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The New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) today released the draft of the New Zealand Cloud Computing Code of Practice (or "CloudCode") for consultation following broad input from across the IT industry.
The CloudCode was developed following calls from a number of significant Cloud providers for a framework of voluntary self-regulated disclosures and minimum standards for those offering cloud-based services in New Zealand.
CloudCode Coordinator Joy Cottle today said "More than 200 people and a significant number of cloud-based IT businesses have contributed to the development of the Code, which includes a set of disclosures and minimum standards for Cloud providers."
The CloudCode has been developed as an industry initiative under the auspices of the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS), the independent professional body of the IT sector.
"Development of the Code was funded by industry with major contributions from NZCS, Gen-i, Equinox, OneNet, Webdrive and Xero, plus Salesforce.com, Google, EOSS Online Ltd, InternetNZ, NZRise and Systems Advisory Services also contributing", Cottle said.
NZCS chief executive Paul Matthews said "NZCS are very happy to have reached this milestone, releasing this draft of the Code for consultation, and we're looking forward to feedback from the industry and public over the next few weeks to help identify gaps and areas that can be improved".
"New Zealand is one of the first countries to develop such a code and we're leading the way in this area globally with many international eyes watching the progress of the development of this code of practice", Cottle said.
"The NZ Code has been developed with a focus of proactive (ie up front) disclosure to clients and is very heavily focused on providing easily understandable information from the non-technical consumer's point of view", Cottle concluded.
The draft Code and consultation docs are available from the CloudCode website (www.nzcloudcode.org.nz/consultation) with submissions open to all interested parties closing on the 10th of April 2012.
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Strong progress is being made on the development of a Code of Practice for Cloud Computing in New Zealand, with the first of a series of nationwide consultative workshops kicking off in Christchurch next week.
The initiative is being facilitated independently by the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) and was launched following a number of industry discussions identifying the need to proactively address standards and accountability around Cloud Computing.
The project is being supported by a broad range of leading Cloud Computing providers and other interested stakeholders in New Zealand as well as leading international cloud providers such as Google, Microsoft and Salesforce.com.
In announcing the workshops, Project Coordinator Joy Cottle said today "We're very much looking forward to the next phase of the project and bringing together the diverse views and perspectives of various stakeholders. We strongly encourage anyone with an interest in Cloud Computing to participate in this process."
The initial phase of the project will decide the structure and approach of the code. This will then be put out for public consultation with the project them focusing on the detail of the Code. It is anticipated that the full draft Cloud Computing Code of Practice will be available for public comment early in 2012.
"As well as offering confidence to users of Cloud Computing, the CloudCode will show the international community that New Zealand is serious about good practice and standards in the cloud and help build New Zealand's technology reputation globally." said NZCS CEO and Cloud Steering Group Chairperson Paul Matthews.
Nearly 100 people have joined the consultation group to contribute to the Code development with financial contributors to the project including Xero, Gen-I, Equinox, OneNet, Webdrive, Google, Salesforce.com, InternetNZ, NZRise, EOSS Online Ltd, Systems Advisory Services and NZCS.
Those interested in the development of the Code should visit the CloudCode website at www.nzcloudcode.org.nz going live later this week.
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A consortium of significant players in the New Zealand Cloud Computing industry today announced plans for the development of a voluntary Cloud Computing Code of Practice to inform and safeguard the public around Cloud Computing issues.
The initiative was the outcome of a workshop called recently by Xero's Rod Drury following a number of industry discussions, including at the recent NetHui Conference, identifying the need to proactively address standards and accountability around Cloud Computing.
The first phase of the project is to be facilitated independently by the NZ Computer Society (NZCS).
In announcing the Code of Practice initiative NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews welcomed the proactive stance taken by industry and Government participants at the workshop.
"Cloud computing offers exciting new opportunities and avenues for New Zealand but with that comes responsibilities for service providers", Matthews said. "We're excited that the industry is being proactive in addressing this through the proposed Cloud Code of Practice, ensuring those using Cloud services can continue to have confidence in solutions available in New Zealand".
Participants included representatives from Xero, Gen-I, Microsoft, Fronde, Centranum, Cloud Sherpas, Simmonds Stewart, Equinox, Localist, Webb Henderson, NZCS, InternetNZ and others plus observers from the offices of the Privacy Commissioner and Government CIO.
InternetNZ Chief Executive Vikram Kumar said "The purpose of this workshop was to discuss the issues facing New Zealand as a result of Cloud adoption and to look at what steps could be taken to address these. We're very excited to see this initiative develop into a Code of Practice".
New Zealand Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff, attending the workshop as an Observer, welcomed the industry-led development. "We've had concerns around cloud computing for some time and a significant survey undertaken by our office earlier this year concluded a clear lack of awareness around Cloud issues. We will watch this development with interest", she said today.
Telecommunications Users Association (TUANZ) Chief Executive Paul Brislen noted that TUANZ was a strong supporter of industry-led codes in the first instance and strongly encouraged wide participation in the initiative. "It's great to see this proactive approach by industry and we're very much looking forward to contributing", he said.
A major scoping exercise will now be undertaken to identify the Terms of Reference and a far wider group of interested stakeholders. A broad Reference Group would be assembled and invited to participate including other cloud players, industry bodies such as NZICT Group and NZRise, standards bodies and others. The scoping work is also intended to leverage the previous Cloud standards work by Standards NZ (funded by industry through the NZCS Standards Fund) and other initiatives overseas.
"While the next steps will be facilitated by NZCS as the ICT professional body, this is an industry-wide initiative", Matthews said. "For it to be successful we need wide participation and engagement as the Code is developed and now look to our industry and others to support this project".
Those interested in engaging or being kept up to date on progress should email cloudcode@nzcs.org.nz in the first instance.
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The New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) today welcomed the recommendation from the Law Commission for mandatory disclosure of serious security breaches.
NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews said today "The New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) strongly supports the mandatory disclosure of serious security breaches and welcomes the recommendation from the Law Commission to finally put this in place in New Zealand".
"One of the fundamental concepts of privacy is control of your own information. Being made aware of when this information falls into the wrong hands is essential", Matthews said.
The Society recommends that staff with responsibility for security undergo security-specific training and certification and all staff with responsibility for projects or teams be accredited with the overarching IT Certified Professional (ITCP) Certification.
"While sometimes genuine mistakes do happen, all too often breaches are entirely avoidable and occur due to lax security and unqualified staff not following good practice", Matthews said. "Businesses need to understand that if they don't take security seriously it can have dramatic consequences both for their customers and their reputation".
A big issue under the current law is that unless breaches become public through the media or other means, there's no incentive for unethical companies to disclose major breaches especially where they've occurred due to lax security. In fact there's a disincentive given the damage to reputation that can ensue.
"With mandatory reporting of serious security breaches we're entering a new era", Matthews said. "Some breaches will occur and undoubtedly some companies will be exposed. If these companies can't show they've taken reasonable precautions such as insisting their providers are properly trained and certified, the cost will be high in reputation and dollar terms", he said.
"However it's more than just reporting. Albeit necessary, that's the proverbial ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. IT companies need to be proactive in relation to security and privacy", he said.
"To put it another way, in conjunction with mandatory reporting people need to stop saying 'we were hacked' and start saying 'our approach to online security needs attention'", Matthews concluded. "It's time New Zealand companies got serious about security".
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The New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) today welcomed Minister for Revenue Hon Peter Dunne's announcement that failed software projects will retain their tax-deductible status and sees this as a very important step in ensuring New Zealand's economy continues to be strengthened on the back of innovation and investment in technology.
NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews said today "The New Zealand Computer Society recently highlighted the IT sector's very serious concerns in relation to the recent announcement that failed software projects could lose their tax deductibility. We strongly congratulate the Minister and IRD for acting on this so promptly, thereby providing certainty to the sector and New Zealand".
The Inland Revenue Department recently released a determination that re-interpreted the deductibility of failed software projects and found that in some circumstances software projects that failed could never be treated as a business expense - either in the year they failed or in subsequent years through depreciation.
"If this determination remained it would have had a very significant effect on the willingness of companies to invest in software and especially in relation to smaller local software providers", Matthews said.
"This is not a minor matter - this decision has the effect of safeguarding investment in software which will see our economy grow through increased innovation, efficiency and productivity", Matthews said. "It's excellent that the Minister has heard the concerns of the technology and business sectors".
Matthews also welcomed the news that the issue would be resolved promptly and backdated to the date the previous determination took effect, thereby providing certainty to the business community.
"This announcement sends a loud and clear message that investment in software and innovation is a priority for New Zealand", Matthews said.
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The New Zealand Computer Society Inc (NZCS), the professional body of the ICT sector, today announced an adoption of the highly successful Wellington Summer of Tech internship programme and a significant expansion and nationwide rollout of the initiative.
"This move will help redefine the future of student-industry engagement for those studying towards a career in the tech sector across New Zealand" NZCS CEO Paul Matthews said today.
Summer of Tech, formerly known as Summer of Code, is a very successful student internship programme for those studying for a technology-related career. Launched in 2006 and now in its sixth year of operation the award-winning programme helps businesses source top talent from local tertiary institutions while giving students valuable real-world industry experience. The programme includes a series of bootcamps and industry-led skills development workshops to help bridge the gap between industry needs and educational development.
NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews and Summer of Tech Executive Committee Chair John Clegg today jointly announced that the Wellington Summer of Tech programme would now operate under the NZCS umbrella and be rolled out across New Zealand.
In announcing the revamped project Matthews said "NZCS has been a strong supporter of the Summer of Tech programme which grew from a real need experienced by startup businesses in Creative HQ, Wellington's business incubator. The programme has helped Wellington employers source top local talent while easing the move from study to industry for hundreds of tech students. We're very excited to be playing such a big part in the next chapter of this excellent programme".
SoT Executive Committee Chair John Clegg today said "The Summer of Tech programme has been hugely successful, however it's now time to scale and grow the programme and progressively roll it out across New Zealand. The scale, breadth, ICT community engagement, non-profit nature and strong reputation of NZCS makes it the ideal organisation to work with to achieve this".
"Student internships in the ICT and related sectors are absolutely essential for New Zealand's innovation and technology future", Matthews said. "This programme has continued to enjoy significant success because it's focused at the right place - an industry-led initiative supporting tech students in partnership with academic institutions".
"NZCS and Summer of Tech will roll the initiative out throughout New Zealand over the next 12-24 months and we'll be looking to the technology sector and the Government to turn words into actions and continue to support the growth of this hugely important project", Matthews said.
"This project will continue to be a grass-roots industry-led initiative aimed at solving a very real and existing problem", Clegg said. "Those that have been a part of this programme over the last six years in Wellington can rest assured that this move will secure the future of Summer of Tech while ensuring business as usual in the Capital".
Current Summer of Tech Coordinator Ruth McDavitt will remain involved and the Society today began advertising a new role including coordinating the national rollout of the project.
Following the conclusion of the previous President and Deputy President’s terms of office the National Council of the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) has appointed Ray Delany and Steve Davis to the President and Deputy President positions respectively.
Ray Delany replaces outgoing President Don Robertson and Steve Davis, a Christchurch-based IT consultant, replaces David Cowman, neither of whom stood for re-appointment following three years in the respective roles.
New NZCS President Ray Delany is a Fellow of the Society, having been a member for 24 years, and was one of the first to receive ITCP Certification. He has also been significantly involved in Society activities recently including chairing the Mentoring Working Group and the Programme Committee for the 50th Anniversary Conference.
Delany is the CEO and owner of IT services company DesignerTech and is a highly respected leader in the Auckland region who brings a long history of management and governance success to the NZCS President role.
Delany said today "As a long-standing member I've been hugely impressed with the direction and progress made by the Society over the last three years and I'm greatly looking forward to building on this success and continuing the Society's current direction."
"We've seen a dramatic change and significantly improved relevance in recent times", Delany said. "It's great to see, for instance, the Society's student and young professional membership more than double over the last year. One of my primary objectives is to accelerate that engagement with younger professionals".
Delany also cited several other areas he intended to focus on including lifting the presence and credibility of the Society in the Auckland region, growing and embedding the programmes of educational and professional work established in recent years and continuing to ensure the Society was seen as an open, welcoming organisation for all people with an interest in ICT.
Outgoing President Don Robertson, whose term completed last week, said "I'm really proud of the advances we've made over the last three years I've been President. It's been a huge achievement by a great team. I especially want to thank my fellow National Councillors, our dedicated Branch Committees up and down the country, the literally hundreds of people that have contributed to our various projects, and of course our excellent operations team led by CEO Paul Matthews".
Robertson, who did not seek re-election after three years in the President role, will be remaining on the National Council and Executive to ensure a smooth transition.
NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews today said "I've greatly enjoyed working with Don and Dave over the last three years. Their leadership has contributed significant to the Society and we've achieved a great deal in a short time for the Society and for New Zealand."
"Ray and Steve have been involved in different Society activities for some time and have played a significant role in several of the Society's recent initiatives. They are both proven leaders and are heavily supportive of the Society's current direction.", Matthews said. "The wider NZCS team is greatly looking forward to working with them both".
The President role is appointed for a two year term with further one year appointments possible, whilst the Deputy President is appointed for one year, with additional appointments possible. The appointments are effective immediately.
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As a one-off conference to celebrate 50 years of ICT Innovation in New Zealand, the conference represents a significant gathering of thought leaders from throughout New Zealand and the world, hosted in Rotorua next month.
Conference Chairman Elizabeth Eastwood today said "With Minister of ICT Hon Steven Joyce opening, and opposition ICT spokesperson Clare Curran in attendance, along with a who's who of the ICT sector presenting and participating, this will be an event like no other".
"The conference includes over 40 presentations covering a broad range of topics and interests within ICT, such as Nic Steenhout from AccessibilityNZ speaking about innovation within assistive technology, a presentation from Optimal Usability about user-centered design in relation to the Air New Zealand's new SkyCouch, Microsoft Asia Pacific's head of ICT Healthcare Gabe Rijpma, Perce Harpham, who founded Progeni Systems (New Zealand's first software company), plus legal experts speaking about legals aspects of Cloud Computing and Open Source, plus many other topics", Eastwood said.
The event also featured 8 high profile keynote speakers including:
- Craig Nevill-Manning, a brilliant example of a kiwi using ICT to innovate on a global scale. After graduating from Canterbury and Waikato Universities and a successful academic career at Rutgers and Stanford Universities, Craig went on to found Google's first remote engineering centre in Manhattan New York, where he is currently the Engineering Director.
- Sam Morgan has become a household name in New Zealand since he founded Trade Me in 1999. Trade Me became New Zealand's largest Internet business, a title it still holds.
- Ian Taylor (Ngati Kahungunu) is recognised as one of New Zealand's leading Maori innovators. After a successful TVNZ career, Ian shot to fame in 1992 by revolutionising real-time 3D graphics for the Americas Cup with Virtual Spectator, forming Taylormade Media and Animation Research Ltd (ARL).
- Sam Knowles, KiwiBank's Founding CEO and well respected corporate entrepreneur.
- Ian McCrae, Founder of Orion Health, New Zealand's largest software exporter.
- Rod Drury, Founder of Xero and creator of Aftermail and Glazier Systems, which later went on to become Intergen.
- Greg Lane, National Director of the Canadian Council of IT Professionals, and one of the original team to set up Clear Communications in New Zealand, Telecom's first serious competitor.
- Nat Torkington, Web 2.0 and Open Government expert.
"This conference is about innovation, and it's about mapping out where innovation will take ICT over the next 50 years. We're privileged to have attendees and presenters from all corners of the sector, from 3D graphics to robots, open source to proprietary, industry and academia, our history and our future. There's something for absolutely everyone", Eastwood said.
"As well as attendees from almost every continent on Earth, people are travelling from throughout New Zealand to join the conversation. This is a one-off opportunity to be part of a superb event with a lineup never seen before in New Zealand," Eastwood concluded.
"Those interested in attending need to register at www.innovation.org.nz before the end of this month".
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About the NZ Computer Society
NZCS is the professional body of ICT Professionals, and as a non-profit incorporated society works with industry, academia, Government and the wider community to achieve its mission of increasing the education, standards and professionalism of the New Zealand ICT profession, and the base-level computing skills and confidence of New Zealanders.
Founded in 1960, 2010 marks NZCS's 50th Anniversary, celebrated by a significant conference based in Rotorua on 15-18 September 2010. More info at www.innovation.org.nz
The tools, released as part of the Society's KiwiSkills Programme designed to improve digital literacy, were released today to improve the awareness and availability of digital literacy benchmarking and training options and to help New Zealanders assess their core computing skills.
Rebecca Boyce, who oversees the NZCS KiwiSkills Programme, said today "What's clear from recent research is that the first step in tackling digital literacy in a community is to improve the awareness of benchmarking standards and the availability of training and assessment programmes such as ICDL, the International Computer Driving Licence".
"The steps announced today are designed to do just that; make these tools more accessible and available than ever before and, combined with the over $300,000 of digital literacy training and assessment NZCS is providing to charities and communities in need at no cost, will make a real difference to New Zealand," Boyce said.
The initiatives announced today include:
- A free Skills Analyser on the www.kiwiskills.co.nz website, allowing New Zealanders to quickly gain an idea of their relative core computing skill level.
- An up-to-date listing of where to go to tackle digital literacy in New Zealand, with details of all KiwiSkills digital literacy training and assessment providers throughout the country listed on the KiwiSkills website.
- For those unable to get to a KiwiSkills Training Provider or wanting to undertake training at home, the ability to access low-cost ICDL training instantly from the KiwiSkills website.
- NZCS members, numbering thousands of IT Professionals throughout New Zealand, now able to access and provide discount digital literacy training for their clients, colleagues, friends and family to help address digital literacy in their own communities.
"NZCS is focused on promoting digital literacy education for the general public and these tools and initiatives will make a genuine difference to the future of thousands of New Zealanders currently left behind by the digital divide," Boyce said.
"ICDL is the world's most widely accepted digital literacy standard. ICDL is the only United Nations UNESCO-endorsed programme and has assisted over 10 million individuals in 149 countries and 41 languages around the world," Boyce concluded.
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Background
Earlier this year the NZ Computer Society (NZCS) commissioned research looking at the impact of not addressing digital literacy in New Zealand.
The resultant research report, completed by research consultants KnowledgeWeaversNZ on behalf of the Society, analysed the findings of research conducted throughout the world then applied the result to New Zealand's environment to find the expected outcome of implementing similar programmes en masse in New Zealand.
In terms of improved productivity, the report conservatively projects average savings per worker in New Zealand of $1820 per annum as a direct result of improved ICT skills and confidence after implementing a digital literacy standard such as ICDL. Projected across 70% of the country's working population, this results in a net productivity improvement of $1.7 billion per year.
In response to the findings of the report, NZCS announced the KiwiSkills Programme, a resourced core project of the Society to help tackle digital literacy in New Zealand.
The research report is available here: http://bit.ly/diglit, and more information about the KiwiSkills Programme is available at www.kiwiskills.co.nz
About the NZ Computer Society
NZCS is the professional body of ICT Professionals, and as a non-profit incorporated society works with industry, academia, Government and the wider community to achieve its mission of increasing the education, standards and professionalism of the New Zealand ICT profession, and the base-level computing skills and confidence of New Zealanders.
About ICDL
The International Computer Driving Licence, or ICDL, is the leading global digital literacy certification programme, with over 10 million participants in 148 different countries.
ICDL is vendor-neutral and is made up of 7 modules including Concepts of ICT, Using the Computer and Managing Files, Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Using Databases, Presentations, and Web Browsing and Communication.
ICDL is NZQA Accredited and endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and is overseen internationally by the not-for-profit ECDL Foundation and in New Zealand by the non-profit New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS).
Shera is the first IT lawyer to gain the well respected ITCP certification from the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) and joins hundreds of other ICT Professionals to be accredited with ITCP.
Paul Matthews, Chief Executive of NZCS today said "ITCP is a professional certification, much like that which exists in most other professions. It is one of several initiatives undertaken by NZCS and the industry to mature ICT into a true profession".
"The take up of ITCP has been fantastic and has exceeded our expectations. It is now recognised as a must have qualification for senior practitioners in the New Zealand ICT space and, because it relies on internationally accepted standards, is also an excellent entrée into overseas markets", Matthews said.
Asked why he had decided to become certified Shera said "For me it's a tangible recognition of the fact that ICT law is multidisciplinary. I could not practice in this area without a detailed knowledge of the internet, computing and telco industries themselves so it is good to have that recognised. The application process itself was thorough and makes me even more thrilled to have achieved what I see as a very valuable certification."
"The accreditation of 'periphery' IT practitioners such as IT lawyers and others is certainly not a given," Matthews continued. "Mr Shera received ITCP because he could demonstrate a thorough understanding of the concepts and knowledge that underpins ICT, the proven ability to apply that knowledge in his area with positive results, an appreciation of what it means to be an ICT Professional, and a willingness to practice in accordance with the Code of Professional Conduct".
"ITCP is an independent accreditation for those serious about practicing as a professional in the wider ICT sector", Matthews concluded. "The definition of what makes an IT Professional is certainly broad, however the fundamental principles apply across the board. We're delighted that Rick has worked through the comprehensive assessment process and emerged with ITCP".
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