Microsoft’s Paul Rellis
Microsoft Ireland Managing Director Paul Rellis shares his ambitious vision for cloud computing in Ireland with Owen McQuade. Continuous innovation and relevance to the customer are central to realising that vision.
Irish technology has real growth potential and can go further to make its mark at a global level, Paul Rellis believes. Microsoft’s Managing Director in Ireland is a confirmed optimist, when it comes to the cloud, and he sees Ireland on the cusp of world leadership in the sector.
“The Irish technology industry has a great chance to step up and be a leader in cloud computing,” Rellis emphasises. According to Goodbody Economic Consultants’ assessment of cloud computing as Ireland’s ‘competitiveness and jobs opportunity’ (January 2011), cloud computing sales by Irish firms could reach €9.5 billion per annum by 2014 and provide jobs for 8,600 people. The early adoption of cloud by Irish users would also take €500 million per annum of costs out of Irish organisations. Cloud sales were predicted to increase from
30 per cent of transactions in 2010 to 47 per cent in 2013.
That growth depends on more graduates in computer programming, maths and science but the “bigger opportunity” for Ireland, he contends, “is in the use of technology by people.” Rellis says: “If you’re a plumber, if you’re a doctor, if you’re a shop worker, pretty soon you won’t be able to get by without technology in your job.”
RFIDs, computerised inventory systems and maps of plumbing systems are early examples, and citizens will increasingly demand “IT-literate services” from both the private and public sectors.
Digitising the State’s 729 second level schools is a “great opportunity,” he enthuses: “I hope Microsoft will be able to play a big role over the next five-to-10 years. We commit to doing that. For us, from a technology point of view, we think the future is bright.”
Microsoft, by its nature, does not stand still so continuous improvement naturally stands out as a key principle for Rellis.
“Over the years, we’ve become more and more productive,” he states. “We try to continually improve the outputs we’re getting, the type of people we have, the cost of running our business.
“We clearly apply technology to that. For me, it means process innovation: how to do things faster, how to do things with less resources, how to do things with a bigger impact. You can see that right across our business and you can see that right across our customer base.”
Most organisations in Ireland, he notes, have had to attempt transformation in recent years and consider how they can become “a lot more productive.” Those which haven’t transformed are “at the start of that journey and they’re going to have to,” he adds.
In contrast, he sees disruptive innovation as the result of competition e.g. where a business or product suddenly becomes obsolete and a competitor’s alternative takes off.
“What we’re seeing with many organisations today is that the financial pressures are enormous,” Rellis comments.
“The real innovations that will come from that situation generally come from the ideas that people have, within that organisation, within that business, to do things faster, cheaper. To write less cheques ultimately.”
Cloud and consumers
Many of the answers lie in the twin trends of could computing and the consumerisation of technology.
The low learning curve for adopting technology is illustrated by young people walking around with smart phones and other devices, which are increasingly coming into the workplace as people demand “the same level of technology that they have in their private lives.”
As cloud can deliver that “in a much more economic way,” he therefore expects it to significantly change how information technology is delivered to people and businesses.
“The technology industry,” he recognises, “needs to get people comfortable with the services, with the products.” Microsoft, for its part, is accredited under the US Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) and its products are approved by the Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland.
“Security and privacy are extremely important, make no mistake about it.” Rellis points to online banking, which would have raised major security worries 15 to 20 years ago. Some people would still prefer paper statements and personal service in a bank but a large section of society has “evolved”.
He continues: “You accept and believe the very strong security standards that are there in terms of the information technology. It’s a similar evolution if you take applications like messaging or collaboration.” Both can be really “smartly delivered” in the cloud and thousands of customers, north and south, are taking up those applications.
The Northern Ireland Assembly, for example, runs on Microsoft’s Office365 platform and the reduced cost presents genuine opportunities for organisations that want to move on to the next phase of technology.
“It’s really worth looking at cloud first and really understanding the advantages,” is his message to the public sector. Privacy and security are “rightly” top priorities for customers and Microsoft alike, he contends: “You want things to be secure, and I believe they are.”
Value
Cloud computing, it is put to him, could become commoditised and turn into a form of ‘utility computing’, with a lower value placed on it. Continuous improvement is, in his view, the best solution to that problem.
“I think you have to keep innovating,” he affirms. “You’ve got to look at the value of the service you’re getting. It all does come down to value.” The cloud manages upgrades and deploys servers for the customer “at a very high and standardised level” rather than the company having to do that incrementally on its own.
“You’re getting a standard service right across the organisation, and not something that’s high in one area and low in another area. You’ve high standards of security, high standards of storage, high standards of confidentiality.”
Microsoft’s opportunity for future growth lies in keeping up that innovation and making its products “even better”. The challenge, at one level, is to “keep giving our customers the things that they want, to be successful so that they’ll come back and they’ll value us more and more.”
He won’t be drawn on decade-long predictions but expects that Irish people will be asking the same questions over the next two years: “How do we create more jobs in this country? How do we create more growth in this country? How do we create more efficient and productive organisations?”
Email and drop boxes are free or relatively cheap but the public sector may opt for a private share point for information. “Once things go outside your firewall from an organisational point of view, that’s when you have less control over it,” he warns.
Customers using lower cost software, though, should also expect lower security standards. Moving into dedicated business or public sector enterprise level applications brings “higher expectations around privacy and security because that’s one of the things you pay for.”
ICT, though, is ultimately not about the phone, laptop or PC. “It’s about how you use it” and using it well leads to a more organised way of life and doing business.
