Open Comments, hosted by The Open Group
Welcome to Open Comments hosted by The Open Group*, where we’ll discuss things openly with our guests from a variety of backgrounds and from different walks of life. Through this podcast, we hope to give you an inside look into a variety of topics with an equal mix of humor and candor.
In this series so far, we have touched on the following topics: Healthcare, HR, Diversity + Access to Technology, Cybersecurity, and lots more. We hope you enjoy our show and look forward to bringing more topics into the fold. Let’s get started!
*The Open Group is a global consortium that enables the achievement of business objectives through technology standards and open source initiatives by fostering a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and mutual respect among our diverse group of 900+ memberships. Our Membership includes customers, systems and solutions suppliers, tool vendors, integrators, academics, and consultants across multiple industries.
Disclaimer: The Open Comments Podcast (hosted by The Open Group) is presented purely for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts and the guests are their own and are not intended to harm or offend any group, organization, company, individual, anyone, or anything.
Host: Ash – CDMP- Certified Copywriter (CMP) – CDMA, Marketing Specialist, joined The Open Group in 2020, initially working in the Certification Team as a Certification Services Agent, before moving into the Marketing Team where he now works on marketing collateral, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and produces/hosts The Open Group, Open Comments Podcast. .
Open Comments, hosted by The Open Group
Open Comments: S2 Ep. 8 - Reigniting Your Passion: Enterprise Architecture in the Age of Generative AI with Anil Lakhan
The architectural landscape is transforming before our eyes, and staying relevant means embracing the extraordinary potential of generative AI while deepening our uniquely human capabilities. In this thought-provoking conversation, Anil Lakhan—Principal Enterprise Architect at Capgemini with over three decades of experience—shares wisdom that will resonate with architects at every career stage.
Anil takes us through his remarkable journey from hands-on software engineer to chief architect, revealing how his passion evolved from technical problem-solving to seeing the bigger picture of how architecture drives business outcomes. This perspective shift didn't happen overnight but emerged through collaborative experiences across global teams and mentoring hundreds of fellow architects.
The numbers tell a compelling story: generative AI spending is projected to surge 150% this year alone, reaching $14.2 billion globally. Perhaps more striking is that 30% of GenAI-powered applications will soon be built by business users rather than IT professionals. This democratization of technology creation fundamentally changes the architect's role—not diminishing it, but elevating it to more strategic heights.
Rather than fearing replacement, forward-thinking architects are harnessing AI to handle routine documentation and code generation while focusing on their uniquely human strengths: connecting disparate domains, leading complex change initiatives, and thinking creatively about business solutions. As Anil emphasizes, "It's not just evolution of the role, but a transformation."
For those navigating this changing landscape, Anil offers practical wisdom: never stop learning, master prompt engineering ("your results are only as good as your questions"), and recognize that your unique human perspective remains irreplaceable. Most importantly, let passion be your compass through uncertainty.
Whether you're an experienced architect or just starting your journey, this episode provides invaluable insights on maintaining relevance and finding deeper meaning in your work as technology reshapes our profession.
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Hello and welcome back to Open Comments with me, ash. In today's episode, we will be diving into a topic that's not just timely but absolutely essential for anyone navigating the tech landscape, and that's how to stay passionately engaged with architecture in the age of generative AI. Joining me is an esteemed expert in the field, someone who truly embodies this passion, is an esteemed expert in the field, someone who truly embodies his passion Anil Lakan, principal Enterprise Architect at Capgemini Group, with over three decades of experience founding IT Strategy, sap, cloud and Deep Digital Transformation. Anil isn't just a seasoned professional. He's a global thought leader who has not only shaped enterprise architecture practices worldwide, but has also personally mentored countless aspiring architects. Anil, thank you for speaking with us today. Let's start by exploring your remarkable journey so far, so could you share with our listeners a little bit about yourself and how your deep passion for architecture began and has evolved over the years?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, ash. Let me start with the academic background first. So my academic includes engineering from Mumbai University and management study from IIM, calcutta. I actually began my career on the ground as a software engineer and over the past three decades I have taken on variety of roles, so starting from the hands-on consultant role to a program manager and eventually to a chief architect.
Speaker 2:But what kept me going going was not just the technical side, I must say. It was more realizing how architecture actually helps solving the business problems and I started seeing how the dots connected and how it actually shaped the bigger picture. As you know, I am currently work as the chief certified architect at Capgemini, so it gives me also the privilege of contributing to our global architect community, which is spread worldwide, and to our global architect community, which is spread worldwide, and there are multiple programs where I contribute to, like shaping the architect certification programs or even mentoring hundreds of fellow architects. And I think you also know that I also hold a master certified architect credential from the open group itself and have been actively involved in different forums like togap, the architecture forum, and it for it. Most recently, I co-launched a white paper on digital transformation with IT4IT standard at the Open Group Summit in Amsterdam.
Speaker 1:That's truly inspiring, thank you. It's evident that, for you, passion isn't merely about what you do, but deeply rooted in why you do it. Now, moving on to enterprise architecture how has maintaining this deep passion helped you not just survive, but truly thrive and navigate its ever-evolving landscape?
Speaker 2:That's a great question, ash. For me, the passion has always been the foundation, always been the foundation, designing and building solutions that truly helps or move the business forward. Early on, as a solution architect, I was deeply involved across the entire life cycle of the opportunity, that is, right from pre-sales up to delivery, which gave me a detailed, hands-on perspective. But it was when I stepped into the enterprise architecture that things really clicked. So it's like you know, stepping back from the puzzle and finally seeing how all these pieces fit. So aligning business goals, technical or technology capabilities, operations, all these things. It's complex, it's strategic at the same time, but honestly, it's never boring. And being part of the and being part of this vibrant global community, it helps amplify that passion because when you are surrounded by brilliant people who challenge you, it pushes you also to grow, to innovate and to keep raising the bar.
Speaker 1:Would you also say collaboration plays a big part in that. Like, like you've said just now, you know learning from others, working off each other's energies as well. Do you think it's really important to have not only a dynamic team, but to really grow with each other and support each other throughout as well?
Speaker 2:absolutely. I think that's the um for success, because it's such a vast world out there in terms of the domain. But for the other areas, you definitely need to collaborate well with your colleagues who are experts in their own areas.
Speaker 1:Now let's pivot to the future. So what are some of the most impactful emerging technologies, according to you, that are truly reshaping enterprise architecture as we speak?
Speaker 2:Absolutely Ash. Ai is, without a question, leading the charge here when it comes to emerging technologies, and it's not just the usual buzzwords anymore For the emerging tech. So what we are talking about is agentic AI, it's the creative power of generative AI, it's the rise of the synthetic data and also, now, the need for solid AI governance. Now, the need for a solid ai governance. These trains are reshaping how we think about design, the strategy and even who gets to build what. Uh. Just to share our capgemini techno vision 2025 uh report. It also calls out clearly AI powered everything. So it's no longer a future vision, it's happening now across industries. And let me share some numbers to back this up.
Speaker 2:Gartner is predicting that global spending on GNI models will jump from 5.7 billion last year to 14.2 billion by the end of this year. So that's, uh, almost a 150 percent leap. And for specialized jnai models, uh, the projected growth is reaching somewhere 1.1 billion dollars. So clearly, this isn't just a hype and it's not just about the large enterprises either. Forrester is saying that 30% of GNI Powered automation apps will be built by the business users, so it's not IT folk like us. So that's the rise of what we call a citizen developer in action, and that's the massive shift in how the innovation is going to happen or is happening. So we are really seeing a push towards autonomous systems. So we are really seeing a push towards autonomous systems. So, coming back to Capgemini, the data Capgemini gathered shows agentic AI projects are set to grow by almost 48% by end of 2025. And that means one in five organizations are already using AI agents on multiple agents or systems in some or the other form.
Speaker 1:And, given this transformative power, do you believe we should be actually regulating generative AI?
Speaker 2:We talk about genia, it's not just about tech alone, or technology alone. It's how we apply it. Genia is already changing how architects like us approach design, planning and education, but we also got a responsibility here to evolve the algorithms, make them more sustainable and, most importantly, make them more human-centric. At the end of the day, it's not just about a smarter system, but it is about better outcomes for the people who are requiring it.
Speaker 1:Would you say as well. Accountability is important too, because obviously, with AI, human interaction is still needed. So do you think as well there's a balance of what comes out of generative AI and also how, as humans, we can support AI as well?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, if you think. I mean Genia is incredibly powerful. Genia is incredibly powerful, but we also need to think or rethink what we really mean by intelligence. Right now, most models rely heavily on the raw computing power, which isn't exactly sustainable in the long run. So we have to start exploring the smarter, more adaptive or energy efficient approaches. And the thing is, ai isn't just about the technology itself, as you said, the human angle. It's about how we choose to use it. It just isn't a story about replacing now jobs with automation, but it's about reimagining how work gets done. It means we need to invest in re-skilling, rethinking some of the roles, what we are doing and, most importantly, building trust in those systems, because AI can throw or show some result, but how to make sure that it becomes your companion and it doesn't become, eventually, a master.
Speaker 1:Yes, so adapting it, but also learning with it and alongside it as well, Absolutely so. With all these incredible advancements and predictions, is generative AI according to you truly the future? And can you touch on concerns of the regulations within this question as well, please?
Speaker 2:Definitely the future, but we have to move forward with it very wisely. One of the big things we can't ignore is ai's growing carbon footprint. These massive llm models what you must have heard are powerful, but they are also energy hungry. So we need to think and rethink how to train them, make them more leaner, smarter and as well as, at the same time, efficient. And just importantly is the transparency. So we also need to understand how this system make decisions, not just trust them blindly that they give some incredible result in a span of seconds.
Speaker 2:What's interesting is how different regions are also approaching GNI transformation. So look at US. Us is leaning into innovation, moving fast and making things, sometimes literally moving fast and breaking things, sometimes literally. The EU, or the Europe, on the other hand, is taking a more cautious, regulation-first approach right, with a strong focus on ethics, privacy, and if you look at countries like India with their socio-economic dynamics, they try to strike a balance. So encourage innovation. At the same time, they try to protect their citizens. So, at the end of the day, regulation should not be a roadblock for the transformation, it should be an enabler. In my view, what we really need is a shared ethical framework Built on collaborative, thoughtful design, and we need also a constant vigilance Because, let's face it, technology isn't good or bad on its own. It's what we do with it that makes all the difference, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Agreed, and now can you tell us how GenAI is specifically changing the day-to-day role and the strategic importance of the enterprise? Architect.
Speaker 2:Right now, GenAI is doing a great job, I must say, in supporting architects at the ages. So handling repetitive tasks like documentation, code generation or maybe pulling insights from massive data sets in seconds, Even for the conversation, what we are having. If you have a tool like GoPilot, you can instantly summarize the key points of our conversation, so it's already saving us time and boosting productivity. But, honestly, they're just scratching the surface. Scratching the surface because as these models JNI models will become more accurate, secure and more reliable, then the real magic will start. So architect will be able to then make their decisions more sharp, align the technology more closely with the business goals and drive innovation at an entirely new pace.
Speaker 2:And just to be clear, this isn't JNI replacing architects, right? I think that's a fear most of the architects have in mind. It's far from it. It's about augmenting them. I truly believe the architect of the future will be more strategic, more adaptable to change and way more data driven. It's not just evolution of the role, but it's a transformation, and it's really exciting time to be in this space.
Speaker 1:And on that note to end, please can you tell us any advice that you might have for young or aspiring enterprise architects who are listening right now, perhaps feeling a mix of excitement and maybe a little bit of apprehension in a good way, about this new era. What essential advice would you offer to them right now?
Speaker 2:If I had to leave our young architect listeners with a few key takeaways, ash, I would think. First, and which is fundamental, fundamental, that is never stop learning. The roles we know today are evolving fast and staying curious and open is absolutely essential. There is no replacement of this feature. There is no replacement of this feature. The second is spend time getting good at prompt engineering. So in the in the world, your results are only as good as your questions. Either chat, dpt, copilot or any other is basically a software algorithm that uses a statistical approximation to answer a certain question. So the better your prompts, the better your outcomes. So that's a skill worth investing in. One more, I investing in.
Speaker 2:One more I can advise is know your unique value as, as ai takes over more routine task. What really sets you apart is your ability to connect the dots, lead change and think creatively. That's the human angle, or human age. What you should bring in and if I may just to end is stay curious. So passion is your best compass. That's great it will. It will help you navigate all this uncertainty, it will generate new ideas and ultimately you build a career that's not just successful but meaningful perfect.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. Well, this has really been a very rich, thought-provoking and incredibly inspiring conversation with you. Thank you so much for sharing your remarkable journey, your invaluable insights I'm sure our listeners have enjoyed this episode as much as I have and really, your infectious passion for what you do. It really is truly inspiring. So thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, ash. To you as well, this has truly been a joy. And to everyone listening, I really appreciate you spending your time with us. If anything I share spark a thought or a question, I would love to hear from you. Let's keep the conversation going.
Speaker 1:Perfect, and where can our listeners reach out to you if they have any questions?
Speaker 2:Well, the best place is the social media, so either LinkedIn or Facebook, either way is fine.
Speaker 1:Perfect, thank you. And just another shout out to our listeners, our Open Comments community whether you're navigating your own path in architecture, tech or any evolving field, remember passion isn't just a feeling you stumble upon, it's a deliberate choice you make every single day. Thanks for tuning in to Open Comments. Until next time, stay curious and stay inspired.
