Apurva Dalal, CIO at Adani Green Energy, encapsulates the CIO’s journey towards becoming a pivotal figure in managing IT infrastructure and contributing to strategic decision-making at the highest levels of the organization.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) stand at the forefront, navigating through challenges and setting benchmarks for innovation and adaptation. The role of the CIO has transcended technical expertise, merging into strategic business leadership. As technology reshapes industries, a CIO’s journey encapsulates this transformation’s essence. Excerpts.
In an interaction with CIO&Leader Apurva Dalal, CIO at Adani Green Energy, delves into the transformative journey of a CIO, emphasizing the evolution from technical roles to strategic leadership within the corporate hierarchy. He outlines key milestones and achievements, particularly highlighting the significant shift towards cloud computing and integrating digital transformation strategies.
CIO,
Adani Green Energy
CIO&Leader: What are the key milestones and achievements, and what were the major challenges you faced as CIO?
Apurva Dalal: The role of a CIO has evolved to be strategic, often involving board-level discussions about technology and digital transformation. Key milestones include the evolution from floppy disks to micro SSDs, the rise of ERP systems, and building teams from scratch. A significant milestone was moving 80% of our workload from on-premise to the cloud, addressing security, data management, and integration challenges. Another key development is leveraging IoT and data lakes to handle massive amounts of data for quick business decisions.
CIO&Leader: How do you build and lead high-performing IT teams?
Apurva Dalal: I believe in a flat structure and active engagement. I work alongside my team, understanding their work and helping them find efficient solutions. I encourage upskilling and lead by example, earning certifications myself. This approach fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Open communication and collaboration are crucial, ensuring everyone feels reachable and valued.
CIO&Leader: What strategies do you use for vendor management?
Apurva Dalal: We treat vendors as partners, emphasizing collaboration over mere contractual obligations. We ensure adherence to SLAs but also work together to solve problems, recognizing that our success is intertwined. We include vendors in team-building exercises to foster a sense of belonging and mutual accountability. While maintaining strict requirements, we balance this with a supportive partnership approach.
CIO&Leader: Which tech invention has amused you the most?
Apurva Dalal: The internet has been transformative, evolving from simple email communication to revolutionizing e-commerce and information access. Mobile technology has changed banking, and social media platforms have created new income streams. Cloud technology offers flexibility for organizations, especially during peak times like annual sales. Emerging technologies like big data, analytics, and blockchain are promising, though blockchain adoption is still evolving. Generative AI and ML will revolutionize many tasks, making them more efficient, such as summarizing large documents or analyzing historical bidding data. The key is to upskill and leverage these technologies for efficiency and innovation.