The India edition of World Cloud Show catalyzed the development of the Indian government's Cloud Vision, shedding light on several initiatives for the development of Cloud Computing and Data Centers in India, as well as the economic contribution that organisations supporting cloud computing are making to the country. Government officials, tech sector titans, and a stellar lineup of over 25 esteemed speakers from top international organizations were present at this event to provide their insightful feedback.

The conference's main themes were adapting to the new normal and managing the upcoming Cloud and Data Centers transformation. It presented divergent perspectives from a diversified industry by exchanging ideas, addressing significant learning, and emphasizing recent advancements from the corporate, government, and professional sectors.

Some of the top speakers who took the center stage included:

• Suresh Sankaranarayanan; Senior EVP & CTO, Kotak General Insurance
• Nikunj Jain; CIO & Digital Leader, P&G India
• Ekhlaque Bari; CIO Jubilant Food Works
• Dr Avadhut Parab; Chief Information Officer, Parle Agro
• Sourav Das; Chief Digital & Information Officer, Essel Mining – Aditya Birla Group
• Viral Davde; Chief Technology Officer, NCDEX
• Ananth Kumar; Engineering Leader, Site24x7
• Vinod Kumar; EVP & Chief Information Officer, Fino Payments Bank
• Ninad Raje; Director & Chief Information Officer, Health Assure
• Amajit Gupta; CEO, Lightstorm
• Vamsi Krishna Ithamraju; Chief Technology Officer, Axis Mutual fund
• Abhishek Sukhwal; Head Cloud Center of Excellence, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
• Rajgopal Nayak; Chief Technology Officer, Metro Brands
• Ashish Sharma; Strategy Head Special Projects, Web Werks
• Roberto Frongia; Strategy & Operations Director Technology and Digital Compute & Innovation NEOM KSA
• Suresh Chandrasekaran; Executive Vice President, Denodo
• Manish Kishore; Global CIO Wockhardt ltd
• Nasreen Khan; Head – Cloud & Cloud Security, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

Ninad Raje, Director & CIO, Health Assure, remarks, "If cloud technology is the soil, then Data Centers are the pipeline that supplies the water to the soil." While shedding light on the exponential expansion of the data center market at the World Cloud Show – India, Ninad added, "In the Indian market, Data Centers are unquestionably here to stay and are committed to the long term."

Dr Avadhut Parab, CIO, Parle Agro, offered significant insights on the application of AI and ML, "Machine learning and artificial intelligence are no longer myths. The improvement of customer service and experience through data augmentation based on customer feedback increases brand recognition. IT and business operations are now run much more efficiently, thanks to AI and ML.”

Suresh Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President, Denodo, took part in a panel discussion and listed top three takeaways from the current environment in the data center industry, and said, "Before collecting data, organisations must continually connect the data. Data literacy and unified data control are required for every organisation, as is the decoupling of business transformation and IT operations."

The various cloud models and services enabling enterprises to implement the cloud in different ways and effectively invest in technology were one of the major topics of discussion at the event. The speakers on this panel included Suresh Sankaranarayanan, Senior EVP & CTO, Kotak General Insurance; Nikunj Jain, CIO & Digital Leader, P&G India; Prasanna C, Head of Product & Marketing, Lightstorm; and Manish Kishore, Global CIO, Wockhardt Ltd.

In this panel discussion, panellists talked about the best cloud migration approaches for companies in a variety of industries. The panel also discussed heavily on the value proposition of Kubernetes in the modern workspace and edge computing.

Another notable panel discussion during the event covered the topic of ‘Data Centers Reimagined: AI, ML, Edge & Virtualization’. The panel examined cutting-edge data center technology and how organizations can use it to maximize the value of their data. The speakers of the panel included Dr Avadhut Parad, CIO, and Parle Agro; Sourav Das, CIDO, Aditya Birla Group. Viral Davde, CTO, NCDEX; Vinod Kumar, EVP & CIO, Fino Payments Bank. 

The panel talked about the rapid expansion of ML and AI in the Indian market. Panellists gave insights on the various tools used for the functioning of Data Centers, whilst also shedding light on the role of edge in sustainability initiatives.

Large enterprises have diversified business functions, converged technologies have given enterprises the scalability while significantly reducing time to market,” quoted Sourav Das, CIDO, Aditya Birla Group as he shared his thoughts on converged technologies at Trescon’s World Cloud Show – India.

Lightstorm's Amajit Gupta gave a comprehensive presentation on the theme of powering the inevitable network. He emphasized how important it is for a network to be able to adapt to the rapidly changing environment in which we live. For organizations to succeed, modern networks and the speed at which information is sent to them are essential. “Every business owner wants to be at the vanguard of a digital revolution,” stated Mr Amajit Gupta, CEO of Lightstorm, while discussing new technological developments at Trescon’s World Cloud Show. He added, “It is a logical progression given that businesses can now sell everywhere thanks to cloud technologies. Instead of increasing their physical footprint, businesses will concentrate on growing their digital footprint.”

Ananth Kumar, Engineering Leader, Site24x7 gave another very impactful presentation to the audience about choosing a monitoring system and various factors to consider. He highlighted the distinctions between on-prem and SaaS solutions by emphasizing the business's cost, time, skill, and requirements.

Basil Dhange, CISO of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd., shared his top tips for moving to the cloud, and quoted, “It is critical to identify pain-points of on-premise before migrating to the cloud, also very important to understand your data and then embark on your cloud journey."

“We need to switch from a smart approach to one that is more holistic and cognitive. We are looking for innovation in every corner of the world. The Indian market is highly valued by NEOM and we intend to utilize it to advance our endeavour to accelerate human progress,” Roberto Frongia, Strategy & Operations Director Technology and Digital Compute & Innovation NEOM KSA.

Presenting the hybrid cloud platform of Web Werks, which scales with the expansion of businesses was Ashish Kumar, Strategy Head of Projects at Web Werks. Among the subjects covered by Mr Ashish Sharma were the data fabric, contemporary data management technologies and integration, and augmented or automated data management. A thorough presentation that addressed all the concerns and questions that several decision-makers had.

Nasreen Khan, Head of Cloud & Cloud Security, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., commented as she moderated the panel discussion on cloud security, and said, "Cloud has a huge range. Like the weather, it is a dynamic environment that changes. As soon as your company makes the major switch to the cloud, I suggest doing routine data audits."

The 18th global edition of World Cloud Show is officially sponsored by:

• Supported By: NITI Aayog 
• Co-Powered By: Lightstorm 
• Gold Partner: Site24x7 & Web Werks 
• Silver Partner: Denodo 

About Cloud Show:

World Cloud Show is a global series of events that take place in cities all over the world and are focused on business and thought leadership.

The Indian edition of the world tour will bring together qualified CIOs, CTOs, COOs, Heads of Cloud, Heads of IT Infrastructure, Heads of Data Center Operations - IT Data Center Administrator, DevOps Leaders, Heads of Digital Transformation/Innovation, and Experts in Cloud Computing from across India's industry verticals, all under one roof.