As General Manager (India) at The Open Group is responsible for all of The Open Group’s business operations and growth in India and the region.
Dr. Saha has been featured by Forbes. A MeitY-NeGD Senior Lead Expert in Enterprise Architecture and a Visiting Professor of Digital Architecture at the Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam, Dr. Saha advises various Ministries and States on matters pertaining to government-wide architecture initiatives. He has been a key contributing author of the India Enterprise Architecture (IndEA) Framework and the Digital Service Standard (DSS), and the co-author of the Agile IndEA Framework playing a critical role in these being notified as national standards. He has successfully advanced enterprise architecture as a discipline through thought-leadership and advocacy activities, solidifying The Open Group’s brand, visibility, and impact, particularly in the government and public sector domain.
Dr. Saha is an invited faculty in the eGovernance Leadership and Champions Programme designed for senior strategy level government officers. He has been a member of the high-level committee involved in the development of India’s National Digital Health Blueprint for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. His work has been used as a primary reference for the SDG Digital Investment Framework by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and has authored ITU’s thematic report on Digital Transformation. He collaborates with ITU and other international bodies and advises countries on digital government architecture. Dr. Saha was the Chief Architect to Andhra Pradesh State Enterprise Architecture (ePragati) taking it to international prominence. He is a two-time recipient of the Microsoft research grant supported by the UN, and a joint recipient of the Innovation Fund by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore. His work has been cited by the United Nations, ITU, World Health Organisation, US Department of Defense, Open Technology Foundation, Info-Tech Research Group, Carlsberg and has contributed to the World Bank EA Guidelines. He has been a visiting researcher to the UN University, an expert reviewer to the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) EA Tech Pack and an invited faculty at Carnegie Mellon University. His work has been translated into Arabic, Mandarin, Korean, Russian and Polish. He has delivered 160 keynote sessions at prominent forums, seminars, and conferences worldwide.
Previously, as Head of Wipro’s Government and Public Sector Architecture Practice, he was instrumental in creating a government focused architecture domain, and was selected as an elite Distinguished Member of Technical Staff (DMTS). Dr. Saha has published five books on enterprise architecture.
Dr. Saha holds a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and received the best research design and best thesis awards for his doctorate. He is an alumnus of the MIT Sloan Executive Program and Wipro Business Leaders’ Program.
In this episode of "Embracing Digital Transformation," host Dr. Darren speaks with guest Dr. Pallab Saha, General Manager at The Open Group, about the pivotal role of enterprise architecture in guiding organizations through digital transformations. They delve into the importance of enterprise architecture as a structured methodology for executing business strategies, particularly within government settings. Dr. Saha shares insights from his 25 years of experience in both academia and industry, discussing the increased recognition of the value that enterprise architecture brings to digital governance, as well as its evolving role in helping organizations articulate and achieve development goals. Listeners will also learn about the challenges architects face in communicating their value, the necessity for standards within enterprise architecture, and the transformative potential of generative AI in driving efficiencies and outcomes in digital change initiatives. ## Takeaways - Enterprise architecture provides a structured methodology that aligns organizational strategies with execution. - There’s been a significant shift in recognizing the value of enterprise architecture, especially in the context of digital governance. - Effective communication of the value of enterprise architecture is not just important, it's crucial. Architects need to master this skill to gain support from senior leadership and ensure the success of their initiatives. - Generative AI, a cutting-edge technology, holds the potential to revolutionize enterprise architecture. By enabling executable models and enhancing the efficiency of digital transformations, it opens up a world of possibilities for the future. - Standardization in enterprise architecture plays a crucial role. It not only helps governments focus more on improving governance quality but also provides a sense of reassurance that processes are not being re-invented unnecessarily. ## Chapters - 00:00 - Introduction to the episode - 01:15 - Guest introduction: Dr. Palam Saha - 03:00 - The evolution of enterprise architecture over 25 years - 10:00 - The importance of conveying the value of architecture - 15:45 - Differentiating enterprise architecture from IT systems architecture - 20:30 - The challenges of implementing digital transformation without architecture - 25:00 - The role of standards in enterprise architecture - 30:15 - The impact of generative AI on enterprise architecture - 35:30 - The sharing of case studies and best practices