The Data Shed's head of architecture and security, Stew Norriss talks to BQ about his role and why he volunteers his time with Digital Enterprise to help SMEs harness digital.
What is it that your company does?
Data and analytics projects including Gamstop, the national gambling self-exclusion scheme. We also have a product to help you manage your data better including creation of golden record and managing duplicates and data quality.
Describe your role in no more than 100 words
I look after the IT and data security ensuring that we are compliant and achieve accreditation as well as being able to face cyber threats. I also oversee the IT Architectural function, designing large scale cloud systems.
How did you come to do the work that you do?
I didn’t know what to do when I left school and had an aptitude for computers. I went down that path and eventually found the way that I wanted to go amongst the numerous IT roles and routes.
What exciting things are happening in your industry at the minute?
The advent of cloud computing has obviously been a game changer, as has the move to machine learning and AI. There is also an exciting need for security and cyber threat awareness as the risk and the methods become greater and more advanced.
Where do you see the company in five years’ time?
We will have continued to grow and be running a successful product and consulting arm enabling the very best use of data for companies worldwide.
Why was it important for you to support the Digital Enterprise or Digital Knowledge Exchange?
One of the biggest things that helped me get to where I am now was good mentoring and knowledge sharing and I passionately believe I should try and pass some of that on.
What advice would you give to an aspiring business leader?
Choose the right staff and back attitude as much as aptitude. Trust your staff and don’t ask them to do anything you wouldn’t.
What do you wish someone had told you when you started out?
That yes, honesty is the best policy, and the office politics game is not one that will get you anywhere, but sometimes you have to deliver your message in different ways to different people.
Why would you recommend Digital Enterprise or the Digital Knowledge Exchange?
Because I genuinely believe that together and working to share knowledge, we can all be stronger.
If you liked this post, please share with your friends and followers. If you are interested in digital, why not check out the Digital Enterprise Top 100, a major initiative to identify those companies that are setting an example for others to follow within the world of digital transformation.