The Salvation Army is a Christian international charitable organisation with a quasi-military structure. The organisation reports worldwide membership of over 1.5 million, consisting of soldiers, officers and adherents known as Salvationists. Its founders William and Catherine Booth sought to bring salvation to the poor, destitute and hungry by meeting both their "physical and spiritual needs". It operates charity shops; shelters for the homeless, and provides disaster relief and humanitarian aid to developing countries. The Army was founded in 1865 in London by one-time Methodist minister William Booth. Originally known as the North London Christian Mission, in 1878 Booth reorganised the mission, becoming its first General and introducing the military structure which has been retained to the present day. When did you start your current role?2009 Have you completed an MBA?No Order the following sources of advice/information by value to you: 1.    Peer Group2.    In-house3.    Consultant4.    Analyst Technology strategy and spending What is the major transformational IT project that has been recently completed, or is underway at your organisation?Updating and extending our wide-area network to connect all our operational locations and key staff locations throughout the UK. What impact will it/does it have on the organisation?The updated WAN will reach out to all our locations through out the UK bringing fast, secure and ubiquitous access to not only our corporate information systems but also to the resources and information assets which enable the work of The Salvation Army in the UK. What new strategic technology deals has your organisation struck and with whom?Network services Name your strategic technology suppliers?Redcentric Plc IT operational spend compared to the revenue or company turnover as a percentage?2.2% What is the strategic aim of the CIO and IT operations for the next financial year?To scale-up and scale-out our VDI to enable access to information resources from any device at any location. Essentially delivering "A Connected Army" furthering the mission of The Salvation Army in the UK. Transformation achievements Would you describe the CIO role as a transformation leader in your organisation?Yes Describe the transformations you have led / been involved in, how did they transform operations, customer experience or the organisation?In our work with the homeless I have proposed and demonstrated a private social network to provide peer support and shared experience opportunities for the residents of our Lifehouses, illustrating the use of such technologies to reach out to the digitally disadvantaged. Since 1879 The War Cry has been the official news publication of The Salvation Army and working together with the publishing department we produced the first digital editions of this and other in-house publications effectiveley broadening the readership in this digital age. Beyond technology, can you describe a business transformation programme that you own or contribute to?Like many organisations we are often data rich but information poor and my Management Information initiative, although having technology in its foundations, has established an initiative which seeks to educate and promote the use of information in decision making and performance measurement. What key technologies are being considered to enable transformation?VDI, BYOD, BI How is the use by employees of their own technology, use of mobiles and social networking impacting operations, customer experiences or the organisation at present?It's seen as an enabler for some of the work we do. Do you have a plan in place for how to deal with shadow IT and BYOD. How do you influence and engage executives, place the right controls around employee choice and engage with the organisation on this issue?We have a successful BYOD programme which has carefully encouraged a proportionof our users to safely access corporate resources from their own devices. Where do you seek transformational inspiration from?Everywhere and anywhere. The CIO role in the business Do they report to the CEO?Secretary for Business Administration (MD) Does the CIO have a seat on the board?No How often do you meet with the CEO?As required Does your organisation have a digital leader and what is the difference in their responsibilities to yours?No The IT department How many staff make up the IT team?(What is the split between in-house/outsourced staff)26 in-house Describe the CIO’s management team, do you have direct reports that develop the relationship and services between the business and IT?The senior management team manage a corporate systems team, a service and support team, a learning technologies team, and manage projects and business relationships. And how many log-in accounts do you issue across you organisation?5500