Which emerging technologies are currently creating the most meaningful impact on business growth and efficiency?
In my view, the most impactful technologies today are not the loudest ones, they are the ones that quietly reduce existing mess. In a world already drowning in tools, complexity is the real tax on growth. AI is clearly front and center, but its real power shows up when it does very unglamorous things well, forecasting demand more accurately, spotting anomalies early, or taking repetitive work off people’s plates.
Platform modernisation, especially distributed, microservices-based architectures, continues to pay dividends. It forces better cost discipline, clearer ownership, and operational visibility. From a security and DPDP standpoint, modern platforms also make it easier to enforce data minimization, purpose limitation, and tighter access controls, principles that regulations now rightfully demand.
Automation is the quiet hero in all this. Whether in IT operations or security workflows, it prevents small cracks from turning into business outages or compliance headaches.
“The best technologies don’t announce themselves—they just make problems disappear before anyone has to explain them.”
Sustainable growth today comes from stable, secure, and compliant foundations that let the business move faster without accumulating invisible risk.
Jai Prakash Sharma, Executive Vice President – Technology, Info Edge India Ltd
How are AI, data analytics, and automation reshaping decision-making and operational models across organisations?
Decision-making has moved from periodic reviews to continuous awareness. As a CIO, I see observability and analytics replacing hindsight with foresight. As a CISO, I see the same capabilities helping organisations identify risk and behavioural patterns early, before they escalate into incidents or regulatory exposure.
AI does not replace judgment; it challenges it. It surfaces uncomfortable truths, exposes blind spots, and removes the comfort of guessing. Automation then ensures that decisions, once made, are executed consistently, whether that means scaling infrastructure or isolating a suspicious activity involving personal data.
The healthiest organisations treat AI like a co-pilot, not an autopilot. Humans still define intent, ethics, and accountability, especially critical under DPDP, where responsibility cannot be delegated to an algorithm.
“AI doesn’t make decisions for leaders—it simply makes weak decisions harder to defend.”
Operationally, this creates calmer environments, fewer surprises, and much less dependence on late-night heroics.
How important is cross-functional collaboration between technology and business teams in driving successful tech adoption?
From a technology and security standpoint, collaboration is the difference between adoption and abandonment. Most technology failures are not technical, they are conversational, or worse, governance failures.
When business teams bring objectives without context, or technology teams respond with solutions without understanding revenue, risk, or regulatory impact, friction is inevitable. Successful organisations align early, on outcomes, constraints, and trade-offs, including data protection obligations.
Security teams, especially in a DPDP-driven environment, must move from being perceived as blockers to being design partners. When security and privacy are built in early, controls become accelerators rather than speed bumps.
“If business and technology only meet at go-live, the real conversation started far too late.”
Shared ownership, plain language, and mutual respect drive adoption faster than any new platform ever will.
From your perspective, what aspects of digital transformation are working well today, and where do organisations still need to evolve?
Digital transformation has definitely matured. Most organisations now understand distributed architectures, segmentation, data platforms, cybersecurity basics, and, importantly, limited and purposeful data collection. There is also growing recognition that resilience, privacy, and compliance under laws like DPDP are business responsibilities, not IT checkboxes.
Where organisations still struggle is sustainability. Transformation is often treated like a project with an end date, rather than a muscle that must be exercised continuously. Legacy governance models, slow decision-making, and rigid role definitions continue to slow progress.
Another real issue is fatigue. New systems are introduced, but old processes rarely retire. Employees end up doing double the work, which quietly kills adoption.
“Digital transformation fails quietly when complexity grows faster than capability.”
The next phase demands simplification, sharper accountability, and leadership courage to let go of what no longer serves the business, or compliance expectations.
Looking ahead, which technology capabilities should leaders prioritize to remain competitive over the next few years?
Leaders should prioritise resilience over novelty. Strong data governance, scalable architectures, and embedded security and privacy controls will matter far more than chasing the latest trend.
From a CISO lens, cyber and data resilience, detect, respond, recover, and explain, will be a board-level differentiator, especially under DPDP’s accountability framework. From a CIO lens, adaptable platforms and talent models will define how quickly organizations can pivot without breaking trust.
Equally important is responsible technology use. Transparency, consent, and ethical deployment are no longer “nice to have”, they directly influence brand credibility.
“The future belongs not to the fastest adopters, but to the safest fast movers.”
Sustainable competitiveness will come from balancing speed with control, innovation with responsibility, and ambition with trust.
Enjoyed this interview? Now imagine yours. Write to:
jeevika@thefoundermedia.in
About The Author
