Building Operational Resilience Webinars with David McWilliams

We were delighted to run two webinars with Typetec recently to discuss the profound and lasting business impacts caused by Covid-19 and how the crisis will continue to challenge business operations for the months ahead. The post Covid-19 world has changed the operational landscape for many businesses where operational risk is now at an elevated level and consequently the thinking also must change and adapt. Irish businesses need to take account of the new landscape, be cognisant of the risks they face, and prepare accordingly if they are to survive current and future events. 

The Panel 

The webinars were moderated by Darren Clarke, head of customer success at OpenSky who is responsible for delivering business growth, enabled by key stakeholder engagement, and spearheads account management and customer success strategies. Clarke was the previous head of client relations for DST Systems and held management and business development positions in the Pension Protection Fund, UK and Irish Life. 

The webinars were supported by Typetec with Finbarr O’Riordan, Sales Manager, who offered his thoughts on the  business development landscape. Finbarr has over 20 years’ experience in business development in the IT sector and is responsible for advising customers on strategic technology investment in cloud infrastructure and management. He spearheads customer adoption and change management success through Typetec’s Consulting and Managed Services practices. 

Leo McAdams, Divisional Manager Investment Services at Enterprise Ireland joined the webinars to share the latest information on Enterprise Ireland grants and funding available to businesses to support business continuity.

Guest Speaker, David McWilliams 

Finally, we welcomed our guest speaker to the event, David McWilliams, renowned economist, author, journalist, documentary-maker and broadcaster. David is Adjunct Professor of Global Economics at the School of Business Trinity College Dublin and is ranked the 10th most influential economist in the world.   

The Attendees 

The webinar attendees consisted of C-suite professionals, predominantly IT & Operations, from a blend of government agencies as well as medium to large private enterprises.  The panel & David welcomed questions from delegates which resulted in a highly interactive session.

Key Points from the Discussions: 

Darren Clarke discussed the technologies to amplify operational performance such as legacy system modernisation, migration to the cloud and RPA as a solution to reducing dependency on human resources. He also highlighted why moving to the cloud enables the use of Data Analytics and Power BI capabilities.  

Finbarr O’Riordan discussed the benefits of specific services such as virtual desktop, business continuity planning and readiness assessments as well as the importance of Infrastructure Architecture. 

Leo McAdams shared details on the new Enterprise Ireland Covid-19 Business Response Information Hub available and a new €5,000 Covid-19 Business Financial Planning Grant which will help support companies to engage the services of an approved Financial Consultant to develop a Business Sustainment Project Plan. 

David McWilliams offered his animated and thought provoking insights about the current state of the macro * micro economies in Ireland, the impacts on specific sectors as well as sharing his many recommendations for businesses to recover and importantly prepare for future economical challenges.   

David McWilliams said after the webinars,  

“It was a pleasure to join a series of webinars, hosted by technology providers, OpenSky and Typetec. We are facing unprecedented times with Covid-19 and we can see technology making strides into more people’s lives with changing how we work, how we access public services and how we travel.  

I am hugely optimistic about the technological shift ahead and Ireland is a huge part of the conversation with technology companies such as OpenSky and Typetec driving the charge.”