OVER THE PAST couple of years, the economic downturn has been a major topic of discussion in the corporate world. I have always viewed the slowdown as an opportunity. In this context, one of the challenges facing GMR was to increase productivity while at the same time reduce costs related to travel and communications.

While the IT team at GMR looked at many options, we were finally convinced that implementing a unified communication solution with live meeting and integrated gNET intranet portal could help us achieve our goal. The implementation resulted in improving work-life balance. Reaching across cross-functional teams became easier and systematic. This also helped GMR in creating a sound platform for collaboration and knowledge management.

The second biggest challenge facing us was the use of heterogeneous processes by the various divisions of GMR Group which were creating infrastructure in areas as diverse as energy generation, airports, highways and urban infrastructure. Lack of a uniform process across businesses posed a big challenge. The solution came from enhancement and stabilisation of SAP with Netweaver and a business intelligence dashboard on a scalable consolidated hardware platform. This translated into a seamless flow of information for decision-making across the group and has mitigated operational risks.

The third challenge facing our organisation related to change management. Efforts to build a knowledge-enabled enterprise hit a roadblock when people resist any kind of change. We met this challenge by emphasising ‘hands-on’ and ‘e-Training’ modules that helped bring about a transformation in the group to make its people and partners efficient, productive and knowledgeable.

Deploying a change management strategy is one of our targets this year. We are calling for an ‘e-overhaul’ to stay competitive and create an exemplary work culture across the group. I believe technology will continue to play a vital role in our businesses.

BY SUBBARAO HEGDE | CTO, GMR Group , THE AUTHOR IS a senior IT professional with experience in operational management and IT services consultancy gained across multiple industries.