the Future of Innovation

Unraveling

Companies adopt new trends in technology to remain relevant and competitive in the global market. But implementing new technologies, processes, or new platforms becomes the most challenging aspect in an organization.

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE INDUSTRY HEADING IN 2023?

In the last 6 months, people’s awareness and interest in ChatGPT has infused further investments in AI where companies will harness the power of AI, machine learning and machine-generated code to develop new products and services that can automate tasks and decision-making processes. We have seen in the recently held Google IO as well, where Google showcased how they plan to use AI technology in all their product suites. In my view, AI will now be an integral inseparable part of our lives. Apart from these, Extended reality which includes AR, VR, and Mixed Reality (MR), will see broader applications including immersive experiences, training and healthcare and lastly facial identity will increasingly become the defacto standard for all types of transaction validations in the both personal and business front.

V P VISHAL ANAND, Senior Director (IT) Jumeirah Group

IN YOUR OPINION HAS THERE BEEN AN INCREASE IN THE AWARENESS OF DIVERSITY AND THE POSITIVE ROLE IT PLAYS IN THE WORKPLACE?

I have worked in the Emirates for 20+ years and in Jumeirah for the last 4 years, in both of my experiences, our company values and ethos are based on diversity at the core of Talent engagement. In my view, diversity brings numerous benefits including driving enhanced creativity, capable talent with wide range of skills, expertise and knowledge, and improved problem-solving processes due to multiple perspectives and potential solutions. It also leads to expanded market opportunities

- Having a diverse workforce can help businesses better understand and meet the needs of different customer segments leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM WORK ENVIRONMENT AND WORK CULTURE?

In my view, these differ between individual preferences. For me, having a positive work culture involves respect and trust amongst each other, and having open communication among colleagues – upwards, sideways and downwards. Empowerment –having the autonomy to exercise my skills, and judgement to accomplish my projects. Having learning opportunities to develop skills through challenging work assignments.

WHAT IS THE MOST ENGAGING OR SATISFYING ASPECT OF YOUR JOB ROLE?

As part of the leadership role in my organisation, I get the opportunity to steer and ensure the organisation and team are working in line with my dream work environment and culture. As part of my role, I have been implementing technology solutions that drive efficiency, improve processes, or enable our group’s strategic initiatives. This is fulfilling as it directly contributes to our business growth and organisation success. Secondly, I am involved in the decisionmaking process within our technology roadmap. This gives me a huge sense of ownership to ensure it is right the first time.

WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF YOUR JOB ROLE?

There is nothing called the most challenging aspect, as part of my role, we have many challenges which are prevalent in any organisation which are implementing new technologies, processes, or new platforms. These include system adoption, change management efforts, regulatory compliance (cybersecurity, data privacy, country laws etc.), talent skill gap and lastly, I believe that Stakeholder management is key, we should have the ability to communicate complex technical concepts in a clear and understandable manner, manage expectations, and address concerns from various stakeholders.

WHAT IS YOUR 2023 PLAN FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT? HOW DO YOU PLAN TO TAKE THE BUSINESS FORWARD WITH TECHNOLOGY?

As the world faces challenges such as geopolitical conflicts, looming recession in the western countries, sluggish demand from Asian markets, we have to weather a potential economic slowdown by trimming costs, increasing efficiencies and growing revenues. For 2023, our focus is on having IT initiatives which impact the bottom line, have external customer focused initiatives which can enhance or enrich the guest experiences for our customers. Apart from these, as part of our drive to fix the basics, we are also working on compliance projects ensuring we are compliant with data and security regulations, these are key to the success of any organization.

HOW DO YOU PLAN TO BUILD YOUR TEAMS?

I have fantastic teams who are continuously delivering key programs within our group, the key things we make them click is to foster collaboration and open communication, have positive work culture and define clear goals and responsibilities to remove any sort of ambiguity.

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT A TIME YOU LEAD A CULTURALLY DIVERSE TEAM?

In my previous role in Emirates, in my team, I had 6 different nationalities within my team. It was one of the best periods of my career. Different perspectives and experiences bring complementary strengths and help in improved problem-solving, decision-making, and overall team performance.

WHICH WAS YOUR MOST SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR COMPANY IN 2022 AND HOW DID IT IMPACT OR INFLUENCE THE BUSINESS?

In 2022, I led the Backoffice transformation program for Jumeirah Group. This was a large program that involved replacing the suite of products for HR, Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement and Projects functions across our 20+ hotel properties across UAE. We now have a single unified platform that acts as a single source of truth for our Backoffice functions.

DEFINE 2023 IN 3 WORDS. Stimulating, Demanding and Innovative.