Linda Weaver
Chief Technology Office
Smart Systems for Health
Toronto
IT department: 140 People
What are your top three IT spending priorities for 2005?
Registration and authentication solutions; security solutions (firewall, virtual private network); private
wide area network redesign and expansion.
What emerging technologies are you most excited about?
Wireless wide area network solutions and security and access control solutions.
Do you plan to increase, decrease or maintain staffing levels?
Increase, by 30 people.
If you could choose a dream project not on your list of priorities for 2005, what would that be?
Point-of-Care service delivery to enhance the support experience of our clients (online support services, automatic entry/routing/updating of support calls).
Finish this sentence. In our organization, 2005 will be the year . . .
That we broadly deploy secure network, e-mail and hosting services to the healthcare community in Ontario.
Guy Mills
VP, Information Services
Manulife Financial Corp.
Toronto
IT department: 1,250 people
What are your top three IT spending priorities for 2005?
Mergers and acquisition integration; customer service Web sites; scaling-up of infrastructure and systems.
What emerging technologies are you most excited about?
Voice over IP and Web services.
Do you plan to increase, decrease or maintain staffing levels?
The IT department increased by almost 1,000 people in 2004 as a result of the John Hancock merger.
If you could choose a dream project not on your list of priorities for 2005, what would that be?
If an IT investment is worth making, and if the costs and risks justify it, we generally get on and do it.
Finish this sentence. In our organization, 2005 will be the year . . .
Get ready for the next acquisition.
Ken Metcalfe, ISP
Director of IT
Portage Mutual Insurance
Portage la Prairie, Man.
IT department: 10 people*
What are your top three IT spending priorities for 2005?
Meeting challenges foisted by government regulatory changes, implementing tools to allow business analysts to make business logic changes (i.e. non programmers)
What emerging technologies are you most excited about?
Linux/open source; Web/Internet collaboration and,privacy and security.
Do you plan to increase, decrease or maintain staffing levels?
Increase, by 10 to 15 per cent.
If you could choose a dream project not on your list of priorities for 2005, what would that be?
Integrate all business partners through fast, secure networks and collaborative processes.
Finish this sentence. In our organization, 2005 will be the year . . .
Technology from inside and outside of our organization will permeate all of our business.
Normand Houle
Chief Information Officer
Sodisco-Howden
Montréal
IT department: 45 people
What are your top three IT spending priorities for 2005?
Wide area networks, business intelligence and enterprise resourcing planning.
What emerging technologies are you most excited about?
Our focus is on great implementation of current technologies.
Do you plan to increase, decrease or maintain staffing levels?
We will maintain our staffing levels.
If you could choose a dream project not on your list of priorities for 2005, what would that be?
Tight integration of distribution and retail systems.
Finish this sentence. In our organization, 2005 will be the year . . .
The integration of business activities resulting from various company acquisitions and optimization of business processes.