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Bijay Khaitan
Bijay Khaitan
Head-IT,Adonis
Electronic
s
Insight of My Company and its IT Strategies
Our  company is engaged in the business of providing after sales service to customers of electronic products and home appliances such as LCD,CTV,Washing Machines, Microwave, AC Etc. Our customer profile includes corporate companies, dealers, distributors and home buyers. We have large network of service centres across the length and bredth of the country. We are equipped with large team of technicians, engineers specialized in servicing and repairs of electronic goods. We are maintaining inventory of spare parts, accessories etc across 39 Branches and 51 depos located in different parts of the country.

We have in place Web based CRM which is used to register customer complaints online through call centre. The calls are routed to nearest service centre depending upon where the customer is located.

The complaints are allocated to service engineers depending upon the skillsets of the technician.

The Technician then prints the job sheet on computer and visits the customer with prior appointments. The technician carries along with him necessary spare parts required to fix the problem. The complaint is then closed. The cash collected is then deposited with local Branch.

Since CRM is online, tracking of call registration, call allocation, Appointments, visits, and status of complaint is monitored online.

Our I.T. strategy is to integrate I.T. with business so that our service level is maintained as per the standards set. Through I.T. , company is in a position to maintain service level, minimize stock level of spare parts and at the same time ensure that spare parts are available as and when required.

Views on new technologies
Cloud computing is integral to Business in view of diverse locations of business units.

It is very economical in terms of cost of connectivity and at the same time  offers online business information at different locations.

Resources to Keep Updated with Latest Technologies
Read Technical journals, attend to seminars, surf net etc.

Team Size
My Team consists of 7 people with 1 DBA, 2 Assistant Managers, 4 developrs and testers.
Fast depleting profit margin in view of stiff competition.

Biggest Pain Point
Fast depleting profit margin in view of stiff competition.

Technology to Address Pain Points
Yes, of course. I am of firm opinion that I.T. will bail the company out of this difficult situation.
I have taken number of steps to identify leakages in revenue generation in consultation with business managers and have chalked out action plan to build in checks and balances in the system.

Slowdown Impact on IT Innovation
Investment in Technology is a big challenge in economic slowdown.  CEO’s are reluctant to invest in I.T.

Cost cutting takes precedence over investment. Emphasis is more on how to increase profitability through cost cutting rather than increase in revenue through investment.

Challenges Faced
Information security is of prime concern in cloud computing environment because of security threats.
Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness among Business community on  the threat perception.

Disaster Recovery and Business continuity plan must be in place to protect Business in the event of Dataloss due to virus attack or any other reason.

Adoption of Cloud Policy
We have formulated detailed cloud policy so as to prevent misuse of data.

Role of Cloud
Firewall is generally placed between web server and application server to identify authorized user before allowing him to access application server.

IT Leader – Manager First or Technologist First: He should be a manager first.
 
ROI on the Technology: 30-40%

Relationship Between CIOs and CEOs
CIO and CEO has to work hand in hand. CEO develops Business strategy keeping in mind long term and short term goals of the company and CIO develops I.T. strategy to align it with business objectives.

Advice/ Suggestion
CIO must develop skills to understand business, identify pain areas and use I.T. to address pain areas. He should be more business centric and less  I.T. Centric.



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