S. K. Mishra

"The need of the hour is a CIO who is equally comfortable in discussing database tables, server specs as well as balance sheets and income statements."

S. K. Mishra

DMD & CIO

State Bank of India

Mishra is a veteran and has a tenure of 36 years in State Bank of India. He has held a number of important positions, including those of Deputy General Manager – Haryana, Module, Business Head (Government Banking Unit), Head (Cross Selling) Corporate Centre and many more.

Challenges in technology to meet enterprise needs in 2013 and expectations

Cloud computing is an integral part of IT and will increasingly look to evolve in ways that demonstrate value in a cloud world. But in financial organizations like Banks, several key concerns that must be addressed before cloud computing becomes a viable solution, include data privacy, data and systems security, contingency planning and liability/ risk management concerns.

State Bank, during the year 2009 took the initiative to technologically upgrade its 22 sponsored Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) by migrating them to state-of-the-art Core Banking System (CBS) Platform. Though computerization of RRBs was implemented on ASP model, the project has essential attributes of cloud computing. The CBS platform on hosted model has today become one of the largest in India, similar to cloud computing models.

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

That has to be Information Security. The Bank has implemented a robust IT policy and Information System Security policy which are in line with international best practices. These policies are reviewed periodically and suitably strengthened in order to address emerging threats. Regular security drills and employee awareness programs are conducted to ensure security and increase awareness among the staff. The Bank is also among the forerunners in the process of implementing the new RBI Guidelines for the banking sector in this area. No longer is strong security an option– it’s a requirement for all organizations to protect their intellectual and physical capital, customer identities and society at large.

Technology trends impacting enterprise business environment

BIG DATA: Big data enables higher offer and cross sell acceptance rates for banks that improve customer profitability, satisfaction and retention.
SOCIAL MEDIA: The Bank is presently exploring creation of official pages on various social media sites. State Bank of India has also launched “SBI Aspirations” which is a social media forum for its employees. Employees of the Bank can share their ideas, enhance their knowledge, find the solutions of the critical problems and express their views freely.
MOBILITY SOLUTIONS: We will soon see the financial sector embracing the mobile channel not just for banking but rather in all transactions including wealth, investments and financial products & services. That is where the future of banking lies.

My roles and responsibilities as a CIO

In this ever evolving and technology driven banking industry, it is a paramount need for the CIOs to be updated with the latest technological developments. The scenario earlier was not so demanding. However, today the need of the hour is a CIO who is equally comfortable in discussing database tables, server specs as well as balance sheets and income statements.

Lessons learned and advice for fellow CIOs

Customer is the King! Customers are taking greater control of their banking relationships. They are switching banks, changing their behaviour and demanding improvements. Banks need to re-evaluate their assumptions and fundamentally change how they interact with their customers. Giving more power to customers may feel uncomfortable- BUT DO BANKS HAVE A CHOICE? In the long run, banks that do so will position themselves for success in the future.