ET CIO, India: Cognizant’s SVP & Global CIO Discusses the Role of CIO

“I believe that the CIOs should really try to understand the business problems they are solving and the benefits that can be derived,” says Rakesh Bhardwaj. “For that to happen, the CIOs focus should not really be on tools and technology alone, but instead on the consumer, and in this case, the associates.” Excerpts:

“I like being a CIO because...

I believe the CIO is the best salesperson within the company given the uniqueness of the role. The role provides opportunity to see things within the business from a holistic perspective.

What's the 'next big thing' in your industry vertical?

Over the past two decades we have seen bunch of cool things. I believe AI will have profound and meaningful impact not only on our business but on the economic, social, and psychological fronts, and in the way we live.

One thing that IT departments should do better.

Digitization increasingly is blurring the lines between IT and rest of the business, and there has to be more engagement across the enterprise. The challenge for IT is to expand the networks and redefine existing relationships to collectively lead the enterprise toward digitally-enabled growth.”

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