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Coates Hire Customer Portal Project

Customer Stories, ,

Commissioned in 2012, Alisdair Blackman then MD of Pivot Digital was appointed to consult Coates Hire, Australia’s largest hire company on a number of projects but one in particular, a new customer portal.

Customer Portal project was one of the most visible and sizable Business Improvement Projects (BIPS) on the go at Coates Hire.

The new Customer Portal aims to set a new benchmark in the market offering customers not only the ability to report on their on-hire status and obtain operational and safety information on specific equipment on hire but additionally provide transaction capabilities around payment of their account, extend hire of equipment on hire as well as a self-quote function.

The Customer Portal project was spearheaded by the Digital Rehab team. We developed a technically detailed business case off the back of both industry and considerable internal stakeholder input and consultation, a comprehensive project budget, solution architecture, solution design documentation and data schema.

The planning for this project has taken over 16 months and received Board funding approval in September 2013.

After selling Pivot Digital in February 2013, the Digital Rehab team of 3 have continued to provide consulting services to the business until November 2013.

The customer & fleet portal is being built by Oakton Consulting for a budget in excess of $6m.

Switzer Super Report Digital Strategy from Digital Rehab

Switzer goes Super with SMSF Report strategy & website

Customer Stories, , ,

In 2011, Marty Switzer COO of Switzer Financial Services approached Alisdair Blackman to devise a digital strategy for a new business venture Peter Switzer and Paul Rickard (former CEO of CommSec) wished to start.

Late 2011, the site was designed and built by Alisdair’s agency at the time, Pivot Digital and since launch has near on 3,000 paying subscribers to Australia’s leading independent self managed superannuation fund advice and information service.

Digital Rehab continue to support the website offering the following services:

  1. product management
  2. marketing guidance and advisory
  3. technical & product support
  4. liaise with SEO and other media agencies

Switzer Super Report now had in excess of 10,000 paying subscribers.

Given that Eureka Report and Business Spectator, both owned in part by financial spokesperson Alan Kohler sold for over $30m to News Ltd in 2012, it is generally regarded that given the growth and powerbase of the Switzer Super Report, that the specialised content will be worth big bucks to the right media publisher in coming years!

For now, our mandate is continued double digit growth and in building the brand and prominence within a tiny yet growing niche in Australia of trustees of their own SMSF.

Tips to Avoid the Consultant Trap

What we think, ,

Most businesses engage consultants to plug knowledge gaps and to gain expertise in planning, definition & specification and or in implementation of change in some way shape or form.

It is becoming increasingly prevalent for Australian business to be trapped in an ever-revolving door of consulting firms with little to no satisfaction around deliverables, accountability and measurable ROI.

Consultants generally are appraised and judged on a number of criteria YET there is a dangerous culture permeating Australian business and that is where loose briefs and requirements from the outset are being used to appoint consultants to deliver on a set of requirements.

The issue is one of ‘alignment’. While you are engaging consultants/vendors on the basis of resourcing/capacity issues, they are being engaged to deliver a pre-defined series of services which are output related. Where the ‘output’ or ‘requirements’ have not been properly teased out prior to engagement – this often results in a lack of ‘alignment’ and leads to discord in the engagement.

Digital Rehab prides itself in providing our valued clients with procurement and advisory services to help ensure any vendor – consultants or otherwise, receive a clear brief/ statement of work against which, they can be thoroughly assessed for competency, specialist knowledge and subject matter expertise and from which clear KPIs and expectations can be managed from the get-go. While the specifics of procurement can differ across industry sectors, business maturity and sophistication, the fundamentals do not.

Coates Hire new Intranet project

Customer Stories,

Sharepoint Upgrade, data migration PLUS additional features

One of a number of projects the Digital Rehab team have worked on for Coates Hire was the re-design, development and data migration from an old SharePoint 2007 intranet to a new SharePoint 2010 environment.

Spanning some 10 months, Digital Rehab coordinated, worked up technical requirements, oversaw vendor procurement & engagement, governance & creation of a number of company policies and procedures for the proper management of the new corporate intranet.

Pioneered a hybrid governance model nominating key content owners from across the business to undertake content management while also instigating an Intranet Governance Working Group and Committee structure to oversee and provide strategic and budget guidance to the ongoing evolution of the intranet

Project Budget $400,000, delivered within 10 months.

Alisdair Blackman leading project / program manager

Alisdair

Our Team
Digital Strategist, Online Entrepreneur and Senior PM, Alisdair Blackman

I have been in the digital industry in Australia since 1996. I specialise in strategy & planning, solution definition, technical specifications, procurement advisory, digital marketing & large scale project management. During this time, I have worked with some amazing talent – the most impressive and competent of which I have taken with me into Digital Rehab.

During my career, I have formed and ran a series of innovative, profitable and reputable digital marketing agencies and now have chosen the consulting path which offers me a greater ability to partner with my clients and to offer up far greater value.

Email me at alisdair@digitalrehab.com.au

Awards & Career Highlights

  • Running successful online marketing and creative agencies for 18 years in Sydney, Melbourne & Perth.
  • Owning and self funding 4 Australian start-ups
  • BRW Young Gun, 2006 – cited as 1 of 10 leading digital guns
  • BRW Top Entrepreneurs under 30, 2007
  • Growing agency sales from $1.2m in 2006 to $3.2m by 2008, $750k to $1.4m in 2009, $250k to $1.85m in 2012
  • Successfully selling agency into BlueFreeway Limited (ASX:BLU) now owned by IPMG
  • Merging agency with another to realise operational synergies
  • Have taken part in two acquisitions, one merger and one company divisional breakup
  • Numerous guest lectures/presentations at University Sydney, University of New South Wales, Sydney TAFE on topics such as entrepreneurship and trends in online advertising & marketing
  • Appointed Chairman of the Internet Industry Association (IIA) Marketing Taskforce and developed an industry-wide Code of Ethics that is designed to provide guidance to industry practitioners and provide consumers with confidence in their dealings with signatories to the Code
  • Executive of the National Policy Advisory Panel responsible for crafting policy recommendations for the Rudd government which will greatly impact upon the future of the internet industry
  • Mentor and business coach to young entrepreneurs

Caralyne

Our Team
Caralyne Blackburn

I have worked in technology and project management for over 10 years and am a proactive self starter, can multitask better than most and effectively manage my own time. My communication, presentation skills are excellent and I look for the positive in all situations.

I have a keen interest in learning new things and keeping my skills up to date. The demands of my job are such that I am kept on my toes and I have learned to both proactively chase the heels of vendors and those where a dependency exists as well as to respond in a timely fashion to keep a project on track. I like to be challenged and am seldom kept unoccupied with my work. I’m just as comfortable leading a team as I am following a leader – whatever it takes to get the job done!

Email me at caralyne@digitalrehab.com.au

Natasha

Our Team

I take great pride in partnering with clients, understanding their needs to discover the best solutions. With a strong creative mind, I am an effective collaborator working well on both end to end projects and shorter chapters; adaptive in communication and creating best practice.

Talent, be it Vendor or People are key to every effective team and and with a solid and expansive network, I am able to fill the skills, knowledge and capability gaps that consistently crop up through effective sourcing and engagement strategies.

Email me at natasha@digitalrehab.com.au

Healthcare IT: Access to Capital to fund change

What we think, ,

Among some of the few sectors in the Australian economy which are on the up is Healthcare. It appears that revenues and profits from the Healthcare industry have continued to grow and appear to be immune, to a large extent by macroeconomic challenges facing the Australian economy.

The last 18 months have been tough for most sectors of the Australian economy. Revenue contractions, cost reduction efforts and continued “doom and gloom” media coverage has greatly impacted on the levels of and access to capital in Australia

In simple terms, people will always need medical services, devices and drugs and with an aging population, the need and reliance on the sector will only further intensify.

Given this climate, the healthcare sector is looking for new ways to improve and streamline processes. One such area that is in need of change is patient record management.

Over the past decade, eHealth has gained considerable media coverage and has become a critical element in the technical and strategic roadmap of both public and private hospitals, clinics and area services. Current software companies have products which have varying levels of suitability across the healthcare sector and the need will always be to strike a happy balance between clinician buy-in, support staff support and governance measures to enforce standardisation.

A recent National Investor Sentiment survey conducted by Wholesale Investor shows that investor appetite for healthcare sector exceeds that of the mining and energy sector. Hopefully with capital injection in small, nimble and innovative businesses, the healthcare sector will benefit from new products and services from which to draw upon further providing investors strong ROI and all the while increasing the efficiencies of the healthcare sector which plays a critical role in Australia’s social infrastructure.

Role, Purpose and importance of Good Governance models

What we think, ,

Good governance is the foundation by which a project pre and post delivery will be understood, leveraged by an organisation. The role and importance of good governance should not be underestimated.

While governance for most, can represent change and challenge the status-quo, it is necessary for any organisation who values consistency, efficiency and currency of information.

Governance ModelFrom experience, one of the fundamental hurdles that needs to be addressed upfront is the issue of ownership.

The decision around ‘who owns’ the project/system can impact on the most suitable governance framework.

Ownership of administration and process management is required to safeguard the investment made in on core business systems.

Governance can be split into:

  • Information Governance;
  • Technical Governance; and,
  • Project Governance.

Technical Governance, to a large extent is able to be managed using current business processes; however it is the Information and Project Governance that requires hands on management and preservation of quality and consistency.

In accordance with best practice around governance, I believe that organisations need to understand that for governance to be respected and adhered to, they need to make allowance for a new FTE who is responsible for the quality of content, process adherence, user access management and ongoing product development / enhancement work in line with business needs and growth requirements.

Big data: from the operating theatre

What we think, , , ,

Big Data has the potential to help solve many current day real-wold problems without being a panacea for every problem that is out there. It should become part of an organisation’s technical arsenal, providing the right solution when the problem is understood.

patient-data-management-systems

“Big Data” has arisen as the new ubiquitous term. Everyone is talking about Big Data and how their business is setup to manage the risks and opportunities.

For some time, I have worked in eHealth sector in Australia. Big Data is arguably one of the most pressing issues facing our health institutions.

The questions which need to be understood properly include:

  • What is Big Data?
  • What capabilities are required to keep up?
  • How do you use Big Data to make intelligent decisions?
  • How do you intend to effectively govern and secure huge volumes of information, while protecting privacy?
  • Perhaps most importantly, what value will it really deliver to the business and patients?

Big Data has the potential to transform our major hospitals, clinics and entire healthcare system. Hidden in the immense volume, variety and velocity of data that is produced today is new information, facts, relationships, indicators and pointers, that either could not be practically discovered in the past, or simply did not exist before. This new information, effectively captured, managed, and analysed, has the power to enhance profoundly the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of the provision of healthcare.

The great paradox is that, as Big Data emerges as a new resource, we struggle to keep pace.

We find it difficult to discover, understand, and leverage the information it contains, to find those true nuggets of knowledge that can improve the lives of everyday citizens and change the world. Although there is more data available, our ability to comprehend this data is reduced. The challenge lies in capturing the streams of Big Data that we need, effectively managing them, and extracting new and relevant insights.

The ability to continuously improve quality and efficiency in the delivery of healthcare while reducing costs remains an elusive goal for care providers and payers, but also represents a significant opportunity to improve the lives of everyday Australians. As of 2010, national health expenditures represent 17.9% of gross domestic product, up from 13.8% in 2000 in the US.

Coupled with this rise in expenditures, certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes, are increasing in prevalence and consuming a greater percentage of healthcare resources. The management of these diseases and other health-related services profoundly affects our nation’s well-being.

Big Data can help. The increased use of electronic health records (EHRs) coupled with new analytics tools presents an opportunity to mine information for the most effective outcomes across large populations. Using carefully de-identified information, researchers can look for statistically valid trends and provide assessments based upon true quality of care.