Mr. Lakshmana Vadaga is the GM & Head of IT at Adlabs Entertainment Ltd. Mumbai. He is responsible for managing all IT assets, infrastructure and change requests in his organisation. He is widely admired for his leadership skills in driving critical IT projects for organisational growth and success.
When did you start your professional journey and how has it been so far?
I started my professional journey in 1987 in Mumbai. At the time, language was a huge barrier for me. My first job was with Borosil Glass Works. Then I went on to work with Mahindra & Mahindra, RNA Builders, Aamby Valley (Sahara) and Adlabs Imagica.
What are some of the challenges you faced during this journey and how did you overcome them?
- 1. It was a very big challenge in Sahara Aamby Valley to implement SAP. Sahara group failed to implement SAP for Sahara group companies. But we finally managed to implement SAP in Aamby Valley in 2012. Since then, it is running successfully and perfectly meeting their enterprise needs.
- At Adlabs Imagica, if a customer purchases a Locker & e-Wallet voucher. Previously the cashier was issuing two separate bands. For Locker, we issue a Proximity Tag and for Value Voucher we issue a barcode wristband. When a Guest is in water, often the barcode is not readable by the scanner. As a result, cashiers were facing a lot of problems. To simplify the process, we combined Locker & Value voucher in one Tag with proximity chip and RFID chip in one wristband.
What according to you are some critical job skills in today’s work landscape, particularly in your industry?
Technical Perspective:
Database Management and Data Analysis. The most important part is to learn how to convey your technical findings in the simplest manner to Business stakeholders
Combining AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) and computer vision applications.
Business Perspective:
Ability to understand the mindset of public and how to attract them and convert those findings into technical aspects which would help our business and generate more revenue.
What are some important trends in your industry and how is it affecting India?
The Indian amusement park sector needs to grow as a social sector and it requires regulatory support to attain its growth potential. Excess land on long-term lease and subsidies/fiscal incentives should be given to amusement parks in each state as part of the promotion of tourism, such as stamp duty exemption, electricity duty exemption, GST exemption for specified years, capital investment subsidy, employment cost subsidy, etc. This will encourage parks to install international high thrill rides and attractions on par with the amusement industry in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. To bring world- class rides and attractions in India, the government must consider providing import subsidies.
Required skillsets for amusement park should be part of the hospitality curriculum so that the industry is able to get skilled manpower. Permission and licenses should be made easier and conducive to set up and operate an amusement park.
To encourage local manufacturers to meet world-class quality rides, the government should incentivize more to exporters of amusement rides from India. This will not only help promote the ‘Make In India’ initiative but will also encourage local parks to buy international class rides made in India at a competitive price.
Where do you see your industry in the next 5 years?
Globally, domestic and international tourists comprise more than 50% of the total footfall at popular amusement parks.
The amusement industry in India is at a growing stage currently with more and more developments happening in this industry all across the country.
Currently, for a population of 1.15 billion, there are only 120 amusement parks and 45 Family Entertainment Centres. This indicates that the growth potential of Indian amusement and theme park industry is substantial. The size of the Indian Amusement Park business is estimated to be around Rs 4000 crores and is estimated to grow by 10% per cent per annum in the next couple of years.
In fact, by 2020, it is expected to be worth Rs. 10000 crores! Growth of India’s retail sector had been the main driving force for the amusement industry in India.
Global leaders in entertainment parks and attractions like Universal Studios, Disney, Sony and Ripley Entertainment are mulling over investments of billions of dollars in India considering the vast potential in this region. Private equity funds are also aggressively dedicating resources towards this sector. The Indian small and big players in the Amusement Industry are looking at its tremendous growth potential over the next 5 years. Transport corridors like expressways and the Metro line are bringing an increasing number of people closer to entertainment hubs.
What is your take on the youth of today and why do you think internship is necessary?
Students should make use of their summer vacations by exploring different industries and explore what is interesting for them (eg. Semiconductor industry or core IT etc). Build a portfolio or projects so that you can have a good list of projects on your résumé. Start applying and give interviews. Don’t think about earning money while doing an internship. Then by the time they come to third year of engineering they should be aware of what is the industry they want to get into. Now for the learning curve, students should not be afraid of trying new technologies.
What advice would you give to someone who’s just starting out?
I would advise them to participate in coding and competitions and contribute to open source projects. The main thing is don’t be afraid of learning new technologies and keep working on it.
RAJ PATIL ,9, January, 2020.
RAJ PATIL is an intern at Cynergi Connects. His responsibilities include editorial and operations support, research and marketing.
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Nice to see…well good interview and correct questions covered
Well done