DSIJ Mindshare

Cover Story- Interviews (15-19)

Sunil Mahale 
MD & Vice President, Nutanix Technologies India

"Digital India certainly boosted cloud computing industry"

As the ways to do business is evolving across the globe, how do you see the role of technology? 

For any business to succeed, several factors come into play, including accurate analysis, right technology and vision. Research in the last two decades shows organisations that invest in technology to be innovative have proven their staying power, consistently demonstrating their growth with increased market share, financial figures and overall competitiveness.

Information technology enables organisations to access and analyse specific data, provide tools that can solve complex problems in a timely manner and plan a scalable business without having to invest handsomely upfront. In the modern digital age, when cloud computing plays a large part in enabling businesses to build a global presence, manage and monitor virtual offices across the world, IT is all-encompassing.

Do you see spends on technology and related entries increasing in the next three to five years? By how much percentage? 

Technology is now an integral part in running businesses, be it small, medium, large as well as the government departments. Today, even the smaller organisations are realizing the need for better operational efficiency with faster speed, better total cost of ownership (TOC) and more flexibility to grow whenever the timing is right. We can expect an increase in technology spends, however, one must remember that today customers are better informed and they need value for their money.

What will be new innovations to change the way of working for various industries?

Every year futurists, analysts, and consultants across the world do a deep dive on the year gone by and then identify the top trends that will make the biggest impact in the coming year. Fintech revolution, augmented reality, the cyber battlefront, millennial power, online marketplaces have seen an upswing. 2016 saw Fintech market revenues double and the explosion of augmented reality with global Pokémon GO mania. Next year, we expect augmented reality to play a more prominent role in B2B applications. On the cyber battlefront, governments and corporations would face increasing cyber security and cyber policy challenges. Lastly, Digital India has certainly given a boost to the cloud computing industry.

Aditya Dhillon - Head of Operation, Talwalkars Better Value Fitness

"There is going to be significant uptick in the amount of tech in the coming years"

As the ways to do business is evolving across the globe, how do you see the role of technology in fitness?

Technology is impacting lives favourably across every industry, and with increased focus on data, fitness has experienced similar trends. From aggregator and experience sites like Fitternity or Growfitter increasing member service and easing the journey of fitness centre discovery and experience, to a dependence on online wallets and electronic payment patterns, to wearable technology that is recording activity levels, sleep patterns and possibly medical information, we are seeing technology across all aspects of our business. 

How much technology does a company like Talwalkars use for its daily operations at the gymnasium centres?

Talwalkars has been investing heavily in this aspect of our business. We have made advances with a new updated user-friendly website to allow a better user experience. We have partnered with every major e-wallet to ease transaction ability and capacity. We have developed member-based apps to help and monitor member workouts. We use beacons and push notifications to gauge member usage, tailor member communications and have also invested in Growfitter, our online gym portal that aggregates and allows discovery of fitness centres, studios and alternate fitness models through their website and app. 

Do you see more potential for the usage of technology in the fitness industry? 

The ceiling on how much tech can impact fitness is unimaginable. Currently, advances in technology are happening so fast, it becomes difficult to digest, understand and customise offerings to suit a brand or product. We feel there is going to be a significant uptick in the amount of tech, not to mention how it is used, in the coming years. We, as market leaders, believe this gives us a front row seat to maximising member engagement, customising their workout experiences and, finally, offer them not only better fitness, but also a better, richer, deeper appreciation for a well-lived life.

Dinesh Garg
Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, TTK Prestige

"Savvy companies with customer-centric innovations will keep moving forward"

As the ways to do business is evolving across the globe, how do you see the role of technology?

The role of technology is an integral part of any business. Consumers are incredibly tech-savvy and are big on products and services that add value to their lives. Companies that fail to adapt to technology and innovate consistently will be left behind. The savvy ones, along with continuous customer-centric innovations will keep moving forward and reap rewards. Companies have now got to realise the importance of technology not only from a services and products perspective, but also from a customer engagement point of view. Also, the company needs to be superlative on business intelligence to ensure accurate business processes, on-time data analysis, real-time competition mappings to have an edge in today’s highly competitive business environments. 

How is TTK Prestige focusing on adoption of new technology to carry out its business operations?

Safety and health of our customers and durability of all our products is a core value at TTK Prestige. The brand heavily invests in technology to come out with innovative and exciting products that can add value to the lives of the consumers. Understanding the needs of the techsavvy and evolved Indian consumer is paramount for a brand to stay relevant these days. Despite being a company steeped in history with a 61-year-old legacy, TTK Prestige has understood the needs of the modern consumer and has evolved into a brand by placing the emphasis on innovation. Products like the microwave pressure cooker, vacuum cleaner-cum-floor polisher, air fryer, Hobtop, India’s first convertible gas stove, and the most recent Stunner 4 zone builtin induction cooktop demonstrate the brand’s commitment to innovation and ensures that the Indian homemaker will benefit either from an aesthetic, time saving and utility or health perspective. 

What are the new technologies TTK is planning?

The company is continuously looking out for innovation in products, marketing, manufacturing and business process through future-ready technology. We have factories across India in strategic locations with state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities and latest machinery meeting world standards. All factories are in advanced automated stage and have won various international awards like TPM, Idea, just to name a few. New products would be in the space of making the life of today’s homemaker easier. Integration of apps with future kitchen appliances is on the cards.

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Chandrahas Panigrahi
CMO and Business Director, Acer India

"Fusion of technologies is blurring lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres"

As the ways to do business is evolving across the globe, how do you see the role of technology? 

We are currently standing at the brim of technological revolution, which is going to alter the way we live, work and relate to one another. Almost every day in our lives, we come across some new technology which affects our lives. Over the years, mankind has witnessed industrial revolution which has changed the course of how businesses functioned. Now a fourth industrial revolution is building on the third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century.

It is characterised by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres. Few years back, computers used to be a big thing and today we have smart watches which facilitate more than half of our work. Manual labour has been almost reduced to zero with the help of technology and very soon robots will replace the bare minimum work that was left for humans to do. Already, artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us, from self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest. Impressive progress has been made in AI in recent years, driven by exponential increases in computing power and by the availability of vast amounts of data, from software used to discover new drugs to algorithms used to predict our cultural interests. Businesses have roped on to these evolving techniques which are going to benefit them in the long run. We at Acer are constantly on the run for new innovation, making sure that our customers do not lose out on the latest and most happening technology that is being offered.

How is adoption of technology changing dynamics of business in this competitive environment?

Remember the traditional office full of clutter? Offices no longer look that way by the grace of technology. Heaps of files have been replaced by a single device which can automatically store tonnes of information. Businesses no longer have to depend on pure manual labour to get the job done. In this century, what we are witnessing at the moment is automation or robotic process automation of jobs. It first began from automation of tasks, then the focus shifted to automation of data centre operations and, finally, to automating an entire process.

 Mostly, technology is beneficial and businesses should try to counter the negatives in order to find the beneficial impact in its adoption. Constant improvement and having a well equipped tech team can change the future of a business. Neither technology nor the disruption that comes with it is an exogenous force over which humans have no control. All of us are responsible for guiding its evolution, in the decisions we make on a daily basis as citizens, consumers, employees and investors. 

What is the focus area of Acer when it comes to providing technologies to Indian entrepreneurs/ corporates

Acer was one of the first few companies to realise the importance of transforming itself into a ‘Technology First’ business. The basic premise of the company is to create meaningful innovations – beyond mere creation of new technologies and solutions – that enable enterprises to do more, do better and do faster in a simple but powerful manner. Over the years, Acer has traversed numerous, diverse horizons. Take sports, for instance. The company has established several successful and path-breaking technology partnerships with some of the biggest sporting events and teams. 

The credit goes to Acer for introducing the world’s first PC-based management system for a major international sporting event, i.e. 13th Asian Games in 1998. Acer has always been a technology vendor that has been ahead of the curve and has moved beyond just being a computing-only brand. Its brand philosophy of ‘Breaking barriers between people and technology’ and its strategy of ‘progressive design’ is constantly bringing to life leading edge engineering and design powered by R&D that resonates with changing consumer behaviours. For instance, Acer is facilitating gamers with leading edge technology that is proven and reliable, considerably improving their experience, with their Predator series of laptops. Recently, the world’s thinnest laptop, Swift 7 was released and along with it the world’s thinnest convertible, Spin 3. We at Acer constantly strive to provide our customers with the best of technological innovations which would guarantee brand loyalty and, at the same time, not disappoint their expectations.

"Technology is beneficial and businesses should try to counter the negatives in order to find the beneficial impact in its adoption "


Sanjay Sharma
Head - Technology, Innovation & Customer Fulfilment, RBL Bank

"Banking thriving with tech innovations"

As the ways to do business are evolving across the globe: what according to you is the role of technology? 

As time has evolved, the technology has become the peak enabler for the system. Technology is evolving from the past 20 years. Earlier technology was the only support structure and was used for back office work. After that industry started making use of evolved technology as some sort of enabler for improving efficiency. Today, it is the value generator. Most of the Fortune 500 companies across the globe have not benefited from physical work and have lost their position; and only technology related companies have been able to maintain their position. Ola, Uber, Flipkart and other ecommerce companies are classic examples. In Banking industry, technology has transitioned from its back office status to customer centric initiatives, giving touch points to customers. Today, the banks are selling technology related products. In the digital world, banks create products using technology that has evolved. 

City Union Bank has launched Lakshmi Robot, in Chennai branch. How it would impact banking space and customers?

The banking sector is thriving with the technology innovation and more recently the fintech world too. Banks are the ones who are exploring new areas and new products using the new emerging technology. The bank like us, RBL Bank is using technology that emphasises on block chain, remittance products, and one that is helpful in improving the supply chain. There are banks that are investing into artificial intelligence. We are not in a position to evaluate RoI for these kind of robotic investments in the banking sector. RBL Bank is not planning to launch robots in future. Banking sector is trying to be more user friendly by launching robots with the help of artificial intelligence but success will be a prolonged affair. 

There are various areas where banks are focusing on vi check bond, machine and big data. RBL Bank is focusing on various areas and technology based products. We are the first bank to launch open banking and API banking which is like open banking for the customers. There is interaction with the services of other banks that we have interconnected with using the technology. Partnership led, RBL Bank is focusing on innovation. There are some technologies that will take time to mature and will evolve in future

Do you see spending on technology and related entities increasing in next three to five years?If yes, by what percentage?

The technology is helping every industry including the financial industry also, preparing them for the time to come. We are spending a lot of money for creating new products with the help of technology and innovation. As we go forward, the spending percentage for technology will keep growing in future. Though it will not increase in absolute terms. 

RBL Bank is growing by more than 45 per cent CAGR in last five years. How do you think technology is helping the bank to grow at a tremendous pace? 

RBL Bank has a network of more than 200 branches and 400 ATMs. We have other channels such as mobile banking and internet banking. To become a significant player from the technology perspective, one should have a strong distribution network. Partnership led, RBL Bank has a large partnership network, which will help us to write down the technology platforms and extend world class services. RBL Bank is making optimum use of the evolved technology, carving its own unparalleled niche as the country navigates through unchartered territories. 

"We are the first bank to launch open banking and API banking which is like open banking for the customers"

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