Micro Interview with Ben Coleman
In our latest Micro Interview, Ben Coleman, Business Development Manager, HSO shares how combining tech with business understanding is key to success.
Expedite your organisation’s adoption of AI technologies. Firstly – hygiene projects, then get creatively focused on unique ways tailored to your organisation. Don’t let fear of the tech delay you adopting – instead let it inspire you to act.
What’s your work routine?
tart with a coffee. Columbian.
The usual – prioritise the important stuff
and then plan from there…
Working in Cloud Services is fast paced so we need to be flexible. Work needs turning around quickly so it’s critical to try to stay ahead of the curve as much as possible.
What’s one misconception about technology projects you’ve come across?
That the main priority is the technology. It’s not. You shouldn’t go round with some widget or other trying to find ways to use it. Priority should be 1. on the problem we’re trying to fix (we call this business-led transformation) and 2. The hearts and minds of the people that will use whatever tech we land on.
What metrics matter most in a tech project?
For me, where I work, it’s stakeholder satisfaction. We’re often proving concepts in Cloud Services, gaining buy in for adoption of technologies that are completely new to our customers, so there’s often a lot of understandable scepticism. So though Return on Investment, Time to Value and all that other usual stuff is important, I’d say stakeholder satisfaction is the golden ticket.
Something you wish you’d known about your work when you first started?
Be ready for change, there'll be an awful lot of it!
What did your biggest professional failure teach you?
There are times when there’s nothing you could have done to influence a result, but don't let that stop you trying!
The #1 thing that helps organisations get value from their technology projects?
Senior stakeholder involvement and buy-in, early on. And continued involvement throughout (but to note, this doesn’t need to be a time sink).
Your parting piece of advice?
Expedite your organisation’s adoption of AI technologies. Firstly – hygiene projects, then get creatively focused on unique ways tailored to your organisation. Don’t let fear of the tech delay you adopting – instead let it inspire you to act.