Dr Edmund Balnaves

As an Information technology practitioner with applied research and management skills, Edmund Balnaves has 24 years experience in:

IT Services delivery- The Inter-Search document sharing services are used by over 400 libraries in the Asia Pacific.   Dr Balnaves specialises in the supervision of complex software development projects from initiation to completion.

IT Innovation & Research - Dr Balnaevs has a strong research track record and a history of innovative IT Research in information retrieval and content management.  He brings skills in academic research (at the doctoral level) and technical/tender evaluation.

Software innovation - the development of advanced Information Retrieval and document delivery systems

IT Education - with the development and delivery of tertiary units of study at University of Sydney and advanced training in Visual Studio programming.

Taken together, these represent the talent to engage in the most complex Information Technology projects.     Professional Qualifications include both technical skills in IT and Information Retrieval (BA Computing), Administrative and Financial skills (MBA) and research skills (Phd).  

Affiliations

Edmund is affilliated with a range of professional organisations, but with a particular focus on information management, the information commons, document discovery, document delivery and content reuse.  He is a member of ALIA (Australian Library Information Association), IEEE, and is a standing committee member of the Information Technology Section of IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations).    He is a member of the Curtin research group Researching the Information Commons.

Innovations

Inter-Search - a document delivery service now used by over 400 libraries in the Asia-Pacific

Inter-Store - a project in smart client services for local archiving and "desktop information commons"

Inter-SearchDB - a federated search and database gateway to full text databases for small libraries

Inter-Publish - a content management system focussed on complex content reuse.

Technical skills 

Having worked with both Unix, Linux and Windows architectures at a System Administrative level, my skill-set covers a broad range of architectures and development environments. 

Professional Qualifications

Tertiary Education:	2004 Doctorate (Phd) University of Sydney School of Information Technologies 1981 BA COMPUTING STUDIES Canberra University (CCAE) 1992 MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Northern Territory University
Awards:	2007  ALIA Research Award 1981 LAA Award in the Special Area of Information Retrieval 1993 NTU/Royal Brunei Airlines "Best Graduating Student" in Business 1993 Australian Institute of Management Jim Gallacher Prize in International Management
Professional Associations:	Standing Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations Member, IEEE Associate of the Australian Library and Information Association
Publications:	see Research

Employment History

Detailed Experience

• PROSENTIENT SYSTEMS PTY LTD
  In September 1997 I formed the Information Technology consulting company Prosentient Systems Pty Ltd. Over the last three years this company as provided a range of Internet and Retail consulting services to several key clients:

  Australian Broadcasting Corporation Provision of a publishing system now responsible for collaborative publishing and indexing of a large portion of the ABC website (one of the most popular sites in Australia). 
  
  British Council The British Council Australia was one of the first international early adoptors of the Inter-Publish Content Management System.
  
  University Co-operative Bookshop Ltd Management consulting, Point of Sale and retail systems support, and Internet website development, including provision of a system for GratisNet, an interlibrary loan system for the several hundred libraries.
  
  National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales. Website redesign services and a website publishing and management tool
  
  The British Council of Australia. Website redesign services and a website publishing and management tool.
  The Dominican Friars. Website redesign services and a website publishing and management tool.

• UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
  In January 2001 commenced part time lecturing at University of Sydney as part of ongoing research into Content Management systems and the use of information systems in the Arts and Humanities.   Designed and presented the unit of study "Arts Informatics Systems", and wrote the book "Information Systems in the Arts and Humanities" as part of the course.  Prepared exams, delivered lectures and supervised tutors for course unit of study delivery.  Presented seminars in the area of Content Management.  Arts Informatics Systems was selected in 2001 for the Vice Chancellors Showcase.  Also completed doctoral research.
• UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE BOOKSHOP LTD
  In mid-April 1994 I gained the position of MIS Manager for the University Cooperative Bookshop Ltd. At the time I joined, the organisation had no IS strategic plan, and had systems that were both antiquated and entirely undocumented. The operating base was very close to its capacity limit and the IS department, as part of the accounts department, was severely understaffed. As part of a major realignment of the business function, I put forward a strategic plan for the development of IS functions that was accepted by the Board. The MIS department was restructured with direct reporting to the CEO. The realignment included the formal establishment of Help Desk functions, proper establishment of system documentation and operational standards, development of a migration plan for existing systems and a strategic plan for development of store-based systems. In the time that I have been at the Co-op I have been directly responsible for:
  • the development and implementation of a PC-based Point of Sale system
  • the development and implementation of Internet Web services - making the Co-op the first Australian bookstore with a full commercial system operating on the Internet, with over 300,000 titles searchable by customers
  • documentation of legacy systems
  • a major operational conversion from Reality (Pick) to Unix
  • introduction of hot standby Disaster Recovery services
  • implementation of a complex Windows NT and Windows 95 LAN architecture
  • introduction an Internet Firewall
  • management of the Co-op Internet DNS
  • implementation of ISDN services to the largest Co-op Branches.
  • Under my direction, the Co-op has achieved a major architectural migration and modernisation of its IT systems.
• WATSON & CRANE
  In January 1993, I took up the position of IS Development Manager at Watson & Crane. In addition to the line management of Development staff, the position involved the selection, specification and development of major business systems, and the management of the rollout and support of a major Point Of Sale implementation.
  The company began a fundamental restructuring of its business in 1992, including a re-evaluation of requirements for all its Information Systems. Arising from this review was the selection of the product TOLAS for both Point Of Sale and integrated Inventory and Financial control within the business. My responsibility, leading a small development team, was the project management of this implementation and its integration with other business systems. The position was central to the coordination of specification and implementation of business and financial systems changes (including AR, AP and GL), supervision development staff and external contractors undertaking the development, the selection of new Decision Support, EIS and 4GL products, and the project management of Development projects to required timescales.
• MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
  In 1992 I undertook an intense 1 year MBA at the Northern Territory University, located in Darwin, having won a Commonwealth Scholarship award (1 of only 5 such post-graduate business scholarships offered nationally). The programme offered a comprehensive business programme with an International management focus, covering Human Resource Management, Financial and Accounting systems, Strategic Planning, Team Building and Marketing techniques. On completion of the course I was the winner of the Australian Institute of Management award for the course and co-winner of the Royal Brunei best student award.
• COLES MYER
  In August 1988 I joined the IS department of Liquorland, a division of Coles Myer, as IS Development Manager. At the time I joined, the Department comprised two IS staff, and the business was largely dependant on Coles Myer Corporate computing systems for Accounting or Merchandise support. In the three years that followed I was responsible for the selection, enhancement and development of a range of systems to support the Business Unit. This also involved building an IS Development team of 6 analyst/programmers, and the supervision of contractors for a range of system management and development projects.
  In 1988 I participated in the development of a strategic plan for the Business Unit, in conjunction with the GM IS. In 1989 I oversaw the acquisition and installation of a VAX 3400 at the Liquorland Head Office for Office Automation (using ALLIN1) and small systems development (using Powerhouse). The introduction of a 4GL had a significant impact on the ability of the Department to deliver effective systems in a short timeframe. In early 1989, Liquorland and other divisions of Coles Myer became fully responsible for their own financial systems. As a result, I oversaw the implementation on VAX systems of McCormack & Dodge Accounting and Human Resources systems (AP-PLUS and HR:M).
  From 1991, I led the evaluation and implementation of new systems for Price Management, Continuous Inventory and Promotional Management, and participated in the tendering and evaluation of replacement Point Of Sale equipment for the 285 Liquorland stores linking via X.25 to host-based ICL Unix SVR4 DRS/6000 systems.
• AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
  In the position of ABC Research Computer Manager I was responsible for the development and implementation of a graphically-based Executive Information Systems: the McNair Anderson Television & Radio Ratings Information System. The project involved the development of an online database for statistical analysis and reporting with business graphics on the Ratings results. I was responsible for all stages of development, implementation and post-implementation training. The project was completed (in time and on budget) by April 1988. On completion of this project I transferred to the Television division to manage the development of an Equipment Maintenance and reporting system (EMPIRE) in Powerhouse.
• SPECIAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE/DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS
  In July 1983 I was employed by the Special Prosecutor's Office (Gyles) as an analyst/programmer to establish a nationwide network to access databases with facilities for free text retrieval of documents. This involved design of systems for data entry of documents at remote sites using a WANG VS100 system, transfer of data using RJE to the Attorney&SHYGeneral's FACOM M180N host, and support of a nation&SHYwide network accessing STATUS full text retrieval databases on the FACOM.
  In June 1984 I was assumed the position of Melbourne Division Manager for the Litigation Support Systems. I was responsible for management of IT resources and design of IT systems. Upon the inception of this new office I was responsible for the design and implementation on a short deadline of several computer systems for Litigation support. The effectiveness of the systems completed in this period was such that they were adopted for installation on a national scale in the other offices of the DPP.
  This position involved the supervision of a team of IT and Word Processing staff, acquisition of equipment, user liaison and systems planning.
• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
  While at the Department of Health, I was involved in the maintenance and enhancement of several large batch and online COBOL systems using IMS on an IBM 370/168 mainframe, as part of the Pharmaceutical Benefits team. My duties involved maintenance of the system, liaison with users in the IT centres around Australia, and assistance in the development of the new Pharmaceutical Benefits System.