As more and more businesses are investing in new technologies which are being introduced to the market, it is important to raise discussions on the trends and crucial areas for investment. Sathish Muthukrishnan, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, Honeywell, talks about the technologies the company is utilising to help meet customer demand and keep up with innovation.
Honeywell, a Fortune 100 company that invents and manufactures technologies to address tough challenges linked to global macrotrends such as safety, security and energy, prioritises quality, delivery and value for customers.
Intelligent CIO Europe spoke to Sathish Muthukrishnan about the current technology challenges across Europe, as well as about how IT is integral to keeping up with transforming consumer demands:
As Chief Digital and Information Officer at Honeywell Aerospace, the CIO part of my role is to set and lead the strategy and vision for the IT organisation. The CDO role requires me to have an entrepreneurial streak. In working with the business leaders, my key focus is to lay out the strategy to digitise our business end to end.
Regardless of the sector or industry, a large amount of innovation in the business is influenced by technology these days. This presents a plethora of opportunities that technology can enable.
The challenge is in identifying and solving the problem that can have the biggest business impact and in prioritising investments, talent and effort wisely.
Turning our attention to the European tech landscape in particular, it is fast evolving and from what I read, the tech investments have grown five-fold over the past five years. We have seen a number of IPOs, such as Spotify and Elastic recently, as great signposts of a maturing tech landscape. Being a global company, Honeywell has a presence in many European countries. We have had great success in Europe hiring exceptional tech talent both in software and product engineering.
Mobility, proximity, connected land-mass, pockets of thriving tech hubs, if properly leveraged and scaled, can lead to the European tech landscape growing faster than the rest of the economy. This will provide phenomenal career and growth opportunities for in-house talent as well as attract a global workforce. I have noticed good talent coming out of Turkey and Spain – not traditionally known for tech talent. Overall, the future looks bright.
As the tech landscape continues to evolve for businesses, technology is integral to keeping up with transforming consumer demands. We live in a world where an average consumer is surrounded and influenced by technology day in and day out. Due to this, every business needs to evolve and become a B2C (business-to-consumer) company. B2B (business-to-business) companies that may not traditionally deal directly with consumers have to reinvent themselves as B2C entities. The level of sophistication a consumer experiences in their personal lives becomes the norm when they interact with a large business. Technology is a key enabler to meet that level of consumer demand. The ability to collect data, to carry out massive computing and create differentiated experiences are essential to keep up with transforming consumer demands – and it’s all enabled by technology.
We have accomplished several IT achievements over the past year, but what stands out most is the intersection of cutting-edge technology, business opportunity and industry disruption. Late last year, we launched a used aircraft marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers seamlessly. The platform, called GoDirect Trade, is built leveraging Blockchain – creating immediate trust between buyers and sellers on the parts pedigree. The experience is simple, seamless and reflects a B2C dynamic. We are one of the first industrial companies to leverage Blockchain technology in solving a real-world problem.
My team and I have the ability to see opportunities across businesses which places us in a great position to be business advocates and influencers. My management style is one of a strategic partner that can help enable intelligent risk taking with the help of data and insights.
We as a company are looking to invest in all technologies that enable a digitally connected ecosystem that allows Industry 4.0. Honeywell is investing in building connected products and systems with the ability to perform ‘sense and respond’ actions, edge processing and data connections back to the broader enterprise. As an example, Honeywell is helping package delivery companies meet increasingly demanding customer expectations by accurately tracking and tracing items from the first to last mile – including from aircraft – without a connectivity interruption. The journey of a package delivery is complex and one delay along the route could mean thousands of packages aren’t delivered on time.
I would advise somebody looking to take on the same level of responsibility as me to be a student of the business, be wildly passionate about emerging technologies and its applicability to business problems, be courageous in identifying opportunities and be a servant leader in growing and motivating talent.
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