The Technology Interview: Hriday Ravindranath
It’s unsurprising that a technology leader like Orange Business’ Hriday Ravindranath sits at the crossroads of some of the most pressing issues in enterprise technology today.
With a remit that covers not only the vast technical infrastructure of Orange Business but also its digital transformation agenda, Hriday’s perspective offers an insight into the challenges and opportunities facing global technology leaders.
Hriday joined Orange Business from BT in 2023, having previously worked at Tech Mahindra.
Now working in what Orange Business calls ‘the three Cs’ of connectivity, cloud and cybersecurity, Hriday works with anyone from SMEs in France to some of the largest multinationals around the world.
Connectivity, cloud and cybersecurity
It’s this positioning at the intersection of three foundational pillars of modern business technology that gives Hriday and Orange Business a unique vantage point.
The company’s reach, from SMEs to global giants, means it must address a broad spectrum of needs, regulatory environments and security concerns.
This becomes increasingly important as the balance between rapid technological innovation and the imperative to maintain trust continues to present as a defining challenge.
“This is increasingly a challenge for ourselves, but for our customers as well, because we deal with customers within the European markets and around the world,” he says, “It is becoming a very, very difficult balance to navigate. And when we talk about trust, we need to acknowledge that trust spans across multiple dimensions.
“Trust covers of course our ability to manage and ensure that our solutions and services conform to the ever-increasing and ever-changing regulatory context, however trust doesn't mean we close borders. We need to be able to ensure that, in a digital world we are able to integrate, able to build and leverage innovation from all across the world all while ensuring that we are able to meet very stringent regulatory standards.”
The security perspective is equally important to Hriday, ensuring Orange Business manages the growing cybersecurity risks that technology fragmentation introduces both for itself and its clients.
Data privacy also comes into play, ensuring that only the right people have access to data and that privacy is managed to the highest standard.
“The final aspect of trust – which often does not get talked about enough, in my opinion – is the responsible use of technology,” he continues. “AI is starting to put that in much more focus. The impact of how that is being leveraged and we manage responsible use is going to be key to the future.
“All of these dimensions need to be managed. The way I would suggest that we navigate trust and innovation is that we need to ensure that it is not seen as a fixed target.”
The road to resilient, secure digital infrastructure
The geopolitical landscape has become increasingly volatile, meaning the resilience of digital infrastructure is now a board-level concern for enterprises.
For Hriday, modularity is essential. “One of the key things you need to think about is modularity in architecture and infrastructure. This needs to be thought through from an infrastructure perspective, from hosting and cloud, but also — and sometimes overlooked — from a connectivity capability perspective.”
“How do we make sure that you’re building networks and capabilities that connect into the cloud that also reflect the sovereign needs of your enterprise? That’s something that needs to be looked at increasingly.
It’s not just data residency or data at rest; it’s also data in transit. You have to look at this as a holistic puzzle to navigate. We need to solve these challenges for ourselves.
We, as Orange Business, serve some incredibly sensitive clients, which is why this is something that we are now putting at the core of our differentiation as well.
Building trust into all our products and services is now at the core of our differentiation.”
It’s this washing machine of change that, for Hriday, has reinforced the fact that the role of CIOs and their equivalents has transformed dramatically in recent years.
Candid on the scale of the shift, he says: “Probably the most disruptive force that exists today in industry, enterprise and society is technology.
“Over the last decade or two – with cloud, applications and SaaS – business models have been completely disrupted. Now, with AI, this is becoming an even stronger force.
“Digital disruption means that the role of the CIO, CTIO or CDIO has transitioned from being the IT back office for the enterprise to a transformation partner or the custodian of the digital transformation change.
“As a CDIO myself dealing with customers who are all going through a very similar journey, we’re all making a shift, helping the business now completely flip an operating model or business model by leveraging all of these advancements in tech.”
He believes that mindset is critical: “One of the things I keep saying to my own team is that the mindset shift isn’t just about thinking about the business or about customers — it’s thinking like the business and like our customer,” he adds. “Even that subtle shift in thinking can create the momentum to drive change.”
The role of talent and skills
In a sector where change is relentless, the fight for talent is fierce. Hriday sees upskilling and reskilling as non-negotiable, especially considering the landscape, but believes that purpose is the real differentiator.
“The war for talent is probably one of the most critical challenges enterprises face, especially with technology changing so quickly,” he shares. “At Orange, we’ve been very good with our upskilling and reskilling programmes, something we’ve built the foundations for over many years.
“It’s something that we’ve built the foundations for beyond just the capability of ensuring that you're able to keep people engaged and skilled on the right things.
“I think what actually retains people in your organisation is connecting them to a strong sense of purpose. That purpose is probably what sort of drives belonging and wanting to stick around in a company.”
For Orange Business, that purpose is clear. Hriday adds: “We believe our purpose is to bring trust to this ever-changing, crazy world. It’s increasingly becoming the forefront of our vision statement and narrative. Our heritage and brand are founded on trust, and that’s even more important now, especially as a European company operating in a complex world.”
Balancing disruption and stability
The challenge for leaders like Hriday, he acknowledges, is to maintain stability and trust while also driving disruption.
With AI continuing to blaze its path and quantum forging its own way, he is clear about the technologies that will shape the future of the CIO role and the broader technology C-suite.
“I’m really privileged to see the tech landscape evolving,” he says.
“One of the most profound changes will absolutely be AI. There’s a lot of hype, but the way AI is adopted in the enterprise is not yet at enterprise grade — it’s still at consumer grade.
“The shift to true enterprise-grade AI, where it disrupts operating models, is yet to happen. It won’t happen overnight, but in five years, the change will be dramatic for almost every company.”
And when it comes to quantum computing, there’s a particular focus for regulated industries and those dealing with sensitive data.
“Quantum computing has incredible benefits, but it also brings risks. Current encryption methods will become obsolete once quantum becomes a reality. Companies need to start thinking about that risk now, not as a future issue.
“At Orange, we’ve just announced a product called Quantum Defender, which fuses post-quantum cryptography with quantum key distribution.
“It enables you to secure your information for the future state, preparing you for what’s coming.”
But technology is only part of the story.
For Hriday, the human angle is equally critical.
“Beyond AI and quantum, companies need to think about the human adaptation angle to tech changes.
“There will be deep societal impact, especially from AI. We need to think about how companies adapt from a human perspective — in terms of operating models, people, roles and the future of work.
“It could be an incredible opportunity, but if you’re not planning ahead, it might become a threat as well.”
Read this feature in the August edition of Technology Magazine by clicking here.
