Data^#3 Chief Executive Officer Laurence Baynham gives his industry and market outlook for 2015

Data^#3 Limited (ASX: DTL), a leading Australian business technology solutions company, recently announced the appointment of Laurence Baynham to the role of Chief Executive Officer, a position which he commenced on Friday, 21 November 2014.

After 34 years with the company, 18 of those as Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, John Grant will retain his role as Managing Director and board member through to December 2015.

“We have formulated a considered transition plan, approved by the Senior Leadership Team and the Board of Directors,” said Grant. “This will allow me to transfer all current operational responsibilities, relationships, certain strategic projects and the management of Data^#3’s acquisition interests, to Laurence.”

He continued, “Laurence was my recommendation and he has my full support. As colleagues for over 20 years, 10 of which as Group General Manager, Laurence has demonstrated all the attributes of a leader. With extended experience within the IT sector, both nationally and internationally, I am confident that he will continue the success of Data^#3,” he concluded.

As Chief Executive Officer, Baynham reports directly to the Board of Directors. He has embraced his new role and is excited about this new opportunity.

“I would personally like to thank John Grant, the Board of Directors and the Senior Leadership Team,” said Baynham. “John is an inspirational leader and regarded as one of the most successful Managing Directors of public companies in Australia. I am delighted to have his support during my transition. I am looking forward to the exciting challenge ahead.”

As he looks forward, what does Baynham predict for the Australian Technology Industry in 2015?

The following are the key trends we will see this year:

• An increase in the adoption and maturing of Public Cloud from global players. Services will increase and prices will decrease. Complexity for customers will be deciding which workloads reside where and how they will be managed and integrated at the lowest cost and with the lowest risk.
• A new breed of ‘lite’ applications will be created for the cloud and will become lower cost, easier to use and take much less time to deploy. Gone are the days of monolithic ERP projects that drag on for months and years. Similar to Public Cloud, the main challenge will be in relation to the integration and management of multiple best of breed applications.
• The channel will become more important for global players as they seek to reduce their cost of sale.
• Helping customers achieve their business outcomes will lead to stronger customer relationships. Companies will be more open to risk/reward projects where risks and rewards for achieving business outcomes are shared.
• On the technology front, mobility will make a real impact, transforming many industries. The ‘Internet of Things’ will continue to explode with the number of devices, and nearly everything that is manufactured, becoming smart and connected.
• Technology will move from being seen as a cost centre to being embedded in the core business of most industries. IT will increasingly provide the differentiation for corporate growth, productivity and competitive advantage.

“I will continue to drive the Data^#3 customer centric approach which has been central to the Data^#3 strategy for the last 34 years. Our goal is to help the customer to achieve their business objectives through the use of technology,” concluded Baynham.

Data^#3 Chief Executive Officer Laurence Baynham gives his industry and market outlook for 2015 – PDF.