Technology leaders are expected to “do more with less” in the present business landscape, says Krishnan Kutty C, General Manager – Information Technology at Gammon Engineers and Contractors Pvt. Ltd.

Spend more time with the business, understand its pain points, and show the value addition technology can bring in

This is an exclusive interview conducted by the Editor Team of CIO News with Krishnan Kutty C, General Manager – Information Technology at Gammon Engineers and Contractors Pvt. Ltd.

How did you plan your career path to be a successful technology leader?

In the initial period of my career, the focus was on learning, i.e., understanding the business and business requirements and addressing those using technology. However, as I progressed in my career, I realised that value addition was required at different levels in the organisation.

What challenges you faced in your career path and how did you overcome them?

Resistance to change was a challenge in the early career period. By creating awareness and imparting extensive training, we helped to address this issue. However, new challenges emerged. Obsolescence of technology, internal skill shortages, cyber security, new generation expectations, and so on became new challenges. By following a proper roadmap, these issues were addressed one by one.

What are the challenges faced by technology leaders today while implementing digital technologies?

The typical challenges technology leaders face are: 1) A lack of management strategy 2) User resistance 3) Internal skill shortage 4) Resource crunch 5) Security challenges

How can technology leaders overcome the challenges they face?

• Involving management in the digital journey, especially in strategizing and monitoring the progress, will help drive the initiative better. Once the KPIs for measuring progress and success are defined and monitored by the steering team, the cascading effect will involve people at different levels.
• User education and documentation will aid in overcoming user resistance. Training and retraining periodically and creating champions at different process areas will help drive user adoption.
• Internal skill shortages are a major concern. Outsourcing the task to an expert agency will help address this. However, building internal competence by reskilling the staff is a better method.
• Getting budgets and projects done on time is a key challenge that technology leaders face. Demonstrating the business value that technology can bring will certainly help get funds sanctioned. However, technology leaders are expected to “do more with less” in the present business landscape.

Any best practices, industry trends, or advice you’d give to fellow technology leaders to help them succeed professionally?

Spend more time with the business, understand its pain points, and show the value addition technology can bring in. Demonstrate the result in numbers.

Also read: Technology that you want to build for an organisation should be business process-oriented and easy to use

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