SNC-Lavalin

Carlos Diniz

Business IT Champion

Carlos Diniz currently serves as an IT Regional Manager at SNC-Lavalin. His tenure at Oracle exemplified outstanding leadership, introducing transformative technology that reshaped the business landscape in just a year. In his role as IT operation manager, Diniz's strength in communicating business strategies stood out, yet his focus remained on strategies, excluding infrastructure and end-user support. His oversight ensured a seamless shift from local to global Oracle instances, marked by efficiency and a pragmatic approach to planning. Diniz’s multifaceted experience and pivotal contributions continue to exert a lasting influence at the confluence of technology and business within the IT management sphere.

In an exclusive interview with CIOReview Latin America, Diniz shares his valuable insights on the challenges, trends and best practices in the strategic IT Services space.

What are your roles and responsibilities as an IT Manager at SNC-Lavalin?

Over two decades in information technology, my journey evolved from development to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), contributing to the insurance, banking, and engineering sectors. 2006, I steered Oracle ERP adoption at SNC Brazil, leading Oracle E-Business Suite implementation (2006-2009). Within Oracle, I managed projects, model procurement, and finance succession, overseeing the Brazilian portfolio. Transitioning Oracle from local to global in 2015 was crucial, shifting me to Latin American IT operations management. Strategic communication and IT-business synergy are paramount in my current role, ensuring technology strengthens strategic trajectories. Additionally, I advocate the integration of IT into strategic discussions, acknowledging its integral role in driving and sustaining business success.

What are some of the current challenges that businesses generally are facing?

As enterprises adopt hybrid work models, wherein employees alternate between remote and office environments, IT assumes paramount significance. In this context, IT ensures equal experiences for both office and remote workers, which can be challenging. This entails maintaining consistent availability within the controlled office environment and extending the same seamless experience to remote workers, ensuring that on-site staff and off-site personnel benefit from this commitment. Establishing robust partnerships involving dependable internet providers, VPN solutions, cloud services, and various other essential components becomes vital to fulfilling these requisites.

What are some of the major trends you have observed in IT services?

In engineering, two prevailing trends of notable significance are artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR). AI, epitomized by solutions like ChatGPT, poses intricate challenges for enterprises and IT alike. The integration of AI mandates a comprehensive understanding of its multifaceted role spanning product innovation, operational support, security, infrastructure, and data compliance.

  ​Nurturing a shift towards prioritizing soft skills alongside technical prowess is pivotal for IT professionals  

VR/AR attains relevance in the context of the metaverse concept. The effective application of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies, as witnessed in projects akin to those at SNC, necessitates their adept deployment and the pivotal IT role in establishing the requisite infrastructure for seamless operations. Collaborative dialogues between the IT and business domains further ensure the effective integration of functional, technical, security, and compliance dimensions.

What is your leadership strategy to support and lead your team forward?

Integrating novelty into the company’s products and operations resonates strongly with the prevailing emphasis on novelty. However, innovation is not the exclusive domain of the IT department as it permeates across all segments of an organization. The challenge involves establishing an efficient mechanism for collecting and evaluating ideas, harmonizing them with our business strategy, and discerning how IT can accelerate their implementation.

While IT serves as the enabler, domain experts, such as engineers, conceive strategies to leverage technologies like artificial intelligence or virtual reality to enhance our deliverables. The role of IT is pivotal as it transforms these strategies into viable solutions. Hence, the synergy between business and IT ensures that the business's innovative visions are empowered by the technological prowess of IT, ultimately propelling our products and services to the forefront of advancement.

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

In the evolving IT landscape, viewing our employees beyond mere technical roles is crucial. Nurturing a shift towards prioritizing soft skills alongside technical prowess is central for IT professionals to adapt to this change. This extends from end-user support to high-level executives like the CIO, ensuring unified communication that positions IT as a true partner within the business. Encouraging an open attitude towards ideas and suggestions fosters a collaborative environment.