Stories by Matt Rodgers

In a fast growing sector, the bottom line is everything

As CIO of Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore group Rohan Davidson plays a critical role in overseeing the IT requirements of the operations the mining company owns and manages across North America and Australia. In Western Australia’s Pilbarra region alone, for example, Rio Tinto operates a network of 14 mines, three shipping terminals and the largest privately owned heavy freight railway in Australia, which spans 1400 kilometres.

As CIO of Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore group Rohan Davidson plays a critical role in overseeing the IT requirements of the operations the mining company owns and manages across North America and Australia. In Western Australia’s Pilbarra region alone, for example, Rio Tinto operates a network of 14 mines, three shipping terminals and the largest privately owned heavy freight railway in Australia, which spans 1400 kilometres.

After joining the Fortescue Metals Group as CIO in January 2011, Vito Forte now leads the company’s IT department as it assists the resources industry giant to keep pace with its strategy of rapid growth and expansion. In this interview, he talks to CIO about Fortescue’s transformation plans, the rise of Cloud and mobile technologies, and why, when it comes to IT innovation, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

After joining the Fortescue Metals Group as CIO in January 2011, Vito Forte now leads the company’s IT department as it assists the resources industry giant to keep pace with its strategy of rapid growth and expansion. In this interview, he talks to CIO about Fortescue’s transformation plans, the rise of Cloud and mobile technologies, and why, when it comes to IT innovation, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

In the last 18-months, the mobile computing landscape has changed completely. People are bringing their own computers to the office and carrying smartphones and tablet devices that are as powerful as desktop computers were only a short while ago. Here’s how to make sure these devices don’t compromise your organisation.

Protecting a well-established brand in the face of compromised systems is something Brad Clarence, the systems and support administrator at iconic fashion retailer, Jeanswest, knows a fair bit about. Despite his somewhat misleading title, Clarence is responsible for Jeanswest’s entire network and systems infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand.

No company wants to be associated with a data breach, but if your systems are compromised the fallout can sometimes be more damaging than the act itself.

No CIO wants to be the person who says ‘no’ to productivity -- especially when the request for iPads comes from the company’s senior executives. But when it comes to mobile devices entering the enterprise, CIOs face the ultimate challenge: How to best service their employees while keeping a lid on costs and security.

No CIO wants to be the person who says ‘no’ to productivity -- especially when the request for iPads comes from the company’s senior executives. But when it comes to mobile devices entering the enterprise, CIOs face the ultimate challenge: How to best service their employees while keeping a lid on costs and security.

No CIO wants to be the person who says ‘no’ to productivity -- especially when the request for iPads comes from the company’s senior executives. But when it comes to mobile devices entering the enterprise, CIOs face the ultimate challenge: How to best service their employees while keeping a lid on costs and security.

Thanks to the global financial crisis, IDC’s Forecast for Management Survey 2009 covers a year in IT unlike any other -- and the economic turbulence is reflected in the results.

When I saw in IDC’s latest Forecast for Management Survey that business intelligence and security were no longer in the list of top 10 CIO priorities, I almost spilled my coffee. Have we learned nothing from the last 12 months?

In response to pressures from economic crisis and the Gershon Report, organisations with outsourced environments are tackling the need to cut costs quickly. Here’s how they’re doing it. . .

Did the H1N1 virus really make the leap to humans? Or are we just becoming more like swine?