In software development and data science, Ashok Kandipati is a visionary. He is currently the Director of Software Development for SuiteAmerica where he designs and manages the entire technology framework for the company. Ashok has deep expertise in artificial intelligence and deep learning, and the ability to deliver on world class scalable automation of business processes, and help drive innovation and operational efficiency. He holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Dayton, and a Professional Certificate in Digital Transformation from MIT. Furthermore, he is an inventor whose patent for real estate management and dynamic scoring (US patent no. 11,544,804) evidentially shows his skill to combine technical innovation with practical solutions.
Ashok’s career progression is a steady rise, already defined by tackling strategic roles enhancing his technical capabilities and molding his leadership style. From his time as an international intern at the Central Bank of Armenia to his current position at SuiteAmerica, his journey is one of dedication to using technology to tackle difficult business problems. His track record and experience place him at the forefront of the industry in this ever changing tech space.
Ashok Kandipati
Leading the tech frontier
As Head of Technology at SuiteAmerica, Ashok oversees the company’s technology strategy, which fits perfectly into the business objectives. He manages a high performing software development team, making sure their technology infrastructure is reliable, scalable and secure. “I drive the technology strategy with a focus on ensuring it supports our broader business goals,” Ashok explains, illustrating his commitment to forward-looking initiatives.
But he does more than design technology—he helps set the budget, ensures quality assurance, and communicates with stakeholders. Ashok creates a collaborative environment where his team takes up new technologies that make for more innovation and efficiency. Additionally, he stays sharp on industry standards, compliance and risk mitigation so that SuiteAmerica can stay at the cutting edge of technology but with the core of a strong operational backbone.
Overcoming obstacles in technology ecosystem design
Ashok’s ability to scale SuiteAmerica’s technology infrastructure has been one of his defining contributions. “The challenges at SuiteAmerica involved scalability, legacy system integration, resource allocation, and talent retention,” Ashok recalls. To solve these, he designed scalable architecture designs and developed APIs to easily integrate older systems to new solutions.
In terms of resource management and keeping the best people, Ashok chose projects based on their strategic impact, and created an environment where people developed and grew rather than withered. “I created a collaborative environment with opportunities for professional development to attract and retain top talent,” he reflects. Through these efforts, SuiteAmerica not only strengthened its technical robustness, but also built a sustainable high performing team that could help the company grow.
Leadership in custom development
A two year project on modernizing SuiteAmericas legacy systems was one of Ashok’s most impactful initiatives. “We spent two years migrating to a modern infrastructure that replicated and enhanced our legacy systems, focusing on scalability, reliability, and security,” Ashok explains. In this project we had to meticulously analyze over 20 years of business rules that were embedded in the legacy platform with extremely close collaboration with department leaders to reimagine workflows.
Detailed planning, resource allocation and stakeholder buy in was critical to the success of the project. Ashok’s aim was to pave a smooth transition therefore, he devised a vast training program for all required teams. “The launch of the new system in 2018 resulted in significant efficiency gains across the organization,” he notes, emphasizing the importance of thorough preparation and execution.
Ashok was also instrumental in developing SuiteAmerica’s guest experience ecosystem. “We created a suite of guest experience products, including a web portal, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and an Apple TV application,” he explains. Ashok worked closely with different departments to identify key pain points and develop solutions that helped communication, gave real time updates and enhanced customer interactions. The results were significant: the new platform optimized the operations as well as the customer satisfaction.
In addition, SuiteAmerica’s Apple TV app was recognized as the prestigious Innovation of the Year Award in 2020. “This project not only achieved business goals but demonstrated how technology can elevate service quality and drive growth,” Ashok observes, reflecting on the transformative power of well-executed technology initiatives.
Cloud integration and strategic collaboration
Ashok’s leadership in transitioning to a cloud based infrastructure was central to SuiteAmerica’s operational strategy. “During my first two years, I led the migration from on-premise systems to a fully cloud-based ecosystem,” Ashok explains. As part of this move, disaster recovery protocols and auto-scaling tools were implemented, along with the ability to modify cloud infrastructure to be both resilient and adaptive of the company’s growing needs.
The transition provided significant benefits such as higher security, higher scalability and shorter development cycles for customer facing products. “Our shift to a 100% cloud-based infrastructure has greatly enhanced both operational efficiency and our ability to innovate,” Ashok notes.
Furthermore, Ashok stresses the need for strategy with business leaders. “Our partnership with business leaders involves ongoing strategic meetings and aligning our technology initiatives with company goals,” he says. A great example is building a vendor management portal as a direct result of leadership feedback around the need for better oversight and real time updates. “Today, we manage 100% of our vendors through this platform, providing a one-stop solution for vendor activities,” Ashok highlights. Through this project, it has been proved that cross functional collaboration is critical to achieving operational excellence
Fostering a creative culture within the team
He believes that innovation is a culture they have to build within their own team to remain competitive. “We prioritize open communication, continuous learning, and cross-functional brainstorming sessions,” he explains. When these initiatives are in place, it ends up being a dynamic place: Team members feel empowered to be able to contribute ideas and experiment with new solutions.
This approach has been proven by the launch of the guest experience platform. “Our mobile apps and Apple TV application streamlined communication with customers and provided real-time updates,” Ashok notes, emphasizing how these innovations improved the overall customer experience. Ashok’s leadership in creating a creative and high performing team culture is recognized through the Apple TV app winning the Innovation of the Year Award.
Vision for the future
In the future, Ashok plans to continue to drive SuiteAmerica’s technology capabilities forward. “Our focus will be on integrating advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IoT to enhance our services and operational efficiency,” he shares. To him, a better, smarter and interconnected technology ecosystem that can serve personalized experiences while saving on business processes is the future.
As a key part of his future strategy, he wants to expand the company’s data analytics capabilities. With the wealth of data produced by daily operations, SuiteAmerica will be able to see deeper into customer behavior and operational performance. “Our goal is to use data analytics to fine-tune our services and identify new opportunities for improvement,” Ashok explains. By taking a data driven approach, SuiteAmerica will be able to remain ahead of industry trends and provide incredible value to its clients.
SuiteAmerica is in a good place under Ashok’s leadership to hit new levels of success. He’s brought an innovative, future focused, continuously improving approach to his job as leader, and set a solid base for growth to come. He has championed initiatives which will continue to drive the company’s trajectory by improving efficiency, security & customer satisfaction. Ashok’s work not only has transformed SuiteAmerica’s technology landscape, but has also put a mark for excellence in technology leadership.
