John Jagadesh J
GM - CIT
Kirloskar Electric Company
Insights of Your Company and its IT Straregies
We, at Kirloskar Electric Company, are into manufacturing of Electric Motors, Transformers, Switch-Gears, DG Sets etc. Our Plants are predominantly based in Karnataka except for couple of them in Pune and Kolkata. Our turnover for the year 2011-12 is about Rs.875crores.
We started our IT strategy with consolidation of information across various Plants. For this, we implemented SAP ERP and rolled-out to all Plants. Now consolidation happens automatically.
We are also looking into DLP, DR & Business Continuity solutions and BI solutions.
Views on Cloud and Virtualization
Cloud offers great flexibility and collaborative process. It can also be a cost-saver when OPEX model is opted for. But information security is a big question which requires to be addressed especially in a collaborative cloud environment. Public Cloud is ideal for start-ups or Companies which do not have IT infrastructure. Companies which already have good IT infrastructure & resource can opt for private or Hybrid cloud.
Virtualization is a logical requirement for cloud computing. It can be used to optimize Hardware utilization, for better scalability, resource sharing and high availability.
Keeping Pace with New Technologies
From Technical Magazines, Websites like CIO.in, Dynamic CIO, Product Websites and Seminars.
Team Size
Team size is 15.
Biggest Pain Point
Not able to provide data to the Management on real-time basis.
Technology to Address Pain Points
Yes, definitely technology will help address this point. By implementing a BI solution, I expect to satisfy most of the current Business requirements.
Slowdown Impact on IT
Yes, during slowdown the first thing that gets cut is the IT budget. Hence, one is compelled to innovate to keep the show going without compromising on the quality of service.
Role of Cloud
I don’t believe that cloud plays an important role in securing the information. I would rather say that the information is out there somewhere in the cloud at the mercy of the service provider.
Expenses on IT
We do not have any pre-fixed budget. We spend purely on need basis.
Expansion of IT Budget
Not as of yet.
IT Leader - Manager or Technologist
It depends on the type of Industry where the IT leader is working. If it is an IT product company then he/she has to be a technologist first. If it is other industries then he / she should be a manager first.
ROI on Technological Investment
ROI on technological investment has not been calculated so far.
Anticipating New Technologies
A good & mature mobility solution and a Cloud solution embedded with DLP features.
Relationship Between a CIO and a CEO
Relationship of a CIO with CEO should be more of strategic in nature, where CIO should be able clearly understand Business requirement & the Market requirement. He should be able to give IT solutions to the Business problems.
Advice or Suggestions
Do not jump into the bandwagon saying me too before evaluating and adopting new technologies. Also, adopt such technologies which bring benefit to the business both in the short term as well as long term.
