Ayanda Saki CIO — Brochure 2019

A digital transformation debrief with CIO Ayanda Saki

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Resolving digital transformation challenges with CIO Ayanda Saki WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

M A LVERN K ANDEM WA

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s more CIOs take the first tentative steps on their digital transformation journeys,

many are turning to seasoned professionals for guidance. With over 20 04

years of experience in the technology sector, Ayanda Saki, now CIO at a leading African automotive parts company, is a fountain of wisdom. For Saki, her technology career began after she obtained her Computer Science degree, which allowed her to gain a true understanding of technological innovation.

Later, before cutting her teeth in the sector, Saki completed a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA).

She credits this educational experience with affording her the necessary insight to distinguish between technology for technology’s sake in comparison to technology which enables true business value.

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BUSINESS PROWESS

sure I understood the businesses, how

“I realised that it didn’t make sense

it worked and what it was trying to

to have a technical understanding of

achieve, then aligned the technology

technology without having the neces-

as much as possible to that,” she says.

sary business acumen to understand

“Technology shouldn’t be implemented

how these can help businesses gen-

for the sake of it. Technology should

erate revenue or enable strategies,”

be used to improve the quality of life of

she recalls. By understanding how

people and to enable business value.

the business works as well as what it

I think this perspective has created

hopes to achieve, Saki has been able

a good foundation for where I am today.”

to align her digital strategies to meet

This business insight has put her in

these needs, whilst remaining laser

good stead in the technology sector.

focused on the people involved.

Whilst Saki may have an impressive un-

“Throughout my career, I made

derstanding of technology – spanning

everything from software engineering to business intelligence – she says that, more than anything, it’s vital executives recognise that the customer is king.

“In recent years, the biggest change has been that the power is now in the hands of the customer. The customer now decides how they want to buy, who they want to buy from, and when they want to buy products and services.” As the on demand economy takes off and more and more devices are at consumers’ fingertips, this challenge is only set to amplify. Mobile phone ownership is racing ahead in South Africa and across the continent. This not only

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Ayanda Saki Ayanda Saki is an entrepreneurial, seasoned business and IT strategist, who is currently Chief Information Officer at Motus Aftermarket Parts. Prior to this role, she worked at firms such as Standard Bank, the National Research Foundation, HSBC Investment Services and The Foschini Retail Group. Throughout her career, she has led and prudently managed projects and departments with budgets of up to ZAR70mn (USD$4.86mn). Her specialties include ICT and business strategy, leadership, governance, portfolio and programme management, as well as value creation.

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serves as a communication device but also as a cost-effective channel to get online, which has provided companies with the opportunity to interact with customers like never before. “Africa is very mobile focused and this creates an opportunity for us to provide an economic type of architecture for our customers,” comments Saki. “It’s required us to adjust our thinking and to align ourselves with how the customer interacts with us.”

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THE CUSTOMER IS KING Not only should CIOs pay heed to their customers’ wants and needs, but they should also be aware of their location. Digital transformation isn’t ‘one size fits all’, and therefore companies should be wary of copying and pasting their business strategies into new locations. The key, Saki highlights, is to adapt to each location.

“In Africa, many of the companies are multinational companies and when they’ve entered this market, they’ve taken the same template of their business from international markets and applied it here which doesn’t work. For an African market, the way a business

sells to its customers has to be different as their buying power is different, and the way they interact with the market has to be different. Many are entrepreneurial businesses and they typically have less access to technology. It requires a shift in thinking.”

Saki cites Unilever’s entry into the rural Indian market as a relevant case study to parallel. After conducting indepth research, the firm calculated the buying power of an average woman in India and worked out how they could effectively sell to this market. “For instance, many consumers didn’t have the buying power to purchase a 100ml bottle of body lotion so following the study Unilever launched smaller sized sachets of body lotion which were more affordable and which allowed the company to penetrate the market further,” she explains. “I think the same mindset needs to be applied in Africa.”

CONVENIENCE IS CRUCIAL The success of firms like Amazon, Deliveroo, Uber and others only goes to show that convenience sells.

This is a sentiment echoed by Saki who contends that as more and more

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businesses go digital, convenience will be the differentiating factor. “We’re seeing that the companies which are succeeding in digitisation are companies which create convenience that goes over and above just buying a product,” Saki reflects. “The better the customer experience, the more chance of customers coming back time and time again.” Data analytics, cloud computing and other emerging technologies could play a key role in helping companies realise this goal, Saki notes.

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TACKLING THE SKILLS GAP One of the most pressing challenges facing the technology sector is undoubtedly the widening skills gap in the market. In a world where today’s graduates have grown up with the internet, tablets and mobile devices, Saki said that young people already have an inherent understanding of IT, what recruiters need to watch out for is those who can take this understanding and do something new with it.

Additionally, she believes there needs to be a cultural shift that encourages young people to enter more corporate environments.

“I believe there’s so much value in combining how older and younger people think, especially as we move towards a more digital future,” she observes. “We need to make a lot of

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changes to absorb this new talent into the technology landscape.”

Creating an inclusive environment could also help. Having studied in apartheid times in South Africa, as well as being a woman in the technology field, Saki is all too aware of the hurdles facing workers trying to make their mark on the technology sector. “From the very beginning it was really hard to be taken seriously as a woman,” she reflects. “Even if you said something that had value, you had to say it a number of times, justify it a million times more, and sometimes even demonstrate it for you to be taken seriously.

“I think what helped me was that if I feel an issue is important, I’ll create a prototype of the suggestion which allowed me to demonstrate my ideas clearly.” On top of this, there’s also the issue of work culture. In the corporate world, where competing egos are commonplace, Saki is keen to point out the importance of remaining humble, particularly when you’re in a leadership position. In doing so, she says CIOs can create an approachable and inclusive IT environment that works with, not in tangent, to the wider business operation. “I try to keep myself humble and approachable,” she says. “It’s important to be able to explain technology in a way that makes sense to businesses so that they can really comprehend how IT can benefit the organisation.”

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