"It is not technology that shapes the future of the enterprise, but the services it enables for the enterprise."

Ashish Pachory
CIO
Tata Teleservices Limited

Ashish has rich experience in the IT/ Telecom value chain working with leading products and services organizations in business, operations and delivery management functions. He has earned several accolades in the information security, technology innovation, data center management and environmental practices in IT and is recognized as a thought-leader in the industry.

Challenges in technology to meet enterprise needs in 2013 and expectations

The amalgamation of IP centric technologies, abundant bandwidth, proliferation of smart devices and a growing ‘hunger’ for actionable information anywhere and anytime, has resulted in the creation of the mobile enterprise which I see as the mainstay of future business and technological growth. The core IT architecture, security and authentication systems need to be transformed and while some may see this as a challenge; it’s an opportunity to reinvent the enterprise. I hope to see a lot more SCAM in 2013 and beyond (as you know, it’s just an acronym for social, cloud, analytics and mobility!). For the new- age digital enterprises this will be the new normal.

The areas in business environment where solutions do not yet exist or not up to the mark, and which if existed, would've made job easier

The communications landscape is rapidly evolving. How ready are we as technology leaders of the enterprise to embrace technological change? True, there are enough ‘cool’ solutions already, but their adoption requires agility on the part of the enterprise. Take for example big data analytics. No one can question its potential in most environments, particularly in financial institutions and telecom. Yet the architecture, tools, processes and legacy frequently have become inhibitors. This is true of most disruptive technologies. None of these come as packaged solutions. They all require very detailed planning and a migration strategy, and a readiness to accept very incremental returns over initial phase. None of these offer short- term business benefits, making it difficult for the CIO to champion their adoption.

Technology trends impacting enterprise business environment

It is not technology that shapes the future of the enterprise, but the services it enables for the enterprise. There are countless examples of great technologies that could not spawn great services. I am therefore fortunate to be part of an industry and organization that is enabling enterprise success through a host of next generation services built upon the most relevant technology platforms.

We already touched upon analytics, cloud computing, social media and enterprise mobility as the building blocks of the next generation enterprise. The key trigger for the next generation technology solutions is of course, the proliferation of data.

My roles and responsibilities as a CIO

The CIO is no longer a role centered only on technology, project execution and cost management. It is now increasingly your ability to influence people– partners, team members, but most importantly the business units– that determines your success as a CIO. With business and IT working as two- in- a- box, bringing value- added solutions to the market which is aligned to our customers’ aspirations is not hard to achieve. We are constantly seeking to adopt the best globally accepted practices and are able to get invaluable contribution through listening intently not only to our customers, but our business partners as well.

Lessons learned and advice for fellow CIOs

I am really not sure if I am qualified to give advice to the brilliant folks who are my peer CIOs, but I can certainly share learnings from my own one- and- a- half years as CIO. I began my journey as a CIO by defining a clear statement of purpose, which was simply this: IT exists to make the business succeed. If this is demonstrated in the day to day behavior of the entire IT workforce, you have already taken a major first step towards integration of IT with business. CIO is increasingly a people function. You are the thought- leader to your organization, the domain expert who knows what is round the corner. Your organization justifiably expects you to steer them through the technological maze.