Digital transformation is vital for contemporary enterprises, yet it presents significant challenges for Chief Information Officers (CIOs). They contend with data sprawl, numerous SaaS applications, and tracking purchases and expenses, making usage difficult to assess.
In this complex landscape, Sundari Mitra, CEO and co-founder of Asato, notes, “the CIO is caught surprised. All of a sudden they have assets they were not responsible for.”
To address these challenges, Asato has launched a pioneering AI-powered copilot tailored for CIOs. This innovative platform discovers, connects, and contextualizes applications and data within organizations, providing critical insights and tracking progress.
The startup debuts with a $7.5 million seed financing round, led by Walden Catalyst Ventures’ Lip-Bu Tan, with support from Intel Capital, Shah Capital Partners, and several angel investors.
Mitra highlights that "Asato" carries various meanings in multiple languages: “In Japanese, it signifies dawn or a new beginning; in Italian, it suggests connecting all assets; and in Sanskrit, it refers to shedding light and moving from darkness to light.”
“That is what Asato aims to achieve,” she emphasizes. “We want to make the CIO a superhero.”
The Cloud Cost Conundrum
From 2016 to 2022, enterprises have experienced a staggering 11-fold increase in the number of applications used, skyrocketing from an average of eight to an astonishing 130. Mitra states, “The last few years were all about topline growth. No one focused on building profits.”
This approach has led to significant tech debt and an unmanageable asset base. CIOs are held accountable for SaaS and other applications purchased by various departments without centralized oversight. Moreover, they often lack visibility into cybersecurity gaps, making it hard to identify vulnerabilities.
“How do you know where something has happened?” asks Mitra. “CIOs often don’t realize what data they are duplicating across segments.”
Despite the expectation that the shift to the cloud would reduce costs, the reality has been different. CIOs struggle to manage hybrid environments effectively and often concentrate on high-cost tools like Salesforce or Oracle. Consequently, this has fueled a trend of high turnover among CIOs of large companies, often squeezed by budget constraints.
David Johnson, managing director at Intel Capital, confirms the pressures CIOs face, stating, “With the surge in IT complexities, especially during spending rationalization, CIOs are navigating unprecedented challenges.”
Empowering CIOs with Asato
Asato’s platform seamlessly integrates with existing tech stacks, utilizing AI and knowledge graphs to automate the discovery, linking, contextualization, and analysis of IT assets. This orchestration aids decision-making and tracks results.
“We employ generative AI to close loops, enabling users to learn and track outcomes,” explains Mitra.
The platform builds on technology developed at Mitra’s previous company, NetSpeed Systems, acquired by Intel in 2018. The NetSpeed team created knowledge graphs to analyze chip traffic flow, applying prescriptive rules and AI models for optimal architecture design.
“Once you establish a network graph, querying it becomes effortless,” states Mitra. CIOs can leverage the decision orchestration platform's ChatGPT interface to ask questions such as, “Which of my apps is due for renewal this quarter?”
The platform can then reveal insights, such as upcoming renewals for five applications, with specific usage statistics for each, thereby allowing for more informed budgeting and decision-making.
Asato’s comprehensive approach integrates FinOps, SaaS management, and analytics, surfacing key insights regarding asset ownership and usage dependencies—critical for enhancing CIO efficiency.
Born from Experience
The idea for Asato emerged from Mitra’s extensive experience in large organizations, where she faced challenges managing vast amounts of data. “I struggled with making swift decisions and tracking their outcomes without a system that interconnected all assets,” she reflects.
Mitra and co-founder Anush Mohandass recognized the difficulties of managing complex systems and enterprise IT firsthand, equipping the Asato team with a unique blend of skills and expertise to tackle challenges facing CIOs today.
“Asato is a true game changer for CIOs,” Johnson remarks. “By leveraging cutting-edge AI techniques, it offers a distinctive approach to managing IT assets and user contexts within enterprises.”
Mitra emphasizes the platform’s scalability, initially targeting CIO challenges but designed to expand across other organizational roles. “The CIO must understand the business of running IT operations,” she concludes. “In the end, a CIO succeeds when they save money.”
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