The past 30 years have seen an explosion of technology that has made office work easier and more efficient. Few people have had such a direct influence on shaping modern office culture than Krishna C. Mukherjee. In his career of over 30 years, Mukherjee has helped to create and develop technology that is used in almost all offices today.
Mukherjee is a world-renowned information technologist whose focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation led to the creation of new software architectures for the enterprise. He was instrumental in creating the foundation for best practices that are actively in use today. His creation of the innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model revolutionized software development.
Mukherjee’s development of cornerstone technologies has made him an award-winning innovator. These technologies are used in offices worldwide. In fact, the rise of micro services has made his design concepts more relevant than ever. His products are used in every industry and are influential to billions of people.
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Microsoft Innovator
Mukherjee received his Master’s in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur in 1988. While there, he did innovative research in AI and Robotics that would set him on the course for his career.
In the same year, Mukherjee joined Microsoft as a Lead Architect and Engineer at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. When Mukherjee started working for Microsoft, computers and technology were not on many peoples’ radars, notably in the workplace. Mukherjee became foundational in creating the software that would soon be used in practically every office throughout the world. He helped Microsoft to become the industry leader.
During his time at Microsoft, Mukherjee created the architecture, designed and developed Microsoft Office for Windows and Apple computers. His innovations helped to create the software used by billions of people around the world in their offices and in their homes.
Mukherjee led the design and development of many features and technologies of Office and Windows. These include Page layout and Printing, Spelling and Grammar, WordBASIC and VBA, Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) and Component Object Model (COM). His research in AI during college led the way for his design and development of AI-based features for Office and Visual Studio. These features include AutoFormat, Office Assistant and IntelliSense.
Mukherjee pioneered the development of frameworks for creating user interfaces. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) and Silverlight were developed under his leadership.
Mukherjee created a legacy. He made a name for himself as the mastermind behind the foundational technologies that changed the way offices were run and how people communicated with each other.
The Invention of AutoFiling
Before the late 1990s, filings took a significant amount of time for most businesses. Insurance was one of the most heavily regulated industries in USA. Large insurance companies had to file about 700 different types of paper forms to conduct business in every state of USA. Annual reporting, rates, policies, approval for underwriting, regulatory requirements and the oversight of sales personnel generated mounds of paperwork that had to be completed by the insurance companies.
Other industries, such as doctors, accountants, lawyers and finance professionals, had equally overwhelming paperwork. Legal jargon complicated the forms and the paperwork was daunting. Time and effort required to complete the paperwork drained significant resources from the corporate offices.
Mukherjee moved on to Wolters Kluwer in Manhattan, New York City, so that he could research and solve the high-volume forms publishing problem. He functioned as Wolter Kluwer’s Chief Information Officer and transitioned the company from paper-based to electronic processes.
At the very outset, Mukherjee realized that only sophisticated technology can relieve businesses of the burdensome tasks associated with voluminous paperwork. This realization led him to invent the Intelligent Filing Manager. Once again, his invention revolutionized the use of technology in the workplace. Intelligent Filing Manager uses a dynamic and adaptive Question and Answering (Q&A) component that allows the users to answer the questions in an efficient manner. Mukherjee’s invention started the era of utilizing AI to successfully automate complex workflows. It illustrated how automation can be achieved within desktop, client-server and web-based applications.
Intelligent Filing Manager is essentially customer-centric software that helps professionals quickly process and organize all the information they need. Previously, software engineers had to edit the code in multiple programming languages and then compile, test and deploy the new software. It was a cumbersome process. Mukherjee created software that responds to changes as the domain experts modify business rules in English like natural language. The software is easy to maintain, update and scale. It facilitates maintenance of forms and enables organizations to streamline and automate their complex business processes.
Filings undergo frequent changes due to state regulations. Mukherjee’s software architecture can handle frequent changes. It combines AI with forms technology and relational databases to generate powerful user interfaces and automate complex business processes. It facilitates team collaboration by allowing technical and non-technical team members to work together seamlessly. The regulatory changes are quickly incorporated in the software applications and reflected in the enterprise workflows.
Mukherjee explains, “Intelligent Filing Manager provides a better, smarter and efficient way to perform complex, multi-jurisdictional filings electronically and maintain the forms. Before my invention, industries like banking and insurance used to manually fill, file and manage all their business data. Intelligent Filing Manager created a one-stop solution that eases high-volume forms publishing, where large sets of various forms needed to be filed simultaneously.”
Intelligent Filing Manager continues to be a vital tool for businesses. It automates forms publishing and performs multi-jurisdictional filings across all the states in the USA. The technology is patented in the USA, as well as other countries. It has been recognized for innovation at technology conferences across the world.
Other Innovations in Technology
Mukherjee created financial software applications that are used worldwide. One such application is Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL). It provides credible, transparent and defensible valuations across a broad spectrum of financial instruments, including derivatives and structured notes. At the heart of this pricing, the engine is a rigorous process that is applied to data. When it comes to pricing: traders, portfolio managers, risk committees, boards, regulators and ultimately the investor depend on the result. BVAL starts with the highest quality data integrated across a wide cross-section of market contributors. The data is scrubbed, cleansed and verified with every input and the output is tested for quality and consistency. Outliers, errors, and inconsistencies are scrutinized and resolved. Mukherjee created the pricing framework with well-defined architectural components such as Security Adder, Front Door, Accumulator, and Snapshot Engine to produce snapshots of security prices at designated times across the globe. He researched and developed quantitative algorithms to price liquid and illiquid securities using market data and models.
Recently, Mukherjee revolutionized the way we pay for our goods and services. He made online payments easy by creating AutoPay. The customers can pay directly from their bank accounts with an electronic check (ACH) or they can pay by credit card. They can set up instructions to arrange for payments to be taken out at regular intervals (monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.). After the instructions are set up, the payments are automatically deducted. AutoPay helps the customers to avoid paying late fees and improve their credit scores. Companies get paid on time. AutoPay has created peace of mind for both customers and businesses.
Icon Parking Systems (Icon) is a leader in branded parking services with more than three hundred locations in Manhattan, New York City. More than forty thousand cars are parked daily at Icon’s locations. Icon’s customers use the AutoPay feature for paying their bills. Icon has been relieved of the burden of processing cash and paper checks. The company has become much more efficient. Like Icon, many brands choose to offer the AutoPay feature with their services. The feature is used worldwide across various industries.
E-commerce Apps for Omnichannel Retailing
Mukherjee’s exceptional knowledge of technology has motivated him to create innovative mobile and e-commerce applications for omnichannel retailing. As many customers are turning to online stores, omnichannel retailing allows businesses to seamlessly add their merchandise online to sell through mobile-browsing, social media and e-commerce marketplaces. While many location-based stores may otherwise start hurting because of online competition, omnichannel retailing allows them to expand their offerings.
Mukherjee elaborates, “Omni-channel retailing is not just about having a presence on multiple channels. It is the ability to deliver to the consumers a consistent experience across these channels while factoring in the different devices they are using nowadays to interact with the businesses online or at physical store locations.”
With Mukherjee’s seamless technology, retailers no longer must choose between physical and online stores. The customers can contact the retailers in whatever way works best for them.
An Innovator of Modern Technology
Krishna C. Mukherjee’s contributions to technology have revolutionized the way we work, shop and buy. He has utilized his background in AI to create better technology that is actively used even today.
Mukherjee’s passion has always been to improve lives. “I have dedicated my entire life to serving the human society by creating advanced technology,” he says. “My software products have influenced billions of people worldwide.” Mukherjee’s dedication, foresight, and innovative insights have helped people all over the world.
