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'IT is a value centre, not a profit centre'

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE, INDIA: Excerpts from interview with Manikkam Subramaniam, IT-head, Henkel Adhesives Technologies India Pvt Ltd.

CIOL: What are the major technology investments at your enterprise?

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Subramaniam: Taking into account the criticality of our business operation, we are thinking about private cloud adoption, though there are security and ownership concerns. We have already invested a huge amount in IT infrastructure. We, however, would like to salvage our investment before going for any cloud-based investment.

Server virtualization is another area where we are going to invest in, which would help in cost saving. Being a global company, we need to look at the feasibility of virtualization at various locations. We are in talks with vendors and are evaluating various aspects of virtualization.

Currently, we have outsourced our IT services to a third party for supporting us on issues of applications like mailing system as well as some non-critical application. We have also shifted a few of our non-critical servers to a third part data centre.

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Mobile computing is another area we want to explore. It will help increase our business operations. As per our policy, social networking is not adopted yet.

CIOL: What are your future plans and strategies?

Subramaniam: We are focusing on managing the Enterprise Procurement and supply chain availability requirements for better business agility and resilience. This will continue to be the key drivers for our improved BCM and IT disaster recovery modernization. BCM integration with enterprise risk management functions will support these two organizational objectives.

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The 2012 predictions regarding data management describe that our organizations will meet the challenges created by the explosion of information and new business demands in an environment where both resources and budgets are constrained.

Mobile and wireless technologies continue to be our top priorities for this year. It is no longer a stand-alone system, since it is being used to support many other technologies.

Data storage environments combining cloud storage and existing storage is our future plan. For us, the notion of moving all data onto the cloud is not feasible. However, continuously expanding data storage is fueling the need for more capacity.

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The benefits of cloud storage are umpteen. It enables us to access to a secure, limitless pool of storage capacity that never requires upgrade/replacement. It also reduces capital expense. In combination with on-premise storage infrastructure, our company expects to gain tremendous agility without increasing on-premise footprint. We are also looking for auto-tiering technologies to seamlessly combine cloud and on-premise environments in a way that works with existing applications.

Disaster recovery based on Cloud is another viable option for us in 2012. Our company always needs disaster recovery and business continuity, and we have always had to rely on dedicated replicated infrastructure at an offsite location to recover from physical disaster.

We are also planning to move certain business application entirely to the cloud which will help us save costs. We are also evaluating tools to make this migration viable. .

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CIOL: Areas of interest from the recent tech-breakthroughs?

Subramaniam: Cloud computing: We are looking forward to cloud computing which till date was restricted to firms who want to reduce their IT infrastructure outlay. Now, companies as well as individuals can utilize the full benefits of cloud computing. Individuals would be able to access stream movies, TV shows, music, video games, newspapers, magazines and books on demand from a distant computer server( the cloud) to Internet-connected portables or home computing devices.

Tech companies like Apple and Comcast have already jumped onto the consumer cloud computing bandwagon. Comcast is already testing a beta version of its Fancast Xfinity, the no-additional cost TV service.

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Energy-efficient OLED lighting: The OLED technology has been slowly making its way into displays, thus reducing energy consumption while delivering better brightness and clarity. Now, lighting too will get the OLED treatment to end up being 75 per cent more energy-efficient. This breakthrough will help reduce the ultra thin lights' energy consumption drastically. With this technology in place, it is now possible for us to keep the lights on while being able to get the natural light. We do not have to instruct people to turn off lights when you don't need them.

Gesture sensing on LCD touch screens: Time to say good bye to old keypads, and it is not just the replacement of keypads to touch screens. Soon, mobile devices will respond to the gestures of the user as well. Gesture-sensing is a technology that could soon find its way into mobile devices. To do all this and more, an LCD screen has been simulated behind which an array of optical sensors sit. These optical sensors are key to sensing gestures that make this hot new technology tick.

CIOL: Advice to peers in terms of lessons, mistakes or challenges you experienced?

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Subramaniam: With the current concept of shared services, it is very essential to demonstrate and consider the merits of contracting for a managed services vis-a-vis investing resources in constructing internal IT infrastructure.

Senior management is increasingly challenging the thinking on proprietary solution with regards to capital expenses. Organisations often underestimate the investment required for ongoing governance, process transition and shared services enablement. The ongoing operational cost for items such as communication, electricity, transportation in low cost location and labor cost increase may also be overlooked.

CIOL: IT as a competitive differentiator/innovator/business value centre at your organization - How?

Subramaniam: In our company, IT offers a compelling set of benefits from improved relationships to driving inefficiencies and costs from the business. Ultimately, IT is not a cost or profit centre, but a value centre that plays a pivotal role in the path of success. For us, IT is responsive and agile that provides the scalability to the business to quickly adjust to changes delivering the required value and flexible cost points.

CIOL: Anything else you feel worth sharing?

Subramaniam: While market watchers are divided on the necessity of CIOs today, it is agreed that executives responsible for any organisation’s IT strategy have to be aware of new obligations and attributes to help the company achieve its business goals and keep themselves out of the chopping block.

I feel there are five tips that help an IT Head stay relevant. Have cloud confidence, demonstrate business clout, be innovative and current, possess the ability of intergenerational management and exhibit vigilance.