Lawrence Kanotsauka, CIO at ABB South Africa

ICT is the lifeblood of the organisation, according to ABB South Africa’s CIO, Lawrence Kanotsauka. He describes it as critical, integral, interwoven and strategically aligned to the organisation.

“Just like any other company in southern Africa, we’ve been pressure tested through such headwinds as Covid-19, loadshedding, regulatory and economic pressure, and environmental changes. All have highlighted recognition of IT’s role and the importance of it being resilient, responsive, secure, providing the capacity and ability to be agile.

“However, my outlook and perspective on the future is positive, even when we consider skills shortages, as we have some talented young people coming up, with the benefit of good training and education programmes and universities. Some great innovators and innovations are coming through, like SmartPower. I believe we are set for a very promising future. It’s about how well we recognise and grasp opportunities and tap into the energy and creativity of young people.”

Kanotsauka describes his role as following two areas, the first being the day-to-day business operation and keeping systems stable, functional and fit-for-purpose.

“The second area is thinking about what we are putting together for tomorrow and constantly imagining the future against a backdrop of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) that can present unpredictable challenges. For example, what do technologies like DeepSeek mean for us? Can it make us more efficient or effective? We need to know what cyber threats are coming. At the core of the business is its people and the constant need for training, upskilling and having the right talent in place.”

Of the short- to long-term challenges Kanotsauka says he is looking at, cybersecurity tops the list, with threats becoming more targeted, AI in the hands of threat actors, and impersonation of individuals.

“AI is fantastic, but with it come threats that CIOs must stay ahead. Going forward, regulation is going to remain important and we are going to have to hold people accountable for their contribution to cybersecurity. Another challenge is being able to identify the best-in-class technologies and how and where to deploy for best effect, requiring us to look at what’s available at all points of the world’s compass. 

“Our focus is on automation of business processes, and robotic process automation is a big part of serving people and efficiency. We intend to incorporate AI in a way that is seamless to employees, our supply chain and customers. Underlying this is the critical importance of continuously updating and innovating new products and services.

“We also have a challenge that reaches across the business, not just IT, and have a chosen group of cohorts for training and implementations. The current A-Team cohort is getting good results and at the end of the challenge, it will have some great skills that will add value for the organisation into the future.

“MTN is our communications provider and as it is evolving in the technology space, this presents opportunities to explore synergies.” Kanotsauka’s advice to technologists is to “throw away the traditional way of thinking in terms of building a career in ICT. Research the skills in programming languages and skills that are in high demand. Commit to lifelong learning to be an ICT professional. Also, to become good leaders, you need to be good listeners across the team and all stakeholders. A leadership attribute that I take very seriously is that I practise what I preach,” concludes Kanotsauka. 

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