It's good to talk, says e-envoy

Network managers should talk more and avoid becoming stranded like "a big whale on a beach", said the Government's newly appointed e-envoy.

In an exclusive interview with Network News, the former IT director Andrew Pinder said he could understand the frustration of network managers who recognise the potential of new technology that their business fails to pick up on.

Pinder argued that times had changed since the 1980s when he was deputy IT director at the Inland Revenue and IT took a structured approach. He said the internet had forced network managers to be quick, flexible and closely in tune with business.

"They need to look for new opportunities and make sure they are not stranded like a big whale on the beach with old, heavy systems," Pinder said. He added that the roll-out of broadband offered a new chance for IT to show what could be done.

Pinder stressed that network managers should get support for their plans and communicate more. "Stay in touch with what business wants to do. Find key drivers and stay close to them," he said.

He identified security as the most topical issue in IT, and said network managers had a major part to play in improving the perception of security in ecommerce.

"Perception of security is sometimes false because each ecommerce breach receives so much publicity. Network managers need to keep websites secure and back-office systems free from fraud," he said.

Pinder acknowledged that the confidential nature of government databases required heavy precaution, which he said was secured in a protected backbone with separate pockets of information that were not connected to the internet.

Also published in Network News