Deloitte’s Deepa Seshadri on India’s true digital story

In an exclusive interview, Seshadri shares insights from Deloitte’s Sprint to Excellence report, revealing surprising trends in technology adoption across sectors.

We take a closer look at the report’s key findings as they relate to how industries beyond technology and financial services are moving toward digitalization. Seshadri also discusses the increased focus on cybersecurity and the potential of emerging technologies such as generative AI.

Shedding light on the challenges and opportunities that are shaping India’s digital landscape—from talent shortages to building a resilient digital infrastructure. Seshadri provides key strategic advice for businesses to navigate this complex environment.

Fragments:

What were the most surprising or unexpected findings from the Sprint to Excellence report? How do these findings align with Deloitte’s broader observations about the Indian business landscape?

The rapid pace of digital adoption across Indian industries is an interesting finding. It is not just the financial, consumer and technology sectors, but other sectors like energy and industrial, life sciences and healthcare are also gearing up and prioritizing technology investments. This aligns with Deloitte’s view of India as a dynamic market that is rapidly adopting digital technologies.

What is also fascinating about cybersecurity is how it is being prioritized by sectors beyond technology and BFSI, which also speaks to the growing digitization in other sectors and awareness around digital resilience, consumer data security, and privacy.

From the perspective of technology adoption across functions, sales and marketing seem to be gaining significant share of awareness, which shows the growing inclination towards using data and technology to enhance customer engagement and experience. Additionally, finance and accounting and operations and maintenance are popular in the current context, but in the next 2-3 years, supply chain logistics (which includes product development and distribution) and human resources will also make inroads.

When asked about priorities for the next 2–3 years, 94% of respondents indicated generative artificial intelligence, followed by Industry 5.0 and augmented reality.

Do the report’s conclusions align with your observations on the digital situation in India?

Absolutely. The findings of the report reflect our observations of a digitally evolving India. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the critical role of technology in driving growth and efficiency. The next 2-3 years are likely to see an interplay of technologies that will drive customer experiences, increase efficiency, and streamline operations and supply chains through predictive insights. Adding to this the sector mix, it points positively to technology-led industrialization in India, where we are looking at smarter retail, smarter factories, IT-OT integration, and a stronger focus on resilience and sustainability. However, challenges like talent shortages, complexity of the technology landscape, and cybersecurity remain quite significant, and the competitive advantage will come from addressing these challenges.

How do you think the report’s findings could impact business strategies and decision-making?

This report provides actionable insights for companies looking to navigate the digital landscape. By understanding the digital maturity of their industry and competitors, organizations can prioritize investments, allocate resources effectively, and build a solid digital foundation for a resilient future. It provides an outside-in view for CIOs and technology leaders to have meaningful conversations with functional leaders, risk leaders, CEOs, CFOs, and the board to collaboratively shape the future.

At the same time, understanding and addressing the challenges of talent, skills, technology complexity, budget, cybersecurity, and the regulatory environment allows CIOs to lead the company with greater confidence.

Which industry sectors do you think are leading the digital transformation in India and why?

Sectors like BFSI, Consumer and Technology are leading the digital onslaught. These industries were early adopters and have a strong focus on customer experience. They have leveraged technology to disrupt traditional business models and gain competitive advantage.

Which industry sectors do you think have the greatest potential for digital transformation in India and why?

Consumer, financial services and healthcare have huge potential. These sectors can revolutionize service delivery, accessibility and efficiency through digital technologies. However, they require significant investment in infrastructure and digital skills.

Given that the report identifies cybersecurity as a priority issue, how do you think organizations will address this challenge in the coming years?

Cybersecurity is now an integral part of business and will continue to be a top priority. It is now critical to business continuity, stakeholder trust, and customer confidence. We expect increased investment in robust security infrastructure, data privacy, and employee training.

A proactive approach to risk and compliance management and embedding cybersecurity and resilience at the heart of digital transformation will be key.

Given the report’s focus on cybersecurity, what specific strategies can organizations implement to strengthen their cyber defenses?

Organizations should adopt a layered approach to security, including robust firewalls, endpoint protection, and regular security audits. Employee awareness, training, incident response planning, business continuity planning, third-party risk management, and the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to detect, respond to, and mitigate threats are essential.

How can organizations effectively address the technology talent shortage and create a future-ready workforce?

Some of the biggest challenges identified in technology adoption are reskilling, acquiring and retaining talent. An effective talent strategy must include skill-related investments and recognition or encouragement of reskilling/upskilling/cross-skilling activities within the team. Organizations need to look at the diverse talent pool available today.

Another best way to leverage talent is to allow rotation within the team. Collaborating with academia, engaging in open innovation/crowdsourcing initiatives, looking beyond tier 1 and tier 2 cities, engaging with the non-tech talent pool can greatly expand the talent base and open new avenues.

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