CIOIN

K Murali Krishna

CIO, Infosys

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K. Murali Krishna
The VP, Computers and Communications Department, Infosys Technologies, Krishna joined the company in December 1984. During his 25-year tenure, he has taken on different job roles. He established and managed Infosys' Systems Integration practice for seven years in Chicago. In October 2007, he moved into an IT executive's role for the country's second largest software service exporter.

CIO role Undertaking a job transition exercise is a tough call to make. Challenges abound, apprehensions are raised and a protracted period of uncertainty doesn't really help.

Fortunately, such a situation did not occur when I moved to head IT after spending 23 years as the head of a business unit at Infosys Technologies.

But then that wasn't the first time that I was jumping departments; a change in job profile has been a constant in my career.

I joined Infosys in December 1984. After two years, I moved to the software development stream. From there, I moved on to become an account manager. Then in 2001, a big opportunity came my way: Establishing Infosys' Systems Integration practice, a strategic business unit focused on delivering a portfolio of technology services. And this was slated to be one of the company's fastest growing units. I was transacting business in a very dynamic environment.

However, I was intrigued to see what it takes to be on the other side of the equation. When I spotted the opportunity of making this lateral move, I gave myself one year to take a decision. With this move to IT, I would complete the circle.

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In my new role, I am a hybrid CIO, not just a migrant from a business function.

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But that decision was difficult to take. I was managing a flourishing business unit and I had built the Systems Integration Practice from scratch and nurtured it for seven years. With concerted effort and painstaking research, I had developed a portfolio of services and solutions and aligned them with the market trends. The market was poised to grow at 60-80 percent year-on-year for the business unit. And the business unit was at the inflection point of its growth cycle. Handing over the reins of a thriving business unit required meticulous planning and deliberation.

Amid all this, I had to prepare myself for the transition.  After working in Chicago for 23 years and handling the business side of things, this move was going to be different. I was working directly with the customer, driving business metrics, managing a large number of people and projects. In such a situation, I was the first line of defense. Moving to an internal business enabling function was like moving to a new orbit. This was a gnawing worry at the back of my head.

But the senior leadership evinced trust in my people skills and laid my apprehensions to rest.  Today, in my new role, I am a hybrid CIO not just a migrant from a business function. And my business background helped me immensely, in terms of people management, expectation management, understanding the various department interactions and collaborations.

My ability to manage large complex projects and sensitivity to end-customer deliverables has ensured that the role of internal users is better understood. So, when the business demands something from IT, I am able to comprehend the requirements better and meet them. I've replaced clients with technology partners. And I ensure that I adopt a project-oriented approach to internal IT projects. Today, I am driving tighter IT-business alignment which is more proactive, egalitarian, participative and inclusive. And all of these best practices I have adopted from my experience on the business side. This has been my winning strategy.  

As told to Sneha Jha