itSMF Czech conference looks at how humans and technology interact

Interactions between humans and technology, including how humans deal with AI-powered chatbots, took centre stage at the IT Service Management Forum conference held online from Prague on January 20 and 21. One of the most-awaited panel discussions looked at this emerging issue, and there was a clear consensus that AI poses both an opportunity and a challenge to the systems that make use of them. In other words, digital transformation requires both technological and cultural development.

DHL IT Services Employee Experience Manager Tereza Křetinská spoke on the topic of ‘How and why to foster a bespoke organisational culture in every organisation?’ and she noted in a LinkedIn comment that speakers were definitely of the same mind on the issue, noting that ‘it was really amazing to see how our contributions played so well together – seemed like a well-synced orchestra.’

The event, which was organised under the auspices of the Czech Ministry for Local Development and Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartoš, also featured fascinating presentations from global leaders in IT Service Management, including Kaimar Karu, the former Estonian IT minister and head of ITIL, and ITIL expert Paul Wilkinson.

Wilkinson had a similar opinion about the discussions that ensued from the event. ‘I was delighted that Kaimar Karu in his presentation also stressed the importance of 'principles' (#ITIL Guiding principles) and Eddy Peters in his session also explained the need for translating 'principles' into desired behaviors,’ he commented in a LinkedIn post.

The digitisation of the Czech government was also an important topic at the conference. Vladimir Dzurilla, the head of NAKIT, the Czech National Agency for Communication and Information Technologies, talked about the need for user-friendly design systems in the government’s online services, and participated in a panel on digitisation in the Czech Republic in 2022 and beyond. The panel also included Ondřej Profant, who serves as deputy to Ivan Bartoš at the Ministry for Local Development.

As a platinum partner, GuideVision played a major role in the conference as well. GuideVision Head of Sales Dan Petřivalský, served on the event’s organising team, and Principal ServiceNow Consultant Filip Vacula gave a talk on how the advent of no-code/low-code tools, especially in ServiceNow, requires more of a cultural shift in IT than a technical one.

In his talk, titled ‘Who needs developers when business can implement processes on their own?’ Vacula posed a crucial question. ‘Business is already more aligned with the idea of passive but frequent participation in the development process than before, he wrote. ‘Is the solution to the current shortage of IT professionals and the evolutionary next step to actively involve business in the development process, and empower it to implement workflow automation on their own? Is technology prepared for this shift? What would be the position of a software developer then?’

We’re already looking forward to next year’s itSMF conference!

GuideVision is a platinum sponsor of the itSMF Czech Republic conference.