IT Week's IT leader profile – Jim Haslem

Jim Haslem is the assistant director of business solutions and ICT at the London Borough of Bromley, where he manages 25 staff

What does your job entail?
Enabling transformation through ICT.

What was your first job?
I was the management services assistant for the London Borough of Havering.

How did you get into IT?
I installed a telephone switchboard and got involved with integrating data and voice communications in the early 1980s.

If you weren’t in IT, what would you be doing?
I can’t think of another area that would match ICT in its ability to influence and facilitate change.

Which web sites do you have bookmarked at work?
Socitm, Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and Kablenet.

Which person do you most admire in the IT industry?
Bill Gates, because he has survived all the trials and tribulations that Microsoft has had, but still remains at the centre of things.

Which technologies do you most rely on outside the office?
Citrix, because it enables me to organise my working life and allows me to access what I want, when I want.

Which recent IT news item do you think will have the biggest impact on your organisation?
It has to be the HRMC data loss, which will have profound impacts on security and risk management, as well as on skills development and ensuring basic processes are embedded.

What keeps you awake at night?
The thought of the email system going down.

What is the biggest challenge facing IT?
Getting out of the technology pigeonhole. IT is not just about technology, as many people assume, it is actually the primary agent for transformation and improvement.

Is now a good time to enter the IT profession?
It is a marvellous time for people to join the profession, as long as they are people who don’t view their roles as purely technical, and are people who will engage with the business in making improvements.