The week in brief - 8 February 2012

This Week in Brief - 8 February 2012

Last week demonstrated the strong trends of both competition and convergence with:

• the federal court decision in Singtel Optus Pty Ltd v National Rugby League Investments Pty Ltd. View the Federal Court of Australia Summary.
• confirmation that there are now more devices connected to the internet than there are people see "The machines are taking over” for details.

AIIA CLOUD STRATEGY 2012 – Australia’s Leading Cloud Computing Forum - bookings are filling up fast for this important event on 15 February in Canberra.

The AIIA cloud strategy event featuring former White House CIO Vivek Kundra is being held in Canberra on Wednesday 15February. The summit will be facilitated by Bob Hayward from CSC and will have an opening address by Minister Conroy.The program will include:

• Assessing the risks and benefits of Cloud Computing in Australia – a Qualitative perspective presented by Dr Steve Hodgkinson from Ovum
• Modelling the Cloud: The Productivity benefits of Cloud Computing in Australia – a Quantitative perspective presented by Nicki Hutley from KPMG
• Panel 1: "Balancing the Opportunities and Challenges of Cloud Computing in Australia"
• Panel 2 - "How to secure data and protect privacy in the cloud" with U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy and Greg Stone from Microsoft
• A Faster Future – Brad Howarth, Journalist & Author
• Great Debate - "Weather Warning: Storm Clouds Ahead?"
• LOCKNOTE: The Future of Cloud Computing presented by Alan Noble from Google

Registrations to this event are limited and I would encourage you to register early. You can purchase tickets here.

At the conclusion of the summit, a Gala Dinner will be held at the Boathouse by the Lake and Vivek will provide an in-depth synopsis of the day’s events. Single tickets or table sponsorships are available for purchase for this event. Purchase tickets here.

In addition, the AIIA Victorian Branch will be hosting a Dinner "Cloud Insights with Vivek Kundra” at the Crown Palladium, Southbank, Melbourne on the 16th February. Single tickets or table sponsorships are also available for this event. Purchase tickets here.

Cost of Competition – Hanna Zakowska, PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales would like you to participate in a research project into the regulatory burden faced by Australian businesses. Her research is funded by CPA Australia as part of the Global Research Perspectives Program. She seeks to identify and describe the regulatory compliance costs of businesses, with a particular emphasis on tax reporting costs. The research also aims to establish the level of awareness of Standard Business Reporting (SBR) among Australian businesses.Complete this survey here.

Minister Conroy – during the week I met with the Minister to build a stronger relationship for our members. I provided a recap on the recent changes at AIIA and confirmed our objective is to deliver exceptional member value; achieve Strategic Priorities – Digital Economy, Environmental Sustainability, Industry Development and Growth; build a sustainable association; and to do so with high performance. I also provided an update on recent activities undertaken in support of the DBCDE MOU including teleworking and discussed the work recently undertaken with the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development & Innovation (DEEDI). The video we discussed can be seen here.

Multimedia Victoria – while in Melbourne I also meet with Kathy Coultas to overview progress on the iAwards for 2012 and discuss and agree specific aspects of the program which is being developed in collaboration with ACS and the Pearcey Foundation.

iAwards – the monthly Steering Committee meeting included discussion of the importance of Australia 3.0 and the new Master Class for candidates. Nominations will open shortly.

Members meetings -During the week I meet with:

• Sean O’Halloran, CEO ANZ, Alcatel-Lucent to better understand there recent changes and how we can work together in support of the DBCDE MOU including for example teleworking, noting they already have a well-developed Flex Work arrangement in place;

• David Gelb, Partner, R&D Incentives and Tax, KPMG to discuss how we might work together toidentify grant opportunities for both AIIA and its members;

• Philip Brady and Tony Hudson, Government Sales, Optus to get up to the minute details on the industry change underway in telecommunications; and to discuss NSW State Government competition policy; procurement; and the NSW Government Telecommunications Agreement (GTA)

• Liz Jakubowski andDr Phil Robertson atNICTA to learn more about NICTA’s role in building wealth and promoting research; and discuss and agree how we can work together to position Australia positively in the face of international competition.

• John Rundell and Chris Fosberry at Stratca understand the role of payment card industry data security and forensics and seek support for our continuing input into Federal Government and Opposition Cyber Crime processes.

Skills and Workforce - I am delighted to report that during the week Alan Patterson, CEO, ACS and I agreed to work more co-operatively in relation to government and policy, commencing with workforce and skills and the Living Away From Home Allowance submission.