TCS launches artificial intelligence platform to hasten GenAI adoption

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) on Friday launched TCS AI WisdomNext, an artificial intelligence platform under its newly-carved AI.Cloud unit, to help its clients quickly embrace new-age technologies like generative AI (GenAI) at affordable costs.

This platform follows IT companies’ push to make themselves GenAI-friendly. The Mumbai-headquartered software exporter was the first Indian IT company to merge its AI and cloud businesses into one single entity – AI.Cloud.

As part of this integration, the company would deliver AI and cloud solutions under one banner, instead of having multiple teams catering to each of its clients.

The WisdomNext platform would club multiple GenAI solutions under one umbrella and offer clients customisable industry blueprints based on the company’s experience in various industries.

AI Integration

“TCS AI WisdomNext gives enterprises a choice to select the right large language models at an optimal cost,” said Siva Ganesan, who heads the company’s AI.Cloud unit, told reporters following the launch of the platform.

India’s biggest IT company did not spell out any revenue guidance for the platform.

Ganesan said that 100 customers across verticals such as banking, financial services, retail, consumer goods, travel, manufacturing, life sciences, and healthcare were already using the WisdomNext platform.

Krishna Mohan Reddy, vice-president and deputy head of TCS’s AI.Cloud unit, said projects handled by the platform were based on sales, marketing, code development, and real-time supply chain improvements, among others.

On the question of the platform leading to job losses, Harrick Vin, chief technology officer (CTO), TCS, said the WisdomNext platform would increase people rather than replace them.

“I think we believe actually this entire technology has more to do with actually augmenting people rather than replacing people. So WisdomNext is all about actually augmenting the ability of AI engineers to build really high quality, effective, efficient, consistent, responsible solutions by design, rather than by chance,” said Vin.

Companies would not just have to implement new technologies but also manage organisational change within. As a result, Vin said, human work would now shift to reviewing the work done by machines.

Strategic Innovations

IT services companies are capitalising on the rise of GenAI projects since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, which has put GenAI at the forefront of their boardroom discussions.

“Customers seek an innovative GenAI platform that has a powerful combination of prefabricated industry blueprints, cutting-edge technologies, and orchestration capability to help businesses succeed in their future adoption strategies and innovation on GenAI,” said Ray Wang, CEO and principal analyst at Constellation Research.

While TCS has a unified AI and cloud offering, Indian IT majors do not. Bengaluru-based Infosys Ltd operates two distinct service lines for its cloud and AI solutions: Infosys Cobalt and Infosys Topaz, respectively. Wipro Ltd manages its AI and cloud offerings through Wipro ai360 and Wipro FullStride Cloud, respectively.

TCS ended the 12 months through March with $29.1 billion in revenue, which is 4.1% higher than in FY23. TCS was also the first Indian IT company to reveal its GenAI pipeline, which it said doubled to $900 million from a year ago in the quarter ended March 2024.