Interaction New President, Dermot O’Daly

My name is Dermot O’Daly and as well as working for Momentum Utilities, I am the President of Interaction Australasia. I would like to take a few minutes of your time to introduce myself and tell you about Interaction.

Then…

I originally trained as a Mechanical Engineer in England, but don’t hold that against me, I do support the Aussie cricket team and the Rugby team and the tennis and even the soccer team! I first came to Australia in the early 1980s, and on returning to England (why Oh why?) I considered a career change.

At this time Margaret Thatcher was striving to control the unions and I was very disillusioned with my prospects in engineering. So I took up the government’s challenge and retrained as a programmer (well System Analysis actually, but my first job was as an RPG programmer).

Since then I haven’t looked back. (That includes my escape from the mother country). At this time, I was also a keen track and middle distance runner. My best is 31minutes 50seconds for 10km,  and 2hours 31minutes 26seconds for the full marathon. Australia didn’t have many athletes that could match it with the English athletes so I felt safe supporting the English. Much has changed since then!

And so, much has changed in the IT world with new and evolving technologies, mergers and acquisitions of products and companies. Life moves along, sometimes at alarming rates.

Now…

Today, I write as President of Interaction The User Group for Users of IBM Products and Services. When I went to my first user group meeting, in England it was a huge event with hundreds of members, all very interested in what they could learn from IBM and hear about the future in their industry.

And today it is very much the same.

Join Interaction and keep up with IBM, its products, technology and services

Interaction Australasia was formed by a merger of the Australasian IBM user groups: Common and Share/Guide. It represents the needs and wishes of the IBM technology and business community, independent of, but endorsed by IBM as the official user group in the Australasian region.

The group continues to enjoy a strong membership of loyal and professional individuals that meet regularly to discuss and share REAL ideas, challenges and successes, in an open environment. Interaction is wholly managed by a dedicated group of volunteers.

Key to the benefits of Interaction membership is the knowledge that IBM users can gain from the organisation’s exposure to IBM, including its technology, business and technical specialists. Whether world leading international speakers or domestic technology and business specialists, the group has access to IBM’s brightest and most popular individuals that will further help you exploit your technological advantage.

Your opportunity to mix with these individuals as well as your peers is a fantastic way of gaining insight into the future trends and directions of the IT Industry. Insights that will give you the competitive advantage in our dynamic IT environment.

Education and Training are two key benefits of Interaction membership

With access to the full contingent of IBM local and global resources, Interaction members enjoy the opportunity of networking not only with IBM professionals but also their peers across the region.

Indeed, many of the greatest benefits of membership have arisen from the camaraderie and shared experiences between the community members and how they have been able to tackle the challenges in their organisation. This camaraderie and sense of community cannot be underestimated. In fact, it has often been stated by attendees that

“as much can be learned from the social interaction as from the formal sessions”

Being involved in Interaction means you will never be alone

Meetings take place on a quarterly basis across the regions, with an annual conference that features some of IBM’s most respected technology and business speakers from all over the world.

The Interaction community also includes key members of the IBM Business Partner Community, who further add to the diversity and quality of Interaction, whilst not impacting the overall integrity.

Interaction Australasia is the largest User Group of its kind in the region and enjoys the full support of IBM and its Partner Community. If it has been a while since you attended a meeting or you are new to the IBM world, I strongly encourage you to take the opportunity to become a member, and exploit the benefits that membership can bring for you personally and professionally. Your organisation benefits from being at the cutting edge of technology and business trends.

Computer Merchants has been a member of Interaction for 15 years and continues to support the work of the group

If you are interested in speaking at an Interaction regional meeting or you would consider being part of the organising committee for our annual conference, please contact Interaction.