Madhu Bhabuta has been addressing 15 years of IT underinvestment that had left the UK Hydrographic Office drowning in downtime. Her top-to-bottom infrastructure overhaul will, among other things, cut the number of applications from 1,500 to 350, and the number of server cores from 300 to 50, and deliver up-to-date security and Windows-to-go functionality. Dr Bhabuta has since left to take up the CTO role at the Ministry of Defence and is recognised for her work in public sector technology. Job titleCIO, UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO). When did you start your current role?September 2013. What is your reporting line?CEO, Rear Admiral Ian Moncrieff. Do you meet with and discuss business strategy with the CEO every week?No. Are you a member of the board of directors?No. What other executive boards do you sit on?I am a member of the UKHO executive and an invited member of the audit committee. Does your organisation have a CDO?No. What non-technology responsibilities do you have in the organisation?I have responsibility alongside my executive committee colleagues to build, resource and manage the delivery of the corporate plan. I also have line management responsibility for 250 staff and a full vote on the executive committee for every major decision taken at UKHO. How many employees does your organisation have?1,100. Does your organisation carry out significant trade in the EU?Yes. How many users does your department supply services to?800. How do you ensure that you have a good understanding of your business and how your customers use your business's products?I keep abreast of major trade publications such as PracticalBoat Owner and Yachting World to understand the market and competition. I also keep abreast of developments in the standards organisations such as the IHO (International Hydrographic Office) so that I am aware of any major decisions taken internationally. UKHO sells through distributors and UKHO has an annual distributor conference, which ensures that all executive committee members understand the distributor perspective directly. I have also personally interviewed ship captains to understand the end-user perspective at first hand. In addition, our customer services department understands issues, risks, what is selling well and what is not. All senior managers meet fortnightly for an hour to have a stand-up about every aspect of the business. From an internal customer perspective, I have business relationship managers as part of my technology division. Their role is to understand their internal customer to a deep level; they discuss risks, issues and problems with me directly, every week. UK Hydrographic Office technology strategy and agenda Is your organisation being disrupted by the internet, mobility or technology-oriented start-ups?Yes. Are you empowered by your organisation to disrupt from the inside?Yes. Describe a disruptive measure you’ve led or played a major part in?My division has been at the centre of creating an innovative product – an e-book. E-books in the maritime industry are not the same as normal e-books because the maritime environment is constantly changing and publications need to be updated frequently. Before UKHO launched its e-book , sailors could be referring to data in a paper publication that was out of date. Most ships would update their publications annually but dynamic updates can now be provided and keep the publications current. The UKHO e-book is the start of many new products and we are looking to combine it with other publications that would give the mariner easy reference-related data. What major transformation project has been recently completed or is under way at your organisation?I am SRO for a major infrastructure transformation project. It started in January 2014 and is due to finish (on track) by the end of March 2015. This project is addressing the issues across every part of the infrastructure, which was suffering from 15 years of underinvestment. The project has four major constituents: business computing transformation (BCT), essential infrastructure upgrade (EIU), enterprise security, and technology professional framework (TPF). BCT is delivering:1. A reduction in applications from 1,500 to a target of 3502. Replacement of Windows XP with Windows 7 clients across the board3. A refreshed and re-architected Active Directory forest4. Secure devices (in line with JSP 440) and provision of BYOD5. Enablement of Lync and VoIP6. Deliver the full IT management toolset: SCOM, SCCM, SCSM and Orchestrator EIU is on schedule to: 1. Deliver a new core and edge network with new management software2. Replace the 15-year-old storage system with a modern, secure and state-of-the art version and new management software.3. Virtualise all servers – this has already reduced the number of cores from 300 to 50. And EIU has already delivered: 1. The migration of all UKHO websites to the cloud using an IAAS model. IAAS was chosen as we had to port legacy websites over and the PAAS or SAAS model did not support that.2. A disaster recovery capability at a remote site.3.A revamp of the power and cooling at both our datacentres, standardisation of all racks in the datacentre and installation of datacentre management software. The enterprise security strand of the project has delivered a full update of UKHO's firewall rules and a revision of all processes and policies to implement JSP 440. These include patch and configuration management, removable media management, password policy, etc. The project has recommended the organisation structure for information management, which has led to the appointment of the SIRO and her organisation. UKHO's network operations centre (NOC) has also been upgraded, and a security operations centre (SOC) has been delivered. TPF is addressing skills. The job descriptions had not been revised en masse for many years and as a result many were out of date, while the new technology and tools required new/different skills. TPF brought in the BCS SFIA+ framework to benchmark skills so that a strategic workforce plan could be created. It did this by revising each job description and benchmarking the skills each individual has against their job. This has given us an excellent understanding of how to manage and grow our skills base. What impact will the above transformation have on your organisation?BCT will deliver a vastly reduced application estate that will be easier and cheaper to manage. It has delivered a standard build and standard applications and therefore instilled a discipline that ensures that multiple applications with similar functionally will not be purchased. The Windows 7 client is more secure and, coupled with the new patch management processes, will bring UKHO up to date with security upgrades. Further security features installed as part of BCT will ensure that removable media is secure and that portable devices can be easily wiped. The refreshed Active Directory has standardised users and created standard communities. This means that internal moves can be efficiently managed, with each user getting the tools required for the job – no more or less. This will aid the long-term management of the technology estate. BYOD has a direct benefit for mobile users, executives and non-executive directors as they can be provided with MS Surface devices with Windows-to-go to access their papers. UKHO has an aging telephony switch. BCT will provide the clients to enable modern communication methods – presence, instant messaging and VoIP. Effective use of SCOM, SCCM, SCSM and Orchestra will streamline technology operations, enable UKHO to manage and control assets effectively, and let us monitor and deliver our service effectively. It should also bring considerable efficiency savings. As for EIU, UKHO was constantly experiencing considerable downtime (three days of productivity in total were lost in July 2014) due to the aging infrastructure. Eliminating these basic infrastructure issues will stabilise the current organisation and enable it to grow. UKHO is now looking at some major business changes. These would not even be conceivable had the infrastructure not been revamped. The enterprise security project will secure UKHO from cyber threats. TPF will enable UKHO to understand the skills we have, give staff the ability to express what skills they need and desire, and let us manage and grow our workforce effectively. How has your leadership style contributed to the outcomes of the transformation project?I am hands-on and tackle the issues head-on. I enjoy all aspects of technology and was able to identify the areas to focus on and provide the energy and drive to deliver such major changes. I am a keen communicator and have kept my staff fully informed of what we are doing, why we are doing it, who is involved and when it will happen by use of monthly meetings with the entire division and a bulletin sent every month. These communications are not through me all the time; mostly they are with the people involved in the projects. I also delegate and have been fortunate to have excellent staff who have taken on the responsibility and risen to the challenge. What key technologies do you consider enable transformation?Once the basic technology stack is in place, the interconnectedness of technologies provides the biggest benefit from a business perspective. Orchestration, ETL tools and workflow tools join capabilities and deliver the ultimate business transformations. Are you increasing the number of cloud applications or infrastructure in use at your organisation?Yes. What is your information and data analytics vision for the organisation?Both information management and data analytics need considerable attention. There are cheap and new products that enable data to be visualised and presented in a way that can be easily understood and queried. My vision is to gather data dynamically from the disparate business systems across UKHO and to be able to present them visually and analyse the data. Information and knowledge management also needs to be a focus. A considerable amount of work has been done on understanding the processes that are essential to UKHO. I would like to be able to capture these graphically so that we could apply to them business process modelling tools that are integrated with workflow management and MI tools; this will enable UKHO to adopt lean working practices in a lean manner. How is mobile and social networking impacting operations and customer experience?Staff expect to be able to work away from the office buildings but carry their office with them on their portable device. Social networks are a way of life and news (good and bad) spreads like wildfire. It is vital to understand the key channels – YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter – and use them in the office environment. LinkedIn is an excellent way to advertise posts and to get communities involved in discussion groups. UKHO makes extensive use of YouTube, letting us show mariners how to use our applications. We have a H-notes application that enables sailors to tweet us any information they feel we should have to update our charts – eg if a buoy has moved. Describe your strategic vision towards shadow IT and BYOD. How do you influence and engage executives and employees around choice?Shadow IT is a way of life and much of it is carried out by highly intelligent, enthusiastic employees. I embrace their work as R&D level. There are even CIO awards for best idea. The technology stack in live is carefully controlled and no changes can be put in live before the architecture review board has endorsed the design and approval is granted. The budget is carefully controlled so that all major investment is clearly understood. BYOD has some great benefits for mobile workers and our executive and non-executive directors. We have built a secure Windows-to-go system, but this does not currently work with anything other than MS devices. The business is delighted to have this as its previous experience with technology was so poor. What strategic technology deals have been struck and with whom?• Microsoft, Hitachi, HP. Who are your main suppliers?• Caris, Microsoft, SAP, CherSoft, BAE, ESRI UK Hydrographic Office IT security and budget Has your organisation detected a cyber intrusion in the last 12 months?Yes. Has cyber-security risen up your management agenda?Yes. Does your organisation understand the potential cyber-security threats it faces?Yes. Has this led to an increase in your security budget?Yes. What is the IT budget?£40m. How much is the IT operational spend compared to the revenue as a percentage?8%. What is the strategic aim of the CIO and IT operations for the next financial year?To streamline operations by embedding the new processes and tools, to broaden the skills of our teams and to have multi-discipline teams so we can realise the benefits of the significant investments made in this financial year. To tackle the key issue of environments for software development and investigate cloud PAAS capability. To deliver the business application transformation that will build on the infrastructure delivered this financial year. Are you finding it difficult to recruit the talent you need to drive transformation?Yes. Has recruitment and retention risen up your agenda as a CIO?No. Are you looking for recruits in the EU to fill the skills shortage you have?Yes. Does your IT organisation operate an apprenticeship scheme?Yes. UK Hydrographic Office technology department How would you describe your leadership style?I am collegiate, like to set the strategic direction, provide the energy and enthusiasm to the team, and allow them to shine. Explain how you’ve supported and developed your senior leadership team to support your overall objectives and visionI have selected and installed a highly motivated team. I am personally highly technical and have been actively involved in all major reviews and given my senior management team direct support. I keep my team motivated by ensuring that they get to address the entire division and own their transformation agendas. We have informal meetings as a group twice a week and a formal meeting weekly. I also keep the team motivated by regular away mornings/afternoons and I listen. I am personally interested in my senior team and want to help them to achieve the goals. How many employees are in your IT team?220. What is the split between in-house/outsourced staff?No outsourcing. Does your team include key skilled workers from the EU?No.