Gyan Pandey, Head Digital/CDO at Voltas Limited (A TATA Enterprise) discusses the differences between various CXO capabilities and how ChatGPT can disrupt the industry and its pitfalls.Edited excerpt from video interview
Changes in the role of the CIO-CDO and the future…
Predicting the future is very difficult, but there has been an evolution and the terms CIO, CDO, and to some extent CTO have been used interchangeably. All these roles have a lot in common.
Everyone knows that if I take the position of CIO, it’s a more business-centric role. Our focus is on leveraging technology to help businesses grow and process excellence. It optimizes IT costs as well as other features. Digital is something that started to get talked about in the last five to seven years. Every CIO has embarked on a digital transformation journey.
Some industries have CISO-specific roles that are mandated by law. For example, the financial sector. But more often than not, CIOs wear that hat. In many scenarios the Chief Digital Officer is also played by the CIO. When it comes to CIOs, digital means automating processes end-to-end.
Cybersecurity has become a boardroom issue. Every company today has a top 10 cybersecurity risk, regardless of whether they have experienced a security incident.
I think having a Chief Digital Officer becomes much more important if an organization is focused on B2C. CDO goes beyond traditional IT. He is obsessed with innovation and business strategy.
The changes brought about by the Covid crisis…
Covid is not a very good story when talking about the social, human or healthcare aspects. We have all lost some close and dear people. But every time there is a problem, there is an opportunity for improvement. In that respect, I think we as a country, IT as a function of different sectors and companies are embracing technology. The result has been a transformation across the industry.
Even change management, which has been very challenging from a technology perspective for any organization, quickly focused on the business survival aspect from the board level.
There were challenges on the health care front, lack of medicines, doctors and beds. Fortunately, a transformation has taken place on that as well. We have moved to telemedicine, a collaborative approach in patient interaction, delivering more pharmacy medications in a much shorter time.
The same team that would have taken years to implement a particular change or project did it in a matter of months. It was also a big success. Overall, as a country, we have made a giant leap forward in terms of digital transformation.
At the same time, there was a lot of learning because we accelerated too much on terrain that wasn’t built for it yet, like IT infrastructure and people’s consciousness. We still have a long way to go.
Cybersecurity has become a boardroom issue. Every company today has a top 10 cybersecurity risk, regardless of whether they have experienced a security incident.
Effect of ChatGPT…
ChatGPT completely swept our thought process. We are still thinking and visualizing what it will affect. It’s not the first of its kind. AI, ML, and DL already existed, but ChatGPT was mature when it was released. Looking at its primitive use as a conversational search, ask a question and you’ll get the best answer for anything through 2021.
It’s amazing. I am talking about ethics. I’m talking about legal compliance. At the same time, looking at its potential, it undoubtedly offers great opportunities in terms of automating business processes and certain skilled jobs. It can be used for piracy and data theft. But as it evolves, so do the regulations.
Everyone talks about digital. But they still feel that digital is about IT and only IT should do it. But as CIOs take on the role of digital transformation, they need to ensure that digital capabilities aren’t just for IT.
If one ChatGPT can create such ripples across industry and society, imagine similar AI or DL-enabled solutions emerging in various fields. What use cases are possible and how will it change your life?
I totally believe Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google) when he said that the Internet has revolutionized the world and the way we do things. Today, the power of AI is so immense that we cannot even comprehend how much change it will bring.
Advice for new CIOs…
Once you’ve assumed the CIO role, you don’t have to adopt and build a new technology stack within your organization. First, you need to understand what your business is and what IT can help you with.
Do your housework properly. Organize the process. Focus on governance aspects. We need to focus more on how we support corporate processes.
Everyone talks about digital. But they still feel that digital is about IT and only IT should do it. But if CIOs are to play the role of digital transformation, they need to ensure that digital capabilities are not just in IT, not just in some vendors, but in every function and every department.
Make sure cybersecurity is part of the process and not a special or separate project. Everyone in your company should be aware of this.
Technology in isolation has no value. Technology is very flexible. Once you’ve defined your business process on paper, with all exceptions, it’s easy to implement it in technology. But bringing the technology in and trying to fit it into the process is a nightmare of failures.
Last but not least I would say always keep an eye on what you are spending and what you are getting. , responsible for ensuring that all business functions are performed in a cost-effective manner!
(Watch the full video interview on the Dataquest India YouTube channel)
Gyan Pandey
Head of Digital/CDO, Voltas Limited
sunilr@cybermedia.co.in
