The weekend before Woolworths CIO Danny Naidoo was interviewed by the Visionary CIO judging panel, he and his team went live with the first milestone of a payment card industry (PCI) project that will see customer credit card numbers no longer being held within the retailer's systems. This project is a benchmark in retail in the southern hemisphere and, Naidoo claims, the world.
Innovation is one of the key drivers for IT activity at Woolworths, and Naidoo says the business is invested in most of the activities that the IT team undertakes. He believes his COO and CEO are actively interested in the status of IT projects, which he says makes a big difference to the culture of delivery in his department.
He heads up a team of 400 people, 310 of whom are from outsourcers and partners, but largely see themselves as Woolworths staff. He encourages them with a 'memories of the future' approach, asking how at retirement, they will describe their actions at any point. He's also an active mentor, helping young entrepreneurs learn how to run businesses, but also, Naidoo says, how to be a person - being their authentic honest selves when looking at what they're achieving and what gaps they're confronted with.
Woolworths' business objective is to be the number-one southern African retail business in five years as rated by shareholders, and Naidoo believes the way to support Woolworths on its 'good business' journey is by delivering trustworthy IT.
This, Naidoo says, talks to the way the IT department operates and is structured, its good governance and how it manages suppliers, finance, benchmarks and capital investment. This year, Woolworths' investment in IT is R110 million, and Naidoo and his team have around 80 change initiatives underway, of which 40 are strategically important.
Energy is a key focus area for Naidoo and his team. Their datacentres run at 24OC, with all servers now being able to run at these temperatures. The air-conditioning has been upgraded, and cooling is carried out with water from a spring that runs under the Woolworths buildings - without contaminating the water.
While Woolworths is invested in IT and management understands the contribution made by Naidoo's division, there are still clear demands for cost control within the business.
Naidoo has been instrumental in waste management within Woolworths, resulting in savings that can then be channeled into IT development.
Naidoo says that his goal is to ensure that every Woolworths customer feels they're having a personal encounter with the brand. He breaks down the benchmarks they're aiming for into having food availability at a 99-percent level, and knowing that when a customer walks in, whatever their preference, it will be available.
This article was first published in Brainstorm magazine. Click here to read the complete article at the Brainstorm website.
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