From AI to cloud, evolving tech is pushing the sector forward
Founder, Director of Avaali Solutions Srividya Kannan speaks to businesstoday and shares some valuable learnings as a successful businesswoman.
Automation and digitisation would make processes fast, efficient and reduce the cost for companies, which will in turn increase their revenues, says Srividya Kannan, Founder and Director of Bengaluru-headquartered Avaali Solutions, which provides digital solutions to enterprises. “By applying automation and digitisation solutions in certain cases, the process cycle time can be brought down by 35-50 per cent. Moreover, costs can be brought down by 10-15 per cent,” she adds.
Rekha M. Menon, Chairperson and Senior MD of Accenture in India, echoes these views and highlights that IT companies in the coming ‘Techade’ would need to go through a “total enterprise reinvention that includes systematically reinventing every part of every business using tech, data and AI”.
Industry watchers believe that IT companies would help move not just the digital transformation journey of their clients, but also India itself. They add that the government’s focus on developing digital infrastructure to power public services and provide last-mile access to healthcare, education, financial- and agri-services speaks of the massive opportunity for collaboration available in the IT sector. “The India Stack with Aadhaar, UPI, CoWin, and the national health stack, have set a high benchmark for using technology to drive impact at scale. To live up to its potential in the ‘Techade’, the Indian tech industry must double down on existing priorities and create new ones,” says Menon.
Bhatt adds that the IT sector will play a vital role in supporting critical infrastructure within the country. “Tech and IT firms will play a leading role in really enhancing public goods. It’s not just about technology helping corporations become better and make more profits, but playing a fundamental role in improving the human condition,” he says.
Jobs and Skills
But an overriding question on top of every stakeholder’s mind is this: Could the increased use of automation and digital tech lead to a decline in the IT workforce and the eventual replacement of humans by machines or algorithms?
The number of jobs in the tech industry might not reduce due to automation or the adoption of technology, says Akhilesh Tuteja, Partner, Global Cyber Security Leader, National Alliances and TMT Industry Leader at KPMG in India. “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the number of jobs in the technology industry, even after all of these advancements, will grow substantially.” He drives home the point with an example of how the advent of AI might lead to more jobs with the topical example of ChatGPT. “OpenAI has just had a big breakthrough—ChatGPT. It has been less than a few weeks and the number of platforms built on top of ChatGPT has already proliferated. There are more than 50 use cases being worked out—and this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he says. And with so many platforms, the number of people who are trying to build value via the AI is also significant.
Avaali’s Kannan breaks it down further by saying that rapid automation, digitisation and applications of AI would not make the current workforce redundant but simply “shift the skillset to more relevant skills”.
As we stand on the precipice of this technological transformation, businesses also have a responsibility to do their part in retraining their employees, stresses Menon. “Every business will need to evolve to become a creator and not just a consumer of talent, and unlock the potential of people by combining the power of technology and human abilities. This is especially true for India, considering our demographic dividend that is crucial for us to realise our aspirations,” she says.