Event Round-up: Modernising Critical Legacy Systems while Maintaining Operational Integrity

Venus Bailey

Principal Enterprise Architect, Cabinet Office

Venus Bailey is a visionary leader in the fields of technology and architecture. With experience spanning various sectors, cultures and organisations, she has an ability to draw upon diverse strands of knowledge and expertise to create strategies and solve complex problems. 
Her professional journey commenced in Hong Kong, where she embarked on her career as an electronic engineering graduate. Afterward, armed with a master's degree in Telecommunications, she ventured into consultancy in the mobile network industry, working in the UK, China, Malaysia and Singapore. During this time, she thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. 

In 2009, Venus achieved a significant milestone by earning a doctorate in computer science from University College London. Her research focus revolved around the intriguing intersection of machine learning and the Internet of Things. During her tenure as a research fellow at the same institution, she collaborated with esteemed international scientists and researchers. Together, they developed comprehensive solutions and conducted pioneering research in areas such as environmental monitoring, educational technologies, and wearable technologies. 
One of Venus's notable contributions during this period was her involvement in the BBC project Micro:bit, aimed at promoting coding and facilitating children's understanding of abstract computer science concepts through tangible devices. 

In 2017, Venus joined the Government Digital Service (GDS) as a Technical Architect. Here, she lent her expertise to a diverse array of cross-government digital and data projects, including GOV.UK Notify, GovWifi, GOV.UK PaaS, Future Border and HM Treasury data platform. She firmly advocates for a balanced approach, combining Agile practices for iterative development with Enterprise Architecture oversight and robust technical governance. This approach ensures the deliverability and maintainability of technology solutions to the highest standards of quality and excellence.

Venus currently heads the Enterprise Architecture team within the CTO function at Cabinet Office Digital. She also leads the Cabinet Office's Legacy Remediation program, with a primary focus on enhancing governance and control over legacy systems within the organisation. 

Paul Liptrot

Lead Partner - UK Government & Public Sector, Kyndryl UK

Paul Liptrot is a seasoned IT executive operating at C suite and specialising in UK Public Sector but with broad cross sector experience across EMEA. He currently leads the Public Sector Growth activity for Kyndryl in the UK.

In this role, he has lead the development and execution of the UK public sector go to market strategy and organisation in addition to being the lead Client Partner on a number of our Civil Government accounts

Steve Lydford

COO, Codurance

Steve Lydford is COO at Codurance, a global software consultancy born out of the Software Craftsmanship movement. With a 20+ year career in software engineering, Steve has worked on complex legacy modernisation projects in a wide variety of sectors including retail e-commerce, finance, education, media, government and healthcare, developing large-scale, resilient, distributed systems on an assortment of technologies and platforms. 

Steve is a pragmatic problem solver with a focus on the delivery of high-quality, robust and maintainable code. He is a passionate advocate of continuous improvement, both for software and software developers and believes that the future success of the software industry relies on the sharing of knowledge gained through experience.

A published author, Steve regularly gives back to the software engineering community through delivering talks and hosting meetups across the UK.
 

Graham Williamson

Chief Technology Officer for UK&I Public Sector, ServiceNow

Graham leads ServiceNow's UK&I Public Sector CTO and Enterprise Architecture engagements, establishing technology executive relationships at the highest levels of government and PS, ensuring that government strategy is understood and responded to by ServiceNow’s value proposition, and providing thought leadership and guidance through individual and x-government discussions, round tables, briefings, and white papers.

Graham has held senior leadership positions in a number of medium to very large enterprises and organisations, including Global Vice President of IT/CIO for Ciklum, Technology Strategy Director and Head of Strategy & Architecture for Interserve (significant supplier to public sector), and Head of Enterprise Architecture for UCAS. From this, Graham brings a wealth of experience formulating strategy and driving transformation across diverse organisations and cultures.