Dr Karippur Nanda Kumar: Facilitating Digital Transformation through Applied Research

ICT field needs applied research to drive improvement for the welfare of society

SP Jain School of Global Management is an Australian business school providing modern, relevant, and practical global business education. With campuses in the dynamic business hubs of Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Sydney, SP Jain Global is renowned for its multi-city undergraduate and postgraduate programs as well as doctoral, executive, and short-term online programs. For its flagship Global MBA program, the B-School has been ranked by multiple reputed international publications such Forbes, Times Higher Education- Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and The Economist.

S P Jain Global is registered as an Institute of Higher Education by the Australian Government's Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). Upon graduation, students receive a degree conferred by SP Jain School of Global Management, Australia. The B-School is registered as a Private Education Institute (PEI) by the Committee for Private Education (CPE), Singapore, and permitted by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Government of Dubai, UAE.

An Ardent Leader with Outstanding Contributions

Dr. Karippur Nanda Kumar works as Professor of Information Technology at SP Jain School of Global Management, Singapore. Karippur is responsible for teaching applied business research and industry collaborations in the areas of technology management and digital business across SP Jain campuses in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and Sydney. The eminent teacher is actively involved in applied research in areas such as ICT policies, digital leadership, enterprise digital transformation, digital supply networks, and innovation management. Karippur holds a Master's and a Ph.D., from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. In 2018, he has been conferred as a Fellow of the Singapore Computer Society for outstanding contributions and the advancement of the tech profession.

One-of-a-Kind Experiences to Grab Opportunities

Karippur has over 30 years of experience as a leader and scholar-practitioner in the regional ICT industry. He was involved in developing several national ICT Master plans for over two decades in Singapore and rolled out several national collaborative initiatives successfully for ICT talent development in partnership with leading industry players, associations, and leading universities of Singapore. His long years of experience have provided considerable opportunities to work with the decision-makers and senior management of local and overseas government agencies, universities, research institutes, MNCs, local enterprises, and industry associations. The institutions and organizations have helped him to gain insights into the needs and gaps in talent development versus the industry needs.

Karippur has been a strong believer in nurturing the culture of creating self-help groups and professional development communities to benefit the industry and society. For example, in the past, he and the team have collaborated to organize IT Conclave events that foster collaborative knowledge creation through applied research, sharing of case studies, and best practices at Mumbai, Dubai, Singapore, and Sydney in partnership with Singapore Computer Society, Australian Computer Society, and NASSCOM, India.

Harmonizing Efforts with Challenges

Karippur remembers that he kick-started his career in the industry as a tech professional. In the initial years, he has worked on diverse tech roles such as systems analyst, IT architect, IT project manager, and executive consultant prior to multiple leadership roles. Continuous upgrading of tech skills as well as building business domain skills and leadership skills are critical for success in this global industry and there were very limited opportunities those days for acquiring these skills. It was also not easy in those days to build and expand one's professional network and gain benefits from mentorship from seniors.

Effective Strategies for Collaboration

Karippur considers the importance of understanding the role and impact of digital transformation on customer experience in developing a clear strategy in this area in the first place. He adds that then, it is possible to accelerate the development of smarter and digitally connected products and services with an agile approach. It is also important to assess the governance issues and work toward establishing a digital governance framework to accelerate organization-wide collaboration for innovative product development.

Co-Creating Modern Solutions with Disruptive Technologies

Karippur states that the increasing awareness of digital transformation across Asia is putting a spotlight on how organizations think of innovation, leadership, and related practices. The pace of transformation has accelerated, especially in this COVID-19 pandemic era. But digital transformation requires a reimagining of business practices to derive maximum value from digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of things (IoT), big data, and cybersecurity. It is about envisioning how organizations bring together data, people, and processes to provide relevant and personalized services to their customers and sustain a competitive advantage in the digital world. He adds that leaders' ability to co-create and drive a vision that is clear and meaningful for the organization's digital transformation is critical. Leaders need to have the ability to accurately sense environmental change including potential shifts in technology, competition, and customers. Leaders today need to be natural collaborators who proactively connect and collaborate with partners and key stakeholders for innovative digital business ideas and opportunities.

Simplifying Leadership Effortlessly

Karippur opines that critical attributes of tech executives must include digital technology literacy, the ability to deal with ambiguity and complexity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, business domain skills, leadership, and interpersonal skills, and a global mindset.

Tips for Budding Tech Leaders

The industry is living in the digital age full of opportunities for young professionals for driving business transformation through the innovative use of digital technologies across all business domains.  According to Karippur, some of the challenges that businesses face today include organizational silos, legacy processes, and cultural resistance to change. There is a lack of digital leadership while many enterprises are confused about digital transformation with a limited understanding of what to do next, who should lead it, and how to measure success. Being an opportunist, Karippur sees it as an opportunity. He states, "Your digital technology literacy, ability to communicate, empathize, solve problems, think critically and creatively, and influence people will help you remain agile and respond positively to challenges and bounce back from adversity." He also advocates all emerging tech leaders to contribute back to the industry and society by doing more volunteering and being part of professional development communities.

Meeting Business Requirements with Creative Courses

Digital acumen is essential for business leaders in today's technology-driven, hyper-competitive world. At SP Jain School of Global Management, the team develops graduates to act as catalysts, speeding up digital transformation and disrupting traditional thinking and business models, says Karippur. The courses are aligned to this objective and enable students to ask the right questions to frame the issues, synthesize information to create business value, innovate using design thinking, and leverage emerging technologies and platforms. With the accelerated investment in digital transformation, International Data Corporation (2020) predicts over 65% of Asia Pacific Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be digitalized and spending is likely to reach US$1.2 trillion between 2020 and 2023.

He adds that industry leaders, governments, and academia need to work closely together to ensure that their economies and organizations are well-positioned to benefit from digital transformation. Business schools should further accelerate collaborations with industry to align the curriculum, especially in the areas such as digital leadership, customer experience design, and business model innovation, and undertake more internships and digital transformation projects.