The 6th annual NetApp Innovation Day, hosted with Knowledge Partner CORE Media, was a great opportunity to glean insights on trends and challenges from thought leaders in the ICT ecosystem.
Digital transformation is the need of the hour with data becoming a fundamental asset driving this shift. So how do enterprises go from being mere data survivors, employing data in isolation, to data thrivers developing new business models and revenue streams? That’s the burning question NetApp’s sixth annual Innovation Day chose to address. Held on February 22 at the ITC Maratha in Mumbai, the flagship event had engaging talks with innovators and visionaries who are leveraging technology to create long-term positive impact, enhance business value and build a credible sustainable vision.
The event kickstarted with a welcome note by Anil Valluri, President India and SAARC, NetApp, who emphasised the company’s vision to enable enterprises to change the world with data.
Next up was a keynote from Henri Richard, Executive VP WW Field and Customer Operations, NetApp, who shared perspectives gained from various markets across the globe, on how different organisations and CIOs are looking at cloud and analytics to develop business foresight and improve IT efficiency and responsiveness. Henri highlighted the power of data thrivers to drive digital transformation. So who are data thrivers? According to Henri, data thrivers treat data as fundamental asset of the company. For them data quality is priority #1. They ensure IT and business work in unison and create data maps for visibility and control. In this way they have insights on all the enterprise levers, including development. And lastly, but most importantly, data thrivers ensure data is disseminated uniformly throughout the organisation.
This was followed by an insightful panel discussion on ‘Transforming From Data Survivor to Data Thriver—What Does it Take?’ with ICT leaders who are transforming the future today. The panel, moderated by Anoop Mathur, President, CORE Media, comprised Veneeth Purushotaman, CIO, Fortis Healthcare, Sanjay Narkar, CTO, IDFC Bank, Ekhlaque Bari, Executive VP and Head IT, Max Life Insurance, Sudhir Nayar, Managing Director - Commercial Sales, Cisco, Vinod Sivaramakrishnan, Sales Leader, Network and Security Business Unit – West, VMware, and Ramanujam Komanduri, Regional Director - Sales, NetApp. The CIOs delved into how they have successfully leveraged data to transform their enterprises into data thrivers, thus improving business outcomes, increasing revenue and profits, and further enhancing customer experience.
It was then time to be inspired by Boman Irani, the Bollywood actor who has come a long way from being a survivor, waiting tables at a hotel, to thriving as an award-winning performer debuting at the age of 41! The actor who gave us such iconic characters as Dr Asthana and Viru 'Virus' Sahastrabudhhe highlighted the phrases in his transformation and showed us that the best things come to those who keep pushing the boundaries.
Raising a toast to the spirit of innovation, NetApp wrapped up the evening by conferring the NetApp Innovation Awards to forward-thinking ICT leaders who are using data to drive change and aren’t afraid to take risks when it comes to building the future.
NetApp Innovation Award Winners
Data Visionary Award: Joydeep Dutta, Executive Director and Group CTO, CDSL
Cloud Computing Innovation Award: Sanjay Narkar, CTO, IDFC Bank
Big Data Innovation Award: Nirvan Biswas, CTO, National Bulk Handling Corporation
Green IT Award: Bineet Jha, Assistant VP, NSE
Enterprise Mobility Award: Ashok Kumar Singh, Senior VP, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Startup Award: CelebratON.in
Trendsetter Award Winners:
Munish Mittal, Group Head IT and CIO, HDFC Bank
Sarath Chandra Kummamuru, CTO, Airtel Payments Bank
Gautam Mahapatra, Head IT – ERP and Data Centre, VP – CSI, Research Centre Imarat
Sughosh Nagendra, CTO, RBL Bank
Shriranga Mulay, Senior VP Engineering, Netmagic
