IBM flies in big guns to review City systems
24 October 2017
IBM tech gurus from across the world are in town to review the many systems used in the city and make recommendation on how these can be consolidated to improve efficiency and service delivery.
Until 11 November 2017, they’ll be visiting various departments and entities, observing and analysing, interviewing and probing, as they figure out what system is best suited to improve service delivery in the City’s environment.
This service from the best in the world, will come at no cost to the city.
The City Manager’s office at the Metro Centre is the operational base for three of the international experts.
Who they are
The three IT gurus based at the City Manager’s at Metro Centre office are
• Paula Buerkle, a software leader from Michigan in the USA
• Alfredo Pediconi a Level 2 IT specialist from Buenos Aires in Argentina and
• Yoshiko Ogawa, Human Resource and Organisational Transformation consultant from Tokyo in Japan
Across the park at the City’s Revenue offices, four other tech gurus are settling in to review how the City communicates with its customers.
• Suzanna Yeow, a Sales and Relationship Building specialist from Australia
• Earl VanHorn, an IT Management and Systems Development specialist from Florida in the USA
• Yuko Nagamine, an Operation Strategy, Marketing and Communication squad leader from Tokyo in Japan
They will assess the city’s call centre, the eservices portal, the city’s walk in centres and other means the city uses to communicate with its customers.
What they are doing
These world leaders in the field of technology are in the City as part of IBM's Corporate Service Corps (CSC) which has seen IBM training thousands of government employees in different countries since 2008 to improve efficiencies and uplift communities. In the medium term, the team will help the City to move towards developing a single data repository consolidating the huge amount of data generated by city departments and entities.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for GCSS, Cllr Ntombi Khumalo says the IBM team will propose alternative tools for the City to service and strengthen its communication with customers. “This is in line with our aspiration to become a smart city. They will advise us on how we can manage our data so that we are more strategic in our decision making.”
The programme delivers three benefits:
• Community impact in the form of solutions to problems of communities in emerging markets;
• Leadership development for top talent employees;
• Increased Knowledge and understanding of emerging markets.
Each CSC participant provides significant IT, business, government and social sector consulting services.
Potential benefits of the project:
Organizational impact
• Improved customer communication by using e-platforms
• Fast and convenient customer service
• Good use of customer database from all entities and department to ensure integrity and accuracy
Economic /social impact
• Improved service delivery
• Creation of new services
• Improved perceptions
Besides the City of Johannesburg, the project will also benefit the National Media and Electronic Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) and the Gauteng Provincial Government, Office of the Premier.
“I am hopeful and would like to confirm our commitment as the City of Joburg towards programmes of this nature and magnitude, because through such interventions we can make Johannesburg work, and of course when Johannesburg works, South Africa works,” says MMC Khumalo.
Globally, since its inception in 2008 the IBM CSC program has contributed services of more than 3000 participants, who have worked in nearly 40 countries. In Africa, IBM CSC has been implemented in Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.