Baker Tilly CEO-Partner: Embrace engagement and innovation for business relevance, competitive edge

For Dr Swamy Pentyala, embracing digital transformation is not just about staying relevant in today's digital age; it is also about contributing to the greater good of society and the planet.

In today's fast-paced and interconnected world, digital transformation has become a critical factor for businesses and governments to remain competitive and relevant. Embracing technology and innovative solutions is no longer an option but a necessity for organisations to thrive in the digital era.

Dr Swamy Pentyala, the Partner - CEO of Infotech Solutions & Technology Practice Leader at Baker Tilly ME, has vast expertise and a passion for purpose-built digital platforms that have made him a prominent figure in driving sustainable technology adoption. He has an impressive industry experience of over 22 years, spanning various sectors, including the public sector, logistics, investment authorities, retail, healthcare, agriculture, and more. His extensive knowledge and leadership skills have enabled him to excel in roles such as product design and development, program and project management, digital transformation, business management, and solution & service delivery management.

Notably, Dr Pentyala is a strong advocate of purpose-built industry-specific digital platforms that leverage domain knowledge, technology best practices, real-time analytics, and governance to achieve comprehensive and tangible business transformation.

We had the opportunity to gain valuable insights into purpose-built digital transformation from Dr Pentyala, as he emphasised the importance of adopting systems of engagement and innovation to foster sustainable technology adoption. For him, governments in the Middle East should invest in establishing digital expressways across domains to eliminate the need for repeated investments and help control and optimise resources and outcomes effectively.

As the CEO of Infotech Solutions and the Technology Practice Leader, you have emphasised the importance of purpose-built industry-specific digital platforms. Could you elaborate on how these platforms have helped organisations in the Middle East achieve comprehensive business transformation and tangible results?

We call this Transformation-as-a-Service (TaaS). TaaS platforms are purpose-built verticalised platforms that provide full backward and forward integration of the entire ecosystem. TaaS platform encompasses the knowledgebase of the specific domain in question, industry associations and compliance frameworks also to make it a highly efficient enabler to make digital transformation effortless for enterprises. Basically, we need not reinvent the wheel every time. You have a ready ecosystem that you can connect to sharing only those common resources that you would be interested in without compromising on your own data privacy and business protection.

We have built a huge TravelTech ecosystem where all major GDS’, NDC, LCCs, content providers, aggregators, inventory suppliers, flight schedulers, hospitality businesses, and all other stakeholders including the customers for seamless collaboration across the length and breadth of the ecosystem besides having the complete operations automation for travel businesses to move from agent-centric model to AI-based optimised operationally efficient model that can improve the profitability whilst plugging the leakages and eliminating the inefficiencies and barriers.

One of our TravelTech customers who is a pioneer in the TravelTech industry in the Middle East with over 60 years of business operations, could save over AED 65m in the last two years ever since they adapted our TravelTech Platform. There are very few TaaS platforms over the world because it requires sound strategy, deep pockets, and committed resources to develop such sustainable ecosystems that make it a win-win for all stakeholders.

There is a need for more such TaaS platforms to be built. Imagine a scenario where all retailers big and small can use a TaaS platform where they can use the common core infrastructure that enables them to tap into a huge ecosystem which would cost millions of dollars and years to build which would be totally counterproductive. Governments can provide such digital expressways to ensure a fair and level playing field for all stakeholders. Consolidated common-core infrastructure helps governments to protect public interest, health, and welfare besides reducing the cost of enforcing compliance.

As a thought leader, you advocate for systems of engagement and innovation to promote sustainable technology adoption. How can organisations be encouraged to embrace these principles and foster a culture of innovation within their teams?

Business is all about demand and supply. Systems of engagement and innovation help bridge the gap effectively and efficiently to build demand-driven and sustainable ecosystems without encouraging any predatory behaviour. It is all about peaceful co-existence and at a macro level, we all have very limited resources, and our health, and that of the planet is cyclical. “What we sow shall we reap.” SDG and ESG should work hand in glove for no business wants its customers to be poor.

Look at this if your products and services make your customers poor, who will you sell to and how will you make money? Therefore the only way forward for any business is to make sure that you give more to the ecosystem so that you can get more. Businesses have to build ethical, social, and environmental capital in order to remain relevant to the planet. Otherwise, they will perish sooner or later. Therefore embracing the systems of engagement and innovation is the only way forward for any business to remain relevant, retain its competitive edge, and be loved by its customers.

The Middle East is known for its rapid technological advancements and increasing digital economy. In your opinion, what are the unique opportunities and challenges that the region faces in harnessing the full potential of digital technologies, and how can organisations leverage these opportunities whilst addressing the associated challenges effectively?

The world is fast becoming very flat through digital and AI. As I mentioned, we are all connected through the common and limited resources we all have at our disposal. Climate change is the macro-level manifestation of “One Planet...One Energy…One Health.” We need to be more inclusive and accommodating, realising the butterfly effect, this is where you will see the potential of digital and AI to interconnect all the dots as the butterfly effect builds over a period of time. Each and every action, however big or small, will get amplified if the frequency increases to the global proportions over the time dimension. If our actions are planet friendly, they will counter the adverse effects on the planet, or else we will expedite the onset of the inevitable. Basically, it is all about making the inevitable delayed as long as possible. In the process, we might even get over the inevitable. It is all about how effectively we are marshalling the Global Resource Collective of the planet.

The Middle East has the language and culture dividend to develop its version of the digital ecosystems. Stable and visionary leadership is the biggest advantage the region (especially GCC) is bestowed with, having those who are always ready to embrace change and innovate.

Governments should invest in establishing digital expressways across domains to eliminate repeated investments, building up thick-walled microcosms within, making it difficult to control and optimise the resources and outcomes. The best way to optimise the investments in establishing the digital expressways is to partner with like-minded technology players to expedite the establishment and adaption of the digital ecosystems on behalf of the government. This will tremendously improve the fortunes of the governments, public, and the planet.

Here we can take a leaf out of the government of India's playbook, where they are offering their digital platforms like UPI to other governments in Asia and Africa. Going one step forward may be the government of UAE, may offer the customs and logistics platforms they are building to other countries to make the world a safer and better place.

Fostering the digital economy is a priority for many countries and regions. From your perspective, what are the key benefits that the digital economy can bring to the Middle East? How can organisations, governments, and individuals collaborate to maximise these benefits and drive socio-economic growth?

Very good question. Let me take the analogy of Sheik Zayed Road, it evolved from a single-line road to a sophisticated expressway, used by the public and businesses to move people and goods. The government has invested in building the expressway, which enabled life and business phenomenally bringing in direct and indirect revenue for the government. Since governments are the only ones who can think of the greater good at scale and it is their august intention of making the country a better place, it is all the more important for them to establish the digital expressways in a public-private partnership model. Governments should lay down the strategy, compliance, and enforcement functions in order to ensure the sanctity and holistic intentions prevail all around to establish a fair, equitable, sustainable, and value-laden ecosystem that reinvents itself with time. Digital makes us more human when its power is harnessed, managed, monitored, controlled, enhanced, and optimised by an unequivocal and committed big daddy. Digital is the easiest and surest way to make all stakeholders of the ecosystem understand their respective roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities. Not only this, digital can provide the feedback for the entire ecosystem to correct and reinvent itself both at macro and micro levels.

Governments have never been equipped with such a powerful tool in the annals of recorded history. This is the greatest inflection point that governments should embrace to build a better planet and a better future.

With the rise of data-driven decision-making and real-time analytics, what role do you believe data analytics and artificial intelligence play in shaping the future of businesses in the Middle East?

As I mentioned earlier, digital makes you more human. Listening to your customers, bearing in mind your social and environmental responsibilities to make your products and services fit into the circular economy. Data analytics and AI eliminate unnecessary waste, save time through discovery, offer predictability, and facilitate demand-driven product and service offerings.

For example, the UAE government may save on healthcare costs and improve the productivity of the nation as a whole, if the government can establish a comprehensive digital ecosystem for the entire food production and consumption ecosystem of the country. Let me explain: if all the food consumption in the UAE provides good immunity, health, and well-being, be it available in supermarkets, offered in restaurants, or cooked at home, then you are making your workforce active, productive, and in the right frame of mind. I call this “Soil to Soul” ecosystem. Energy is cyclical throughout nature. Ensuring your people have access to only quality good food will help you as a government to reduce the cost of health care, improve immunity, reduce sick days of the entire workforce and more happy and productive workforce accomplishing more.

Data analytics and AI will help you measure, identify, predict, and pre-empt the responses and actions to increase the chance of enforcing positive outcomes.

As the judge of the Middle East Technology Excellence Awards, could you share some insights into the evaluation process? What specific qualities and criteria do you look for when assessing nominees, and how do you determine the winners in each category?

I have been on the panel for quite some time. The evaluation process is completely transparent with no interference whatsoever. Judges are of their free will. This platform will grow from strength to strength in the near future and will add immense value to the ecosystem in helping start-ups find the right footing to achieve greater success.

I look for the size of the challenge, global scalability, cultural adaptability, and innovation — not imitation.