NextGen Digital Leader: Rajnish Khare, HDFC Bank

Can you give an overview of emerging technologies you have deployed? 

HDFC Bank has been at the forefront of deploying emerging technologies. It has delved in Artificial Intelligence and has launched commerce and banking Chatbot EVA and HDFC BankOnChat and applied AI in Recruitment too. Its work in progress on Query Management, Customer Service and looking forward to AI as a Service. It has deployed use cases on RPA, Blockchain, IoT (insurance) and making inroads on contextual and predictive marketing. Big Data and Analytics are driving hyper-personalization along with the implementation of ZineOne, a web, and mobile analytics platform, for its digital customers apart from focusing on UI/UX as a strategic way forward for its customer-facing applications, like Mobile Banking, Internet Banking and Publics website apart from internal applications. 

Which are the functions/departments in your organization that is starting first with the emerging technologies? 

It’s a 360-degree approach on it. All departments/functions have a go digital approach. We have retail digitizing its product and processes on the digital platform on Backbase. API banking is being leveraged by both assets and liability and corporate banking is digging deeper to serve its corporate customers. Image processing technologies coupled with AI and inward-looking digital initiatives. HR is being digitized through NLP interfaces, internal collaboration tools like employee advocacy (Social Sher). The FinTech and millennial customers are the focus and its developing social communities for both of them. A digital command center has been launched to keep a check on digital pulse and impact of digital transformation.

How will emerging technologies like AI, Machine Learning, IOT, Big Data, Augmented Reality, Analytics etc will change the fabric of IT organizations? 

Emerging technologies are the key focus area. IT is upgrading its skills set, getting more agile with DevOps and data lake initiatives. Digital Platforms are need of the hour and its already being taken up as a transformational project and that required a dedicated digital team to steer it, which is being done. AI and machine learning require a different mindset only and which is where the specialist workforce need to come in. Big data is where IT needs to come out with real-time computing and processing and that means the workforce has to expand and upgrade both. IoT applications are emerging so it’s hard to tell what changes will be needed at this point of time however, the initial update is encouraging in insurance and payments.

Emerging tech best practices and deployment strategies 

The 5 E methodology is what we can think of and have implemented, Explore, Evaluate, Experiment, Execute and Establish. We have also deployed a framework which goes by IISS – Intent has to be strategic, Infra needs to be set up and scaled, Service is where the max focus has to be and Security has to be paramount.

The ecosystem needs to be widened with the inclusion of API Banking and its application needs to be extended to all walks of banking. Next level of storage, processing, and computing to be able to understand and anticipate customer needs is need of the hour and the big focus is happening in this area.Cloud and Edge Computing are gaining ground with firepower being extended to business users for them to make real-time effective decisions in their business and that will be a critical area where DevOps needs to come in place.