AI As A Growth Engine: Why It's Time To Embrace The Inevitable

Forbes

2 days ago

Hari Sadarahalli is corporate VP and global head, engineering and R&D services at HCLTech.
I've spent my career in engineering and technology, working across industries from automotive and aerospace to healthcare and high tech. These sectors are very different on the surface, but right now they're all navigating the same pivotal technology shift: the adoption of AI.
AI is fundamentally changing how we build, operate and even think about products and services. From smart ports to intelligent cameras, we're already seeing AI's fingerprints on everyday life. And this is just the beginning.
AI Is Already Everywhere
In my role, we help clients engineer and deploy technologies across a wide range of verticals. And now AI is showing up in nearly every engagement, embedded directly into products and processes.
One good example is AI-enabled digital cameras that help users take better pictures by analyzing faces in real time: detecting smiles, selecting the right aperture and timing the shot perfectly. On modern cars, adaptive cruise control uses AI to make real-time decisions based on vehicle distance, speed and road conditions. At major shipping ports, AI is optimizing the safe docking and departure of ships by tracking container movement.
It's clear that AI is already deeply enmeshed with the physical world, and this is what makes it so powerful. It's shifting the key business question from 'What can AI do?' to 'How fast can we make it work for us?'
The AI-Silicon Duo: Powering The Next Generation Of Products
As AI moves closer to the edge, literally, we're entering a new phase of product engineering. Processing can no longer occur exclusively in the cloud. These systems need to think and act instantly, whether that means autonomous vehicle sensors or wearable health monitors. The intelligence must live on the device itself—and this is where semiconductors come into play.
We're already seeing a surge in demand for custom-built chips: semiconductors that are purpose-built for specific tasks and devices. Generic processors aren't enough anymore. Custom silicon gives us what I call hyper-personalization at the hardware level. It makes it possible to fit high compute power into small, energy-efficient packages, where AI can make decisions in fractions of a second.
This is the future of product engineering: smaller, smarter, more specialized and deeply embedded.
Outcome-Driven Business Models Are The Future
Beyond the tech itself, the business model around engineering is also undergoing a shift. Traditionally, customers engaged tech firms on a time-and-materials basis: We need so many engineers for so many months to do a specific task. That model still exists, but it's fading fast.
Now, clients are looking for transformation. Whether that means reducing time-to-market or making a product more intelligent, the focus is on measurable business impact. Our engagements are increasingly structured around the value we deliver, not the effort we expend and the tasks we execute. It's more collaborative and more accountable, and AI sits at the center of it all.
To make that work, we've built tools, IPs and frameworks that ease and accelerate adoption in real-world environments. We help companies move from proof of concept to full-scale deployment.
Get Ready While You Move
We've seen this pattern before. In the past, businesses have been disrupted by the internet, mobile and cloud. Every time, the winners turn out to be those who embrace change early and use it wisely. Of course, you don't want to jump into every new technology without careful thought. Using AI just because it's there isn't a strategy. But hesitation can also cost you your edge. There's no room to sit on the sidelines anymore.
Fortunately, AI tools are more ethical, safe and enterprise-ready than they were even a year ago. Hyperscalers have stepped up their security game and partners are available to help businesses adopt AI in the most effective way possible, according to their specific needs.
AI is already changing how we work, build and grow. The companies that lean in and find smart ways to employ it are positioning themselves to take the lead.
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