Defining the use case is key when deciding on tech adoption: Zensar CIO

Chief Information Officers (CIOs) face numerous challenges, from creating effective digital transformation strategies to maintaining enterprise security, in order to advance their organisations. In an exclusive conversation with TechCircle, Vikas Vijaywargiya, CIO of Indian IT services firm Zensar Technologies, shared insights on how the company is leveraging technology to improve stakeholder and employee satisfaction, drive innovation, and cultivate an engineering mindset for a seamless user experience. He also explained why defining the use case is most important before making decision on technology adoption. Edited excerpts:
 
Which technologies are you most excited about for your organisation and sector?

The most significant change this fiscal year was the complete overhaul of our enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite, integrating Oracle Fusion and adopting a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. This marks a major milestone in our continuous improvement journey. Our focus in FY 2023-24 was on enhancing stakeholder and employee experience, fostering excellence, and adopting an engineering mindset to provide a user-friendly experience. Incorporating Oracle products has been the most impactful change in our multi-hybrid environment.
 
Is your company's tech budget growing this year?

This year has seen a significant increase due to the introduction of a completely new platform and our growing investment in technology. However, this growth aims to simplify processes and enhance operational efficiency. We must strike a balance by automating mundane tasks and low-hanging fruits to a greater extent. Simultaneously, we must ensure that technological advancements align with the introduction of new products in the market or our own development efforts to guarantee scalability, proper data governance, and enhanced security measures. With the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), it is crucial that we invest in the appropriate directions to stay on track.
 
Which areas and technologies will be your focus this year and why?

Generative AI is a high priority for us. We need to explore how we can leverage its benefits. It is essential to have defined use cases for any technology we adopt to ensure it adds value. When we began our digital transformation journey a few years ago, we consolidated standalone data sets to establish a single source of truth, enabling us to build analytics on top of the integrated data. Defining use cases is crucial for successful technology adoption.
 
What is your tech team like? Are you planning to expand by hiring new talent or upskilling existing team members?

Talent building is a key aspect of our organisation. We focus on reskilling existing talent to upskill them in areas like cybersecurity, data analytics, and Gen AI. This year, we plan to invest in upskilling our team in data analytics and cybersecurity, while ensuring proper infrastructure investments.
 
On a scale of one to ten, where would you place your organisation in terms of its digital transformation journey overall?

I would say we are at around an 8 or 9. Our focus this year is on simplification to streamline systems and encourage employee adoption for maximum benefits. Our digital transformation journey consisted of three steps: providing a seamless user experience, integrating standalone applications and systems, and establishing a single source of truth for ERP to enable effective data governance and security controls.
 
When looking at competitor benchmarking, are there any key technology areas where you see a need to increase activity?

Technology is a facilitator that must align with specific use cases. Defining the use case is crucial before deciding on technology adoption. Simplifying technology is essential for maintaining and securing multiple platforms. Focus should be on specific goals, such as improving talent supply chain and fulfillment, to guide technology decisions.
 
What is your tech vision for the next 2-3 years?

My tech vision is centred on enhancing productivity and efficiency through simplification. Experience, engineering and engagement will continue to be key drivers for our growth and customer satisfaction.