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  • Director and Founder, Professor of Practice, Synthetic Spheres Ltd

    Q: How long have you been involved with The Open Group?

    Since 2009

    Q. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it?

    30 years in internal and external IT consultancy.

    Q: Why did your organization become a member and what does your involvement look like? What Forum did you join?
    Open Platform 3.0 Forum

    I needed a more expansive and challenging environment to drive thought leadership at an market and international level having succeeded for many years at companywide level and many customer facing engagements across many industry sectors. Joining the Cloud Computing Work Group enabled me to achieve these goals and personally develop at this level.

    Q: How has membership in The Open Group benefited you, your organization and the industry at large?

    The Open Group is unique in the ability to drive both industrial technology leadership and conversion of necessary professional standards and professionalism in personal and company conduct that I have seen in member organizations and representatives.

    Q: What contributions do you hope to bring to The Open Group?

    Help drive the Open Platform 3.0 strategy and delivery. This is a critical ecosystem engineering approach that is breaking at the moment and I believe is the next phase of industry technology development in the wider sense.

    Q: Why is it important for other organizations to join The Open Group?

    While I have seen it in good professional thought leadership in individuals both in The Open Group staff and in its members that make The Open Group; companies gain benefits in their strategic planning processes, competitive and quality of products and services when the use The Open Group to improve their structural competencies and standards that underpin the “quality of the craft” in both architecture and the value it can bring. There is a big difference in using industry solutions from actually understanding how to use solutions correctly and in knowing the difference.

    Q: What are your hobbies?

    IT, jogging, keeping fit, science, film, theatre, travel

    Q: What book are you currently reading?

    Many things

    Q. What social networks do you belong to?

    Many channels and co-presence.

    Q: Any last thoughts?



    About Mark Skilton

    Mark Skilton is co-chair of the Cloud Computing Work Group and a member of the Platform 3.0 Forum in The Open Group. He is a member of the ISO JC38 Distributed Computing Standards and an editor and author of the Cloud Credential Council Professional Cloud Solution Architect Certification.

    Mark is Professor of Practice in Information Systems Management at Warwick Business School UK and a visiting lecturer at Washington State University, Pullman, USA in Cloud Computing and Digital Innovation.