In latest conversations with CIOs, many have emphasised how way more strategic and business-oriented their roles have turn out to be. With that context, I had a novel alternative to interview a newly appointed CIO and get a glimpse of what these pressures appear to be in observe.
Janardhan Santhanam, named CIO of Tata Consultancy Companies (TCS) in July, has constructed his profession throughout the Tata Group. He started at Tata Motors, moved into consulting at TCS, then shifted into IT via expertise growth and transformation roles earlier than taking over the CIO function.Â
He joined me for our IT Leaders Quick-5 interview. Right here, he talks concerning the applied sciences driving enterprise worth at this time, why he believes a heavy give attention to proofs of idea (POCs) can hinder progress, how TCS is coaching workers for the age of AI — and which headlines have grabbed his consideration currently.Â
Janardhan Santhanam, CIO, Tata Consultancy Companies
Tech MVP: What’s the one expertise, course of or instrument that was your MVP this week for delivering enterprise worth?
It’s laborious to pick. All our purposes should begin with a concrete enterprise goal. Proper now, it will be our making our LLMs ship worth. We’ve finished this for HR and finance and are actually going after broader enterprise transformation.Â
As a big group, we use AI hackathons to assist us floor and consider alternatives systematically. We’ve had low-code instruments for a while, however agentic AI modifications every part.Â
The Onerous-Gained Lesson: What’s probably the most beneficial lesson or shock setback you intend to work on this week?
There are just a few factors. As broadly reported, doing plenty of pilots and POCs just isn’t a successful technique. You should not begin work with a POC. As an alternative, we pursue a PTP, a path to manufacturing. Our objective is to ship worth rapidly. I agree with Geoffrey Moore in “Zone to Win“: organizations should commit high-value applied sciences to the “transformation zone” Â Â and push them into manufacturing, the place they will drive actual impression.
The Expertise Precedence: What ability, cultural issue or AI-related shift are you prioritizing to maintain your staff aggressive?
We’re shifting from a standard tech technique to an enterprise reimagination technique — one constructed round an AI-first tradition. A core a part of this shift is our hackathon program, which helps groups discover and validate new AI-driven concepts. As a result of AI brokers can now make selections, organizations should put together their knowledge and put money into the foundational work required to help them.Â
We’re additionally targeted on constructing the correct mindset: encouraging individuals to work with AI, recasting roles so AI turns into a energy, and serving to workers see it as an enabler slightly than a risk. To help this, we have invested closely in coaching — 6,500 individuals have already accomplished AI coaching. We offer time for reskilling and hands-on labs. Most significantly, we reward studying as a lot as supply, via mechanisms like grade modifications and different incentives. Sensible organizations incentivize studying, not penalize it.
The Weekly Sign: What information story, market shift or world occasion exterior your workplace grabbed your consideration this week?
Peter Thiel dropping his Nvidia funding was noteworthy, however the larger story for me is the shift towards AI-first methods throughout the trade. Low-code course of platforms like ServiceNow are leaning in, and Google’s Gemini Enterprise is pushing issues even additional.
The Weekend Recharge: What are you at the moment studying, listening to or watching that serves as a psychological refresh?
I keep present by listening to the most recent podcasts, studying considerably on AI and expertise, finishing formal coursework, and attending a choose set of conferences.Â
