A Front-Row View of the New Digital Landscape in Retail with Nicola Wadham

Nicola Wadham

As CIO for the retail division of SSE, Nicola has a front-row view of the challenges and potential of the new digital landscape. We talked to her about the power of IT to change business models and why we should be encouraging more young women into tech careers…

 

What are the challenges for a woman in I.T. and how have those changed?

I’ve worked in the oil and gas industries and manufacturing and engineering sectors, which are fairly male dominated — but even so, within IT I would say that the ratio of women to men has not changed at all during my career, which is disappointing. 

One of the breakthroughs that has happened, though, is increasing numbers of female leaders who are experts in a particular IT area — whether a technical field or a process such as environment or service management. I think the real challenge, though, is to be a generalist. To be at the top of your game in IT you need to make sure you have kept your skills up-to-date and understand new models coming forward. I don’t think that it comes as readily to women to ask for and get that training or those experiences, and that’s why they tend to stay in specialist areas rather than move into generic management.

If you’re managing women, you need to be conscious about making sure that they take the opportunities that are out there. And in your own career, you must push yourself into areas where you might not know everything about the next task that comes up, so that you can get that breadth of experience.

 

What advice would you give to a woman coming into the tech or I.T. industry?

Be aware that IT is a very flat discipline with lots of different tasks within it. Being conscious of that from the start is important, as is not pitching yourself exclusively into any one area too soon. Do what you’re good at — but do a range of things. I was made redundant in my first job, which was the best thing that ever happened to me, because it made me move industries and gain new experiences. It allowed me to understand that I could succeed in a variety of different business models.

The best advice that I ever received was to keep learning. Early on in my career, I remember a senior manager going on a course. I thought they were near retirement and I couldn’t understand why they would still be doing this, but they told me to, “Just keep learning”. It was a moment of humility for me. Now I take time to go to seminars, webinars, read books and attend courses to keep up to speed. I am not too old to learn — and there’s a huge amount to learn. Tech is such a fast-paced industry that if you’re not learning… you’re already behind.

 

What has been the most significant development in the tech world during your career?

I’ve had a relatively long career in which I have seen many developments but the biggest for me has been the sheer evolution of mathematics modelling and computing power. It has expanded the IT tool and unlocked so much in terms of engineering capability, modelling and even virtual reality, and the basic power that I now have in my hands is incredible.

Computing power keeps doubling every year and there is a continuous evolution of speed and capability. If you relate that to something everyone is familiar with, such as broadband speeds, you can see the effects that this can have. Slow copper-based broadband was not that long ago, but now whole industries are based on being able to stream things quickly. The things we can invent and the insights we can gain purely on the amount of IT we can now crunch has been the defining step for me — everything else falls out of the back of that.

 

What is the biggest potential for retail in the new digital landscape?

For me, it’s changing business models that place the customer at the heart. If you have digital technologies, then from a retail perspective the first thing it allows is 24-7 availability — from anywhere and at any time you like. And it’s only with a digital layer that you can really put the customer at the heart of your business model. This then becomes a self-reinforcing model: serve the customer well and you’ll know more about the customer. In turn, that means you can tailor your solutions better to your customers, offering a better service — and therefore have more customers!

Tech also offers business — both retail and in other sectors — the ability to move very quickly as the world changes. You can have less inventory, fewer fixed assets and a more flexible model. Things are evolving — and will continue to evolve — very fast. The biggest thing that tech can give any business is the power to adapt and grow.

 

How can we encourage more women into tech and I.T. careers — and where should it start?

Showing the range of things that an IT career can offer to girls while they are at school is important, because IT does have a perception issue; for many people, it’s just about being a geek and coding, and all a bit mysterious. When really there are so many different types of careers in IT that will suit different personalities. You may be analytical, or good at technology, or perhaps excel at project management, which requires a lot of ‘softer’ skills, such as determination and organisation. Opening the idea of IT up and communicating the variety so that young women can see themselves in those roles is key.

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