Group IT Director & CISO
Sai Krupa Delight Group
Total years of experience :22 years, 2 Months
Acting CEO for www.delight-it.com
Sai Krupa Delight Group has a strong base in IT, Shipping, Medical Services, Trading, Oil & Gas, Hospitality, Real Estate & Micro Finance business based in India, Mauritius, Kenya and Nigeria .
Overall responsibility for ICT Operations, DC Management, Technology Risk Management, Information Protection, and Security Assurance .
o Managing the deployment, development, monitoring, maintenance, upgrading and support of organizational ICT systems. This includes Operating Systems, Servers, PCs, Software apps, Micro Finance Software, along with ISO 27001 Certified Tier 4 Data Centre (PCI-DSS Compliant)
o Providing expert advice and support when ICT systems are being upgraded or installed, or when there are conversions or file maintenance.
o Overseeing the development and enhancement of ICT systems and integrating
new systems with those existing.
o Administering Micro Finance Software and generating reports on daily basis for top management
o Working with staff to develop plans and strategies so client services can be enhanced, user effectiveness improved and innovation encouraged.
o Liaising regularly with executive and senior management as well as ICT systems users.
o Managing ICT staff, with responsibility for hiring, evaluation, training, guidance, disciplinary procedures and dismissals.
o Developing standard operating procedures allied to best practice, and ensuring written protocols and guidelines are provided for it staff and all end-users.
o Ensuring written documentation is created and maintained, to include user and system manuals, license agreements and all documentation relating to modifications and upgrades.
o Keeping up-to-date with the most recent technologies and advising on what new technological solutions and their implementation will meet business and systems requirements.
o Negotiating with suppliers of hardware and software to get the best deal, including external support, and being responsible for contracting consultants and making service agreements.
o Creating a budget for each project as well as managing the financial aspects of the entire ICT department such as purchases and ongoing budgeting.
o Performing IT security risk assessments and reporting on ways to minimize threats.
o Monitoring security vulnerabilities and hacking threats in network and host systems.
o Conducting DR Test regularly and ensuring business continuity.
o In House IT Audit, control & compliance.
o Communicating with key stakeholders about ICT security threats.
o Managing the ICT budget and communicating this with the appropriate parties.
o Responsible and point of contact for all data (soft & hard copies) and data breach.
o Managing a team of ERP, Security and ICT Operations at multiple locations.
o Single point of contact of technology related matters to the board.
o Reporting to the board and being an active member of the senior management team.
o Implemented ISO 27001-Tier4 level Data Centre as Project Head within defined timeframe and budget.
Major Achievements:
o Implemented Micro Finance Software for Micro Finance subsidiary.
o Completed ICT Consolidation project to save 18% Capex budget.
o Fully functional DR Site design and set-up for a Group.
o SOC Setup with 24X7 Operations
o IT Budget reduction to 40% to save a huge cost without compromising IT Services.
o IT Team Retention .
Direct reporting of 30 Technical Professionals.
Worked as Head Information Technology and also acted as Group Chief Information Security Officer for two years .
Major Achievements :
o Formulated the hiring plan and built the team structure, including planning for hiring of team members
o Played a key role in build relationships with vendors in close association with corporate leadership
o Designed and implemented Fusion based SOC
o Completed 3 major Cyber Forensic Investigation using EnCase Forensic
o Successfully managed 3 MS Private Cloud-based Data Centres in Nigeria & Europe
o Drove the largest Hybrid O 365 Migration Project in Africa (9K Mail Boxes)
o Acted as SPOC for ICT Projects
o ICT infrastructure & network structure; administered firewall & back-to-back VPN tunnelling to provide connectivity to all cluster remote locations
o Complete ICT roadmap and strategy for achieving smooth execution of business plan across all plants and group offices
o Headed ICT Team & ICT Support Desk on network, system & server and ERP implementation issues on WIN Server environment; ensured effective governance of all facets of the organization's technology infrastructure and administered all aspects of:
o ICT Operations, Project Management, Audits & Controls
o ICT Applications & Data Security
o Vendor Management
o Team Retention
o Achieved success in ensuring timely implementation of new technologies and maintaining adequacy of solutions to support business without negative impact on financials
o Put in place effective Disaster Recovery and High Availability plans along with complete testing
o Ascertained fool-proof Information Security measures were implemented along with robust business continuity plans for minimal impact on business operations and loss of data
o Registered an increase in employee satisfaction scores by 99.999% through operating standards
o Planned and managed media releases for new ICT initiatives; ensured revenue realized by ICT initiatives vis-a-vis capital expenses was justified & profitable
o Maintained an effective 99.999 uptime of ICT Services
o Formulated future-ready plans by keeping up-to-date with technology trends, thereby achieving competitive advantage
Projects Handled (For Group Subsidiaries)
o SAP S4 HANA/Oracle EBS migration and new installations (Biggest greenfield SAP S4 HANA implementation & Oracle EBS Migration)
o Switching and Routing Infrastructure upgradation with HA at Core and Distribution level
o Group ICT Security-UTM Deployment
o Implemented Africa’s largest Transport Management Systems (TMS) for 14k vehicles
o MS Dynamics AX deployment for 2 subsidiaries
o Data Centre Landscape for a group
o Core ICT Infrastructure upgradation including Servers and Storage
o Overseas Branches Connectivity Project for Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Angola
o LAN and Wi-Fi set-up (Campus set-up for Cement and Refinery)
o Centre of Excellence for ICT Operations
o Fully functional DR Site design and set-up for a Group
o Group ICT Policies and Documentation
Direct Reporting of 15 seasoned professionals and 135 indirect reporting
Major Achievements :
o successfully implemented MS Dynamics AX across 15 Manufacturing, 5 Logistics and 12 Investment companies
o upgraded Punjas local WAN infrastructure with fibre, connecting 03 major industrial zones
o Group ICT Consolidation
o Completed Cyber Forensic investigation for financial scam in SAP ERP using EnCase Forensic tool
o Established connectivity between 7 island branches with HO via VPN/VSAT connections by centralizing all ICT and ERP functions
o Built the main DRP site with online replication
o Achieved the centralization of group ICT operations, which resulted in 50% of operational budgetary savings
Projects Handled (For Punjas Group Subsidiaries)
o MS AX ERP/DB Migration, Upgrade and Implementation
o ICT Infrastructure & DC Upgrade
o Network upgradation including full redundancy at Core & Distribution level
Major Achievements:
o Led the planning, design and implementation of system & network infrastructure and maintenance of high application uptime with stringent compliance to ITIL V3 framework; secured ISO 27001 certification for the Data Centre
o Established connectivity among all RCA locations via WAN, along with various legacy applications that were running at the directorates for management of respective operations on a daily basis across the country
o Accomplished the successful implementation of CA Unicentre help desk as per ITIL V3 Framework
o ICT Budgetary saving 30%
Projects Handled (For Royal Court Affairs)
o Migration of Active Directory (for 2300 users) and Exchange Server (for 2300 users’ mailbox)
o Design & implementation of SAN Storage
o CA Unicentre Help-desk Project
o MS ERP Implementation for multiple locations
o Consolidation of Servers Project
o Implementation of Active Directory auditing and monitoring tool
o Windows 7 Ultimate migration for 2500 users
o SAN Upgradation
Started as Systems Engineer, gradually moved to System Administrator to IT Manager .
Administer systems and servers related to district LAN and WAN (e.g. email systems, accounts, workstation ID, IP assignments, security, antivirus, spyware, etc.) for the purpose of ensuring availability of services to all users.
Update the systems regularly with antivirus, firewall and spyware and protect any kind of viruses and breakdowns in the network.
Coordinate with the hardware and software vendors, negotiate with them and place necessary orders.
Router, L2-L3 switches administration.
Server Administration.
BaaN 4 Administration and maintenance.
Repair and Maintenance of PC’s, Laptops, Printers, Photocopiers, Switches, Hubs, UPS and other IT & Telecommunications equipments.
Responsible for new Solution design for existing and new customer, DR Planning etc.
Taking care of various team needs such as trainings, motivation, KRA review and retention.
Apart from leading from front I was taking care of team coaching /building, motivation, team appraisal, constant feedback and skill enlighten of CE’s, setting KRA’s, understanding team individual and keep them motivated accordingly in order to keep a tab on team discipline, enhancing satisfaction and keep them retained.
MBA in IT
