Understanding the post-pandemic operating model: An interview with Jane Deal, IT director, the Law Society

Deal discusses the technologies exciting her at the moment, and which trends she finds most concerning

Planning for the future has become something of an impossible mission in recent years. Uncertainty around Brexit has given way to uncertainty around the pandemic and how and where staff will be working, with barely a period of comfort in between.

When asked for her priorities for 2022, Jane Deal, IT director of membership body the Law Society, has many, including getting to grips with what the post-pandemic world might look like.

"Understanding the post-pandemic operating model is one of them," she begins. "Then it's about completing and consolidating the transformation work we've been carrying out over the past few years, and transitioning from this into steady state delivery and support."

On top of this she's continuing a programme to align to the NIST framework for cyber security, and helping to define the corporate strategy, and an aligned technology strategy that will allow the organisation to remain "fit, resilient and innovative," as she puts it.

To help her do this the organisation's IT budget has increased for 2022, mainly as a result of the need to support the transformation programme which has necessitated some increased licensing and personnel costs.

However, Deal adds that she's always looking to brings costs down. "Last year we reduced licensing and hosting costs by consolidation, using more cost effective solutions and identifying costs that can be cut completely."

There are a few items on the shopping list in 2022 with some fairly weighty line items in there including a new finance system and commerce platform early in the year, with plans to further build out the organisation's CRM and CMS platforms as well.

"We're also investigating the potential for increased AI and analytics involving the use of data across multiple fields: operational, customer, employee, infrastructure, products and services," she adds.

It's this opportunity to further exploit data which most energises Deal. When asked which technology she's most excited by, she cites data analytics.

"It will inform how we're performing. Our opportunities, gaps, decision-making, where we can find efficiencies. It has far-reaching potential."

There are also many areas which she finds concerning. In common with most IT leaders, the "growing and changing" cyber threat tops the list, with uncertainty around the operating model as a result of the pandemic not far behind.

"And then there's the fact that the demand for quality and skilled IT resource continues to oustrip supply," she adds.

Deal is also very alive to green issues.

"There's a shortage of critical technology components and actions required to address global warming - their potential impact on technology as a whole. Organisations need to be increasingly resilient, for example business continuity planning will become more important than some realise."

When asked if she has any New Year's resolutions, Deal talks about stepping back to take a broader perspective.

"Yes - take a step away from the current transformation and adopt a fresh and innovative perspective at the way we need to think and plan for a new horizon. We have an unsettled and changing world emerging from where we were at the start of our transformation and we need to take stock of this and prepare to be different. Disruptions will increase and we need to be on the front foot - that's not going to be easy!"

Deal also recently argued that organisations still need IT departments.