Modernizing Public Services Without Breaking Trust | Episode 1
1. Introduction to Dyson Transformation & Challenges & Opportunities in Public Transport?
2. From Paper to Real-Time Data with No-Code:
3. Data-Driven Decision Making & Automation
4. User-centric Innovation & Experiences
& Empowering Operators to Innovators
5. The Importance of Adoption In Technology
6. C-Suite Engagement & Trust Building
7. Internal Branding & User Adoption
8. Innovation & Safety Enhancements
9. Architecture & IT Governance in Public Transit
10. High Performance Technology Teams
Introduction to Dyson Transformation
Challenges & Opportunities in Public Transport?
Most CIOs inherit 6 to 12-month IT backlogs. Mark – CIO of Dyson Group promised to start delivering in 2 weeks sprints; used no-code + ERP + field empathy to make it real.
When Mark Brown joined Dyson Group as CIO, he walked into a classic enterprise scenario:
✔ Oracle JD Edwards as the ERP
✔ Oracle Integration Cloud as middleware
✔ proprietary operational systems running in silos
✔ safety + compliance + regulatory constraints
✔ a multi-year backlog of projects
✔ no unified transformation owner
But instead of requesting more budget, more developers, or multi-year cycles, Mark declared a different mandate: “Don’t give me more dollars – just give me 2 week sprints” The boardroom couldn’t believe it. The industry didn’t expect it. And the delivery model had to change dramatically for it to work.
WHAT ENABLED THE SHIFT
Mark brought in a CIO playbook rooted in:
✓ people, process, technology (in that order)
✓ field immersion: riding buses, shadowing drivers, working workshops
✓ architecture-first mindset: leverage before replace
✓ no-code as the rapid app delivery layer
✓ iteration over perfection (2-week demos vs year-long releases)
This eliminated the “Software Development Death Cycle” in favor of empowered subject-matter experts and faster business feedback loops.
WHY NO-CODE MATTERED
No-code allowed the IT team to:
✔ build apps without long dev cycles
✔ expose ERP data without custom code
✔ unify systems without rip-and-replace
✔ deliver visible wins quickly
✔ involve SMEs directly in shaping solutions
The first quick wins created trust, then momentum: the currency of transformation.
From Paper to Real-Time Data with No-Code:
Transforming a ‘Data Rich, Information Poor’ Enterprise
What happens when a business is data rich but information poor? CIO Mark Brown shares how a paper-heavy operations environment turned into a real-time digital enterprise using a combination of ERP, integration, and no-code tooling without rip-and-replace.
When Mark joined Dyson’s, he inherited one of the most manual environments he had ever seen. Paper forms, handwritten workflows, multi-vendor vehicle systems, and manual handoffs were the norm across finance and operations.
The core stack included:
✔ JDE as the primary ERP
✔ TIMS as the bus operations platform
✔ Multiple in-vehicle vendors (telematics, CCTV, payments, safety, comms)
✔ Hosted in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure with OIC integration components
✔ And newly introduced no-code platforms to accelerate app delivery
Despite having lots of data, the business couldn’t access real information fast enough. As Mark puts it, it was: “Data rich, information poor.”
By combining existing ERP investments with no-code apps for data capture and workflow, the team digitized paper processes, integrated operational systems, and achieved 90% real-time data capture in under 8 months.
Data-Driven Decision Making & Automation
Enterprises are shifting from asking “Can we build this?” to “What’s the best path to build it?”
This conversation breaks down how CIOs and innovation leaders are enabling high-performance technology teams through architecture, prioritization, AI and no-code platforms.
User-centric Innovation & Experiences
Transforming Operators into Innovators
Enterprises are shifting from asking “Can we build this?” to “What’s the best path to build it?”
This conversation breaks down how CIOs and innovation leaders are enabling high-performance technology teams through architecture, prioritization, AI and no-code platforms.
The Biggest Problem in Public Transit is NOT Innovation
It's Adoption
Most enterprises don’t fail because of tools; they fail because of culture, architecture and pace of adoption.
In this episode, we discuss how no-code + architecture + co-creation enable 2-week iteration cycles that replace year-long software projects.
When the CIO instantly “gets it,” everything changes.
In this conversation, Ali and Mark explore the deeper layer of transformation, not just technology, but how architecture, metadata, and co-creation reshape how enterprises innovate.
Despite already having “all the right tools” and top vendors, the missing piece was:
→ a master architecture to connect the dots
→ a metadata mindset, not just app-by-app thinking
→ a co-creation model between IT & SMEs
→ a no-code platform to accelerate iteration
Ali describes the classic shift from the old Software Development Lifecycle which he refers to as Software Development Death Cycle – multi-year projects with slow feedback and frustrated business users.
Mark’s business adopted a different model:
✔ 2-week show-and-share cycles
✔ iterative, fluid no-code delivery
✔ stakeholders at the center
✔ culture that follows CIO ownership
The result: speed + alignment + empowerment without abandoning compliance or architecture.
C-Suite Engagement & Trust Building in Public Transit
What happens when a CIO promises to modernize without asking for new budget?
In this conversation, Mark Brown shares how his team delivered self-funded modernization, 20% cost reduction, and 40% productivity gains in just 12 months.
When Mark stepped into the CIO role, he became the fourth consecutive CIO who promised modernization. This time the strategy stuck, but not because of big spend or years of custom development.
Instead, the team:
✓ shut down 5–6 legacy systems
✓ reused budget instead of requesting more
✓ shifted from external consultants to in-house analysts
✓ delivered apps faster (2-week cycle expectations)
✓ saved money while increasing adoption
✓ exposed clean data for self-service analytics
By eliminating waste and repurposing spend, modernization became self-funding; earning trust from the C-suite and delighting operational end-users.
Internal Branding & User Adoption
Enterprises are shifting from asking “Can we build this?” to “What’s the best path to build it?”
This conversation breaks down how CIOs and innovation leaders are enabling high-performance technology teams through architecture, prioritization, AI and no-code platforms.
Innovation & Safety Enhancements
Enterprises are shifting from asking “Can we build this?” to “What’s the best path to build it?”
This conversation breaks down how CIOs and innovation leaders are enabling high-performance technology teams through architecture, prioritization, AI and no-code platforms.
Architecture & Governance in IT for Public Transit
Public Transit is embracing no-code platforms, but tools alone don’t create transformation.
In this conversation, we break down how architecture, governance, and prioritization unlock real innovation, without sacrificing security or compliance.
Customers safer. Drivers submitting requests more easily. Operations more efficient. And executives trusting the data and decisions behind the scenes.
But as CIO Mark Brown explains, the secret wasn’t “just using a tool.” It was: ✓ getting the architecture right
✓ getting the data right
✓ setting up governance & prioritization
✓ leveraging no-code apps for speed
✓ letting IT own the foundation and SMEs own the problems
As Mark puts it: “An application isn’t going to save your business. It’s the entire architecture.”
Once security and data integrity were in place, no-code platforms enabled fast turnaround, but with governance, not chaos.
Ideas flowed into an architecture review group where business impact was scored, prioritized, and filtered. This avoided the classic failure mode of building “cool” apps that serve 5 users and instead delivered apps that served 200.
High Performance Technology Teams
Enterprises are shifting from asking “Can we build this?” to “What’s the best path to build it?”
This conversation breaks down how CIOs and innovation leaders are enabling high-performance technology teams through architecture, prioritization, AI and No-Code platforms.
In this clip, Mark Brown shares how their technology organization evolved into what he calls a high-performance innovation group capable of tackling almost any business challenge. “It’s no longer a question of can we do it, it’s a question of which path is best.”
We discuss:
● High-performance enterprise architecture
● CIO-level prioritization models
● Building innovation functions inside the business
● Leveraging AI to accelerate app creation
● No-code + AI platforms for enterprise apps
● Buying vs building for time-to-value
● Matching tools to business architecture
● How technology teams scale without slowing down
This clip is part of the Innovation Agility Podcast, where we explore how modern enterprises democratize innovation and deliver outcomes faster.
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