CIOIN

Shreekant Mokashi

Group Chief-IS, Tata Steel

---

Shreekant Mokashi
The Chief of Group Information Services, Tata Steel, Mokashi is responsible for all IT services of the group. He takes care of delivery of services, projects, infrastructure, security and applications across the Tata Steel. He is actively engaged in driving th use of IT in business process improvement. He has been developing IT solutions for Tata Steel for over 25 years.

There are always two extremes to a sourcing strategy. Some organizations outsource completely and run a very lean IT organization while others run everything in-house leading to a rather large and unmanageable team. But a smart team is one, we figured, that is neither too lean nor too heavy.

At our operations here in India, we have taken a balanced approach. We have outsourced our infrastructure services while the application development and maintenance is handled by the in-house IT team.
As a principle, we outsource routine work or technology that we have already mastered. We take the help of consultants wherever there are opportunities to improve and this helps us develop our in-house skills. The internal team, then, is in overall command of technology.
The IT team works with the users to develop new solutions for  business processes. In doing so, the it develops domain knowledge, learns about the best practices and this helps the IT team to communicate in business language.

This approach helps build an IT team that acts as a vital link between users and technology. It is extremely important for the IT team to build trust with users which gives the users confidence that their requirements will get appropriately translated into technical solutions.
IT services play a vital role in keeping the organization abreast  of the latest technology and helps the business take appropriate decisions. In this process, IT also plays a crucial role in keeping the organization and the technology providers in sync.

Also,  there is an inherent understanding in the team that IT needs to create business value at moderate or low cost.

"

CIOs must partner with their HR departments to sytematically and effectively develop their team's skills.

"

In order to do this effectively, we have teams with different skills within
IT. We have adapted the SFIA (skills framework for the information age) framework for IT skills assessment and the APQC's (an organization that provides process and performance improvement) framework for mapping domain knowledge.

These frameworks also help us in determining the demand for technical and domain knowledge based on projects in hand. Against these frameworks, we identify skill gaps at the organization level. These gaps along with individual aspirations become the basis for individual development plans.

To do the above systematically and effectively, the active involvement of the HR team is essential. CIOs must partner with their HR departments to execute such initiatives successfully.
A team thus developed is capable of providing thought leadership to the business and motivate itself to provide an orchestrated performance. This, in turn, builds an IT strategy which is aligned with the business strategy.

As told to Anup Varier