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Part of the cloud’s magic is that it can run an organisation’s most important functions from anywhere in the world. And by the same token, you can build it from almost anywhere too.
This is where Amita Shanbhogue comes in. From her desk in Bengaluru, India, she’s at the heart of the global engine that runs 24/7 to deliver innovative new cloud capabilities for some of Deloitte’s biggest clients.
Amita leads cloud strategy in the US firm’s India operations and plays a vital role in the Global Delivery Network, which provides always-on capabilities and support for client projects, no matter what time it is on the 24-hour clock. It’s a perfect perch from which to view the tidal wave of cloud adoption at organisations around the world.
“Cloud is at the epicenter of a lot of technology changes happening across organisations. It’s critical to their success because it helps them focus on innovation as well leading-edge technologies in the market,” Amita says. “Part of an organisation starting off their cloud journey is identifying what kind of strategies they want to adopt and that's primarily where we come in—helping to identify the key areas, cost-effectiveness and other synergies that are needed.“
She cites a recent large-scale project for a major financial institution that wanted to augment its cloud presence by building a public cloud capability. Amita’s team has been involved from the start, helping set the strategy, create the technology business case, assess the required cloud applications, stand up a central team to manage the workstreams, work with the major cloud providers and oversee the migration process.
Technology intrigued Amita from an early age, as she was surrounded by a lot of male family members, including her father, who worked in tech or engineering. She says she was determined to show that a woman could also have a successful career in the field and she joined Deloitte more than 12 years ago after completing a masters in Business and Engineering. After cutting her teeth in large scale IT infrastructure projects, she gained a specialty in IT transformation for financial services clients before transitioning to her current cloud role.
She sees her leadership role in such a pivotal area of Deloitte’s cloud practice as evidence of the opportunities open to aspiring female technology professionals. “A few years back you didn't see as many women in engineering or technology, but I think that's changing now,” Amita says, adding that it’s a trend she wants to help grow. “For me as a leader, a primary objective is to share my experiences, the knowledge that I've gained over the span of 12 years. I want to provide help and be a good mentor, similar to how I've had some great mentors, both men and women.”