Article: Metaverse to Web 3.0, leaders discuss post-pandemic tech evolution at People Matters TechHR India 2022

Leadership

Metaverse to Web 3.0, leaders discuss post-pandemic tech evolution at People Matters TechHR India 2022

The pandemic caused several micro-disruptions, giving rise to societal shifts which are reflected in the changing preferences of customers and employees. Leaders like Kirthiga Reddy, Harshvendra Soin and Manu Wadhwa talk about how we prepare for the unpredictable times ahead.
Metaverse to Web 3.0, leaders discuss post-pandemic tech evolution at People Matters TechHR India 2022

In this day and age, it’s impossible to ignore the impact of technology on business. Not to mention the lightning speed at which it’s developing. Technological advancements such as Metaverse, artificial intelligence and cloud databases are rapidly shaping an ever-evolving blueprint of how we conduct business in the future, regardless of whether you’re a multinational company or a newly formed startup.

If we look ahead five or 50 years from now, one thing is for sure, technology will impact the business scene as we know it! Digital disruption may feel like a buzzword, but the implications of its reach and influence have never been more noticeable. To discuss these technological evolutions in detail, we interacted with leaders including Kirthiga Reddy, President of Athena SPACs, Harshvendra Soin, Global Chief People Officer and Head of Marketing at Tech Mahindra, and Manu Wadhwa, CHRO of SONY Pictures, during an exclusive pre-conference LinkedIn Live for People Matters TechHR India 2022. 

Innovations that changed the world

Leaders identified the latest technologies that have reshaped the world to be able to Rethink What’s Possible in the ever-evolving world of business and work. After all, technological advancements have entirely revamped organisations by making their business processes highly integrated and more streamlined. 

From virtual reality to blockchain, 5G and Web 3.0, technological advancements have greatly facilitated many businesses in running their tasks smoothly and performing better than ever before. For Manu Wadhwa, Metaverse became a game changer. 

“For over a decade, people have talked about technology disruptions and digital transformations. And this trend of adoption went a notch higher in the past two to three years. We all witnessed ourselves, becoming experts in the virtual world. Therefore, the technology I'm betting on for today is Metaverse,” said Wadhwa.   

“I strongly believe that this is the space which will allow people to have endless opportunities. And, it has also started seeing cases where people will be able to connect in a three-dimensional format like never before,” she added. 

Harshvendra Soin believes 5G is the need of the hour as it has the potential to support millions of devices at ultrafast speed. “Today, one of the biggest problems is the lack of speed. So, I will say 5G is what I will bet on,” said Soin.    

He further explained, “5G is the network with 20 to 30 times more speed. Latency in a few sub-milliseconds, which means it's almost real-time. The reason why we are betting on it (5G) very heavily is because if today, everything gets broken, the networks will have a lot of problems. But in a 5G scenario, you can actually have your own set of networks, where you can do everything yourself, whether it's manufacturing, banking or business.” 

While Manu Wadhwa and Harshvendra Soin gave insight into the digital evolutions, Kirthiga Reddy stated an example to present a clearer picture of the ongoing tech transformation. “Let's think about AI data. It's changing every industry as we know it, whether it’s retail or e-commerce. Companies like BASF and Eightfold.ai use AI data to build a holistic picture of a resume that allows for better skill space matching,” said Reddy.

“It wasn't just about face matching a billion data points to do that better to help organisations in better planning. That kind of planning and that kind of power is what AI and data puts at the fingertips of all of the leaders out here,” she added. 

Futuristic technology that exists today

If we read science fiction novels that were written 50 years ago, we’ll discover countless descriptions of dream technologies. Well, believe it or not, most of these imagined technological advances are now used every day, especially in businesses. Harshvendra Soin revealed how recruitment at Tech Mahindra has transformed with the help of Metaverse. 

“We started our recruitment on Meta. It's very interesting that candidates and the interviewer meet in the Meta world. They actually are asked questions and interact and the AI engine that's already running behind gives a fabulous experience. Similarly, if we take a look at what's wrong with internet security, anybody can use it. The web 3.0 allows you to control security,” said Soin. 

Kirthiga Reddy shared another great example of futuristic technology. “We did a session at Tiguan, Silicon Valley, and we invited high school students to give us their pictures of what they would see in the future. And Kiara Roy, who won the first prize, described this beautiful picture, when she said, ‘I imagine a world where every person sitting there is hearing the session in their own language. So someone calling in from Japan is hearing it in Japanese, someone calling from China is hearing in Chinese and all of that is happening due to voice technology.' All these things, along with the inflexions, along with the emotions. So what is possible in the future is quite beautiful,” said Reddy.  

How do we unlearn and Rethink What’s Possible? 

In the past 70 years, we have seen major technological advancements in a very short amount of time. Of course, businesses have to adapt to keep up. If you didn’t grow up around technology like the millennial generation, adopting the latest technology trends to help run your business more efficiently becomes even more vital. The CHRO of Sony Pictures emphasised the same. 

“I learn from my ecosystem and I prefer to go to the users who are from the current generation. In my opinion, there is an opportunity for all of us to learn and relearn and that's exactly what I continue to do. Simple example is my team members telling me how to be a pro on Instagram. Same ways - look for experts to learn the technologies that may help your business grow,” said Wadhwa.  

Kirthiga Reddy believes that to bring in any change in an organisation, HR plays a key role. “If you’re a business leader, your HR partner will always be critical in building that business. HR just needs to embrace the love of learning and cultivate that love of technology overtime in organisation. What keeps me rethinking what's possible is a question that excites me a lot. The possibilities are endless. Just think it this way - what would you do if you weren't afraid? Or you just knew that success was guaranteed?” 

Employees must be treated as consumers

Manu Wadhwa advised that by treating employees as customers, companies have the chance to improve both the employee experience and their own ability to execute any mission. “If our employees are not treated as consumers, we would lose trade all the time because we will not be able to convert what we're doing into business with a return on investment attached to it. So can we attempt to be experienced experts, have a set of tool boxes with us and utilise the business scenario in front, and convert that experience with our expertise?” concluded Wadhwa. 

To learn more from leaders, join us in Gurgaon, India for People Matters TechHR India 2022, Asia’s Largest HR and WorkTech Conference on August 4 and 5, 2022. Click here to register! This is your chance to become a better leader for tomorrow, today.

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Topics: Leadership, #TechHRIN

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