DR. SANDIP PRADHAN CDIO, CENTURY PLYBOARDS
“For three decades, CIOs have focused on the 'T' of IT — managing infrastructure, cybersecurity, SAP, ERP and enterprise applications. In the age of AI, the meaning of 'I' is evolving. Yesterday it stood for information; today it stands for intelligence; tomorrow it will stand for agents that act on their own. Our role is shifting from managing technology to managing agents. Right now, zero AI agents report to any of us — but will that still be true three years from now? Digital workforces will soon outnumber human ones, and someone will need to select these agents, govern their access, and take accountability when they err. That someone is the CIO, who is becoming the agent manager.
This new mandate rests on three responsibilities: assemble the right agents, whether built or sourced from the marketplace; govern them through safeguards, access controls and compliance; and orchestrate human and digital workforces so they operate together, not in silos.
A critical decision is where to host these agents — cloud, on-premise, or hybrid. With India's data breach costs rising over 16 percent in 2025-26, the smarter approach may be to bring AI to the data rather than the reverse. We call this 'localized AI,' or 'AI in a box' — local by default, cloud by policy, governed always. Like the mythological Samudra Manthan, churning the AI ocean yields both nectar and poison — huge opportunity alongside huge risk. So, is the CIO's career over? No — it is only just beginning.”
