In his talk, 'being a digital organisation', academic Alan W. Brown unpicks the meaning of some common phrases and buzzwords: 'customer centric', 'agile' and 'focus on outcomes' and Open Source. He also explains, based on his recent work with local government, that consumer demands and societal expectations, among others, mean that government must move forward when it comes to digital transformation. Brown describes a "palpable tension" local government organisations face as they aim to acheive their ambitions within financial and other constraints, including operational risk. "We can't wait forever and we can't not adapt" he warns.
Brown co-authoried 'Digtiizing Government', a groundbreaking book which examines digital transformation to increase business value and improve client engagement, featuring case studies from the private and public sectors, and a detailed chronology of digital change efforts across the UK government sector.
He is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Surrey Business School at the University of Surrey. He previously worked in Europe and the US and has been Chief Technology Officer for IBM Rational in Europe, head of business development at a Silicon Valley start-up, and senior researcher at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University. Brown has provided guidance on government policy and practices in software delivery in the UK, EU and US.
Watch videos by his co-authors Mark Thompson and Jerry Fishenden.
