V S PARTHASARATHY

Group CFO & Group CIO, Mahindra & Mahindra

The US $19 billion global federation of companies. Famous for its rugged and reliable automobiles

oing Digital - what does it mean to you and your organization?

Digital technology has disrupted the world we know. Even the end user wants everything on their palm – be it tracking the delivery of their goods or making financial decisions. Mahindra has a vision, we call it as Vision 2021, to be among the 50 most globally admired brands by 2021. One of the strategies that we follow to ensure that we are on the right path, is to embark on a Digital Journey of our own.

I believe the organization that practices ICE principle i.e. companies that Innovate and adapt in the face of Climate change and create Experiential commerce for users will survive the digital wave. Move “from IT to DT” is the right way to win against the digital disruption in one’s business. As Group CIO, I always say this to my IT team – “Focus on 3E i.e. Enable, Enhance and Engender.” While it is necessary to enable and enhance business outcomes, it is the Engender activity that will bring the business to the forefront of being Digital.

What is your Digital Transformation plan, strategy and the deliverables you expect or already coming in?

Mahindra is a group of more than 150 companies. For Born Digital companies like Trringo, SmartShift, M2All etc. we consider “Platform as a Base” strategy. Their business model is driven by the digital platform.

On the other hand, most of the companies in the group still follow the offline mode of operating business. For such businesses, our focus is to provide a wholesome digital experience to end users which I call it as “Experiential Commerce”. To do so, one of the strategy we are focused on is “Mobile First” strategy. On the employee front, we have MeConnect, a bouquet of 80+ apps, to bring the employees onto a digital platform, on customer front various businesses operate their mobile application to cater to customer need. Let’s take our automotive business as an example. To digitally enhance the customer experience, we have initiatives like WithYouHamesha, SyouV.com, CaarChat application etc.

THE ONLY WAY, AN ORGANIZATION CAN SURVIVE AND THRIVE IN THIS DIGITALLY DISRUPTED WORLD IS EITHER BY “BEING DIGITAL” OR “BORN DIGITAL”