Meet the judges—Alex Franklin

In our Meet the judges series, we’ll be chatting to some of the cloud tech experts on our judging panel to find out more about their experience, their passion for cloud tech, and what they’re making a beeline for at the awards ceremony buffet… 

Alex Franklin is Modern Workplace Practice Lead at Intelogy.

Alex specialises in Modern Workplace solutions and has held a passion for technological change for more than 20 years. He began his career with Lotus Notes in the 90s before moving to SharePoint in 2007 and then to the full Microsoft 365 stack.

Alex works with clients globally across many industries to identify business pain points, realise opportunities and bring about successful and lasting change that benefits everyone involved. 

With a passion for positive change, and making people’s lives easier and happier, Alex loves his job and enjoys celebrating the success of others who do too!

Let’s say get to know Alex.

Which category are you most looking forward to judging and why?

I’m most looking forward to the Tech for Good award. The greatest feeling I get from my work is knowing that something we have implemented is going to improve people’s lives.

Taking that further with this category, I’m really excited to see what’s been done on a broader scale for people, their lives, and the way everyone can come together with technology.

How has cloud technology made an impact on your life, or within your business?

So many ways! I’ve been primarily home-based for several years and I think the biggest impact it’s had on me is enabling a healthy work-life balance.

In the earlier years of my first child, I always wished I could be around more, and be able to spend more time with him, but I travelled a lot or would always be late home from London.

Cloud technology has, in recent years and especially now with our youngest daughter, enabled me to be around much more, balance my life but still be as productive, if not even more at work. The ability to work anywhere has been huge for me, and my life is better for it!

You're at an awards ceremony; what food are you making a beeline to the buffet table for?

Sausages, if they have them!
Alex Franklin
Modern Workplace Practice Lead
Intelogy

Are there any people or businesses from the cloud tech space that have caught your eye with their work in the past year?

Firstly – and sorry for the plug here – Intelogy, who I joined in April 2021! They are a brilliant, passionate group of talented people who I’ve worked with on some great projects ranging from SharePoint intranets to business-transforming Power Apps and Dataverse projects (with a chunk of Power BI analytics thrown in for good measure).

Secondly, I guess what has caught my eye most is the growing partnership between Microsoft and Samsung. The work they’re doing (and have already implemented) is a great step towards bringing cross-device fluidity together and keeping us connected and productive in an increasingly seamless manner. 

How important are awards in promoting diversity and inclusion, especially in sectors like tech?

I believe awards like these enhance the spirit of diversity and inclusion, enabling the celebration of individuals based on their talent, their passion and their efforts. In doing so, the subtleties that call out diversity-related factors are almost a moot point. These awards show that we’re all working towards a common goal, we’re doing it together, and we’re celebrating each other’s success as part of the greater good.

These awards are all about celebrating what's happened in the last year; what kind of developments are you expecting to see in the cloud industry in the coming year?

The use of AI in near every day solutions is rapidly increasing. While there are some slightly worrying areas of its capabilities, there are many that are truly exciting for what they can do and how they can enhance and enrich our lives in many ways. The rhythm is there, and I believe this is going to only increase in the next 12 months with some really exciting developments.

If you were to win an award yourself, perhaps for a secret talent, what would it most likely be? ​

I would like to think that my Sunday roasts are worthy of an award or two!
Alex Franklin
Modern Workplace Practice Lead
Intelogy

What do you think the biggest opportunity will be for organizations in the cloud space in 2022? What will be the biggest challenge to overcome?

The biggest opportunities coming our way, I believe, will be incorporating AI into everything we do. It’s not a silver bullet, but something organisations need to work with to ensure their wider landscape can be in harmony with the capabilities available, and plan for the future.

Everyone wants to switch on a new tool and have to work to its full potential immediately, but that often isn’t the case. With the ever-increasing deluge of information generated within organisations, it’s not just the tools that need to be smart: we do too.

By finding the balance between AI and the platforms in which it will interface there is a huge potential benefit not just for our working efficiencies, but our personal wellbeing at work and beyond. 

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