
This mantra can also be applied to IT policy. “Don’t do stupid stuff” is a pretty good approach to digital transformation. What, however, is “stupid stuff” in the digital age? ‘Stupid stuff’ is stuff that perpetuates the failed approaches of the past and which ignores new approaches made possible by new technologies. -
Five Big Digital Leadership Ideas for Government Executives
Ovum
See publicationCloud services have emerged at the intersection of web services, cloud computing, smartphones, digital multimedia, social computing, and advanced analytics technologies. The cloud services model is becoming proven in both the consumer and enterprise markets, and there is emerging evidence of successful adoption by government agencies. Many governments are now adopting “cloud first” strategies to promote cloud services adoption.
Although cloud services are not a panacea for all government…Cloud services have emerged at the intersection of web services, cloud computing, smartphones, digital multimedia, social computing, and advanced analytics technologies. The cloud services model is becoming proven in both the consumer and enterprise markets, and there is emerging evidence of successful adoption by government agencies. Many governments are now adopting “cloud first” strategies to promote cloud services adoption.
Although cloud services are not a panacea for all government IT maladies, they are appropriate for many applications, categories of data, and agency situations. They can and do work. More importantly, they can provide a useful catalyst for getting public sector IT onto a new track and rebuilding executive confidence in the leadership of digitally enabled policy and service delivery transformation.
Successful cloud services adoption, however, requires some fresh thinking and new mindsets by agency executives. This paper summarizes five big ideas that Ovum believes will help executives to understand how best to approach cloud services adoption as a catalyst for digital transformation. -
Google increases its trust transparency
Ovum Opinion
See publicationGoogle recently announced renewed ISO 27001 and Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 and 3 Type II audit security compliance accreditations. These accreditations are now expected of market-leading cloud services providers targeting the enterprise, but this time Google has also increased its trust transparency by publishing its ISO 27001 audit report.
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US DoD further endorses AWS security
Ovum Opinion
See publicationAs a further indication of the growing maturity and trustworthiness of cloud services, the Amazon Web Services (AWS) GovCloud (US) has been granted “Provisional Authorization” as a cloud service provider (CSP) for security impact levels 1–5 of the US Department of Defense (DoD) Cloud Security Model (CSM).
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Australian governments to open the door wider for public cloud services
Ovum
See publicationIs a mature “public” cloud service less trustworthy than the under-invested “private” IT capabilities of the average government agency? This question now sits at the core of government IT strategy. So far, the Australian federal and state governments have viewed public cloud services as a more risky path – but this is changing. The Federal Government appears to be in the process of lifting a two-minister sign-off requirement for the use of public cloud services. This is a change in policy that…
Is a mature “public” cloud service less trustworthy than the under-invested “private” IT capabilities of the average government agency? This question now sits at the core of government IT strategy. So far, the Australian federal and state governments have viewed public cloud services as a more risky path – but this is changing. The Federal Government appears to be in the process of lifting a two-minister sign-off requirement for the use of public cloud services. This is a change in policy that puts the decision back where it should be, with agency executives. However, a recent audit of cloud-service projects by the Western Australian Auditor General exposed weaknesses in cloud-service procurement practices. The cloud-service model does indeed create new procurement nuances and risks that need to be managed. The problem with overly conservative policy positions is that agencies are prevented from gaining the new mindsets and skills required to understand and manage risks. The new skills can only gained through hands-on practice.
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Audit reminds agencies that cloud services projects are IT projects too
Ovum
See publicationThe Western Australian Auditor General’s June 2014 Information Systems Audit Report is one of the first audits in Australia to explicitly examine cloud services projects. Cloud services adoption is picking up momentum across the public sector so it is timely. The audit finds a range of weaknesses in cloud services procurement and management – many of which are consistent with weaknesses previously found in other forms of outsourcing. The fact that these projects received adverse commentary from…
The Western Australian Auditor General’s June 2014 Information Systems Audit Report is one of the first audits in Australia to explicitly examine cloud services projects. Cloud services adoption is picking up momentum across the public sector so it is timely. The audit finds a range of weaknesses in cloud services procurement and management – many of which are consistent with weaknesses previously found in other forms of outsourcing. The fact that these projects received adverse commentary from the Auditor General should not, however, be used as a general criticism of the cloud services model. The projects, after all, are operational and have delivered positive results for the agencies. Rather, this is a reminder for agencies that cloud services projects (like any IT project) need to be managed professionally; risks should be identified up-front and addressed through appropriate mitigations.
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Why government agencies should stop saying “cloud” or “the cloud”
Ovum Opinion
See publicationGovernments and their agencies should stop using the single word “cloud” or (even worse) referring to “the cloud”. These words are fluff. It is much better to ground statements in the reality of either “cloud computing” technologies to be implemented or “cloud services” to be consumed.
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New CloudFit Framework reveals whether cloud services are a good fit
Ovum StraightTalk
See publicationA new Ovum report describes the Ovum CloudFit Framework – a tool to help enterprise executives and cloud service providers understand and discuss the fit between an organization’s business needs and IT circumstances and the new “art of the possible” of cloud services. CloudFit analysis can provide useful input for both enterprises and vendors as they ponder where to start (appropriate business needs/use cases), how to argue the case for change (in the context of constraints in the IT status…
A new Ovum report describes the Ovum CloudFit Framework – a tool to help enterprise executives and cloud service providers understand and discuss the fit between an organization’s business needs and IT circumstances and the new “art of the possible” of cloud services. CloudFit analysis can provide useful input for both enterprises and vendors as they ponder where to start (appropriate business needs/use cases), how to argue the case for change (in the context of constraints in the IT status quo), and how to put in place building blocks that create and sustain momentum for cloud services adoption.
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The Ovum CloudFit Framework
Ovum.com
See publicationThis report describes the Ovum CloudFit Framework – a tool to help enterprise executives and cloud service providers understand and discuss the fit between an organization's business needs and IT circumstances and the new "art of the possible" of cloud services. It also includes an interactive tool for assessing your CloudFit score. Our view is that consideration of whether cloud services are "appropriate" cannot be viewed in the abstract. It must be viewed in the context of the business…
This report describes the Ovum CloudFit Framework – a tool to help enterprise executives and cloud service providers understand and discuss the fit between an organization's business needs and IT circumstances and the new "art of the possible" of cloud services. It also includes an interactive tool for assessing your CloudFit score. Our view is that consideration of whether cloud services are "appropriate" cannot be viewed in the abstract. It must be viewed in the context of the business outcomes that are sought and a realistic understanding of the constraints and enablers inherent in an organization's IT environment.
Honors & Awards
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Australian CIO50 Hall of Fame
IDG/Foundry CIO Australia - https://www2.cio.com.au/cio50/
After seven successful years celebrating the achievements of Australia’s top technology leaders, CIO Australia is proud to launch the ‘CIO50 Hall of Fame’ to recognise those that have demonstrated an enduring commitment - and strong track record of success – in delivering digital innovation and executive leadership.
This year we welcomed Dr Steve Hodgkinson, chief digital officer with Victoria Police as our inaugural inductee, in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a…After seven successful years celebrating the achievements of Australia’s top technology leaders, CIO Australia is proud to launch the ‘CIO50 Hall of Fame’ to recognise those that have demonstrated an enduring commitment - and strong track record of success – in delivering digital innovation and executive leadership.
This year we welcomed Dr Steve Hodgkinson, chief digital officer with Victoria Police as our inaugural inductee, in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a technology leader in the Victorian public sector, which saw him place in the top 10 of the CIO50 six years in a row, last year ascending for the second time to the number two slot.
https://www2.cio.com.au/article/702636/cio50-2022-26-50-steve-hodgkinson-victoria-police/ -
#2 in Australia's CIO50 list for 2021
IDG CIO Australia - https://www2.cio.com.au/cio50/2021
The CIO50 list recognises recognise Australia's top 50 technology and digital chiefs. These c-level executives have driven real technology-led innovations that changing the way their organisations operate in a highly competitive global marketplace.
https://www2.cio.com.au/article/692423/cio-50-2021-2-steve-hodgkinson-victorian-department-health/
Dr Steve Hodgkinson is the only CIO to have ranked in the top10 of the CIO50 for five consecutive years (#7 in 2017, #2 in 2018, #9 in…The CIO50 list recognises recognise Australia's top 50 technology and digital chiefs. These c-level executives have driven real technology-led innovations that changing the way their organisations operate in a highly competitive global marketplace.
https://www2.cio.com.au/article/692423/cio-50-2021-2-steve-hodgkinson-victorian-department-health/
Dr Steve Hodgkinson is the only CIO to have ranked in the top10 of the CIO50 for five consecutive years (#7 in 2017, #2 in 2018, #9 in 2019, #5 in 2020 and #2 in 2021). -
#5 in Australia's CIO50 list for 2020
IDG CIO Australia - https://www2.cio.com.au/cio50/2020
The CIO50 list recognises recognise Australia's top 50 technology and digital chiefs. These c-level executives have driven real technology-led innovations that changing the way their organisations operate in a highly competitive global marketplace.
https://www2.cio.com.au/article/683806/cio50-2020-4-dr-steve-hodgkinson-victoria-department-health-human-services/
Dr Steve Hodgkinson is the only CIO to have ranked in the top10 of the CIO50 for four consecutive years (#7 in 2017, #2…The CIO50 list recognises recognise Australia's top 50 technology and digital chiefs. These c-level executives have driven real technology-led innovations that changing the way their organisations operate in a highly competitive global marketplace.
https://www2.cio.com.au/article/683806/cio50-2020-4-dr-steve-hodgkinson-victoria-department-health-human-services/
Dr Steve Hodgkinson is the only CIO to have ranked in the top10 of the CIO50 for four consecutive years (#7 in 2017, #2 in 2018, #9 in 2019 and #5 in 2020). -
#9 in Australia's CIO50 list for 2019
IDG CIO Australia https://www2.cio.com.au/cio50/2019
The CIO50 list recognises recognise Australia's top 50 technology and digital chiefs. These c-level executives have driven real technology-led innovations that changing the way their organisations operate in a highly competitive global marketplace.
https://www2.cio.com.au/article/668367/cio50-2019-9-dr-steve-hodgkinson-victorian-department-health-human-services/ -
National iAward for SafeScript project
Australian Information Industry Association
SafeScript won the 2019 National AIIA iAward in the Infrastructure & Platform category.
SafeScript, Victoria’s new real-time prescription monitoring system, reduces the growing harms and deaths caused by high-risk medicines. More Victorians die from prescription medicine overdoses than from illicit drugs or the road toll.
SafeScript gives doctors, pharmacists and nurse practitioners real-time information about high-risk medicines taken by their patients.
The system, built…SafeScript won the 2019 National AIIA iAward in the Infrastructure & Platform category.
SafeScript, Victoria’s new real-time prescription monitoring system, reduces the growing harms and deaths caused by high-risk medicines. More Victorians die from prescription medicine overdoses than from illicit drugs or the road toll.
SafeScript gives doctors, pharmacists and nurse practitioners real-time information about high-risk medicines taken by their patients.
The system, built on #Microsoft #Azure by #FredITGroup, is a good health-sector example of Platform+Agile enabled digital innovation. It has addressed Victoria’s policy requirements in a nimble manner and also provided a platform for a national real time prescription monitoring solution.
https://www.aiia.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/100892/National-iAwards-2019_Media-Release_FINAL-2-SEPT.pdf
More info: https://lnkd.in/gNXf54h and https://lnkd.in/gtEAQKR
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IT News Benchmark Awards - Best State Government Project
IT News
The Client Incident Management System supports the safety and wellbeing of clients by implementing an effective, easy-to-use and secure electronic workflow that enables incidents to be reported, investigated, reviewed and resolved. The system also supports agencies to learn from incident patterns to improve service quality and outcomes.
CIMS is comprised of three components – the Client Incident Register (CIR), a reporting and analytics module, and an Application Program Interface (API).…The Client Incident Management System supports the safety and wellbeing of clients by implementing an effective, easy-to-use and secure electronic workflow that enables incidents to be reported, investigated, reviewed and resolved. The system also supports agencies to learn from incident patterns to improve service quality and outcomes.
CIMS is comprised of three components – the Client Incident Register (CIR), a reporting and analytics module, and an Application Program Interface (API). The system supports the full lifecycle of incident management, including: identification and response, reporting, incident investigation, incident review and analysis and learning.
This is a further example of the department’s Platform+Agile approach – which has proven highly effective in reducing project costs and risks and accelerating delivery.
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/vic-dhhs-takes-benchmarks-crown-for-incident-reporting-system-520249 -
#2 in Australia's CIO50 list for 2018
IDG CIO Australia - https://www2.cio.com.au/cio50/2018
The CIO50 list recognises Australia’s top 50 technology and digital chiefs who are influencing rapid technology-driven change and innovation across their organisations.
https://www.cio.com.au/article/648017/cio50-2018-dr-steve-hodgkinson-victorian-department-health-human-services/ -
Fellow of the Victorian section of the Australian Institute of Public Administrators
IPAA Victoria
Fellowships, one of the highest honours bestowed upon members by IPAA Victoria, are awarded annually to members in recognition of their outstanding contribution to public administration; the creation of public value; the achievement of the IPAA Victoria’s objectives and service to IPAA Victoria; and exemplary service and leadership to the local, Victoria, national and/or international community through their professional work in, or with, the public sector…
Fellowships, one of the highest honours bestowed upon members by IPAA Victoria, are awarded annually to members in recognition of their outstanding contribution to public administration; the creation of public value; the achievement of the IPAA Victoria’s objectives and service to IPAA Victoria; and exemplary service and leadership to the local, Victoria, national and/or international community through their professional work in, or with, the public sector.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6468231086190231552 -
TechDiversity Champion for the Rise at DHHS autism program
#TechDiversity
The 2018 TechDiversity champion was the Department of Health and Human Services (Victoria) for their RISE program, led by Dr Steve Hodgkinson, CIO of DHHS.
Around one in 68 people worldwide is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). An estimated 70% of these people are un-employed or under-employed. Many people with ASD end up in our disability and unemployment systems, unable to realise their potential. Rise at DHHS is a successful program to employ a cohort of people with ASD in…The 2018 TechDiversity champion was the Department of Health and Human Services (Victoria) for their RISE program, led by Dr Steve Hodgkinson, CIO of DHHS.
Around one in 68 people worldwide is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). An estimated 70% of these people are un-employed or under-employed. Many people with ASD end up in our disability and unemployment systems, unable to realise their potential. Rise at DHHS is a successful program to employ a cohort of people with ASD in the department for two years. The program’s main focus is to create a repeatable and sustainable employment approach. This was achieved by partnering with Specialisterne, the Copenhagen-based global organisation dedicated to creating employment for people with ASD, to recruit a team and to support their successful transition into the workforce. The goal is for the program participants to successfully perform meaningful work and to gain the skills and confidence required to be selected on merit for other roles within the department or other organisations.
https://techdiversityawards.com/techdiversity-awards-2018-highlights-and-photos/ -
#7 in Australia's CIO50 List for 2017
IDG CIO Australia - https://www2.cio.com.au/cio50/2017
The CIO50 list recognises Australia’s top 50 technology and digital chiefs who are influencing rapid technology-driven change and innovation across their organisations.
https://www.cio.com.au/article/629874/cio50-2017-7-steve-hodgkinson-victorian-department-health-human-services/ -
Australian State & Local Government CIO of the Year 2017
ITNews Benchmark Awards
The ITNews Benchmark Awards is an annual awards ceremony to celebrate innovation and excellence in the CIO role in a range of industry categories across Australia. The catalyst for this award was the Housing Register Online project implemented the DHHS team in addition to Steve's success over the past two years leading a transformation of the department's ICT capabilities and its relationship with…
The ITNews Benchmark Awards is an annual awards ceremony to celebrate innovation and excellence in the CIO role in a range of industry categories across Australia. The catalyst for this award was the Housing Register Online project implemented the DHHS team in addition to Steve's success over the past two years leading a transformation of the department's ICT capabilities and its relationship with CenITex.
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/vics-human-services-it-boss-wins-state-govt-cio-of-the-year-451608
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