TCS looking to grab opportunities arising due to global shifts in energy and supply chain, says Chandrasekaran

• Rebalancing will be led by significant capital investments in technology to set-up ‘digital-first’ manufacturing and supply chain operations.
  
• New sustainable business models will require further investments in technology.
  
• As the world starts embracing generative AI along with predictive AI, TCS looks to play a key role in building platforms that serve its customers.

India’s IT services industry is facing one of its toughest moments with growth drying up for a variety of global factors that show no sign of easing anytime soon. Layer this with complications arising from geopolitical risks and massive global shifts in supply chains and you have the recipe for a perfect storm. But the former boss of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) sees an opportunity in these shifts.

Be it the energy transition or shifts in global supply chains, there are opportunities enough and more opportunities for Indian companies. In his address to investors of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Natrajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, says these transitions will require significant investments in technology and innovation, and offer a huge growth opportunity for the IT industry. The other big area that will see investments is generative AI, which will have a profound impact on businesses.

According to the former boss of TCS, the global environment is going through considerable changes. At the same time, the world is navigating several transitions, which will require large investments in IT. He cites two such massive shifts – the global energy transition and the emergence of new supply chain ecosystems that are being created with India playing an important role in this shift. Chandrasekaran explains: “The supply chain transition resulting from the geo-political situation is altering the global supply chains. Companies are rebalancing their supply chains for resilience and efficiency. New global supply chain ecosystems are being created with India playing an important role. This is being led by significant capital investments in technology to set-up ‘digital-first’ manufacturing and supply chain operations as well as to build ecosystem integration with partners.”

Highlighting the other big change that is sweeping across the world is the energy shift. With businesses focusing on sustainability and their footprint on the environment, Chandrasekaran says,there are many innovations across products, services, manufacturing, and delivery. “New business models are also emerging. This requires investments in technology and innovation including electric mobility, renewable power, hydrogen and sustainable fuel. In addition, sustainability compliance and reporting requirements are fast evolving as new standards and regulations are coming into play. Across the facets of this transition, investments in IT and digital technology will be an important enabler for businesses.”

He also said that there has been a rapid evolution of digital technologies in the last decade, bringing about a transformation across every industry. Now, the advancements in AI have made AI transition a central focus. “The impact of AI and Machine learning is going to be profound. There is a transition already underway from predictive AI to generative AI. Majority of the businesses are still adopting predictive AI and are on the journey of capturing large volume of data, harnessing the power of cloud and IoT,” he said. With companies incorporating both predictive and generative AI to improve business functions, further investments would need to be made in technology.

He believes that there is another important area that companies need to focus on – building talent for the future. "The energy, supply chain and AI transitions are going to require companies to reskill/upskill existing talent base, hire and integrate new talent and invest in research. Our technology strengths make us well-placed to respond to the global demand and scale up our talent base," he said.