Modernizing IT helps enterprises do more with less

The World Bank Group has a monolithic ngo to “help processing countries flight poorness and stock prosperity,” says Vijay Yellai, programme manager for endeavor assets readying translation astatine the World Bank Group. For example, it provides an wide array of fiscal products and method know-how successful a analyzable and ever-changing planetary setting.

Therefore, for an instauration similar the World Bank Group, which provides backing and resources to countries with debased bandwidth and infrastructure, IT modernization is nary tiny feat.

“So successful an ever-changing environment–complexity, risk, and information threats with a planetary workforce–the World Bank is nether unit to bash much with less,” says Yellai. He explains that the situation is to summation real-time business, arsenic good arsenic rapidly respond to changing needs of customers and employees. But also, Yellai continues, “security, risk, and information are cardinal elements. Not to notation the continuous request for concern quality and speedy determination making.” The eventual extremity is to “capitalize connected exertion to conscionable our ngo and goals.”

And though information postulation and processing is cardinal to IT systems, an agile and adaptive attack is needed to support operational and fiscal systems existent successful each business. “Data is precise cardinal to that. And information and probe assistance america recognize however we are addressing the needs, helps america acceptable up priorities, helps america stock knowledge, and helps america measurement progress.” Yellai says.

With a modernized IT system, Yellai says, determination are a fig of innovations that go possible. Predictive analytics, earthy connection processing, blockchain, and process automation are a fewer of the technologies emerging to let for quicker decision-making and efficiency.

“Anything we tin bash to trim the enactment we request to bash successful technology, but fto the exertion bash much for us, truthful we tin absorption our clip connected the strategical priorities, volition beryllium the astir breathtaking happening for us,” says Yellai.

This occurrence of Business Lab is produced successful concern with Infosys Cobalt.

Full Transcript  

Laurel Ruma: From MIT Technology Review. I'm Laurel Ruma and this is Business Lab, the amusement that helps concern leaders marque consciousness of caller technologies coming retired of the laboratory and into the marketplace.

Our taxable contiguous is IT modernization. To win with integer transformation, a batch has to hap down the scenes to amended entree to information for employees and to make amended experiences for customers. This is not an casual task for immoderate bequest enterprise, particularly 1 that is highly regulated.

Two words for you: real-time evolution.

My impermanent is Vijay Yellai, who is the programme manager for endeavor assets readying translation astatine the World Bank Group.

This podcast is produced successful concern with Infosys Cobalt.

Welcome Vijay.

Vijay Yellai: Thank you.

Laurel: Could you springiness america an overview of however the World Bank operates and past possibly immoderate of the ways it helps countries with innovation and integer solutions that volition make that economical transformation?

Vijay: So earlier I bash that, fto maine archetypal little you connected the sanction World Bank and arsenic an enactment itself. World Bank, arsenic everyone knows, is really 1 of the 5 institutions of what is really the World Bank Group. The ineligible name, the authoritative sanction of the instauration is called the International Bank for Reconstruction Development (IBRD), which was created aft World War II, which is what we each cognize arsenic the World Bank today. But determination are 4 different institutions that, on with this, that signifier the World Bank Group itself. So the IBRD focuses connected helping the debased and the mediate income countries by providing improvement and argumentation financing. There is different instauration successful the World Bank Group, called the International Development Association, which provides a precise akin benignant of assistance to processing countries, but it focuses much connected debased income countries, not the mediate income countries, providing them zero to debased involvement loans and grants.

Both of these institutions absorption connected astir similar the nationalist assemblage of a fixed country. Then we person the International Finance Corporation, which focuses connected the backstage assemblage of a fixed state to assistance conscionable its goals, mobilizing backstage assemblage concern and provides method advice. Then we person 2 different institutions that supply a antithetic benignant of fiscal enactment for these. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency provides governmental hazard security for backstage investors successful overseas countries. So they travel guardant not disquieted astir governmental risks and their wealth not being utilized well. Then we person the International Center for Settling Investment Disputes, which absorption connected settling disputes betwixt countries. So these 5 institutions of the World Bank Group enactment towards 2 communal goals, arsenic we each know, which is to trim poorness and physique shared prosperity. So that goes with the inheritance of the World Bank Group itself. So fundamentally what is that we do?

We are trying to assistance processing countries flight poorness and stock prosperity. So however bash we bash that? We are not a nett making company. We bash not merchantability products and services. We cannot vie successful the backstage markets successful that sense. So however bash we operate? We mobilize wealth from assorted sources. We person galore fiscal resources that travel for help. One is our subordinate countries subscribe for superior for voting rights. We get wealth done bonds from the superior markets astatine debased involvement rate, owing to a triple AAA recognition standing that we have, and we besides person donor contribution. So we mobilize fiscal resources from aggregate channels and enactment them to usage to assistance our processing countries that are successful request of our fiscal assistance and method proposal and services. So this is what the World Bank Group does.

Now, however does it operate? Very captious and indispensable to the World Bank Group occurrence are a mates of things. This information, which is the earthy signifier of, arsenic we telephone this data, the knowledge, and our workforce. Our workforce is nomadic. It's a planetary workforce, ever connected the move. Reaching retired to countries and going retired to places that usually are not the astir breathtaking for a regular person. With each of this, exertion plays a precise large role, not lone for america but besides our clients. We bash assistance galore of the processing countries successful utilizing exertion to assistance their ain interior processes and innovations. For example, we bash assistance countries found procurement systems arsenic a assistance and a method advice. Then we are providing a indebtedness to conception a bridge. Because it's precise important for america to guarantee that the wealth is being spent efficiently and we're capable to hint the results. We're capable to control, we're capable to supervise the investment, and immoderate of the processing countries whitethorn not beryllium capable to bash that by themselves, truthful we assistance them.

And the different mode we besides assistance those, our IT colleagues bash enactment with our operational unit and supply a batch of solutions that enactment connected debased bandwidth, debased infrastructure due to the fact that we are moving with countries wherever infrastructure cannot beryllium taken for granted. I retrieve backmost successful aboriginal 2000s wherever successful countries similar Africa oregon India, substance messages are the lone champion imaginable and accessible technology. So we person to assistance them travel up with solutions that tin enactment connected debased bandwidth infrastructure arsenic well. While precocious countries similar the United States and Europe whitethorn person a batch of modern technologies successful place, innovating successful a spot wherever exertion and infrastructure are not astatine its champion really increases the challenges for an enactment similar the World Bank Group successful helping countries bash that. So exertion and innovation is portion and parcel of what we effort to bash successful helping assorted lawsuit countries successful presumption of agriculture, successful presumption of irrigation systems, wherever, immoderate assemblage we enactment on, exertion plays a relation and we effort to spot however champion to assistance utilize that.

Laurel: So considering that benignant of breadth of lawsuit that you bash have, what does the World Bank Group's ain IT modernization travel look similar close now?

Vijay: So again, going backmost to the roots of the World Bank Group and however we run and wherefore we adjacent exist. Yes, we are operating successful an ever increasing analyzable situation with a planetary workforce and we're perpetually operating nether galore constraints that travel from wrong the enactment and outside. So wherefore bash I accidental that? World Bank is perpetually nether a unit to bash much with less, arsenic we telephone it. So we request to mobilize much finance, batch of finance, and proceed to assistance the processing countries wherever the needs are perpetually increasing. So successful an ever-changing environment, by complexity, risk, and information threats with a planetary workforce, and the World Bank being nether unit to bash much with less, we look to capitalize connected exertion to conscionable our ngo and goals. So our concern and IT spell manus successful manus to assistance present the World Bank Group's mission.

So, what are we focusing connected arsenic IT modernization journey? Before I speech astir what precisely we are doing, fto maine speech astir what we're aiming towards. We're aiming towards enabling concern to beryllium much agile, beryllium capable to respond to the changing needs astir america successful a constrained situation quicker, assistance our unit beryllium much productive, and collaborate from wherever they're moving from crossed the globe. And information and hazard and information are cardinal elements. Not to notation the continuous request for concern quality and speedy determination making. So with that said, our IT modernization travel is focusing connected aggregate streams. Data utilizing modern technology, modernizing the platforms and modernizing the mode our clients and our interior users tin devour information is simply a captious aspect. It's 1 constituent of information modernization wherever we're moving our systems and information platforms to the unreality to beryllium much accessible, much secure, and faster from debased web parts of the world.

Then we are besides focusing connected systems that are our systems of record, similar our quality resources, our fiscal assets readying systems, our treasury and hazard systems wherever we continuously person to marque definite we clasp a triple AAA recognition rating, we are transparent, we are accountable, and we are capable to hint each azygous dollar that comes successful and goes out. So different conception of IT modernization is focusing connected fiscal systems. Then we person task portfolio absorption systems wherever immoderate different systems that assistance our outer staff, erstwhile they accidental outer unit that are ever operating successful the beforehand lines. Modernizing  operational systems to assistance them. And modernizing systems that are related to our backmost office. So we absorption connected IT modernization based connected the concern we are helping, and each of them volition person a antithetic spirit of modernization techniques and exertion that request to travel into play. But communal to each of this is going to beryllium agility, hazard management, productivity, and quicker determination making.

Laurel: So, to benignant of tackle each of these challenges some internally and externally, successful 2018, the World Bank Group started a unreality translation task to amended each those types of interior processes and assistance physique those analyzable fiscal systems. Could you springiness america an overview of immoderate of the challenges that are improved by moving processes and systems to the cloud?

Vijay: So our unreality travel really started adjacent earlier 2018. We absorption much connected the fiscal systems wherever we had to instrumentality much time, hold for the unreality infrastructure to mature, considering the hazard illustration of the information and the determination making. But unreality journey, arsenic such, did commencement earlier than 2018 successful the World Bank Group. Like I said previously, we person a exertion strategy which is precise tailored to the enactment of concern that we're serving. So the unreality travel started overmuch ahead, wherever we started focusing connected overmuch of our infrastructure moving to the cloud, and past we focused connected our improvement platforms due to the fact that we bash make a batch of location grown solutions for the interior and outer clients. So moving those applications to the unreality besides started overmuch earlier that. It is successful the caller years that we started focusing connected fiscal systems and immoderate of the quality resource, quality superior absorption capabilities, if I whitethorn usage the word, moving to the cloud. And what were the challenges oregon immoderate of the symptom points we were capable to address?

Covid is an fantabulous illustration of however that happening came to our help. Covid is 1 of the instances wherever we could instantly spot the worth of migrating immoderate of our exertion and immoderate of our processes to the cloud. That really helped our planetary workforce run seamlessly from wherever they are, adjacent though question was locked down for the past mates of years. The aforesaid applies to our backmost office, and IT, and different enactment systems arsenic well. So that is 1 aspect.

And the 2nd facet of it is our infrastructure footprint has started reducing and helping america respond to information and different risks overmuch faster, and successful a overmuch much robust way. There are immoderate much challenges that proceed to prevail and we are tackling them arsenic we spell on due to the fact that not each of the challenges we person are internal. Some of our vendor partners request to drawback up arsenic well. Case successful constituent being the ERP  vendors. There are antithetic ERP vendors that person antithetic gait and antithetic positions oregon junctures successful that travel of unreality transformation. So determination is simply a small spot of alignment that needs to instrumentality spot with that arsenic well, which I presume we'll beryllium talking astir successful the remainder of the league of however the fiscal ERP systems are moving successful that direction.

Laurel: And truthful close present you person a precise ample task happening to modernize endeavor assets readying oregon ERP systems, which includes a batch of backmost bureau functions, similar question expenses and keeping way of payments. So, what volition a modern ERP strategy assistance the slope do?

Vijay: The modern ERP strategy is going to assistance america bash much with less, which is what I quoted earlier on. World Bank Group manages rather a batch of fiscal resources that travel from galore antithetic channels and we are liable to negociate them well, beryllium accountable for them, beryllium precise transparent successful however the wealth is being spent, and enactment the wealth to bully usage to its intended intent and execute the outcomes. So, our fiscal medication departments person rather a batch of concern processes that assistance them bash this, and bash this well, successful a mode that we are capable to hint transparently each the fiscal activities that instrumentality spot and beryllium accountable for them and study backmost to our subordinate countries, our donors, and different lawsuit countries. So 1 of the things we are looking for arsenic portion of the ERP modernization is however nimble tin we get?

How tin we assistance concern beryllium agile? As you each mightiness know, fiscal constraints are prevailing each implicit the place. So mobilizing funds is not the easiest happening astatine this time. That is so generating much and much needs connected the lawsuit state broadside for fiscal assistance. So the ERP is going to assistance america beryllium much productive internally, trim much of the manual work, and assistance america integrate our workforce, our data, our processes crossed enactment and our officers crossed the globe. So yet it'll assistance america bash much with less. Productivity, agility to respond to concern needs, negociate concern risk, and quicker determination making is what we are looking to get retired of this modern ERP.

Laurel: So specifically, however does that modernized ERP strategy assistance with interior needs similar compliance and fiscal reporting? You mentioned it briefly, but there's got to beryllium rather a spot of that there.

Vijay: Compliance and controls and fiscal reporting are inherent requirements successful WBG’s concern processes. They're truly cardinal to each of our systems implementations that we person successful place. We person been doing this with assistance of aggregate technologies that integrate and we orchestrate them. And we are noticing that arsenic integration technologies improved, immoderate of our manual enactment was reduced implicit time. But what is getting america excited much with modern ERPs is, not lone bash they trim the request for integrating aggregate technologies by offering these capabilities inherently successful them, but they've gone 1 measurement further. They've embedded artificial quality and predictive analytics and prescriptive analytics that tin assistance organizations similar us, not lone enactment successful compliance and instrumentality controls and automate fiscal reporting, but proactively drawback information anomalies that we mightiness spot successful them. And besides prescribing definite corrections that mightiness person to instrumentality spot successful the strategy alternatively than waiting for it and patching that successful alternatively than having to redo the manual enactment again.

So, this is thing which is looking precise promising retired determination successful the modern ERPs and we are evaluating them arsenic we speak. And we are hoping to truly person a bully intelligent strategy that tin assistance trim overmuch of the manual enactment and enactment successful compliance with the outer and interior requirements that we have.

Laurel: And past however volition it assistance conscionable the outer oregon lawsuit demands, similar you said, transparency and indebtedness management?

Vijay: So fto america speech astir what transparency means to our clients and our donors and subordinate countries. For donors, the transparency is, each the funds that the slope raised, wherever did it go? Did it get enactment to usage for the intended purpose? Did it conscionable the goals? Were the results achieved? And not conscionable whether the lawsuit state achieved it, but did it really effect successful payment to the eventual beneficiary? So the needs they person are perpetually evolving and they're getting much innovative and originative successful what they would similar to see. How overmuch would they similar to spot erstwhile it comes to traceability? Similarly, clients privation to bash the same. Our lawsuit countries privation to cognize however overmuch of the wealth raised is coming to them, however is it helping them, and what is the relation the slope is playing successful ensuring everybody is getting the wealth and getting the fiscal assistance they are expected to get.

Laurel: So, erstwhile we look astatine each of this, you did notation information and concern analytics, but however does the World Bank Group deliberation astir satellite real-time information and analytics to amended that benignant of transparency and lawsuit acquisition of the 180 subordinate countries? Because arsenic you mentioned, it benignant of varies and you person a narration to support with each 1 of those loans that spell out, and tracing backmost each dollar to beryllium that you are, you're spending wisely.

Vijay: This is an country that the World Bank Group has continuously been strengthening and enhancing, ne'er taking a intermission and ne'er being satisfied with immoderate we have. Because the World Bank Group does look galore challenges successful helping the poorest people, and that everybody sees the benefits from the economical growth. Data is precise cardinal to that. And information and probe helps america recognize however we are addressing the needs, helps america acceptable up priorities, helps america stock knowledge, and helps america measurement progress. So erstwhile I look astatine it outer facing, truthful the World Bank Group ever needs to support looking at, who person I helped? How has it helped? How bash I amended my full process? What other tin I bash to assistance this satellite better? And World Bank Group besides serves arsenic 1 of the cognition repositories for the different improvement banks and different processing countries successful however to bash assorted things. How to assistance different countries. What are the ways successful which you tin help? What mightiness a peculiar task oregon a assistance really assistance successful achieving the results?

And similarly, similar I said, accusation is ever connected demand. Both for our clients and our donors astir however overmuch much tin you archer maine astir what is going connected successful the world? Who is needing help? And however is our wealth and solutions, however is it really helping them? How is it achieving the benefits? With this changeless need, we besides person our interior fiscal administrative and operational processes, internally the back-office processes, arsenic you telephone them, continuously wanting to look astatine information successful existent time. Looking astatine what is my inflow? How is my inflow changing? Is determination immoderate adjustments I request to bash to the outflow? Am I harmless with outflow commitments that I person made.

So information and real-time information analytics and concern quality is portion and parcel of our enactment that we do. And we person been continuously focusing connected that. And we person established rather a beardown information governing mechanisms internally. And we are continuing to put successful exertion and processes that assistance america and immoderate modern exertion that we look to procure. One of the cardinal elements we look for successful that is however does the exertion assistance america with existent clip insights into the information that is supported wrong that level without having to spell to 10 antithetic places, if I whitethorn say.

Laurel: What are immoderate examples of innovation that you spot are imaginable with a modernized IT system?

Vijay: We spot the possibilities of real-time integration of information from assorted sources and assorted concern units and the planetary nomadic workforce that we have. We besides spot the anticipation of process automation and improving unit productivity and efficiencies. And we spot this successful galore fronts. And we person acceptable up a lab, the integer lab, conscionable to support experimenting connected technologies specified arsenic blockchain, artificial intelligence, instrumentality language, predictive analytics, and truthful on. And the intent of this laboratory is to perpetually support an oculus connected immoderate of these modern technologies, fig retired ways connected however it tin beryllium applied to the WBG concern and however to assistance unit innovate and selecting caller technologies, pursuing these patterns, and applying immoderate of these concepts that we continuously improve.

Laurel: So, with that benignant of oculus to the aboriginal with emerging technologies similar blockchain, what are you astir excited about?

Vijay: Blockchain is 1 of the things we are excited astir due to the fact that that does assistance america supply this hint from the opening to the end. In fact, we person done immoderate prototypes and impervious of concepts already connected that. The adjacent happening we are excited astir is decidedly the predictive analytics, considering that we person been successful the concern for implicit fractional a century. We person exertion successful spot for much than 30 years and we person collected information implicit these fewer decades. For us, the biggest happening is, oregon the astir breathtaking happening would be, concern quality and predictive analytics wherever we spot patterns, we spot emerging patterns, and we spot repeating patterns, and we tin marque quicker decisions and recalibrate ourselves precise quickly. And we bash woody with a batch of outer vendors. So for us, the multi-language capabilities, enterprise-to-enterprise integration, wherever we tin trim the paperwork and emails, is different breathtaking thing.

And earthy connection processing would beryllium different breathtaking happening for america wherever we bash not person to person our employees logging into a instrumentality with the paper and clicking connected buttons present and there, but who tin intelligibly accidental what they privation and the strategy tin rapidly respond with accusation oregon answers. So these are immoderate of the things that excite us.

Last but not least, thing we tin bash to trim the enactment we request to bash successful technology, but fto the exertion bash much for us, truthful we tin absorption our clip connected the strategical priorities, volition beryllium the astir breathtaking happening for us.

Laurel: Well, that's precise promising Vijay. Thank you truthful overmuch for joining america contiguous connected the Business Lab.

Vijay: Thank you for having maine here.

Laurel: That was Vijay Yellai, from the World Bank Group, who I spoke with from Cambridge, Massachusetts, the location of MIT and MIT exertion review, overlooking the Charles River.

That's it for this occurrence of Business Lab. I'm your host, Laurel Ruma. I'm the manager of Insights, the customized publishing part of MIT Technology Review. We were founded successful 1899, astatine the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and you tin find america successful people connected the web and astatine events each twelvemonth astir the world. For much accusation astir america and this show, delight cheque retired our website astatine technologyreview.com.

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