IT spend is directly related to business benefits

BANGALORE, INDIA:  With a veteran like Prince Azariah donning the role of a CIO at this tyre major, there's no room to apply brakes when it comes to pushing the company's growth with IT as a business enabler. In a chat with Usha Prasad of CIOL, Prince shares his vast experience.

Excerpts:

1. There is a lot of noise being made about IT spending and breakthrough implementations? Do you agree with this?

Prince Azariah: Nowadays, IT spending is directly related to business benefits. A CIO has to fully justify to the management what he is buying, how will it be used by business, and how will the business benefit by it. Since the CIO himself is a part of the top management group, it is essential that he directly speaks the language of business and respond with speed to the emerging business needs. I think there is no scope for making any noise.

2. How significant are people in the stack of a CIO's challenges?

PA: People come first, whether they are management, employees, IT implementation partners or customers. IT is now fully outward-looking. Most of the time, IT implementation is done by the business themselves, but under the CIO's control. Only the very hardcore technology implementation is done by the IT department or its outsourced partners. But the very fact that business fully trusts what the CIO is doing, speaks for itself.

3. What part of IT implementations play a more prominent role in your organization. Software, hardware or networking? Why?

PA: We always look to a solution. So, hardware, software and network are all very important. They all work in complete sync. However, networking takes a great importance, because in almost every case, we don't own it. Since we subscribe for it, bandwidth, high availability and complete security are all very important.

4. Does MRF consider IT spending as an investment or expenditure?

PA: IT spending in my company is clearly viewed as a business investment.

5. Can you cite any specific area where IT has come up as an accomplishment in your stint as a CIO?

PA: There have been many many cases where IT has come as an accomplishment, whether it was from 1985 to 1987, when I was the chief consultant to the RBI for computerization in the nationalised banks, or from 1995 to 2000 when it was my mandate to completely change the nature of IT in the GIC and subsidiaries, or now, at MRF where I have just completed a fairly ambitious SAP implementation and a complete modernization of the IT infrastructure.

6. Could you elucidate us on the strategic IT implementations that you have undertaken over the years? What are the priorities in 2008?

PA: We have successfully implemented Lotus mail and a BPR exercise in 2006 and SAP ERP in 2007. We hope to implement SCM in 2008 and CRM in 2009.

7. As a CIO what would you like to hear from vendors during the next fiscal?

PA: Mostly on SCM and CRM.

8. Going forward, what are the challenges you foresee?

PA: Technology is not a problem. Getting people to change always is; and in the end, they do change but only after a huge amount of effort from the CIO.

9. Have you taken steps to adopt Green IT.

PA: Quite a bit. I have changed all my desktops to green PCs with LCD panels. My HP server is very energy-efficient. I have a lot of work to do yet.