Hydro One

Can you provide an overview of your professional journey thus far, including the roles and responsibilities you have undertaken in your current position?

I am the Senior Manager for technical architecture at Hydro One, and my roles and responsibilities entail reviewing and setting roadmaps for the company's technology landscape. It includes making strategies for adopting and applying various technology infrastructures like cloud and data analytics. I work with managers of each area to plan strategies that drive efficiency for Hydro One. 

I have master’s degrees in electrical and electronic engineering and distributed computing. Working in the industry for 25 years, I have contributed to the growth of global companies like Siemens and IBM in Europe and the banking and consulting industries in Canada. 

As a senior manager of a managed IT services provider, how has the industry evolved over the years?

When I started working in the industry, mainframes were very prevalent. Computing was used to support the front-end and mainframe applications. Companies built and owned data centers. It was a complex process that required proper planning, infrastructure, and UPS cooling.

I built my expertise in data centers by working with IBM for companies like Cables & Wireless in the UK and Direct Energy in Canada. 

Most data center processes require front-end investment, implementation, and maintenance, which take time. However, these data centers have started shifting to the cloud. The computing and storage of data have drastically migrated to cloud-based infrastructure.  

For IT industries to have maximum efficiency, we must move the skill set to higher-value activities, where we leverage cloud services, data analytics, and low-code no-code platforms to develop applications and enhance business value. These are significant trends that will continue to transform organizations worldwide. 

Are there any project initiatives in progress where you have leveraged the latest technologies?

We have taken deliberate steps to embark on our journey toward digitization of the companies in many ways. The first method is transforming the manual tasks of the business into a digital form that enables seamless workflow. We are expanding our policy to build robotic process automation for computer-based tasks. 

We have put a team for the digital center of excellence to build API-led integration. It is a microservice architecture that helps compose different applications and modify projects. Setting up a competency center for data analytics has allowed us to make coherent business decisions.

  ​AI will be a crucial shifter in the industry, owing to its ability to ease tasks with the combined effect of data analytics, which will help businesses be more productive. 

What trends can transform the industry in the upcoming years? 

In terms of comparative impact, personal computing and the advancement of mobile phones have significantly impacted the industry. AI will be a crucial shifter in the industry, owing to its ability to ease tasks with the combined effect of data analytics, which will help businesses be more productive. AI will not reduce people's mundane work, but it will certainly make the execution faster.

What would be a piece of advice that you'd like to share with your fellow peers out there?

My advice to fellow peers is to be focused on high-value tasks. Developing microservice architecture that is loosely coupled with applications is essential. Tapping into low-code no-code platforms and leveraging AI through clean data sources will facilitate immense growth for the business.