Deep understanding of technology will continue to give IT its credit of enabling competitiveness for any enterprise, yet it is the responsibility of IT leaders of any organisation to remain technology fluent in this digitally fuelled age
When asked how he planned his career path to be a successful technology leader, Chellanamasivayam M, CIO, Global Infrastructure Practice at Capgemini, in an exclusive interview with CIO News, said, “For me, two attributes were pivotal to planning and leadership.” The first attribute is the ability to ensure that technology acts as a lever to solve enterprise challenges and transformation needs, and the second attribute is to be able to build consensus among stakeholders on the business-value-add with each transformation. My typical day at work starts with interactions and learning about the state-of-the-art technologies from our ecosystem of technology partners, followed by strategic planning and reviews with my team to ensure we provide competitive services to our group.
When asked about challenges he faced in his career path and how he overcame them, he said, as the saying goes, “Where There is a Will, There is a Way.” Similarly, “Where There is a Transformation, There is a Risk!” While being willing to take risk has come naturally to me over the years, it requires a significant amount of effort to gain buy-in from stakeholders to ensure that the transformation, with all its risk, is worthwhile. We overcome this challenge with layered communication to gain stakeholder buy-in and by developing basic use-cases to establish proof-of-value before proceeding with the transformation.
When asked about challenges faced by IT leaders today while implementing digital technologies, he said, “The primary challenge for a technology service leader in digital transformation is ensuring alignment between technology strategy and business strategy.” Finally, the goal of digital transformation is to add value to the business. The next challenge is to achieve the stated business value on time and within budget. We are happy to be acknowledged by our technology partners and service providers for being early adopters of cutting-edge technology among enterprises of our size and successfully delivering outcomes. To name a few, we have completed transformations for Software-Defined-Data-Centres using Hyper-Converged-Infrastructure (HCI), Global MPLS Network, Unified Communications & Collaboration Platform, and AIOps for IT Infrastructure Operations successfully.
When asked how IT leaders can overcome the challenges they face, he said, “Although technologies are complex, technological services offered based on these technologies must be straightforward and simple enough to meet end-user needs while being scalable as the business grows.”
When asked about best practices, industry trends, or advice he would like to suggest to fellow IT leaders for their successful professional journeys, he said, “Change is inevitable in the world of technology.” Hence, unlearning and new learning must be a continuous process. Understanding technological aspects in detail and integrating them with business requirements is a win-win proposition for a successful professional journey.
He highlighted:
- On Transformation: Only change if there is a value creation component built into the process.
- On People: Empower, then fully trust, your next-level leaders, and continue to invest in their education and exposure.
- On Technology: Deep understanding of technology will continue to give IT its credit of enabling competitiveness for any enterprise, yet it is the responsibility of IT leaders of any organisation to remain technology fluent in this digitally fuelled age.
- On Collaboration: Maintain contact with your customers through your sales, corporate functions, and business delivery teams to ensure that you are meeting the true and specific needs of businesses and groups.
Also read: I keep an eye on the latest technology trends
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CIO News, a proprietary of Mercadeo, produces award-winning content and resources for IT leaders across any industry through print articles and recorded video interviews on topics in the technology sector such as Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Cloud, Robotics, Cyber-security, Data, Analytics, SOC, SASE, among other technology topics
