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“IT is not just about writing a few programs; understanding the business imperatives is equally important”
S R Balasubramanian,
Executive VP – IT & Corporate Development,
Godfrey Phillips
With over 30 years of multi-faceted experience across several organizations, SR Balasubramanian is a name that figures prominently in the CIO community of India. Currently handling dual responsibilities of Information Technology and Corporate Development as the Executive Vice President of Godfrey Phillips, Bala blends the two roles as perfectly as the strains of tobacco that go into making his company’s cigarettes. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with Sanjay Gupta, Sr. Associate Editor, Network Computing:
Career progression: A Chartered Accountant by training, Bala worked as an accountant with Indian Oil Corporation in the initial stages of his career. From 1980 to 1990 he worked with AF Ferguson as a consultant. His career aspirations were, however, better met in his two stints – the second one being close to seven years – with Hero Honda, the company where he came into his own as a leading CIO. In 2006 joined ISG Novasoft (a KK Birla Group company) as Executive Vice President and moved to his current assignment two years later. He has seen technology through the lens of a business leader and gained insights into process as well as discrete manufacturing industries.
On his current role: “My role is two-fold here: I’m looking after corporate development, which involves strategic planning. As an organization, we are working toward diversification for introducing new products and also for business planning and monitoring. This takes up almost 60% of my time; the rest 40% is spent on IT.” This is a very useful combination, says Bala, because “as an IT person I have the perspective of the business growth and plans of the company and therefore I can align IT accordingly.”
On key IT projects at Godfrey Phillips: After some hiccups last year, the company is set to implement Oracle Apps ERP, which is scheduled to be completed by September this year. The modules to be implemented in phase one are Finance and Accounts, Purchasing and Inventory. In phase two and three these will be extended to Production and Supply Chain Management.
The company is also setting up an enterprise portal and working not only on a comprehensive content management platform but also a single sign-on user-provisioning system. “We want to professionalize the entire [process of] access by people,” says Bala. The company has also declared a security policy and has a security committee comprising senior people from the management. Other initiatives include devising a document management system and migrating to Microsoft Exchange for an enterprise mailing and collaboration platform.
On insights into specific business: Buying, storing and blending tobacco for various products is a rather complex process, says Bala. “We have been trying to simplify the procedure for buying tobacco through automation.” Buying of tobacco happens only through the Tobacco Board, through auction of tobacco at certain places. The Board is now doing auctions electronically as a pilot through an e-auction platform developed by a private agency hired by the Board. Bala is actively involved in streamlining the entire process as a key member of the industry. “I have suggested some changes to them [the Board] so that if you have to bid for 200 or 300 bales of tobacco, you can do it in one go and don’t have to exercise the option countless number of times,” he says.
On working in different industries: Basically, IT people do the same work everywhere – but they need to ensure that they understand the particular industry or business they are working for, feels Bala. That the objectives of the business should be understood clearly by the technology folk is something he strongly advocates.
Management mantra: “I’ll say one should stay focused on the objective, which is to deliver a certain solution or service,” says Bala. In his opinion, IT is not just about the technology and writing a few programs – but it’s the end result of that development that’s important. “What the customer wants is what we want to deliver – which technology we deploy or how we implement it is something mundane and can be done. What is more important is to understand what the business imperatives are and how can those be delivered.”
Favorite authors: Stephen Covey, Alvin Toffler and Frederick Forsyth
Currently reading: Successful Strategy Execution by Michel Syrett
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