IT Organizations in the Digital Era

IT ORGANIZATIONS IN THE DIGITAL ERA
We are also observing that applications
relevant to the business are moving from the
CIO’s portfolio into the business’ portfolio.
Cloud and mobility are going to develop
hand-in-hand as opposed to in isolation of each
other. I foresee a significant reduction in capital
and operating expenditure and I anticipate
that current spending on IT infrastructure and
operations will reduce by more than 30 per cent
by 2020.
...only 70 per cent of
today’s workforce will
be relevant by 2020.
I believe that three things are likely to create
the most profound impact on the IT services
industry. Firstly, 80 per cent of all incremental
spending on IT will be in digital services.
Secondly, there will be a 20 per cent decline
in traditional applications management and
infrastructure services annuity spend. Thirdly,
only 70 per cent of today’s workforce will be
relevant by 2020.
Today’s challenge is different. Robust attackers
are scaling up with incredible speed, inserting
themselves artfully between you and your
customers and zeroing-in on lucrative valuechain
segments.
Digitization will lower entry barriers, causing
long-established boundaries between sectors
to tumble. At the same time, the ‘plug and play’
nature of digital assets causes value chains to
disaggregate, creating openings for focused,
fast-moving competitors.
For traditional IT companies to be able to
address the challenges posed by product
companies and start-ups they need to focus
on two factors. Firstly agility (speed of response,
change and quality) is most valued as it reduces
layers in development to increase agility;
for example, DevOps integrates the traditional
software development and testing functions.
Test teams will be removed as developers
undertake both functions and in some cases
deliver support as well. Secondly, rapid
connection with customers and turnaround
time for fixing issues is essential.
The basics of business have not changed over
the last few centuries. While enterprises have
become more sensitive to people and our planet
in addition to profit, the aim is always to improve
margins by bringing in increased productivity,
efficiency and optimization while keeping
operational costs low.
CONCLUSION
It has been 137 years since Edison prophetically
lit up his lawn. Lights have gone on, servers have
booted up, and reality has gone virtual. This time
connection will illuminate the world, lives will be
lived more brightly, business will be transformed
and cities will become networks. Once again,
the deciding factor between those who thrive
and those who are left behind will be their
ability to recognize the significance of something
seemingly as simple as a light bulb switching on.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
‘CP’ GURNANI is the Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer of Tech Mahindra
and serves on the boards of several other
companies. An accomplished business leader
with extensive international experience, CP
helped lead Tech Mahindra’s transformation
journey, where he contributed significantly to
the company’s strategy and philosophy. His
inimitable style of leadership combined with
his sharp focus on customer experience has
helped Tech Mahindra to emerge as one of the
leading providers of IT Services and Telecom
Solutions to the global telecom ecosystem.
Prior to joining Tech Mahindra, CP was the
Chief Operating Officer and a co-founder of
Perot Systems India Limited. He received a
Chemical Engineering degree from the
National Institute of Technology, Rourkela.
CP takes keen interest in community work and
was nominated by Ernst and Young for the
Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007.
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