Eminent CIO's Of India 2026

Positioning IT as a Catalyst for Value and Resilience

 

Harsh Arora
Head IT - Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals

 

Ensuring IT investments maximize value and resilience requires treating technology as a strategic driver rather than an operational expense, balancing short-term performance with long-term adaptability. Key strategies include aligning IT roadmaps with business objectives, prioritizing platform-centric investments over point solutions, and embedding cybersecurity as a core component rather than an afterthought.

 

STRATEGIES FOR MAXIMIZING IT VALUE
Align IT with Business Goals: Establish a common strategic objective between business and technology leaders. IT initiatives must be mapped directly to revenue growth, cost reduction, or operational efficiency.

Platform-First Investing: Move away from fragmented point solutions. Invest in integrated, scalable, and interoperable cloud, data, and AI platforms that reduce operational complexity and increase adaptability.

Adopt Agile & Phased Implementation: Break large projects into smaller, manageable, and incremental phases (pilot programs) to deliver value sooner, gather feedback, and avoid large-scale project failures.

Establish Strong Governance & Accountability: Define clear roles, responsibilities, and success metrics (KPIs) for projects, including naming business sponsors to ensure technology delivers on the promised business case.

Focus on User Experience (XLA): Shift from purely technical Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) that measure the actual end-user or customer experience, ensuring technology improves engagement rather than creating friction.

 

ENSURING IT RESILIENCE
Build a Secure Digital Foundation: Modernize IT infrastructure to include multi-layered cybersecurity—such as zero-trust architecture and automated threat detection—from the beginning.

Implement Cloud-First & Hybrid Strategies: Utilize multi-cloud models to diversify risk, avoid vendor lock-in, and enhance scalability. Edge computing can also strengthen resilience by bringing processing closer to the user. Prioritize Data Sovereignty: Adopt hybrid or regional cloud solutions to ensure compliance with data regulations (DPDP, GDPR) and protect against geopolitical risks.

Invest in Talent & Digital Skills: Resilience depends on a strong digital core supported by human skill. Invest in upskilling employees to work effectively with new AI and automation tools.

Strengthen Networks: Proactively manage vendor risk and create redundant, flexible systems (e.g., alternative supply chains, backup systems) to maintain operations during technical failures or external disruptions.