Operational Lessons, Cultural Shifts and Value Beyond the Buzzwords
In this week’s Smart Cities Council webinar, four leading voices in digital infrastructure came together to strip away labels and tackle the real-world complexities of digitalisation.
The panel featured:
- Grace de Leon - Innovation and Improvement Manager, Christchurch City Council
- Matt Gijselman - Director for Infrastructure Policy Advancement APAC, Bentley Systems
- Keri Niven - Principal at Aurecon NZ & Digital Twin Maturity Task Force Lead, Smart Cities Council
- Sam Wiffen - Founder, Reveal & Chair of the SCC Subsurface Spatial Task Force
- Moderated by Robyn Francis, Regional Lead – Asia Pacific, Smart Cities Council
From fire sensors and earthquake monitoring to the deep cultural shifts required in infrastructure environments, the panel shared both sobering and optimistic perspectives on what meaningful digitalisation really looks like.
Digitalisation: A Business Imperative, Not a Tech Initiative
“The value of digitalisation is not in question,” Robyn Francis opened, “but the path to real outcomes still trips many up, especially when inheriting legacy projects or navigating organisational resistance.”
“Digitalisation is essential,” started Sam Wiffen. “If we look at the performance of infrastructure projects and assets and all the different challenges that we've got globally to meet growth, demand and failure of utilities and infrastructure we have we have to think exponentially, and the only way we can do that is through a digital baseline.”
For Grace de Leon, the benefits of digital tools are already being realised at Christchurch City Council. “Digital tools help us deliver better outcomes for communities. It's about resilience and sustainability,” she said, citing early fire detection systems and earthquake-responsive building assessments as prime examples.
“Digital must be treated as a business activity, not a digital activity,” added Keri Niven, who emphasised that outcomes, not tools, should drive investment.
Matt Gijselman echoed this, adding: “It’s a means to an end. What that end is depends on your role - asset owner, operator, constructor - but digital helps you get there.”
Lessons from the Frontline
What happens when things go wrong? According to the panel, the answers nearly always come back to people - not technology.
“Technology alone doesn’t drive change,” said Grace. “People do.”
“Don’t overestimate digital maturity,” warned Keri. “Even among seasoned teams, capability varies. Be specific about what you want to achieve before deploying tech.”
Sam spoke candidly: “Millions have been wasted because people revert to what they know. Apathy and resistance are alive and well. We’re not learning enough from past mistakes.”
Matt added, “Resistance is often to disruption, not the tech itself. You have to meet people where they are.”
From Pilots to Practice
A recurring theme was the failure of pilot projects to scale.
Grace shared her own lesson: “Pilots stay isolated because they're treated like experiments. Design for scale from the start, even if you’re starting small. Involve the end users early.”
Sam built on this: “If you can’t connect it to the P&L, it’s unlikely to go anywhere. We have to focus less on ‘innovation theatre’ and more on operational relevance.”
Defining and Delivering Value
How do we measure success?
“For us, it’s: Did it make operations smarter, faster, safer?” said Grace. “And storytelling matters. You have to frame success not just as ‘nothing went wrong,’ but as ‘something was prevented.’”
Sam highlighted the “paradox of prevention”: “We spend big to prevent failure, but if nothing fails, was it worth it? We need synthetic baselines and better ways to measure indirect value.”
Culture, Contracts, and Data
Barriers remain - often less technical and more cultural.
“Conflicting priorities and budget constraints are major hurdles,” Grace said.
“There’s a real fear of data being misused,” added Matt. “Contracts need to reflect clear, shared data responsibilities from the start.”
Keri closed with a call for system-wide awareness: “Mapping an asset lifecycle with all parties can shift mindsets. People need to understand not just their role, but how it connects to the rest of the system.”
Where to Start?
For those at the beginning of their journey, Keri had this advice: “Start with value. What are the real problems to solve? Engage your executive early. Be specific. Small wins lead to big outcomes.”
And Grace summed it up perfectly: “Don’t treat digitalisation as a tech rollout. Treat it as a change journey.”
