Three and half years ago UTS realised that a data centric, data centre view of enterprise, was not what they needed for the next decade.

Data centres drive research, but not corporate IT, or innovation at UTS.

The cultural aspect of building the team required regular interactions during COVID-19 and in the new flexible work environment. Universities thrive on collaboration. The random interactions of people when they bump into each other. This was recreated digitally using the tools available.

Developing skills played a crucial role. Through platforms like LinkedIn learning and services such as Udemy or Cloud Guru, training can be completed on many different topics. Communities of practice developed alongside this training.

Generative AI plays a significant part in current and future operations. The ethics of artificial intelligence and machine learning are complicated and remain an ongoing challenge, not only from a plagiarism perspective, but also from the perspective of leveraging the value of Generative AI.

In this interview, UTS’ Cloud & DevSecOps Delivery Manager, Patrick Kelso, discusses how to solve problems with both technical and human interventions such as growing high performance teams and scalable cloud operations for traditional IT.

 

Key Takeaways:

  • Give your engineers the space and time to try new things and to learn. If they’ve worked on one thing for many years, don’t assume they don’t want to learn new things.
  • Using code to improve IT operations. A system of checks and balances governs everything.
  • The concept of infrastructure as code has helped automate things such as servers and policies around provisioning infrastructure.
Contributors
Gabby Fredkin Head of Analytics & Insights at ADAPT
Gabby’s primary role is managing analysis to produce ADAPT’s actionable insights. He has extensive experience in using data to identify technology trends... More

Gabby’s primary role is managing analysis to produce ADAPT’s actionable insights. He has extensive experience in using data to identify technology trends to support Australian organisations.

Using modern data science techniques, he provides ADAPT and its customers with confidence in the accuracy and validity of the information used for ADAPT’s research, advisory and events.

With a passion for creating stories with data, Gabby is consistently rated as one of the top speakers at ADAPT’s events. In roundtable discussions, he specialises in using statistics to initiate thought-provoking discussions. 

Gabby is effective in translating information into insights, enabling ADAPT’s customers to become more data-driven.

Gabby’s primary areas of expertise are:

  • Advanced AI and ML practices, including AI ethics.
  • Building models to benchmark and predict IT performance.
  • End-user behaviour and human-centred design.
  • Cross-functional team design and value, such as DevSecOps.
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Patrick Kelso Cloud & DevSecOps Delivery Manager at University of Technology Sydney
I love solving business problems. I grow, advise and lead teams focused on digital transformation using fit for purpose technology and organisation... More

I love solving business problems. I grow, advise and lead teams focused on digital transformation using fit for purpose technology and organisation design.

Since joining UTS I’ve grown my team from 2 reports to 8 direct reports and 19 indirect. The team ranges from interns through to senior architect and engineers working to automate and modernise core IT functions leveraging modern tools such as AWS, Azure, GitHub and more, all while embedding security at every stage through automated testing, external monitoring and frequent engagement with the office of the CISO.

Prior to UTS (and COVID) I worked as a consultant for several years working globally with organisations ranging from Australian domestic banks to multi-national credit reporting agencies. Predominantly I worked on empowering their software teams to use a secure SDLC process that not only ensured security was always front of mind but also that software was delivered faster to the business users.

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Cloud Modernisation