SUN MICROSYSTEMS

SUN MICROSYSTEMS 

 

If you accept the premise, as Sun Microsystems does, that innovation is crucial to long-term business success, then you need to think and act with the long-term in mind.

Sun was founded in the academic environment of Stanford University in 1982. Sun's founders in the eighties coined what was then a radical phrase: "the network is the computer". They visualised a world where connected computers, and communities, would change the way we live and work.

Perhaps the best example of that vision in operation today is the Internet. Whether it's Facebook, eBay or something we haven't thought of yet, one thing is for sure - the IT industry that underpins these businesses will continue to evolve at a rapid rate.

Innovation is how Sun stays ahead of the race. It is why we invest more than US$2 billion in R&D a year.

We attack innovation culturally, operationally and through the use of clever technologies.

For example, our CEO Jonathan Schwartz is one of the world's highest profile bloggers. Sun has more than 4000 active bloggers worldwide and openness (and sharing ideas) underpins all we do at Sun.

Being open is what has driven us to make the building blocks of our technologies (eg software code) such as Java and Solaris, freely available to developers. By doing this, Sun will harness the power of the best minds worldwide to build clever products on Sun technologies.

The same approach applies internally. Locally, we have technology gurus in our Brisbane office that are part of Sun's global virtual laboratories. Collaborative groups such as these develop radical solutions to traditional IT problems.

For example, as the Internet participation age continues to change, data centres are chewing up to three per cent of world energy consumption and their owners are running out of space to house them.

To tackle this, Sun introduced the world's most efficient processor, launched the modular data centre S20 (the world's first virtual data centre in a shipping container) and applied a range of environmental initiatives that saw it ranked in Computerworld's top 12 green IT vendors for 2008. Internally, a radical approach to hot-desking sees all of our staff travel with a smart card they can insert in a thin client anywhere in the world and access their desktop.

It is innovations such as these that earned Sun a ranking in the world's top 50 most innovative companies.

Assuming you have a culture of openness that encourages individuals to think and question, the next challenge is to make sure that organisational process doesn't get in the way.

Having spent a large part of my career in start-ups, I believe a sense of urgency is a good thing in individuals and a company. Whether it be responding to an employee question on my blog within 24 hours, or coming up with a new way to tackle a computing challenge, Sun's strength lies in being nimble.

- Duncan Bennet, acting managing director, Sun Microsystems Australia and New Zealand

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SYMANTEC

SYMANTEC 

 

Under the backdrop of a new Federal government, climate change, a skills shortage and numerous legislative changes affecting how businesses operate, Australian and New Zealand organisations are under an increasing amount of pressure to manage both business and IT risks and maximise performance.

To succeed, ANZ businesses must demonstrate their ability to be flexible and resilient enough to seize opportunities and manage any threats. Today, success is measured by how quickly and consistently organisations can transform their business to meet the needs of its markets and customers.

Business transformation is a process that aligns people, processes and technology with the company's business goals. Key to any transformation project is how an organisation manages and secures its information. As the fourth largest independent software company in the world, Symantec is well-positioned to help organisations manage and protect their information and is the partner of choice that enables customers to have confidence in a connected world, by protecting their infrastructure, information and interactions. Symantec has more than 17,500 employees worldwide with operations in more than 40 countries.

- Craig Scroggie, managing director, Australia and New Zealand, Symantec

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VERIZON

VERIZON 

 

If you are not a creative innovator you are not in the game.

For me, the challenge is to create a work environment that stimulates lateral thinking and innovative thought.

VOIP has been driving changes with a move toward converged networks and unified communications. Verizon is innovating in advanced ways with the biggest IP network. Our IP network, combined with advanced security solutions, helps you track the transaction from the desktop through the network and around the world.

One of the biggest challenges in business is how to send a message in the most effective way. Verizon has the technology to help businesses communicate seamlessly through multiple channels, including web, email, instant messaging or i-pod downloads, with total security. Our managed services also help companies integrate the technology into their business.

In another area where we specialise - video conferencing - we are helping our customers deliver significant business savings. Verizon Video Conferencing is helping EDS, a leading global technology services company, target a 25 per cent reduction in its carbon emissions in Australia and New Zealand by 2010. EDS has deployed Verizon Video Conferencing over Verizon Private IP to connect 10 of its sites across Australia and New Zealand. By increasing the use of video conferencing, EDS plans to improve collaboration across its operations, while also hoping to reduce employee air travel by nearly a third.

- Ron Gauci, MD, Australia-New Zealand, Verizon

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WIPRO

WIPRO 

 

Few will know that Wipro commenced in 1947 as a manufacturer and distributor of vegetable oils. In 1984 we moved into IT and now we are growing development of a $4billion business in this area.

Our strong engineering background provides the platform for our global IT delivery models. McKinsey recognise us as one of the largest offshore R&D providers and we work with 9 of 10 equipment vendors to incorporate frameworks which speed launch of new technology to market.

As an organisation, we provide a very wide range of services. We chose to provide both breadth and depth of service lines so clients receive a one stop shop for IT services.

We also invest significantly in education of our staff and future staff in association with Indian universities and our international programs. Education is the key to international development and every country provides staff feedback for consideration with our IT services.

Instead of focusing on a large volume of clients, we focus on a small number of clients that we can develop a long term relationship with. Learning from a variety of business models such as those from unrelated industries, we have developed efficiency processes designed to help transform the IT services within these clients.

Process efficiency is what drives work and decreases costs. These days utilities are benchmarking against retail. We also take best practice from manufacturing and apply it to IT. For our clients and ourselves, everything must be measured and monitored in an endeavour to improve profitability and return for clients needs.

- Manoj Nagpaul, Country Manager, Wipro

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WHAT INNOVATION MEANS FOR APPLIANCES

WHAT INNOVATION MEANS FOR APPLIANCES

 

Dyson is recognised internationally as an innovative company. However, we tend to think of ourselves more as an 'inventive company'.

Over the past 20 years James Dyson has been re-designing our everyday appliances, and because of this we have a different approach to other manufacturers. Instead of looking at what already exists and how it can be improved upon, we look at the function we expect from the appliance and then determine the best way for that to be done.

For Dyson the obvious example of this is vacuum cleaners. They really did have a fundamental design flaw in the fact that they lost suction, when you consider that suction is the function of a vacuum cleaner. What James set about to do was determine how he could invent a machine that didn't lose suction, which he did with his patented cyclone technology. Another example, though perhaps less known because it didn't launch in Australia, was the Dyson Contra rotator. When it comes to washing clothes, the most effective way is hand washing - as the materials are flexed to help remove the dirt. Standard washing machines spin clothes around, so this flexing is not duplicated. Instead we created two tumblers that rotate in opposite directions. Thereby the clothes are wrung and twisted to duplicate the act of flexing the garments.

Our design philosophy is part of everything we do at Dyson; and it extends beyond just our products. Education in this area is something we take seriously and we're involved in many initiatives worldwide. In Australia we have the Australian Design Award-Dyson Student Award and each year we see some amazing concepts from these students. Our most ambitious project is the Dyson School of Design Innovation, a joint initiative with the UK Government, that will open in 2010. Of our 500 design engineers in the UK, the majority are straight out of university; they are fresh out of their studies, willing to stretch the barriers of design using the skills they have learned. We have seasoned engineers, including James, who oversee their work in an informal environment.

All our designs are created in the UK. We then manufacture in Asia before distributing to 46 countries. Over 80% of our sales come from outside the UK, thereby we are generating great export income for our country. Australia was our first export market, and it continues to be a strong market for us because the Australian population perceive the value of quality design and are willing to invest in technology and innovation.

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