Newsletter Volume 27 Issue 4, Apr 2015

From The Editor

“To which I say: balderdash! The brilliant minds at Gartner – and any other consultant towing the Bimodal IT line, for that matter – are telling their clients what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Bimodal IT is simply an excuse to keep doing IT poorly.”  Jason Bloomberg

This quote is from a criticism of Gartner’s new Bimodal IT model by Jason Bloomberg President of Intellyx  and author of The Agile Architecture Revolution. Other critics are Dion Hinchcliffe, Enterprise Web 2.0, and Simon Wardley, CSC Leading Edge Forum, see below, The Bimodal IT Debate Heats Up.

Simon Wardley also features in an ongoing stoush with consultancy firm BDO, following its attack on the UK Government Digital Service.

“At this moment in time (due to the election), Civil Servants are governed by the Purdah convention which limits their ability to respond. What this means is that any old lobbying firm can publish any old tat knowing they’re unlikely to get a response. Launching an attack on a department at this time is about as cowardly as you can get.   ”

See below, No Punches Pulled In UK Consultants GDS Brawl

Is mobile technology in the classroom bad for students’ social, emotional and personal development? Is there an “App Gap” holding low-income children back? Is digital inequality a serious social disadvantage? In April 2015, separate research studies gave some answers to those questions, see below, The Mobile Technology in the Classroom Debate.

Current Issue

Articles in the current Issue cover:

The Bimodal IT Debate Heats Up  

“But bi-modal IT can be thought of a training wheels way of thinking about the very different, nearly opposite, models for IT.”

No Punches Pulled In UK Consultants GDS Brawl 

“With a bit more internal skill, I’ve seen £1.7M contracts tumble to £96,000. Yes, 95% savings are not unheard of.”   

The Mobile Technology in the Classroom Debate

“Using tech, like iPads, in schools has turned into a heated political debate. Los Angeles infamously spent $1.3 billion on a program to give iPads to each student that has subsequently been plagued with problems. In the United Kingdom the head of the National Association of Head Teachers claimed he was dubious about using tech as a teaching aid in non-IT classes. “

Events

“The World’s most successful Awards Program”

Consensus (www.consensus.com.au) runs a series of Awards Programs that identify the most innovative technology designed and developed in Australia (and some in New Zealand ). Over 400 evaluations of innovation have been conducted by the 130 Judges since the Awards were started in 2000. Recent independent analysis of the Winners of the Awards shows that 9 out of 10 (90%) of the Winners of Consensus Awards have gone on to perform exceptionally well internationally. The same research showed that across the board, the companies have enjoyed over 1200% increase in sales or value since they have won Awards.

Based upon these achievements, Consensus can truly claim to be the World’s Most Successful Awards Program. In June 2015, a Consensus Showcase will profile over 100 CEOs of previous winners. The value of the companies that will be present is in excess of $8 Billion. At the same event, Consensus will be presenting the Consensus Student Innovation Awards, Consensus IT Professional Awards, Consensus IT Writers Awards and the BigData Innovation Awards. For more information please emailcontact@consensus.com.au

Ted Smillie

QESP Chairman