IT Leader Profile: David Brown

David Brown is general manager for IT at Scottish Water. He heads a team
of 50 staff

What does your job entail?
I am responsible for the entire IT service at Scottish Water, the development of the corporate IT strategy and, of course, both the operational and development activities that underpin it. As a business we serve the whole of Scotland so our IT infrastructure has to operate from the border right up to the Shetland Islands.

What was your first job?
I started out in civil engineering with Strathclyde Regional Council’s roads department. I worked on geo-technical investigations prior to designing and building major roads and bridges. The job involved a lot of land surveying, which was great fun when the weather was fine.

What do you think has been the most over-hyped technology?
Service-orientated architecture still has to deliver on its claims. I have always been a passionate advocate of easy integration and information flows across the enterprise but I don’t think we have arrived there yet.

How did you get into the IT profession?
I found that IT-related activities were being included more and more in my everyday working life. I think I was being asked to do that because I was the youngster in the team. I then decided to formalise that with qualifications.

Which technology has had the biggest impact on your working life?
I would be lost without my BlackBerry. Mobile technology is becoming increasingly indispensable to Scottish Water. We have a large mobile field force and are continuing to explore the potential that this offers for increasing both effectiveness and customer service.

What would you choose as your desert island technology?
My BlackBerry. How else could you track the football results?