As financial institutions reassess growth strategies amid evolving market realities, technology transformation is increasingly tied to business resilience. At Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (SREI), the resumption and scaling of lending operations coincides with a broader effort to modernise the organisation’s digital foundation, not as a standalone IT initiative, but as a strategic enabler for future growth.
In an exclusive interaction with Express Computer, Jayant Tandon, Chief Technology Officer, SREI, explains how the company approaches cloud adoption, architectural redesign, and operational governance during a period of organisational reset.
Re-architecting with a cloud-native focus
According to Tandon, the business transformation offers a chance to go back and rethink some of the fundamental architectural choices that were made a long time ago and shed the constraints of the past that restrict agility. Instead of building on top of traditional infrastructure, the organisation focuses on cloud-native and cloud-agnostic architecture.
The modernisation effort focuses on simplifying management overhead while embedding security and governance into the core design. Cloud-native security capabilities and clearer operational visibility help the organisation streamline processes and reduce dependency on on-premise environments.
He points out that migration is not considered a purely technical process. The focus is still on ensuring business continuity, minimising disruptions, and making sure that infrastructure strategies are aligned with long-term business objectives.
Cloud as a resilience and regulatory readiness enabler
As a regulated financial services company handling mission-critical workloads, SREI is very particular about compliance and risk management. According to Tandon, migrating core workloads to a cloud infrastructure enhances both resilience and business confidence as the company readies itself for lending operations.
“Database optimisation, network segmentation, and built-in security controls play a key role in safeguarding sensitive information. The team implements the concept of layered security at the subnet level and enhances governance for personally identifiable data, ensuring it meets the regulatory requirements,” he says.
Instead of considering the cloud as a cost-effective solution, Tandon considers it a transparency enabler, providing better visibility into resource utilisation, application, and risk performance.
Balancing performance and cost predictability through platform choices
One of the most important and challenging decisions for SREI in its transformation journey is the choice to migrate core database and enterprise workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). According to Tandon, the reason for choosing the platform is driven by a mix of technical and business factors.
As a database-driven company, SREI requires a platform that enables performance optimisation and provides cost visibility. The portability of licences and credit-based consumption models offer better cost visibility compared to previous platforms.
He also states that predictable costs and workload optimisation are essential for financial companies that have to work under strict regulatory and operational requirements. The capability to track spending behaviour and apply cost governance enables the company to maintain agility while being financially responsible.
Overcoming migration complexity through phased execution
Cloud migration, especially for large-scale applications, poses technical and organisational challenges. “One of the most difficult aspects is managing dual infrastructure during the transition, where legacy environments continue to operate alongside new platforms,” points out Tandon.
To reduce risk, SREI adopts a phased implementation strategy. Critical workloads and their dependent systems are migrated first, followed by pilot deployments to test performance and compatibility. Legacy customisations are mapped early in the process to avoid disruption during the transition.
He affirms that the success of migration is not always measured by the speed at which it is accomplished. “Rather, the true test of success is in the ability to continue uninterrupted business activities and ensure that technology upgrades bring actual value. Beyond infrastructure to analytics and automation.” With the underlying infrastructure more or less in place, SREI turns its attention to analytics and automation.
“While industry chatter often focuses on generative AI, enterprises need to focus on the actual use cases that bring actual value,” he adds.
The organisation is currently investing in automating regulatory reporting, strengthening data governance, and enabling broader access to analytics capabilities across teams.
Instead of focusing on conversational interfaces for AI initiatives, SREI delves into computational AI models that enhance credit processes, collection efficiency, and decision-making workflows.
This mindset is a testament to the idea that transformation is less about embracing new technologies and more about infusing intelligence into operations.
Rethinking roadmaps in a rapidly evolving environment
The concept of multi-year technology roadmaps is being replaced by more agile planning cycles. According to Tandon, although SREI has a strategic vision roadmap that spans several years, the execution roadmap is reviewed on a quarterly basis to address shifting business and regulatory requirements.
The organisation is also continuing to invest in enhancing its cybersecurity posture, understanding that the threat environment evolves at the same pace as digital capabilities. Enhancing more complex security layers and data governance is at the forefront of the next phase of transformation.
He also points out the significance of cultural readiness during times of transformation. AI migration projects require teams to rethink existing processes, deal with short-term cost challenges, and adjust to new operational models.
Towards unified architecture and data democratisation
In the future, SREI’s technology roadmap is centred on tearing down silos between enterprise applications and developing a unified architectural framework. Tandon believes that many organisations struggle with fragmented systems that limit visibility and slow innovation.
By building integration layers that connect disparate platforms, the company aims to democratise access to data while maintaining strong governance controls. This unified approach is expected to enhance decision-making, improve operational efficiency, and support future digital and AI-driven initiatives.
As SREI continues its transformation journey, the emphasis remains on creating a resilient and adaptable technology backbone, one that supports growth without compromising trust, compliance, or long-term sustainability.