Between the Bytes

Reflections on Technology Senate 2004

Val Souza

If you were not present at our Technology Senate event in Colombo last month, you sure missed something. Like, free notebooks and desktops, return tickets to London, all-expenses-paid holidays to choice Asian destinations, gold coins, shopping vouchers, bags, watches, T-shirts and all kinds of other fancy whatnots.

But of course that’s not the reason why almost two hundred of India’s finest CIOs and IT heads attended Asia’s largest exclusive hosted event for the CIO community—the delegates had more serious stuff on their minds.

Some of them were at TS ’04 to generously share their views on technology trends and their experiences with enterprise-wide IT deployment within their organisations—showcasing their successes (for others to emulate); and, very graciously, admitting their mistakes and pointing out possible pitfalls (for others to avoid).

Some were there to bask in the warm sunshine of recognition amongst their peers—as nominees for the prestigious Intelligent Enterprise and Security Strategist awards. Others attended for the learning—via a balanced mix of conference tracks comprising technology presentations, analyst insights, panel discussions and case studies.

Then there were those who came for the networking and peer-group interaction. For where else but at Technology Senate can Indian CIOs be assured of meeting and interacting with their contemporaries from across the country (and this time from neighbouring Sri Lanka too), all in one place, in an atmosphere that’s at once intellectually stimulating, enjoyable and relaxing.

And oh yes, regrettably, there was that handful of delegates who came along just for the free ride.

There is an oft-expressed opinion that anything free is not taken seriously. But the vast majority of those present at TS ’04 emphatically debunked that myth by their enthusiastic participation in the proceedings. Indeed, we received so many questions from the audience during the conference sessions that one of the Gartner analysts present was impressed enough to remark that he’d never seen such high levels of interaction at a conference before; we could well use the questions from the audience and responses from the speakers as the basis for an article series in our magazines, he advised.

In my close interactions with the Indian CIO community over the three days of the TS conference, some patterns began to emerge. Firstly, the term ‘CIO’ is used rather loosely and generically in India to identify that person who heads the IT setup in the organisation. Very few organisations actually differentiate between the roles of CTO and CIO, and provide for separate posts. Thus the term CIO is, by and large, an all-encompassing one, and IT heads in corporate India are forced to play multiple roles even as they remain responsible for one of the most important departments in the organisation—arguably the only one that can help the organisation maintain a sustainable competitive edge in the marketplace.

Small wonder then that many Indian CIOs are still immersed in the nitty-gritty of technology—something they have proved themselves to be rather good at. Yet few have crossed over into the hallowed environs of boardroom strategising. What stands in their way? Ironically, their very immersion in technical matters! Many Indian CIOs (or wannabes) are found wanting in interpersonal communication, leadership skills, a true understanding of the business of the organisation, and the ability to proactively leverage and align technology to business needs and the resultant competitive advantage.

Nevertheless, the transition is beginning to happen, and it is events like Technology Senate that can help smoothen the way forward. We are already aware that we need to increase that component of the TS conference dealing with IT management issues and the non-technical part of the CIO’s role. On the cards for the next Technology Senate are leadership workshops, special sessions for formal and informal delegate interaction, and, perhaps most importantly, the presence of CEOs and CFOs in the live panel discussions.

When I stated in my column a few weeks back that Express Computer and Network Magazine were taking on the new mission of helping to quicken the pace of efficient adoption of technology among large corporates and smaller enterprises in the country, it was no idle chatter. We will do this not only through more insightful, research-backed content in our magazines, but also through a series of focused IT usage surveys, more relevant events and seminars, and a host of other activities to inspire IT strategists plunge in at the deep end. Join us then.

Val Souza, Consulting Editor

valsouza@expresscomputeronline.com