Berger Paints, the second-largest paint company in India and a leading player globally, has been steadily modernising its technology backbone to match its ambitious growth story. With operations spanning across 160 locations, the company is on a digital journey that blends modernisation, security, and innovation. At the centre of this transformation is Partha Protim Mondal, Chief Information Officer of Berger Paints, who brings over 26 years of industry experience and has been steering Berger’s IT landscape for the last three years.
“As a CIO, my primary responsibility is to take care of the digital transformation strategy, and to partner with the business to drive innovations and growth,” says Mondal in an exclusive conversation with Express Computer.
The changing role of the CIO
Mondal believes that the role of CIOs has moved far beyond keeping the lights on.
“Traditionally, the CIO was responsible for managing IT infrastructure and ensuring smooth operations. However, this digital age has redefined the entire role, making it more strategic and integral to the overall business strategy. Now, the CIO is not just a technology enabler but a digital strategist.”
According to him, the modern CIO leads transformation initiatives, drives customer experience enhancements, and ensures that businesses adopt emerging technologies like AI, ML, and cloud computing. Security, too, is now firmly within the CIO’s mandate.
“CIOs are now responsible for implementing robust security measures across the organisation, ensuring compliance and regulatory requirements. Collaboration with other C-suite executives has also become key in formulating and achieving strategic business goals.”
Berger’s core digital infrastructure
Berger Paints has built a strong foundation of enterprise systems that enable scalability and efficiency across its operations.
“Our infrastructure includes a centralised ERP system—Oracle E-Business Suite—hosted on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). We also use O9 for demand and supply chain planning, Salesforce for customer and painter relationships, loyalty programs, and Tableau for BI dashboards. Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM is our HRMS, and we also have numerous in-house mobility solutions hosted at our data centre,” Mondal explains.
Reliability and resiliency: Strong indicators of IT maturity
“We have a server uptime of 99.9%. That is a kind of achievement that we have at Berger Paints,” he says with pride.
Cybersecurity, data analytics, and AI adoption are the company’s current modernisation priorities. Mondal points out that Berger has already rolled out Zero Trust frameworks and Managed Detection and Response (MDR) to address the growing cyber threat landscape.
Tackling legacy challenges
Like many large organisations with a long history, Berger faces the dual challenge of legacy integration and modernisation.
“Scalability was a major concern, requiring infrastructure upgrades to handle increased data volumes and user loads. Integrating new technologies with legacy systems is always challenging because Berger carries a legacy system of a hundred years. Many applications were running in silos, and creating an integrated ecosystem was a big challenge,” admits Mondal.
The company addressed these issues through a mix of SD-WAN for connectivity across 160 dispersed locations, Tableau for unified analytics, and Oracle Integration Cloud for stitching together disparate applications.
From silos to a unified ecosystem
Mondal asserts that integration has been one of the biggest breakthroughs in Berger’s digital journey.
“We implemented the Oracle Warehouse Management System with PwC as our implementation partner, which improved inventory accuracy and enhanced efficiency in supply chain operations. Similarly, Oracle HCM completely transformed our HR processes, bringing greater efficiency and improved user experiences,” he mentions.
AI and ML are also being actively embedded into business functions.
“For example, we are using AI and ML technology to automate our payable desk and leveraging AI components of Salesforce and Tableau for predictive lead prioritisation. Oracle Integration Cloud further helps us connect multiple disparate systems into a unified data pack,” shares Mondal.
Oracle as a transformation partner
For Berger, Oracle has played a pivotal role in building scalability, integration, and performance.
“Oracle Cloud Infrastructure provided the scalability we required. Oracle Integration Cloud offered the necessary integration capabilities to connect with our legacy and new technologies. Performance was also a significant factor, especially during month-end or peak seasons, and Oracle products supported us in a big way,” highlights Mondal.
The recent rollout of Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM has been a game-changer for Berger’s workforce management.
“Oracle Fusion Cloud has automated the entire HR process—right from recruitment to performance and learning management. It has improved data visibility and decision-making in HR, and significantly enhanced employee engagement. Employees can now manage their personal data, appraisals, learning, and leaves from a single platform,” he adds.
Measuring business outcomes
For Mondal, digital initiatives must tie directly to business outcomes. He explains Berger’s transformation strategy is centred on four clear pillars:
- Cost optimisation
- Process efficiency
- Information security
- Enhanced user experience
“Whenever we implement technology, we are very focused on these four parameters. These become the key outcomes of every digital initiative at Berger,” he explains.
Looking ahead: AI-driven unified data platform
One of the most exciting future initiatives at Berger Paints is the creation of a unified data platform.
“We have customer, dealer, and painter data coming from multiple silos—mobility apps, websites, loyalty platforms, and social media. It is imperative for us to bring all this together to create a unified data platform,” reveals Mondal.
AI and ML will be central to deriving actionable insights from this unified data lake.
“Based on those insights, we will formulate our sales and marketing strategy going forward. AI and ML will be at the forefront of this journey,” he says.
From reimagining HR processes to fortifying cybersecurity and building a data-driven culture, Berger Paints’ IT transformation story reflects the evolving role of CIOs as business strategists. Under Partha Protim Mondal’s leadership, the company is not just digitising processes but is laying the foundation for an AI-driven future.
“We are focused on creating a resilient, secure, and intelligent infrastructure that can support Berger’s growth ambitions. The journey is continuous, but the vision is clear,” concludes Mondal.