HFS PODCASTS

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347

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Aug 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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August 19, 202620 min

HFS GCC Videocast | Why cultivating a learning mindset is the key to scaling AI in enterprises

This episode explores what it really takes to move AI beyond pilots and deliver enterprise-wide impact. It highlights why successful AI adoption depends on more than technology, emphasizing the critical roles of leadership, culture, collaboration, and operational readiness. The conversation also examines the mindset shift organizations need to scale AI with confidence, break down silos, and transform experimentation into measurable business value. Featuring Achyuta Ghosh, Executive Research Leader at HFS Research, and Sameer Shaikh, Senior Director, Technology & FSS at XPO, this discussion brings together industry research and real-world enterprise experience to explore the challenges, opportunities, and practical strategies for scaling AI across the enterprise. What you'll hear Why a learning mindset is essential for scaling AI How breaking down silos improves adoption across large organizations Why data readiness and process redesign are critical to success The role of leadership, governance, and psychological safety in AI adoption How to move AI from isolated pilots to enterprise impact Why AI should become a habit, not just a project Key takeaways Culture is a major driver of AI success at scale. Collaboration and shared ownership help AI spread across the enterprise. Data readiness and process redesign are key foundations for impact. Leadership and psychological safety support experimentation and adoption. AI delivers the most value when it is embedded into everyday business operations. 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/

August 14, 202619 min

HFS GCC Videocast | The bold shift from cost center to revenue generator in GCCs — The Planview example

In this episode of HFS GCC Advantage, we speak with Shalini Sankarshana, Managing Director, Planview, Inc., about how Planview’s India GCC has evolved from a capability center into a strategic engine for product ownership, engineering, business accountability, and market growth. Shalini shares how the team built end-to-end ownership across major products, expanded into AI-led innovation with the Anvi platform, and is now helping drive India as both a talent base and a revenue opportunity. What you’ll hear How Planview built its India GCC with a clear strategy from the start The shift from support work to product engineering ownership How India now runs 8 of 16 products end-to-end Why the team focused on global capability building and operational optimization How Planview is using AI and the ANVI platform to reshape product and platform strategy What it takes to move from a cost center to a revenue-generating business unit How India is becoming both a talent hub and a market growth engine Key takeaways India GCCs are evolving from support centers into strategic business hubs. Early ownership of business problems builds stronger trust and accountability. Product engineering and operations can be redesigned for global, self-sufficient teams. AI is becoming central to platform strategy, governance, and decision-making. India is increasingly important not just as a talent location, but as a market and growth engine. The future of GCCs is deeper ownership, stronger customer orientation, and clearer business outcomes. 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/

August 11, 202614 min

Unfiltered Stories | HFS & MathCo: AI models are a utility, context is your identity

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered, Saurabh Gupta, President of HFS Research, is joined by Anuj Krishna, Cofounder and President - Technology & Growth of MathCo, to discuss one of the least understood reasons enterprise AI stalls: the absence of context. The pattern is everywhere. Enterprises have sky-high AI ambitions, yet pilots multiply and almost none reach production, what Saurabh calls “death by a thousand POCs.” In research HFS and MathCo ran together, roughly two-thirds of enterprises admitted they don't know where their knowledge lives; it's trapped in people's heads, undocumented processes, and scattered data. Anuj's argument: organizations obsess over models when the real advantage lies in context, who they are, how they work, and the knowledge behind their decisions. The conversation goes deep on what context actually is, why it can't be static, and who should own it, including the shift toward a federated model with “context stewards” by function. Anuj also lays out how MathCo differs from the platform owners and SIs racing to be “context kings”: rent the tech ecosystem, but own the intelligence, because you can't own your intelligence unless you own your knowledge, and an organization's context is its personality. Saurabh closes with a sharp thesis: models and agents will become a utility, and neither will differentiate you, but context is your identity, and owning it is the only sustainable advantage going forward. Read the associated Take 5 Report, titled "Fund the context layer and close the 2.5x AI ambition gap," here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/fund-layer-ai-ambition-gap/ #EnterpriseAI #ContextEngineering #AgenticAI #OwnYourIntelligence #MathCo #HFSResearch #AIStrategy #DataGovernance #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork

August 6, 202616 min

HFS GCC Videocast | The shift from process excellence to enterprise outcomes in GCCs

Global in-house centers and Global Business Services are no longer just about efficiency and scale. In this conversation, Arvind Shankar from Reckitt shares how GCCs are being reshaped by human-centered transformation, enterprise orchestration, and AI-driven operating models. From talent redesign to governance and tacit knowledge, this episode explores what it takes to build future-ready organizations that create real business outcomes. What you'll hear How GCCs and GBS are evolving from process efficiency to enterprise orchestration Why human-centric, outcome-based transformation models matter What the future of talent looks like in the GenAI era How organizations can move from AI pilots to enterprise-wide orchestration The role of trust, governance, and organizational context in AI adoption Practical examples of AI in regulatory workflows and marketing Why operating models need to shift from SLAs to value creation Key takeaways The future of GCCs is less about cost and more about enterprise outcomes. Human-centered transformation creates stronger alignment across business, talent, and technology. AI success depends on orchestration, governance, and contextual knowledge—not just tools. Organizations need AI fluency, but also new leadership and operating capabilities. Tacit knowledge and organizational context are becoming key competitive advantages. 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/

August 4, 202622 min

HFS GCC Advantage | From cost center to strategic leader: The future of GCCs in travel

Join us as Mani Ganesan, SVP and Head of APAC Engineering at Amadeus Labs India, shares how the India Center evolved from a cost center to a strategic hub driving product innovation, revenue, and global leadership in travel technology. Discovers how Amadeus leverages AI, builds global roles, and creates a unique employer brand in India to support the future of travel tech. What you'll hear: How Amadeus India evolved from a cost-focused operation into a global excellence hub How the team uses thought leadership, campus engagement, and brand building to attract top engineering talent Why AI fluency is becoming central to the future of travel technology and engineering in India How global roles are being built from India to support bi-directional leadership What it takes to manage complex, high-volume travel platforms processing over 100,000 transactions per second Why the Indian travel ecosystem creates unique opportunities for localized innovation and scale Key takeaways: Why moving beyond cost-center thinking is essential for GCCs that want to create real business impact How employer brand and campus presence help build a stronger talent pipeline in competitive markets Why AI fluency is not just a technical skill, but a strategic capability for future-ready engineering teams How GCCs can create global leadership roles from India instead of only supporting headquarters Why a deep understanding of local market behavior can unlock better product design and innovation What separates a strong delivery center from a true global product and revenue engine Why the future of GCCs depends on combining operational excellence with strategic ownership 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: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/indias-gcc-pulse-index/

August 3, 202626 min

Unfiltered Stories | Everforth Quinnox: Bringing Services-as-Software to life

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered, Saurabh Gupta, President of HFS Research, sits down with Amit Nagar, CEO of Everforth Quinnox, and Shiv Iyer, President of Everforth , to discuss how the services-as-software vision is becoming a reality. First introduced by HFS in 2024, services-as-software reflects a future where agentic and generative AI transform services into platform-led, outcome-based models that are no longer tied to traditional headcount. Quinnox was one of the first firms to put this vision into practice and is now scaling it through Everforth. Amit and Shiv explain what the acquisition means, why Everforth is "Quinnox at scale," and how the combined organization delivers value across the entire software development lifecycle. The conversation explores how clients are shifting their focus from team size to business outcomes delivered through AI and people. The leaders share real-world examples, including reducing delivery teams by up to 65% and cutting ticket resolution times from nearly 15 hours to just 16 seconds with 90% accuracy. They also discuss why success depends on redesigning delivery around client processes rather than relying on traditional service models. Amit and Shiv also examine the importance of trust, long-term partnerships, and proven outcomes when adopting AI, the significant opportunity in the mid-market, and the risk of creating new technical debt. They conclude with practical advice for CIOs looking to move beyond legacy services and accelerate AI-driven transformation. Read the report: An HFS Challengers’ Code analysis distilling Everforth Quinnox’s playbook strategy, operating model, and AI-native execution to help enterprise leaders pressure-test incumbents and make smarter sourcing decisions, here . To know more, follow us on LinkedIn: HFS Research Quinnox #ServicesAsSoftware #EnterpriseAI #AgenticAI #ITServices #Quinnox #Everforth #HFSResearch #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork #ManagedServices

July 28, 202618 min

Unfiltered Stories | Intelligence-led compliance with EY's Tom Scazzafavo

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered Stories, Divya Iyer, Practice Leader at HFS Research, is joined by Tom Scazzafavo, Global Financial Crime Managed Services Leader, EY, for a candid look at why financial crime compliance keeps failing to deliver, and how AI is changing the equation. The conversation follows EY's recognition as a Horizon 3 Market Leader in the HFS Horizons Financial Crime Compliance Services 2026 report. Tom's diagnosis is pointed: institutions have poured money into compliance for over a decade, yet enforcement actions haven’t fallen, because the investment was incremental rather than transformational. Firms layered new tech on fragmented processes, legacy systems, and inconsistent data, so spending rose while the operating model never changed. He traces it to three root causes: data trapped in silos, inefficient manual processes, and incentives that reward throughput over real risk reduction. Tom is clear-eyed about AI's reality, too, separating where it genuinely works today (alert reduction, entity resolution, and network analytics, and generative AI that speeds investigations) from where ambition outruns reality (fully autonomous decisioning and scaling across jurisdictions). His verdict: AI is powerful, but it's no silver bullet, and humans stay in the loop for a while yet. He shares EY's “AI trust and governance” approach, treating each agent like a customer in a KYC process, and closes with a sharp look ahead: criminals adopting AI as fast as institutions through synthetic identities and deepfakes, the rise of real-time payments and digital assets, and widening cross-border regulatory divergence. The through-line: financial crime is becoming faster and more networked, and the winners will be those who move to real-time, intelligence-led compliance. Learn more about the 2026 HFS Horizons: Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) in Financial Services - covering 15 providers: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/hfs-horizons-financial-crime-compliance-fcc-in-financial-services-2026/

July 27, 202619 min

Unfiltered Stories | HFS & Sagility: The $1T Healthcare Admin Fix = AI + Domain + Workflow

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered Stories, Saurabh Gupta, President at HFS Research, is joined by Ramesh Gopalan, Group CEO & Managing Director of Sagility, to discuss how AI can tackle the trillion-dollar inefficiencies in US healthcare. They discuss why traditional BPO models have reached their limits, why AI pilots often fail to scale, and why simply automating broken processes won't deliver meaningful results. Ramesh explains Sagility's Synchrony platform and how a services-as-software approach orchestrates end-to-end healthcare workflows, combining AI, domain expertise, and human oversight. The conversation explores the shift from activity-based to outcome-based pricing, how healthcare organizations can reduce costs while improving revenue and compliance, and why domain expertise becomes even more valuable in an AI-driven world. Ramesh also shares his vision of agentic AI orchestrating the majority of healthcare workflows within the next three to five years. #ServicesAsSoftware #HealthcareAI #AgenticAI #HealthcareBPO #Sagility #HFSResearch #PayerOperations #PriorAuthorization #OutcomeBasedPricing #DigitalTransformation

July 20, 202616 min

HFS GCC Advantage | GBS as a transformation engine at Ecolab

Join Achyuta Ghosh and Steve Rudderham for a conversation on how GBS is being rebuilt as a true engine of enterprise value, not just a scaled shared services function. They discuss how Ecolab’s “One Ecolab” strategy is reshaping GBS around nine end-to-end processes, why cost and SLAs are now table stakes rather than differentiators, and how data, AI, and talent are coming together to move the needle on customer experience, growth, and enterprise decision-making. What you’ll hear: Why the traditional shared services playbook is running out of runway, and how Ecolab is positioning GBS as the connector across process, data, people, and technology. Steve draws on 15 years across Kellogg, AkzoNobel, Carrier, and his early BPO days at GECIS, and shares what he is doing three months into leading GBS at Ecolab. Key takeaways: Why cost per transaction and SLAs are table stakes, and what enterprise KPIs GBS should actually be moving. How Ecolab has organized the enterprise into nine end-to-end processes, with GBS acting as the connector between functions and geographies. How a lead-to-cash view, applied to the top 35 clients, is helping GBS improve customer experience and free up commercial time. The data-first agenda: moving customer, vendor, and financial master data from a byproduct into a true enterprise asset before scaling AI. A real example of how collecting data changed the team's prioritization of customer calls and freed capacity for higher-value work. Why running fast on AI without fixing data governance and process consistency is a common mistake, and how Ecolab is sequencing that work. The talent shift: reskilling every associate on AI and automation basics, while bringing in specialized talent in advanced analytics and AI. Why the gap between leading and lagging GBS organizations is going to widen, and what separates the two three years from now. To know more about HFS on Global Capability Centers (GCCs), visit us here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/global-capability-centers-gccs/

July 9, 202617 min

HFS GCC Advantage | Jumping the curve: Building a GCC in the AI era

Join Achyuta Ghosh and Mohit Bhatia for a candid conversation on what it takes to build a strategic GCC from an early stage, at a time when the old playbook no longer applies. They discuss why the answer is not to jump straight into AI, why fixing the basics still matters, how Rolls-Royce is thinking about data, talent, and enterprise outcomes, and what India means as a home market for a company known globally for jet engines, propulsion, and energy. What you'll hear: Why an early-stage GCC in 2026 does not need to follow the four-stage transformation curve that GCCs went through 20 years ago, and where it can leapfrog straight to modern platforms. Mohit draws on nearly four decades across Maersk, Mondelez, Genpact, and American Express, and shares how he is applying that experience at Rolls-Royce without falling back on the traditional playbook. Key takeaways: Why the first 12 to 18 months of a new GCC are still about execution excellence and fixing the basics, before piling on modern tech and AI. How to "jump the curve" and start at the top of someone else's S-curve, rather than repeating three decades of legacy build-outs. Why AI should sit in the fabric of processes, not as a set of pilots or point solutions bolted on the side. The data-first agenda: cleaning, safeguarding, and segregating data before expecting AI to produce ROI. How Mohit is thinking about services-as-software and why the shift will be gradual, not overnight, until the ecosystem catches up on data integrity and end-to-end processes. The build versus buy call: keeping core GCC execution internal while partnering with third parties on ERP, workflow tools, and system integration. Where AI actually pays off at Rolls-Royce, from predictive analytics on jet engine maintenance to three-way match, auto-reconciliations, and employee self-service. The talent shift: hiring for curiosity, learning agility, enterprise leader mindset, and tech comfort, without discounting people management, empathetic leadership, and domain expertise. Why Rolls-Royce is treating India as a home market, and what the ecosystem could look like at 10,000 people over the next five to seven years. To know more about HFS on Global Capability Centers (GCCs), visit us here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/global-capability-centers-gccs/