Sony A is the Senior General Manager and Chief Information Officer at South Indian Bank. He has been conferred with many prestigious awards in a more than three-decade-long career. Sony recognised early on the transformative power of technology and its impact on society. The prospect of continuous learning coupled with the employment of creativity and innovation to entail groundbreaking solutions in the technology landscape motivated him to pursue a career in technology.

As the CIO, Sony’s responsibilities include staying ahead of the tech curve, effectively bridging the gap between technology and business, and ensuring ethical and substantial growth. Sony envisions spearheading technological enhancements by building high-performance teams and inculcating a spirit of innovation and collaboration for the effective execution of projects. Under Sony’s guidance, regular hackathons are conducted to inculcate a sense of innovation and healthy competition within the teams. A collaborative environment encourages constructive exploration of multiple points of view and ideas expediting the work process.

Data plays a key role in any organisation and for Sony establishing a robust data infrastructure was a challenge initially, but it paved the way for the Bank’s current transformative journey. He considers data protection and cybersecurity as part and parcel of the technology journey. With comprehensive solutions such as Security Information and Event Management, Database Activity Monitoring, New Generation Firewall, Privileged Identity Management, and Fraud Risk Management, they have remained vigilant in safeguarding customer data and mitigating cyber threats.

Sony has successfully embraced emerging technologies for the organisation’s growth. The successful implementation of the Digital Pre-approved Personal Loan system built from scratch is an apt example of Machine Learning application. Exploring the potential of Generative AI for personalised recommendations, leveraging Machine Learning for precise customer targeting, and actively pursuing various Blockchain use cases have cemented their commitment to innovation and staying at the forefront of technological advancements.

Of the many technology-driven initiatives taken by Sony, a recent major digital endeavour is the SIB OneCard Credit Card, in partnership with M/s. FPL Technologies has helped them capitalise on the new market. This seamless hassle-free process not only increased the bank’s credit card lending portfolio but also eliminated cumbersome manual procedures, enabling effective customer service. Sony states, “With the issuance of around 2.5 lakh cards, clocking a volume of around Rs. 1000 crores, OneCard has generated great value addition to the bank.”

Sony’s success mantra revolves around the philosophy of continuous self-improvement, fuelled by an insatiable curiosity and an inclination to learn across diverse domains. In his words, “A collaborative attitude combined with principle-based conflict resolution can go a long way.”