Rafee Tarafdar

#GenerativeAI could be a catalyst for growth in #SMEs provided: 1. It is applied optimally across the processes 2. Is used to ideate, innovate & design products 3. Increasing competitiveness 4. Exploring new opportunities 5. Market analytics & dynamics https://t.ly/tmChq

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Evolution of India GCCs discussed with another dimension in Business Standard today. In the attached article, I discussed with Ayushman Baruah the aspect of future proofing of organizations via GCC strategy. GCCs have evolved significantly over the last decade and today many organizations leverage GCCs as their nerve center for building core capabilities and also futuristic innovation engines. We talked about Planview strategy at length and talk about our Capability and Innovation strategy in Bengaluru. #GCC #futureofwork #transformation Planview Razat Gaurav Cameron Van Orman Vishal Dhawan Manoj Kohli Virender Aggarwal Harsh Vardhan G

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Marching towards “Mentoring A Million” – Honoured to give a talk on innovation at Unisys Innovation Day! Last week, I gave a keynote at Unisys Innovation Day, attended by 500 people from academia, industry, and Unisys associates. Unisys organizes a Technology Innovation contest for students across India called Unisys Innovation Program (UIP). UIP has had over 90,000 students register and submit more than 6000 abstracts from across 2000+ institutions. The top three teams were selected and honored. It is an impressive program indeed. My talk on “Achieving Success through Innovation”, for individuals and companies. Unisys distributed my book “Achieving Meaningful Success: Unleash the power of ME!” to all attendees and many employees. In my book, in one of the chapters, I cover how one can develop innovation skills. In my life’s journey, I consider innovation, my 6 US patents, among some of my biggest achievements. I strongly believe, ‘Innovation is a skill, a combination of art, science, and creativity that individuals and companies can learn.’ Through innovation, we can make a positive difference to ourselves, our companies, our country, and the world :). So, innovate and make a difference! Remember, innovation can take our companies and nation on the path of exponential economic growth! #yournest #mentoring #success #excellence #MentorAMillion #innovation #inspiration #entrepreneurship #professionals #students #iAccel #leadership #Unisys

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The automotive industry has been in continuous transformation with the availability of newer technologies. The industry has transitioned from ICE to EV, to Software Defined Vehicle, and now the adaptation of GenAI @ Edge. GenAI applications across vehicle eco-systems are numerous, from Automotive R&D to LLM @ the edge... the vehicle itself. Generative AI is transforming the automotive industry, making smarter vehicles and creating individualized and conversational driving experiences that suit different preferences and needs. The time of rigid and uniform interfaces is over; now, these vehicles can change their looks, screens, and functions, providing a completely conversational driving experience that smoothly matches the user’s preferences. Software Defined Vehicle Platform providers, are looking at Cognizant IoT & Engineering for infusing GenAI use cases as a plug & play layer for them to enable quicker adoption by the OEMs.  Get ready to shift gears into the future with GenAI in automotive with us: Generative AI – Intuitive Automotive Transformation  Abhijit Datar Vibha Rustagi Jörg Ohlsen Mandar Bapat Kedar Pathak Aditya P. Balaji Sethuraman Ajita Shah Rashmi Vasisht Deepika Sapra Anmol Gagroo Cognizant

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🌐 Cognizant's Acquisition of Belcan: A Strategic Move Amid Economic Uncertainty 🌐 Cognizant's recent acquisition of Belcan is a significant step in expanding its engineering services and signals a broader trend in the IT services sector. It mimics Capgemini's acquisition of Altran in 2019. In a time of dwindling demand and economic uncertainty, such strategic acquisitions can provide a much-needed boost to M&A deal activities. Why This Matters: 🔍 Inorganic Market Share Expansion: With organic growth facing headwinds, acquiring companies like Belcan allows Cognizant to swiftly enhance its market presence and diversify its service offerings. 🔍 Capabilities Enhancement: Belcan brings robust engineering and R&D capabilities, enabling Cognizant to offer more comprehensive solutions to existing clients, thereby increasing value and deepening customer relationships. 🔍 Survival Tactics in a Competitive Industry: In an industry characterized by minimal differentiation, expanding capabilities and market share through acquisitions can be crucial for survival and growth. Offering more to the same customers helps maintain relevance and competitiveness. Strategic Implications: ✅ Adaptation to Economic Climate: M&A activities can provide stability and growth opportunities in uncertain times, helping companies like Cognizant navigate and thrive despite economic challenges. ✅ Enhanced Service Portfolio: Integrating Belcan’s strengths with Cognizant’s existing services allows for a more diversified and resilient business model. ✅ Customer-Centric Growth: Focusing on providing enhanced value to existing customers through expanded capabilities ensures sustained business relationships and loyalty. As the IT services landscape continues to evolve, strategic acquisitions will play a pivotal role in shaping the future. Companies must leverage these opportunities to remain competitive and deliver greater value to their clients. Partners at Peak North bring a strong track record of advising global brands on their inorganic growth strategies. Peak North can support your sector research, buy-side mandate, target identification, and thesis validation to ensure strategic and informed decision-making in M&A activities. #Cognizant #Belcan #MergersAndAcquisitions #ITServices #BusinessGrowth #EconomicUncertainty #DealAdvisory #Growth #Technology

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In the race for innovation and performance, HCLTech emerges as the dark horse, galloping past expectations and leading the charge towards technological excellence. An interesting article , interview with our dynamic CEO and MD, Vijayakumar C https://okt.to/Z9Tr6m #superchargingprogress #weareHCLTech

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IBM Consulting's leadership is undergoing a change as John Granger hands over the reins to Mohamad Ali and Kelly Chambliss. While this news has left many with mixed feelings, let me take a moment to reflect on my three thoughtful interactions with John ... starting from the times when he had a brief stint living in India around 2016-17. This is my tribute to him. #1: John would review each Sector every quarter. My first review with him in 2016 was a disaster. The remote telepresence equipment failed for unknown reasons, the landline phone would not connect, and finally I had to present over a mobile phone speaker with poor audio. I ensured my next few reviews were f2f in Bengaluru, but more importantly, those reviews truly shaped me up for C-level story boarding and pitches. When John learnt I was traveling at my own cost to meet him f2f for the reviews, he immediately instructed that my travels be reimbursed ... very thoughtful of him. #2: John saw me in action in 2017 during a client's CIO meeting he and I had in Delhi for a new logo opportunity with a global enterprise. So, later when I met him at his NYC office late in 2018 and expressed my aspirations towards a leadership role in the US, he supported me wholeheartedly and entrusted our global HR leader Daniel Sturm to work this thru with the US market. While this opportunity progressed, my current role in the Philippines opened up suddenly and I immediately picked it up. Soon, John connected me to the US Sector leader of an account in trouble and asked him to work with me as ... (in his words) ... "Sanjiv can solve anything". That was truly inspiring. #3: There are two people I would openly credit for my progression to an IBM Senior Partner ... Amit Sharma and John Granger. When I met John f2f right after and thanked him, his reaction was like brushing it aside stating he hardly did anything and rather "I earned it" with what I had been doing for IBM's Center in the Philippines. Coming from someone of John's stature, these were truly defining moments of my IBM career. My best wishes to John for his next innings in life starting early 2025. #IBM #IBMConsulting #IBMPhilippines #CICPhilippines

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It was intriguing to be part of a roundtable discussion today in association with #Nasscom on the topic 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. It’s great hearing from Industry experts & business leaders on their AI adoption experiences.   Hari Atmakuri Ashok Kumar Jha, Gowrishankar Chagantipati, Rohini Ramakrishnappa, Kiran Chandaka, Chinni Krishna Chikatimarla, Harish Sureddy Amol Gupta   It was wonderfully moderated by Ankit Bose covering various areas such as Predictive AI, GenAI, Ethical aspects, business impact and security considerations.   We delved into a range of topics on AI, exploring its diverse applications across different industries, critical guardrails and impact on sustainability. Some key learnings from the roundtable:   𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: AI is being rapidly adopted across various industries, driving innovation and efficiency. Some of the uses cases are around Administration Overhead reduction such as Clinical Notes summarization, Hazard & Risk Analysis, Realtime Marketing & Sales promotions, Fraud Detection, Summarizing shareholder reports, etc. 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐈: It’s importance of designing AI systems that can appropriately respond to adverse situations, emphasizing the need for ethical considerations in AI development. Need for Ethical AI counsel and governance needed. 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈: Gateways needed to decide when to implement traditional AI versus Gen AI. How AI can be used for GenAI. Planning for adversarial training and drive explainable AI. 𝐔𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: One of the critical challenges is to standardize AI applications to provide consistent experiences and avoid working in silos. The consensus is clear that any AI adoption needs to have well-articulated benefits such as Cost, Efficiency, Agility & Risk Mitigation, etc. #AI #Nasscom #Business Innova Solutions Dr. Umesh Udayaprakash, Srinivas Yeluripaty, Arpita Dubey, Anil Nandivada Sreevani Chepuri Raghu Kumar Praveen Mokkapati Harshwardhan Kumar

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The world is shifting to Product oriented delivery. We have worked with most of my clients towards this approach, this was a good short course providing the essentials of this much needed shift. #product #productengineering #pod #ibm #ibmconsulting

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Listen to Episode 3 of Powering Product Innovation for a deep dive into how cloud, AI and automation have evolved into product engineering’s dream team. Join Cognizant’s Deb Eastman, Head of Platforms and SaaS & VP, and Prasad Sankaran, EVP Software & Platform Engineering, as they explore the changes rippling through product engineering and what they mean for development and testing teams. Key takeaways include: • Why cloud infrastructure is driving innovation • The role of hyperscalers and cloud platforms in providing a path to generative AI capabilities • How AI will make development and testing jobs more meaningful—and productive. • Why responsible AI needs to happen at the enterprise level. • How companies can drive hyper-automation across the enterprise. Listen today and learn how to position your company’s product engineering for success. https://bit.ly/3Vb3rFH #productdesign #cloud #AI #automation #Cognizant

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Watch the interesting dialogue on AI between Sumit Ganguli and Sandip Patel on the importance of #ResponsibleAI.

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We have published so many Gold nuggets which are extremely relvant in current AI adoption boom. I am sharing one such amazing golden nugget published by us in 2009, 15 years back. I am always amazed by the futuristic vision we (McKinsey & Company) have had. Read below:

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This week, I have the privilege of gaining an up-close perspective on the technological #business landscape in India. This nation has not only emerged as a hub of innovation but also as a fertile ground for visionary leaders who are reshaping the global business environment. I'd like to share an intriguing fact: India has been raising a generation of executives who currently helm some of the world's foremost technology corporations. Take Google and Microsoft, for instance, with a combined market valuation of $4470 billion, steered by Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, respectively. Both leaders are testament to the exceptional education and innovative mindset aligned with India’s technological prowess. Companies like Adobe, IBM, PaloAltoNet, and Micron have a substantial market capitalization and are propelled by CEOs such as Shantanu Narayen, Arvind Krishna, Nikesh Arora, and Sanjay Mehrotra, driving forces of relentless innovation and growth. 🔗 The presence of Ingram Micro in #India mirrors this very standard of excellence. With its significant footprint, Ingram Micro has been enhancing #technologicalsolutions, thereby ensuring the essential stream of products and services that bolster business growth, both within India and on a global scale. It's a phenomenon I am currently witnessing first-hand and for which I am deeply thankful.

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I loved reading this recent report from my colleague, Natarajan Sankar, on Indian's electric 2-wheeler (E2W) market. "From a mere ~45k E2W units sold in FY 2021 it has grown to ~950k units in FY 2024." 176% average annual growth rates! BCG surveyed 2750 respondents across demographics and mobility contexts to bring a unique perspective. It makes me hopeful for the type of E2W uplift we might see in East Africa. https://lnkd.in/dhktmKYE

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From enhancing ideation to automating processes, AI is reshaping the engineering landscape, helping businesses unlock unprecedented efficiencies and drive innovation. Rupesh Kumbhare, General Manager of Wipro Engineering Edge, shares insights on how AI is revolutionizing product development, operations, and more. Read the full interview to explore the immense potential of AI in engineering and how businesses can make the most of it. https://bit.ly/3JSavSr #AIinEngineering #WiproEngineeringEdge #TheEngineeringMindset

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Jayapradeep Jiothis's session at #STEPINAUTOMOTIVE2024 is on '𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞'. This talk looks at how to ensure compliance at a lower-level design to high-level Architecture!

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The latest survey by Nasscom-Avasant reveals that India is the preferred destination for global businesses aiming to build and expand their digital services portfolio. Participants from 550 enterprises across 11 major sectors and seven geographic regions participated in this survey. More than 50% of global companies in the travel and transportation, telecom, media and entertainment, and construction and engineering industries confirmed that they would choose India for outsourcing their digital services needs. As digital transformation continues to be a priority for companies worldwide, enterprises are investing in emerging technology areas AI, ML, Data Analytics, Cloud, Intelligent Automation, and more. And India is the preferred outsourcing destination for their needs. This presents a wonderful opportunity for companies like us that provide niche offerings and have expertise in niche technology areas. Our strategy of setting up Centers of Excellence for such new technology areas has equipped us to address the evolving needs of global businesses. Today, we have a ready workforce, trained in these technologies, and with experience in handling digital transformation projects. The future looks extremely exciting, and we are proud to be the tech partners for Fortune companies. #DigitalServices #NASSCOM #DigitalTransformation

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The rise of Global Capability Centres ( GCC) in India is redefining India’s role in the global business ecosystem. GCCs are strategic hubs for MNCs driving innovation , development & critical business functions with end to end product development, R&D , data analytics AI initiatives & much more. The 1,580 centres in India already account for 50 % of all GCC’s globally, employing about 1.66 million Indians & generating about $46 billion in annual revenues as of March 2023. With India currently graduating 1.5 million engineers per year & rising, the country has the capability to support this as a model to support future global growth. A phenomenal “Make in India”story.

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