Hong Kong Computer Society - enterpriseinnovation.net

ICL mainframes formed the core of
government IT in the 60’s and 70’s
computer operators—both rs
oth extremely
em ely
bright individuals iduals that rose from the
ground up. That route would be very
difficult to follow today. My own path
led me from ICL to joining the government
to succeed Lee Tate, the data processing
Manager recruited from the UK,
the government’s head of IT during that
time. As a 33 year-old executive that was
quite a step up and a relatively rare feat
for someone at that age within the government.
CWHK: How significant was the Computer
Society at that time?
SL: It started as a networking platform
and I recall we had a newsletter that
was distributed to members—GIGO or
“Garbage in Garbage out”. This term referred
to the idea that computers at the
time simply processed data, the brains of
any operation was the user so if you fed
the computer garbage, ge
garbage age is
what
would come out. It
emphasized that
users
had to specify what the computer needed
to process to derive a desired result—
seemed a good name for the newsletter.
During the 80s through to 1990, President
Richard Li really brought a passion
and vigor to the role and he pushed IT to
Computing was genuinely regarded as an elite
profession and very much at the cutting edge
—Stephen Lau
become a driving influence on the industry
to advance the credibility of IT and
the professionals. He also started real engagements
with China and created a tangible
focus for the Society’s resources
via special interest groups.
CWHK: What are the greatest strengths
and achievements of the Society?
SL: The biggest strength I believe is in
the respect and influence of its Distinguished
Fellows who are industry peers
that have been unanimously voted for by
the HKCS council as key contributors
to the
IT community and industry. You
cannot apply for or buy into
this fellowship,
the council nominates and votes for
you. This gathering of industry figures is
unique in the industry and the collective
experience, their ongoing and continuous
work in the industry, and their continuous
contributions to the HKCS are
invaluable.
Highlight achievements in my mind
are the ongoing progress on professional
certification which is being adopted in
Hong Kong and China, but to really succeed
here we need to find ways to sustain
the effort. As a group the Society is made
up of hardworking volunteers and we’re
great at projects but sustaining initiatives
will be a great challenge—we need full
time resources and budget.
Other noteworthy items include the
Joint International Computer Conferences
held in China which have forged
great relationships with the mainland,
but again, to sustain this we need to refocus
on evolving issues that benefit both
Hong Kong and China businesses.
The Hong Kong International Computer
Conference in Hong Kong is now
in its 32nd year. For a general IT conference
to have survived and flourished
that long with the increasing push for
specialized conferences is quite a triumph.
3
www.cw.com.hk
Nov 2009 Computerworld Hong Kong 29