WEB 3.0, METAVERSE & CHATGPT WILL BE DISRUPTORS

Atanu Pramanic, COO & VP (IT), RPSG Ventures Ltd (A RP-Sanjiv Goenka company), speaks about the changing role of the CIO, the CDO, the future state of our readiness post-Covid and of course emerging tech like ChatGPT. Edited excerpts from a video interview.

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Can you speak about the changing role of the CIO? 
Conventionally we know the CIO’s role was set up as a support function. Initially the CIO was supposed to provide laptops, desktops, and connectivity. Gradually applications and then ERP came into the fold. Off late, maybe 5-7 back, when the digitization and then digitalization concepts started coming in, businesses started looking at IT from a different angle.

The “value addition” of the IT function within an organization started changing. From a support function to an enabling function to probably business partner is what IT teams are aspiring to be within an organization (if they’re already not there).

A digital business cannot be achieved with either IT driving it, or some partners driving it without the active participation of the business and the users. Digital business or digitalization is a kind of a concept where people, process, technology must take part together. That’s where actual value comes from. That’s what businesses are looking at more and more. The IT functions are kind of optimizing and reskilling themselves to provide this value to the business.

What about the CDO versus the CIO?
It's a bit sensitive. My friends across the organization are either CIOS or CDOS or CTOS. But I believe that ultimately, it's one function.

When I passed out of college there was just the mechanical engineering department. Now if you got to the same university, within mechanical engineering itself, they have introduced so many specializations and they all have become departments: Like power engineering, printing engineering etc.