TCS needs to be prepared to take advantage of AI: N Chandrasekaran

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran asked TCS employees to embed AI into daily work, reflect on recent underperformance and focus on execution as adoption of the technology accelerates

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran believes that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) will only accelerate, and for that, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) needs to take advantage of the situation and create a meaningful impact.

 

Chandrasekaran was addressing around 700 senior employees of TCS at the firm’s internal global leadership and strategy conference, Blitz.

 

Talking to employees after the presentation of the company’s latest numbers, Chandrasekaran said the results were “not great” and called for honest reflection without defensiveness.

 

He noted that performance shortfalls are typically driven by a combination of market conditions, customer-specific challenges, and internal execution gaps, said people in the know.

 

“In a year where you haven’t delivered numbers, it’s important to reflect. Some factors are market-driven, some impact customers more, and some are because we didn’t do a good job— it’s always a combination,” he said, adding that teams are best placed to identify where execution could have been better.

 

Emphasising the need for grit, he told employees not to lose energy or confidence, saying the company has recovered from downturns multiple times in the past.

 

“It’s not difficult to get back on the path. We know we can, and we have done it so many times,” he said.

 

He also pointed to AI as a major opportunity for TCS, urging employees to embed AI into their daily work. He called for focus on delivering tangible outcomes for customers, including better experiences, faster delivery, and greater agility.

 

“The opportunity is huge for TCS. Make the most of it and work towards a great year — but do whatever is necessary,” he said.

 

What was different this time at Blitz was the presence of younger ‘TCSers’. 

 

A senior executive said: “This is perhaps the first time that Blitz had young 26-year-old coders presenting.”

 

K Krithivasan, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), TCS, acknowledged that for the first time TCS has underperformed peers. “Every technology disruption has led to growth. This tech disruption will take us to the next level,” he said.

 

 Krithivasan also reiterated that the company has over 5,000 AI engagements across industries.

 

TCS has been making strategic changes to align itself with the changing AI landscape.

 

This started with the onboarding of Aarthi Subramanian as chief operating officer (COO) and Mangesh Sathe as chief strategy officer.

 

The company recently announced its foray into the data centre business with the creation of subsidiary HyperVault.

 

TCS also announced the acquisition of Coastal Cloud in a $700-million transaction.