India is a strategic market for Oracle, and the enterprise software firm has invested in cloud regions and tailored human capital management with specific payroll capabilities, including self-service and GST support. In this interview, Rajan Krishnan, group vice-president, applications development, Oracle, talks to Sudhir Chowdhary about the emerging trends in the industry. Edited excerpts.
What are the key global and Indian trends shaping the applications market?
The predominant trend globally and in India involves a significant shift from on-premises to cloud computing, driven by the digital transformation spurred by the pandemic four years ago. This momentum is reaching a tipping point with the advent of generative AI. Indian CIOs are allocating budgets towards generative AI and the transition to cloud services.
Another noteworthy trend is the integration of analytics into business processes departing from the historical standalone function. Additionally, there’s a shift towards consumer grade user experiences (UX). Despite market fluctuations, a robust application infrastructure allows adaptability to emerging technologies like blockchain and IoT, ensuring continued value delivery to customers.
Describe Oracle’s AI roadmap for India.
Based on feedback from our customers, generative AI is a key driver of change. With that in mind, we have integrated 50 use cases across our products wherein we’ve generative AI in HCM, ERP, and supply chain. We have completeness of enterprise applications, including ERP, supply chain, customer experience (CX), and HCM, and with these solutions we’re reimagining business processes beyond the enterprise boundaries. For instance, within ERP, we’re transitioning traditional end-to-end processes into comprehensive ecosystems involving banks, manufacturers, and distribution companies among our cloud application users. Currently, we serve approximately 14,000 fusion customers and an additional 30,000 customers on NetSuite.
How will AI, ML, and IoT impact business processes?
Consider IoT in a heating system like manufacturing. Traditionally, distributors used to control customer interactions, leaving manufacturers unaware of their customers. But with the IoT capabilities, manufacturers have started to gain insights, predicting system breakdowns and proactively sending information to technicians. This allows for an Uber like model where certified technicians bid for service or jobs based on location. This digital transformation shifts the business from product centric to service-based subscription model, enhancing customer satisfaction and impacting both top and bottom lines. Key components are cloud, IoT, analytics, and field service capabilities, showcasing how IoT reshapes and adds value to business processes.
What are the top three key asks from customers today?
Five years ago, even pre-pandemic, clients used to seek help adapting to digital transformation due to disruptions from Amazon and Uber. The pandemic has accelerated the shift to cloud and remote operations. Now customers are cloud-standar-dised and inquire about leveraging generative AI for their businesses. Our approach is based on robust infrastructure and architecture. We integrate technology, infrastructure, platform and applications, allowing seamless adaptation to change due to our intersectional positioning. While the conversations have evolved, our architecture ensures a smooth transition in response to market shifts
Which are the areas of digital transformation that AI has the biggest impact on?
AI has evolved for over the last 50 years, with recent advancements like classic AI focusing on specific, deep tech problems with business processes. Generative AI expands beyond narrow applications, utilising a large data set with the help of LLM. Generative AI is seamlessly integrated into our Fusion applications, spanning enterprise performance management, HCM and customer experience.
