The Williams Martini Racing Formula 1 Team wants to compete for championships again, so it's putting everything in place that's needed to make that a reality - people, processes and technology.
So says Graeme Hackland, Williams Martini CIO, who will present the Williams digital transformation case study at an Avanade/ITWeb C Level Executive Dinner on 11 June in Fourways, Johannesburg.
In the 2015 Formula 1 Championship, Williams' drivers have started well with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa currently occupying fifth and sixth positions respectively out of 20. On the constructor standings, the Williams team is at number three.
"For Williams Martini Racing, we see the team as a serious challenger to our bigger, better funded rivals," he says.
"Digital is key - it's what will make the difference between being at front of the grid and being at the back. That's why we are working with Avanade on a digital transformation that will help us to compete for championship titles once again. We believe digital transformation can have that kind of impact," continues Hackland.
Formula 1 technology is constantly changing, either for compliance with the rules or the natural developments that happen during a season, he says. "We never stand still, we constantly innovate and we find out at every Grand Prix throughout the season how we are doing. To achieve in this environment, we have to be able to unlock information and put it in the hands of people who can use it to make data-driven decisions rather than relying on instinct."
Hackland says there's huge demand to transform processes and technology across the entire business, covering the whole lifecycle of the Formula 1 car, from aerodynamics and design to manufacturing and race engineering.
"We need to accelerate and improve how information passes between teams, to make that lifecycle much quicker. This can happen in a number of ways. It could be the graphical user interface the engineers use that's suddenly so much easier for them to work. Or, it could be improving the workflow with an electronic system where they can push a button and receive the information they need, instead of relying on hundreds of pieces of paper."
Avanade is an official partner of Williams Martini Racing. They are working together "towards a digital business transformation", to optimise the Williams enterprise platform and ensure future digital and cloud investments lead to improved business performance.
Get more info about the Driving Digital Transformation event here.
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