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Executive Conversation

Paul Abraham COO, IndusInd Bank

IndusInd Bank, Chief Operating Officer : Paul Abraham

Interview by Rajendra chaudhary

Paul Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, IndusInd Bank shares his views on the role of IT at the bank and how it helps sustain the growth momentum for IndusInd, in a conversation with Rajendra Chaudhary.

How do you view the role of IT at IndusInd?

IT is central to our business and at IndusInd, we look at it in two key ways. One is, of course from a facilitation point of view as it provides us with the platform necessary to conduct our day-to-day business operations. The other view is slightly more strategic, and we use IT extensively to find, engage, and service our customers. We leverage the intelligence it gives us to improve internal efficiencies, improve customer service levels and even explore new business opportunities.

What according to you have been some of marquee IT projects that have had a considerable impact on the business operations?

Although there have been many such initiatives over the years, but there are two relatively new ones that have benefited us tremendously. One of them involved the deployment of a document and workflow management system across all our branches spread throughout the country. Implemented a couple of years back, the project not only centralized the document management activity, but also enabled us to offer the same service levels to all our customers, everywhere.

The other initiative involves the vehicle finance side of our business, for which we recently launched a supply chain portal that allows all the participants viz. automobile companies, suppliers and dealers, and us to come together. It’s a huge customer engagement piece for us since it has allowed us to move from a simple cash management activity to supply chain management type of an activity involving the manufacturer, the distributors, and the financier (that’s us) to remain connected with each other at all times.

How do you evaluate an IT project? What are some of the key parameters that you employ?

There are two aspects to that. One is a purely administrative piece wherein we follow a pre-defined, structured process for supporting or subverting any IT initiative. There is an investment committee, to which one has to approach and submit the business case for the initiative. Our view is that the initiative should either increase revenue or decrease costs or at least bring in some sort of customer delight if nothing else. One of these three things must happen as a result of any project.

The other thing that we do is approach all IT undertakings in a phased manner, and invest in them not all at once, but incrementally. Meaning, we will only release the funds for the second phase, if we believe that all the defined objectives of the first phase of the project have been met completely. This not only allows us to have better control over the project, but also lends us the ability to pull the plug and cut our losses before it’s too late.

What’s the level of “executive involvement” that exists in the IT affairs?

Well, the IT steering committee is chaired by the CEO himself. I act as the facilitating chair, but the head of the committee is the CEO. He takes an active interest in all the projects and is usually aware of most of the things.

Is IT function involved and accounted for when strategizing on important business plans? At what stage?

Yes, it is. Today IT touches pretty much every aspect of our business, and therefore is always a part of any new strategy or action. Sure, it facilitates it all and helps us manage the the show, but in the recent years we have seen it play an even greater role in our business, whether in terms of bringing in new product offerings, generating new revenue streams or giving us a competitive edge. As far as the question as to a what stage do we involve IT, it entirely depends on the need and what the strategy demands.

rajendra.c@expressindia.com