By Haripriya Suresh and Akash Sriram
MUMBAI (Reuters) – In response to the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence technologies on the Indian IT sector, HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar emphasized the necessity for Indian IT firms to reassess their operational strategies. He highlighted the need for the country to develop its own language models as generative AI technologies continue to evolve and reshape the industry landscape.
The surge in generative AI capabilities poses a significant challenge to traditional business models of Indian IT companies, which predominantly cater to U.S.-based clients for operational support and software-as-a-service offerings. Vijayakumar, speaking at an industry event in Mumbai, underlined the distinct nature of the changes brought about by AI, urging proactive measures to explore new revenue streams and establish entirely novel business ventures.
Generative AI, with its capacity to autonomously generate code and perform a myriad of functions, is projected to accelerate product development timelines, thereby enhancing overall workforce efficiency within companies. Vijayakumar illustrated this point with an example, suggesting that a large financial services firm’s five-year technology transformation program, valued at approximately $1 billion, could be completed in just three-and-a-half years through the adoption of this technology.
Furthermore, Vijayakumar advocated for India to cultivate its own language models in order to reduce reliance on external sources and mitigate the potential impact of geopolitical factors. Large language models, trained on extensive datasets to produce textual content, are considered pivotal in this context. He cautioned that these models may no longer remain open source and could become focal points for geopolitical negotiations, potentially leading to restrictions on their usage across borders.
Highlighting the importance of long-term competitive advantage, Vijayakumar asserted that investing in building language models is becoming increasingly cost-effective and essential. He emphasized the need to establish a robust training infrastructure for these models to ensure their effective implementation.
Industry executives echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the imperative for the IT sector to remain vigilant and adaptable in the face of emerging challenges. Infosys CEO Salil Parekh stressed the necessity for a proactive and non-complacent approach to navigating the rapidly evolving industry landscape.
(Reporting by Haripriya, Akash Sriram; writing by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
