Technological transformation is almost never central to most traditional or outdated organizations, but rather one of the many considerations faced by business leaders seeking to modernize. Without its inclusion in the overall strategic intentions of the IT business it could become just a back office or a separate department that is expected to just keep the light on.

The lack of an out-of-definition strategy makes the CIO’s job much more difficult. We spoke with leading Indian CIOs from traditional businesses to learn about the challenges they faced and the strategies they used to overcome them.

IT is not seen as transformational

Tata Motors (formerly Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company) was founded in 1945, long before the digital revolution. Such traditional companies have witnessed a wave of growth, not necessarily using technology. Therefore, senior management often believed that what was successful in the past would be successful in the future.

“Expecting growth in the absence of IT is becoming part of management’s belief system,” says Jagdish Belwal, who served as CIO at Tata Motors from 2009 to 2017.

“Most of my time is spent on aggressive marketing, channel creation, etc. The IT department is not seen as transformational and therefore not given importance. ”

With a low level of trust in internal IT, Tata Motors tended to rely heavily on outsourcing. Applications were transferred to one partner and infrastructure to another, while the CIO simply had to sign technology partner accounts.

Belwal decided to change the image of the company’s resident IT department by showcasing its transformational capabilities.

Each of the company’s seven manufacturing facilities had thousands of precision instruments such as calipers, torque wrenches and mechanical sensors. After using the tools for a certain period, they had to be sent to a calibration agency for certification, the logistics of which were massive.

“ERP had no solution to cope with this task. Initially, we came up with a system based on MS Excel to run the entire calibration process at a specific enterprise. It was later transformed into a web solution to be used everywhere. This has not only improved compliance, but also increased productivity by 30%, ”says Belval.

“As the destructive power of technology is now visible, management has begun to see IT in a new light. The IT department has moved from the back office to the front and to the center. ”

Bottlenecks due to technological sophistication, limited skills

Kapil Mahajan joined Safexpress, a logistics company born in the pre-digital era of the 90s, as a director of information campaigns at a time when it did not have CRM, mobile applications or even a customer portal.

“On the one hand, no advanced solutions were applied, and on the other hand, there were n the numbers of the software on which it runs n the amount of equipment that leads to the proliferation and complexity of technology. There was no differentiated architecture, and the IT team was proficient in a particular technology stack, which included Java, .NET, and Oracle EBS internal systems, ”says Mahajan.

While management understood the importance of technology in business, the challenge for Mahajan came from a departmental culture that lacked self-confidence.

“The technology was not only outdated, but the IT team was unsure and hesitant to change it,” he says.

Mahajan solved this problem by retaining staff and retraining them.

“As an IT director, I’ve made them feel safe by protecting their jobs and alleviating fears that technology will replace them. Their skills have been improved and they have been involved in collaboratively creating new versions of applications, not just in managing old ones. It gave them a sense of ownership, pushed them to do even better, ”he says.

Mahajan went on to modernize technological architecture. “From having no apps in the cloud for the next four to five years, to becoming its native, Safexpress has come a long way. Today, our ERP runs on microservices and Kubernetes, we have a CI-CD as part of our common depots, and we use Force.com to create customized uses, ”he says.

“Gaining the trust of all stakeholders and involving everyone on the path to digital technology has played a crucial role. The results of these efforts were clearly visible. Over the next five years, the company achieved its goal of expanding its geographical reach to 30,000 pincodes on its own infrastructure. ”

The gap between business and IT

Modern and / or born digital companies are adopting the CI-CD model to ensure continuous development. This is not the case with older companies, which often approach IT from project to project with project-oriented interaction.

Technology leaders believe that a conventional channel of communication can close this gap between business and technology. To ensure continuous interaction with business leaders, some companies have set up a special transformation office.

Atul Govil of India Glycols, a chemical manufacturing company founded in 1983, is one such IT leader who serves as Chief Transformation Officer and Technology Manager.

“The Transformation Officer role was created to work together to create value with business leaders and inform them about the potential of modern technology through regular interactions,” says Haville.

However, interaction with business is not just about technology. “Under the auspices of transformation, technology is just one lever, not the only lever,” he said. “If we continue to talk about technology, business will not be interested. To get the attention of business leaders, the key is to identify business opportunities. Next will be the use of IT to create a business. ”

By adopting this strategy, Govil has successfully implemented several technological solutions to optimize business functions such as manufacturing and logistics.

According to Arvin Sivaromakrishnan, CIO of Apollo Hospital, this may seem difficult for the CIO to join the old company, but it should not prevent him or her from accepting the challenge.

“Heritage is not a bad word. In the healthcare vertical, I would like to be known by my pedigree, ”Sivaramakrishnan says.

“A 40-year-old hospital would definitely have an advantage over a six-month hospital. It is important for the CIO to first understand the organization’s structure, costs, and goals. In pursuing digital transformation, the CIO should not accelerate from zero to 100. IT leaders need to find a common ground with business stakeholders. ”

As a farewell tip for CIOs, Mahajan says that “carrying out a digital transformation in an aging company can be incredible”.

“If you have to embark on a transformation, let it come from the leadership, not from you. Understand where the company is now and where it wants to go. The ideal approach would be to figure out the next step to this, using a technology stack that complements it. ”