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, in Dubai.

 

Talking to employees after the presentation of the company’s latest numbers, Chandrasekaran (or Chandra as he’s popularly called) is learnt to have said the results were “not great” and called for honest reflection without being defensive.

 

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 the company has not delivered numbers, it’s important to reflect, Chandra is learnt to have said. He indicated that 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 asked the teams 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, a source revealed.

 

It’s not difficult to get back on the path, Chandra is learnt to have stressed.

 

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, according to Chandra. He wants TCSers to make the most of it and work towards a great year. But the real message was: do whatever is necessary.

 

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, another source said. The point being made by Krithivasan was that every technology disruption has led to growth and that this tech disruption too will take TCS to the next level.

 

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

 

TCS has been making strategic changes to align itself with the new 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.