Nalin Agrawal, Director, Solutions Engineering, Dynatrace India, 0
Analyzing the implications of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) and the readiness of enterprises reveals that, despite growing momentum towards compliance, levels of preparedness vary significantly. Industries that already have a framework for regulatory compliance and strong governance, such as financial services, e-commerce, and technology services, show higher levels of awareness.
Conversely, sectors like healthcare, metals, education, manufacturing, infrastructure, and shipping continue to grapple with challenges stemming from disjointed data environments and outdated systems. In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights Asia, Nalin Agrawal, Director, Solutions Engineering, Dynatrace India shares his insights on the indicators for the upcoming ten years of business technology and trust.
How does the DPDP Act transform the notion of accountability for companies managing personal data?
The DPDP Act redefines accountability by placing the burden of proof on companies. Data protection is no longer a checklist item but a core business responsibility with serious financial stakes. This shift demands leaders embed transparency and responsibility at every level, ensuring data serves its purpose without overreach.
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At Dynatrace, we empower our clients, particularly in the banking and insurance sectors, with unified observability that provides regulators with irrefutable evidence of compliance, through robust audit trails and data isolation protocols.
What additional obligations do data fiduciaries encounter under the DPDP in contrast to previous data protection regulations?
DPDP imposes rigorous new duties, such as obtaining verifiable parental consent for children's data, honoring erasure requests, conducting thorough risk assessments, and restricting international data flows far surpassing the patchwork of earlier laws like the IT Act. These requirements compel a higher standard of guardianship over personal information.
Dynatrace meets these head-on with tailored enhancements including:
● Advanced encryption for data in motion and at rest using the latest secure protocols.
● Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) controls, allowing clients to halt operations instantly.
● Integration with enterprise SSO for immediate access revocation of former employees.
Our platform captures only essential performance metrics, sidestepping personal identifiers entirely.
What does ‘detecting a breach within minutes’ realistically mean in day-to-day operations?
Detecting breaches in minutes translates to continuous, intelligent oversight of applications, infrastructure, and
user interactions, where anomalies like unauthorized data leaks trigger immediate alerts transforming crisis response into swift containment. This capability is vital for meeting DPDP's 72-hour notification deadline amid India's fragmented monitoring landscape.
In practice, it delivers automated prioritization of threats, privacy health scoring, and forensic-ready documentation, bridging the gap for enterprises still reliant on manual, siloed processes.
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Why do hybrid-cloud and distributed systems naturally heighten the difficulties of compliance?
Hybrid and distributed environments breed complexity through scattered data flows, inconsistent configurations, and unchecked shadow operations, rendering DPDP's sovereignty and audit mandates nearly impossible to track without comprehensive visibility. Regulated sectors like banking are even reverting to on-premises setups, exacerbating these visibility voids.
How does AI help enterprises move from reactive monitoring to proactive detection?
AI revolutionizes observability by evolving from after-the-fact analysis to forward-looking prevention, mastering normal operations to forecast and forestall disruptions before they impact trust or compliance. Dynatrace layers multiple AI capabilities causal for pinpointing causes, predictive for future-proofing, generative for actionable remedies, and interconnected for automated resolutions.
This approach slashes investigation times by up to 90percent, proactively addresses DPDP risks like data retention overruns, and maintains strict data boundaries with no external exposure of sensitive details.
What kind of leadership do you adhere to at Dynatrace India?
At Dynatrace India, leadership starts with a commitment to AI-powered observability that helps enterprises stay compliant, resilient, and secure in an increasingly complex regulatory environment shaped by laws like the DPDP Act.
The focus is on partnering with leaders across all industries to modernize their digital ecosystems with the same high standard of automation, intelligence, and end-to-end visibility.
This approach is reinforced by Dynatrace’s recognized leadership in AI-driven observability, including being named a leader and positioned highest for Ability to Execute in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms, underscoring the responsibility to set the benchmark for trustworthy, enterprise grade technology in India and beyond.
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What future opportunities are you looking forward to investing your time in?
The horizon brims with potential, advancing AI-driven observability for generative workloads, fortifying hybrid security in fintech and healthcare under DPDP, and forging ties with regulators while nurturing India's enterprise ecosystem.
Priorities include pioneering predictive privacy metrics, fusing front-end and backend user insights for deeper analytics, and honing tools to propel Digital India cementing Dynatrace's role as the vanguard of trustworthy enterprise technology.
In practice, it delivers automated prioritization of threats, privacy health scoring, and forensic-ready documentation, bridging the gap for enterprises still reliant on manual, siloed processes.
Also Read: Vision Ahead: Startup & Tech Leaders Share Expectations for 2026
Why do hybrid-cloud and distributed systems naturally heighten the difficulties of compliance?
Hybrid and distributed environments breed complexity through scattered data flows, inconsistent configurations, and unchecked shadow operations, rendering DPDP's sovereignty and audit mandates nearly impossible to track without comprehensive visibility. Regulated sectors like banking are even reverting to on-premises setups, exacerbating these visibility voids.
How does AI help enterprises move from reactive monitoring to proactive detection?
AI revolutionizes observability by evolving from after-the-fact analysis to forward-looking prevention, mastering normal operations to forecast and forestall disruptions before they impact trust or compliance. Dynatrace layers multiple AI capabilities causal for pinpointing causes, predictive for future-proofing, generative for actionable remedies, and interconnected for automated resolutions.
The horizon brims with potential, advancing AI-driven observability for generative workloads, fortifying hybrid security in fintech and healthcare under DPDP
This approach slashes investigation times by up to 90percent, proactively addresses DPDP risks like data retention overruns, and maintains strict data boundaries with no external exposure of sensitive details.
What kind of leadership do you adhere to at Dynatrace India?
At Dynatrace India, leadership starts with a commitment to AI-powered observability that helps enterprises stay compliant, resilient, and secure in an increasingly complex regulatory environment shaped by laws like the DPDP Act.
The focus is on partnering with leaders across all industries to modernize their digital ecosystems with the same high standard of automation, intelligence, and end-to-end visibility.
This approach is reinforced by Dynatrace’s recognized leadership in AI-driven observability, including being named a leader and positioned highest for Ability to Execute in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms, underscoring the responsibility to set the benchmark for trustworthy, enterprise grade technology in India and beyond.
Also Read: Empowering Next Generation Revenue Leaders: The CRO Perspective
What future opportunities are you looking forward to investing your time in?
The horizon brims with potential, advancing AI-driven observability for generative workloads, fortifying hybrid security in fintech and healthcare under DPDP, and forging ties with regulators while nurturing India's enterprise ecosystem.
Priorities include pioneering predictive privacy metrics, fusing front-end and backend user insights for deeper analytics, and honing tools to propel Digital India cementing Dynatrace's role as the vanguard of trustworthy enterprise technology.