Cesare Tizi, former chief information officer at Australia’s largest energy supplier AGL Energy, has been awarded the title of ZDNet Australia CIO of the year.
Which technologies really excite you? 
Tizi waxes lyrical about RFID technology -- a subject he knows something about from his Transurban days. He believes the tiny tags will change everything from toll-booths to supermarket checkout queues.
How do you secure the IT infrastructure of Australia's largest energy firm?
With millions of customers at AGL paying by credit card, Tizi explains the importance of security and why outsourcing it is a bad idea.
Virtualisation
Using a server for multiple tasks on different operating systems not only reduces datacentre clutter, it makes deploying new applications easier and has "green benefits".
Energy company runs out of juice!
Even firms that generate electricity can suffer in the current power and cooling crisis. Tizi admits AGL's datacentres are as vulnerable as those belonging to any other company and why "going green" will help your bottom line as well as the environment.
VoIP
He likes VoIP because it saves money but he also loves the flexibility it offers. However, Tizi warns admins not to undestimate the problems setting it up.
Vista may be pretty but it's no big deal.
Tizi says Windows Vista is big, requires lots of CPU horsepower and it will be a long time before companies will be able to justify moving to Microsoft's new operating system.
How important is mobile computing?
A "walk around" management style and lots of time travelling makes Tizi a fan of mobile computing but he is still looking for the perfect device -- one that has "snappy" performance, a decent screen, long battery life and a fast, cheap connection to the Web.
What are your key measures for success?
Successful CIOs are able to create business strategies that require technology, which means using IT to create value. In this clip, Tizi explains how CIOs should present their plans to the business and how to measure their success.
The following people have been nominated (click on the active links to view face-to-face video interviews featured in ZDNet Australia’s CIO Vision Series):
- Cesare Tizi, CIO, AGL Energy
- Ryan Bessemer, CIO, Austock
- Evan Thomas, CIO, Australian Health Management
- Paul Williams, CIO, Campbell Arnott’s
- Michael Harte, CIO, Commonwealth Bank
- Stuart Kegg, CIO, Esprit
- Stephen Tame, CIO, Jetstar
- Jason Cowie, CIO, Macmahon
- Graham Andrews, CIO, PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Chris Vulovic, CIO, Realestate.com.au
- Mark Beeney, National IT Manager, Starcom
- Joseph Renzi, CIO, SwapAce.com
- Jason Polites, Technical Director, Synetek Systems
- Daniel Beecham, CIO, Woolworths Limited
- Paul Young, CIO, Wotif
