Focus July 2020

Some of these programmes are being delivered by internal employees, but many, around 70%, are being outsourced. We help our customers to capitalise on these projects to achieve a competitive advantage. As a ‘customer friend’, we provide blended teams of systems engineers, data scientists, artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber experts to help businesses demystify the jargon and make evidence- based decisions. These multi-skilled teams can then work together to help with enterprise- level change management, strategy development, process design and architecture, and implementing digital services. Digital Transformation programmes identify the efficiencies created through emerging and disruptive technologies, like Big Data, Cloud Technology, building Digital Twins, Machine Learning and AI, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Blockchain. By aligning and reorganising business functions to exploit these technologies, companies can maintain or enhance their marketplace standing and future outlook. However, readers should also recognise that Digital Transformation programmes are change programmes that require stakeholders to shift and adapt their mindsets and behaviours. So, in addition to establishing enterprise- wide technical architectures, senior leadership teams must also establish effective ‘action architectures’ to implement the required change in their staff’s behaviours. This helps effect the necessary cultural changes. “Without this ‘action architecture’, Digital Transformation programmes will simply not succeed!” advises Jon Heaton, our Lead Cyber Security Consultant. Adopting and implementing these disruptive technologies brings many challenges, one of the most vital is security risk management. As corporate enterprises become increasingly connected, technology becomes more complex. Furthermore, employees will progressively flit between conducting work and private information interactions, for example, which collectively increases the corporate threat landscape. One of our roles is to help ensure that our customers are using industry best practices and are abiding by governance while we handle commercially-sensitive tasks such as risk analysis, cloud configuration and data protection requirements. It’s worth knowing that retrospectively fitting cyber security measures to a Digital Transformation programme is both financially costly and resource intensive. In other words, “invest effort in cyber security early on in your Digital Transformation programme if you wish to succeed”, advises Heaton. There is no industry-accepted model for the stages of a Digital Transformation programme but it is suggested that these changes should start small and scale in an iterative process. This allows a small team to demonstrate tangible evidence of the benefits and efficiencies that Digital Transformation can bring and how the challenges associated with changes to roles and culture can be overcome. It is important to understand that these initiatives require a transformational leadership style and it is vital to understand where your data is. Delivering Successful Digital Transformation Programmes Many organisations across both the private and public sectors are currently completing or embarking on Digital Transformation programmes. Lead Cyber Security Consultant, BMT With over 30 years’ experience in the communications industry, Jon’s experience was primarily accrued from a full career in the British Army where he completed a myriad of roles and deployments including his final 7 years being spent in cyber appointments. Jon is the cyber capability lead within BMT’s Technology and Innovation Services (TIS) team, where he heads up a burgeoning cyber practice that is currently delivering a number of high profile contracts and looking to grow further. Jon has a particular interest and expertise in the human elements of cyber security, instigated through an MSc dissertation in the domain. He is also a Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Professional and an active Fellow of the British Computer Society. Jon Heaton [email protected] Invest effort in cyber security early in your Digital Transformation programme, if you wish to succeed “ “ Jon Heaton, BMT 5 4 Cont’d