HFS PODCASTS

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364

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Oct 2026

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HFS PODCASTS extract a real and unfiltered view of business operations and the world today and in the future. Watch or listen now, in order to be updated with the latest insights from senior HFS analysts and enterprise leaders.

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October 27, 202622 min

HFS GCC Advantage | Corteva: The business processes focused GCC that runs end to end global processes

In this episode of HFS GCC Advantage, Achyuta Ghosh of HFS Research speaks with Sandeep Mehta, Director of Shared Services at Corteva Agriscience, about how its Hyderabad GCC evolved from a transactional support center into a global business-process powerhouse. Sandeep traces the center's 20-year journey, from its beginnings as the DuPont Transaction Center to its transformation following Corteva's creation in 2019. He explains how the four C's—competence, consistency, credibility, and collaboration—helped the center build deep domain expertise, earn stakeholder trust, and take end-to-end ownership of global processes. Unlike traditional IT-focused GCCs, Corteva's center is built around business expertise, spanning finance, procurement, HR, legal, customer service, and regulatory operations. Through real-world examples, Sandeep shows how the team is improving working capital, protecting market access, redesigning processes, and delivering measurable business outcomes. The conversation also explores why GCCs need to move beyond cost-per-FTE metrics and focus on enterprise value, and how AI can help deepen their role as global process experts. What you'll hear: How Corteva's Hyderabad GCC evolved from transactional support to end-to-end global process ownership. Why the four C's are central to building a trusted, business-led GCC. How procurement transformation, regulatory expertise, and process innovation are delivering tangible business value. Why outcome-based measures such as working capital, payment efficiency, risk reduction, and customer delivery matter more than cost per FTE. How AI and deeper domain expertise could shape the GCC's role in the next decade. To know more about HFS on Global Capability Centers (GCCs), visit us here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/global-capability-centers-gccs/ We recently launched our GCC Pulse Report, "Ownership is the next imperative for India's GCCs to become generative enterprises." Read more here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/indias-gcc-pulse-index/

October 21, 202622 min

HFS GCC Advantage | How Alshaya is bringing its GCC closer to the customer

How can a GCC get closer to its customers when its teams may be thousands of miles from the markets they serve? In this episode of HFS GCC Advantage, Achyuta Ghosh, Executive Research Leader at HFS Research, speaks with Vishal Kulshrestha, Head of eCommerce & Omni Channel at Alshaya Group, about how retail GCCs are evolving from technology delivery and platform ownership toward greater accountability for customers and business outcomes. Vishal shares how Alshaya operates across a complex retail environment with more than 60 brands across multiple categories and markets, where customer expectations and journeys can vary significantly by brand and channel. He explains how e-commerce has evolved from a single-website experience into a multi-channel journey spanning the web, mobile, stores, social platforms, and messaging channels. The conversation explores why GCC teams need to look beyond technical SLAs and understand whether the platforms they build are improving conversion, customer experience, and business performance. Vishal also discusses how Alshaya is building deeper retail domain knowledge by bringing engineers closer to stores, business teams, customer journeys, and real-world problems. Looking ahead, Vishal sees the next phase of GCC evolution being defined less by headcount and more by people who combine technology expertise with business context, using AI and automation while taking greater ownership of platforms, capabilities, decisions, and business outcomes. Watch the videocast to learn: Why GCCs are moving from platform ownership to business outcome ownership How retail GCCs can connect technology teams more closely with customer experience Why deep domain knowledge is becoming critical for engineering teams How AI and automation could reshape the skills and roles required within GCCs Why the future of GCCs will be measured by their ability to influence business decisions and outcomes, rather than simply the amount of work they deliver To know more about HFS on Global Capability Centers (GCCs), visit us here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/global-capability-centers-gccs/ We recently launched our GCC Pulse Report, “Ownership is the next imperative for India’s GCCs to become generative enterprises.” Read more here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/indias-gcc-pulse-index/

October 13, 202624 min

HFS GCC Advantage | How Consilio built a GCC around trust, not handoffs

Most GCCs start with support work. Consilio did the opposite - and built India into the engine room for core legal delivery, AI innovation, and client-facing work. Vaishnavi Prasad reveals how a deliberate, trust-first model turned a highly specialized legal tech operation into a global capability center with real ownership. Hosted by Achyuta, this conversation delves into one of the most unusual stories in the GCC market: how Consilio scaled from building core e-discovery capabilities in India to embedding teams across global functions, earning the right to handle complex, high-stakes work where accuracy, confidentiality, security, and defensibility are non-negotiable. Vaishnavi shares how she moved from a long career in technology and consulting into the GCC world, and why her early lesson was simple but powerful - if you start with low-value work, you can get stuck there. Instead, Consilio invested early in domain training, talent pruning, and selective capability building so that India could contribute directly to the business, rather than orbit around it. What you’ll hear: Why e-discovery is far more specialized than traditional LPO How embedding India teams into global project structures accelerates trust and learning Why Consilio deliberately avoided the typical offshore handoff model How the company built core capabilities first, then expanded into custom workflows and leadership roles What it takes to bring AI into legal tech without compromising privacy, compliance, or security Vaishnavi also breaks down Consilio’s AI approach, including the Aurora legal AI suite and how security and InfoSec teams are brought into product design from day one. She explains how the India team works across document review, data operations, model fine-tuning, and bias reduction, and why context matters as much as technology when you’re serving legal clients under intense scrutiny. We also look ahead to what the next phase of GCC value creation will look like in a legal tech world shaped by AI. From India-based client-facing project managers to sales operations, commercial support, and technology leadership, the episode shows how scale is no longer about headcount - it’s about deeper capability, stronger ownership, and moving up the value chain. To know more about HFS on Global Capability Centers (GCCs), visit us here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/global-capability-centers-gccs/ We recently launched our GCC Pulse Report, "Ownership is the next imperative for India’s GCCs to become generative enterprises." Read more here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/indias-gcc-pulse-index/

October 6, 202615 min

HFS GCC Advantage | How Esko is building AI, cloud, and product ownership from India

What happens when a GCC moves beyond providing engineering capacity and starts owning the products, platforms, and capabilities that shape the company's future? In this episode of the HFS GCC Advantage Videocast, Achyuta Ghosh of HFS Research speaks with Vivek Kadal of Esko about the evolution of Esko's India GCC and its growing role in the company's global R&D, product engineering, and innovation agenda. With more than half of Esko's global R&D strength now based in India, the ambition is shifting from how much work India can deliver to what India can own. Vivek explains how Esko is building deeper capabilities across cloud engineering, AI, platform architecture, and product engineering while combining them with the specialized domain expertise required in the packaging industry. What you'll hear: Why Esko is evolving its India GCC from a capacity and execution center to a capability and ownership center How Esko is building a connected, multi-tenant, AI-enabled packaging cloud spanning the source-to-shelf journey The role of AI, knowledge graphs, APIs, digital threads, and agentic workflows in the future of packaging technology How Esko is strengthening India's capabilities in cloud-native engineering, AI, machine learning, DevOps, cybersecurity, platform architecture, and product engineering Why bringing engineering, customer support, and cloud operations together creates a stronger customer learning loop and helps turn customer feedback into product intelligence Why the next measure of GCC success will be business outcomes and global ownership, rather than headcount or the amount of work transferred to India Looking ahead, Vivek describes an India GCC taking end-to-end ownership across product architecture, engineering, operations, and customer outcomes, with the ability to accelerate strategic product launches, build platform capabilities for global customers, and create IP and expertise that strengthens Esko's competitive advantage. To know more about HFS on Global Capability Centers (GCCs), visit us here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/global-capability-centers-gccs/ We recently launched our GCC Pulse Report, "Ownership is the next imperative for India's GCCs to become generative enterprises." Read more here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/indias-gcc-pulse-index/

September 29, 202611 min

Unfiltered Stories | HFS & EY: The future of agentic services

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered, David Cushman speaks with EY's Dan Diasio and Thiru Vengadam about what it takes to move from AI experimentation to enterprise-scale agentic operations. Drawing on EY’s recognition as a Horizon 3 Market Leader in the HFS Horizons Agentic Services 2026 report, they discussed why the biggest barriers to AI adoption are no longer technology, but business transformation, governance, operating models, and workforce readiness. The conversation explores how organizations can move beyond proof-of-concept projects by embedding AI into core business operations, building trusted agentic systems with strong governance, and adopting outcome-based partnerships. They also discuss the evolution of Services-as-Software™, where AI-enabled services are creating new business value by combining software, human expertise, and continuous innovation. Key takeaways AI success is a business transformation challenge, not just a technology one. Scaling AI requires rethinking operating models, processes, data, governance, and talent. Agentic AI must be built on trust. Governance, security, auditability, and human oversight are essential for deploying enterprise-scale AI systems. Partnerships are evolving. Organizations need deeper co-development and outcome-based collaborations rather than traditional vendor relationships. Services-as-Software™ is reshaping enterprise services. AI enables organizations to combine software with human expertise to deliver new, higher-value outcomes. The future belongs to enterprises that embed AI into operations, not just experiments. Sustainable value comes from integrating AI into the way work is designed and delivered. Learn more about the 2026 HFS Horizons: Agentic Services report, which assesses how effectively 36 service providers help enterprise clients adopt agentic AI and realize value across three distinct Horizons, here . #AgenticAI #AgenticServices #EnterpriseAI #ServicesAsSoftware #AIOperatingModel #EY #HFSResearch #AIGovernance #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork

September 22, 202616 min

Unfiltered Stories | HFS & Akkodis: IT plus OT isn’t enough, you need business transformation

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered, Saurabh Gupta, President of HFS Research, joins Vinod Kumar, President and CEO of Akkodis North America, to explore why AI must move beyond cost savings to deliver real business transformation. They discuss the convergence of IT, OT, and business transformation, why enterprise AI struggles to move from pilots to production, and how engineering-led AI can accelerate time to market, improve product outcomes, and create competitive advantage. What you’ll hear: Why enterprise AI struggles to move from POCs to production How contextual and undocumented data can hold AI back Why forward-deployed engineers are becoming increasingly important How AI can transform engineering, product validation, and speed to market Why trust, safety, traceability, and human oversight remain critical How leaders can shift the AI conversation from cost savings to competitive advantage Learn how Akkodis is helping enterprises integrate engineering, AI, and operations to drive superior outcomes, here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/redefine-engineering-lifecycle/ #enterpriseai #agenticai #itot #digitalengineering #productengineering #automotive #businesstransformation #aistrategy

September 21, 202619 min

HFS GCC Advantage | How Mastercard scales AI and trust through its India GCC

In this episode of HFS GCC Advantage, Rajeev Gangal, Senior Vice President, R&D Engineering at Mastercard, shares how the company is using its India center in Pune as a strategic innovation hub for AI, product development, and emerging technologies. The conversation explores how Mastercard measures AI impact through tangible business outcomes, accelerates product development across the full lifecycle, and builds trust in next-generation payment experiences. Rajeev also discusses the role of external collaboration, startup partnerships, and GCC culture in driving innovation at scale. What you’ll hear How Mastercard’s Pune hub supports global R&D and innovation Why AI is being applied across the full product development lifecycle, not just software delivery How Mastercard measures AI value through business outcomes, customer satisfaction, and speed to production Why fraud detection, dispute resolution, and digital identity are important AI use cases How Mastercard balances innovation with trust, reliability, and security Why dedicated R&D enables “zero to one” innovation How the company works with startups, universities, and external partners What GCC leaders can learn about building a culture of innovation beyond delivery How agentic commerce and secure digital experiences may shape the next phase of payments Key takeaways AI creates the most value when tied to measurable business outcomes GCCs can drive strategic innovation, not just operational execution Trust, security, and speed must advance together in financial services Dedicated R&D teams help move ideas from concept to production faster External partnerships can strengthen internal innovation engines The future of payments will be shaped by agentic commerce and digital identity To know more about HFS on Global Capability Centers (GCCs), visit us here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/global-capability-centers-gccs/ We recently launched our GCC Pulse Report, "Ownership is the next imperative for India's GCCs to become generative enterprises." Read more here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/indias-gcc-pulse-index/

September 19, 202615 min

Unfiltered Stories | HFS & Daimler Truck: AI for real business impact

Ramachandran S, Practice Leader, HFS Research, speaks with Raghavendra Vaidya, Group CIO, Daimler Truck AG, about how AI is transforming both enterprise operations and commercial vehicles. Vaidya explains why AI has become the industry's top priority, moving beyond earlier technology waves like cloud and blockchain. While Daimler Truck has used machine learning for years, large language models are driving a broader strategy to create lasting competitive advantage. The conversation explores physical AI, including Torc's work on Level 4 autonomous trucks, the use of humanoid robots in manufacturing and logistics, and Daimler Truck's rollout of LibreChat alongside Microsoft Copilot. Vaidya shares why adoption has been so successful, emphasizing that the biggest shift is treating AI as a trusted colleague rather than just another IT tool. They also discuss agentic AI in manufacturing and supply chain, the future of fleet management, and why simplifying systems and data is essential before AI can scale across the enterprise. #enterpriseai #PhysicalAI #AutonomousTrucks #AgenticAI #DaimlerTruck #HFSResearch #AIStrategy #Manufacturing #FleetManagement #DigitalTransformation

September 18, 202619 min

Unfiltered Stories | HFS & HCLTech: You can't monetize AI without domain ontologies

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered, HFS’ Ashish Chaturvedi and Hridika Biswas are joined by Nagaraj Sastry, SVP and Global Head of Data and AI for Digital Business Services at HCLTech, to explore a critical enterprise AI paradox: organizations are gaining faster insights and efficiencies from data and AI, but only a small percentage are translating those investments into new revenue and meaningful transformation. The conversation explores why infrastructure-led modernization alone isn’t enough and how strong data governance, domain ontologies, contextualized intelligence, agentic AI, and operating model redesign can help enterprises move from AI experimentation to measurable business value. Nagaraj also shares how HCLTech is approaching this shift through its data and AI capabilities and industry-specific solutions. What you’ll hear: Why faster insights aren’t necessarily translating into new revenue How domain ontologies and trusted data foundations can unlock AI value Why process and operating model redesign are essential for scaling agentic AI What separates enterprises monetizing AI from those still treating it primarily as infrastructure Learn more about the 2026 HFS Horizons: Data Modernization and AI report, which evaluates 40 service providers across the data modernization and AI value chain, here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/hfs-horizons-data-modernization-and-ai-2026 #DataModernization #EnterpriseAI #AgenticAI #DataGovernance #DomainOntology #AIMonetization #HCLTech #HFSResearch #DataAndAI #DigitalTransformation

September 17, 202619 min

HFS GCC Advantage | FIS: Leading AI transformation and rebuilding the GCC workforce

In this episode of HFS GCC Advantage, Ramkumar Narayanan, EVP, Enterprise AI and Data Platforms, and Head of FIS India and the Philippines, shares how FIS is turning its GCC into a strategic engine for AI, platform innovation, and business growth. The conversation explores how a mature GCC can move beyond execution to ownership, create enterprise value, and help shape the future of work in a regulated financial services environment. Ramkumar also explains why AI transformation and workforce resilience must advance together, and how India and the Philippines centers are becoming central to FIS’s long-term growth strategy. What you’ll hear: How FIS serves the banking, payments, and capital markets ecosystem Why India and the Philippines are strategic GCC centers for FIS How the organization is shifting from application-centric work to platform-centric AI Why reusable AI foundations help reduce rework and duplication How governance is being embedded into code for scale and compliance Why AI investments must begin with real business problems How GCCs can move from execution to enterprise outcome ownership Why workforce resilience must advance alongside AI transformation How GCCs can unlock workflow intelligence to support AI redesign What leaders should do to stay aligned with the shifting company strategy Key takeaways: GCCs create more value when they own outcomes, not just tasks Platform-first AI is more scalable than one-off experiments Governance built into code helps regulated enterprises move faster with confidence AI transformation and workforce transformation must happen together GCCs hold unique workflow knowledge that can shape enterprise AI Mature GCCs should align closely with the CEO and company priorities To know more about HFS on Global Capability Centers (GCCs), visit us here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/global-capability-centers-gccs/ We recently launched our GCC Pulse Report, “Ownership is the next imperative for India’s GCCs to become generative enterprises.” Read more here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/indias-gcc-pulse-index/