CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Navaneet Mishra, Senior Vice President & Head of Hexagon’s R&D Center India
What are the key trends of technology you have noticed in 2023, and how will they progress in 2024.
“Speaking from the end-consumer’s perspective, we are seeing an increased emphasis on technologies and solutions that drive Performance. This is a trend that cuts across industries and will continue to dominate in the foreseeable future. The primary reason for this is that with Cloud-based digital experiences, a dip in performance translates to escalated costs and customers are doubling down to avoid this.
Security continues to remain an important consideration. In 2023, Information and cyber-security have witnessed an unprecedented surge in the priority stack for all industries, and with specific focus from banking, critical infrastructure, governments and defense.
AI has in the last year evolved from a buzzword to a practical necessity. Customers are willing to invest if AI solves specific, pressing issues they face today. The specificity of AI applications will continue to see an uptick in the next several years.
The most interesting trend, and this is not just about technology, is how the customers experience Tech – broadly called “visualisation” – is emerging as a strong thread. Customers demand intuitive, visually engaging solutions that necessitate minimal training and maximize ease of use.
As we stride into 2024, meeting these customer and consumer driven imperatives will define technological innovation and adoption.”
What are the key trends of how GCCs and E&RDs are growing in India in 2023 – how will they progress and what’s needed to help them become stronger or create more value.
“In 2023, the growth trajectory of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) setups in India is revealing following pivotal trends that will shape their future.
The emergence of Centers of Excellence is very evident and is proving crucial in guiding both local and global teams towards researched and proven excellence.
The ascent of enterprise-level architecture capabilities is resulting in GCCs and ER&D centres crafting comprehensive end-to-end architectures for large and complex challenges.
The paradigm of having a ‘seat at the table’ is evolving. On one hand, GCCs and ER&D centres in India are a strategic advantage for global businesses, but to truly be seen as “strategic”, we need to rise up and be actively involved in understanding, shaping and delivering the vision.
Looking ahead, an ownership mindset among leaders is paramount. It demands market awareness, with a deep understanding of end customers and competitors, rather than just delivering to what’s already “decided” and communicated.
Overall, a relentless pursuit of quality is critical for GCCs and ER&D centres to deliver world-class solutions. This will need to start at the stage of imagining a product or a solution and not at the time of testing it. On the other hand this will help the centres reach the top of the value chain.
Embracing these imperatives will be the linchpin in propelling the growth and impact of GCCs and ER&D setups in India.”
What are the key trends about India’s tech talent that you have noticed in 2023 (or in the last couple of years) and how do you see that progressing.
“India’s tech talent landscape shows visible shifts in trends and expectations.
Faster, targeted, and verifiable learning characterizes the new generation. Their ability to swiftly learn using online repositories and apply knowledge in pertinent, bite-sized portions, coupled with a penchant for certifications is dramatically changing learning and training norms. Further, future talent appears poised for an expanded and structured utilization of GenAI, harnessing the potential of the next generation of AI-driven capabilities.
The new generation of tech professionals is active in networks far beyond organizational boundaries. This enables greater awareness of the “in thing” in technology, prevents insularity and implies that tech firms deliver a strong work culture and employee value proposition.
Indian techies’ interest for gig work is evident. Leveraging this enthusiasm has proven advantageous at Hexagon, where we offer employees the opportunity to learn more and earn more with internal cross-divisional projects and Proof of Concepts (PoCs).
With startups on the rise as a viable option for work and careers, we will continue to see the new generation of tech professionals with deeper interest in entrepreneurship and innovation.
Overall, Emotional Intelligence on top of hard Tech skills, will prove critical for individual and managerial growth in the tech industry.
The tech talent of tomorrow is likely to be more adaptive and entrepreneurial while needing to build more empathy within. At the same time, we will see more assistive technologies in everyday work and machines doing much more than today. This will likely foster a productive tension leading to a dynamic and efficient ecosystem.”
