Digital transformation is creating an opportunity for innovation across all industries that is nothing short of a renaissance. From retail to life sciences to banking sector, there has been a complete reinvention in products, services and experiences, as also many companies have begun the process of becoming a digital enterprise - and these have been a result of digital transformation. It is on this backdrop that this year the 10th Southern India Information Technology Fair (SIITF) was organized in Bengaluru, which was attended by industry stalwarts comprising of CIOS and VARs of the Indian ICT industry.

Themed "The Next Revolution in Enterprise Security", the event was attended by some of the most valued dignitaries which included Sridhar S, Sr. Consultant - SEMT- Government of Karnataka; G B Shaikh, CISO - NISSAN Digital; Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, M.D.& CEO - Syndicate Bank; K Alagesan, CMD - ITI Limited; NandKishore Dhomne, V.P - IT & CIO - Manipal Hospital; Manish Sinha, E.C - CIOs of India; Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, Chief Editor - VARINDIA; Krunal Patel, Sales Head, India & South Asia - TeamViewer; Senthil N, CIO - Sun Innovation Systems Pvt. Ltd; Ram Kumar Mohan, CIO - Air Works Group; Anand Managalam, CIO - Arjas Steel; N Balasubramanian, Head IT - Cloud 9 Group of Hospitals; Vivek Tyagi, Director Sales India - Western Digital Corporation and S Mohini Ratna, Editor - VARINDIA.

In his inauguration speech, Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA spoke about a recent survey with 300 CIO/CTOs, where sixty percent of the respondents said that "C-suite collaboration" is very important - making it the most important issue in our 2019 survey. "From a recent survey with 300 CIO/CTOs, sixty percent of the respondents say that “C-suite collaboration” is very important-making it the most important issue in our 2019 survey. For this both CIO and CMO alignment is required to drive the business growth when it comes to delivering the kind of digital experiences that customers demand."

The first presentation for the evening was given by Manish Sinha, E.C - CIOs of India, who spoke about the changes that are taking place in the industry, a context to set the survival strategies of CIOs.

The keynote address was given by G B Shaikh, CISO - NISSAN Digital, who touched upon the topic of 'Connected Car Cyber Security'.

The next presentation was given by K Alagesan, CMD - ITI Limited who addressed the audience on how ITI brings opportunities to the country and the corporates.

Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, M.D & CEO - Syndicate Bank took to the stage to speak on the new Digital channel. While reimagining how banking would be in a Real Time world, he said, "In a book called ‘Death of a Banker’, where the author has written that in the 19th century England, two categories of people became very powerful - Bankers and Doctors. Not because they have money but because they know everyone’s secret."

In the Corporate presentations, Vivek Tyagi, Director Sales India - Western Digital Corporation spoke about the technologies and solutions bringing newer opportunities for the partners and customers.

Krunal Patel, Sales Head, India & South Asia - TeamViewer presented the company’s perspective on how newer technologies are bringing newer opportunities.

Rahul Raj Singh, Regional Manager, South India - Extreme Networks presented his views on how his company is securing enterprises with newer opportunities.

It was finally time to recognise the "Most Promising CIOs of the Year". This category of awards that has been initiated from this year’s SIITF will be awarded to recognize the contribution of the CIOs towards the industry. These awards and recognitions are about how the CIOs are implementing technology/solutions and adopting the best practices in their respective organizations. The winners also presented a 60 seconds extempore speech while receiving the awards on stage.

The 10 Promising CIOs awarded at 2019 SIITF are - Anand Managalam, CIO- Arjas Steel; Bohitesh Misra, COO- Xiphias Software Technologies; Ashish Bansal, CIO-GSK; NandKishore Dhomne, V.P - IT & CIO - Manipal Hospital; N Balasubramanian, Head IT-Cloud 9 Group of Hospitals; Raman Pillai, CIO - Ather Energy; Ravinderpal Singh, CIO- Air Vistara; Ram Kumar Mohan, CIO- Air Works Group; Paul Raj M, GM and Head IT- Purvankara Limited and Chirag Boonlia, Group CTO - Embassy Group.