2007 PANEL SERIES
Partnering with your ICT Professional for Business Innovation
The second panel session in the 2007 Ballarat ICT Cluster Panel Series was facilitated by Dr Patrice Braun, Deputy Director of the Centre for Regional Innovation and Competitiveness (CRIC) at the University of Ballarat. This event was held between 4 pm and 6 pm on 23 May 2007 at the Mining Exchange, Lydiard Street, Ballarat. This event was part of the Ballarat Innovation Festival which ran between 21-24 May 2007.
Background
Research into business adoption of information communications technology (ICT) adoption has identified that business owners often believe their information technology professionals are speaking a different language when they seek to discuss their IT business needs.
IT people might talk jargon that non-IT people do not understand and non-IT people may not have enough understanding of IT to know what their IT needs are or what services to ask for. We are aware that when IT people talk to non-IT people this can cause some communication problems. We also know that new technologies are an integral part of our everyday business processes, so in this panel we are bringing business owners and IT professionals together to share their experiences and explore ways to bridge the communication gap between business and IT professionals.
Questions
- What are the main issues in your experience in terms of communication between IT and SMEs? (All panel members and also audience participation)
- How do we address these issues?
- How many clients do you work with inside Ballarat? How many SMEs use local IT specialists for your technology needs?
- How do you decide whom to choose for your technology needs?
- What issues do you have in terms of communicating your needs?
- Specifying requirements?
- Writing contracts?
- Timelines on the work, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
- Monitoring the contract?
- Working with contractor to get the best out of the contractor?
- Building long-term relationship with your IT professional?
- There are great opportunities for local companies to provide technology services to businesses in the region, either on their own or in collaboration with other IT specialists. Can you (audience) tell us what processes you go through to fill your different needs?
- Would a central access point with local IT firm capability help to source your IT needs? What information would you be seeking on firms?
Panel Members
 Click here to find out more about Panel Members
Summary of Panel Outcomes
Click here to view details of panel outcomes, photos and feedback.
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