Latest news with #RishiAurora
Mint
24-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
How IBM Is Redefining Enterprise Transformation with Responsible AI
Introduction: As artificial intelligence moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption, the real question is no longer if companies should use AI—but how. From intelligent automation to customer experience and business model redesign, AI is reshaping how organizations operate, innovate, and grow. But with this power comes responsibility—around ethics, transparency, and human-centric design. In this exclusive conversation, Rishi Aurora, Managing Partner, IBM Consulting India & South Asia, shares how IBM is helping clients harness AI not just for efficiency, but for sustainable, Trustworthy transformation. Rishi Aurora: We are witnessing a fundamental shift. A few years ago, discussions around automation or AI were rare. Today, almost every client conversation includes expectations around AI—how it will drive productivity and efficiency. We believe we are entering a new era, led by AI, and IBM Consulting is positioned at the forefront of this transformation. What used to be technology transforming businesses has now evolved into AI transforming technology itself. With our platform, IBM Consulting Advantage, consultants are empowered with pre-built AI accelerators, enabling up to 50% gains in productivity in pilot implementations. In India especially, AI is driving transformation across financial services, retail, and healthcare with remarkable speed. Rishi Aurora: Most CXOs have moved past experimentation and are focused on real, scalable programs. Our research shows that 76% of Indian enterprises report a return on investment from AI, and 93% believe it will play a role in multiple use cases across their organization. For example, in BFSI, we've helped reduce KYC processing time by 40% using intelligent automation. In retail, AI-led demand forecasting has streamlined inventory cycles. In customer support, virtual agents are streamlining manual agent onboarding times by nearly 40%. A notable example comes from the cement industry. During a merger and consolidation phase, a client was struggling with product deviations across plants. Using watsonx models, we reduced root cause analysis time from hours to just five minutes, dramatically improving production outcomes and operational clarity. Rishi Aurora: The biggest challenge is trust. While adoption is rising, only 20% of enterprises feel confident moving AI into full production. Key barriers include a lack of skilled talent, fragmented data governance, and unclear accountability frameworks. Our solution is rooted in the principles of Responsible AI, governed by the Five Pillars of Trust: Explainability – Clear visibility into how the AI model arrives at decisions. Fairness – Elimination of bias across gender, caste, geography, or social parameters. Robustness – Ability to scale, remain secure, and operate reliably under stress. Transparency – Full disclosure and auditability of the AI systems in use. Privacy – Data protection aligned with regulations and ethical boundaries. Using watsonx we provide comprehensive monitoring across the model lifecycle—capturing metadata, detecting drift, and integrating seamlessly with other platforms like Amazon SageMaker. Rishi Aurora: AI is freeing up consultants from repetitive, manual work, allowing them to focus on high-impact, strategic activities. This marks the evolution of what we call the "Science of Consulting." By combining the digital workforce with human expertise and integrating processes with ecosystem partnerships, we are delivering outcomes that go beyond efficiency, improving customer experience, reducing turnaround time, and ultimately driving ROI. This shift is about enhancing the role of consultants in enabling transformation at scale. Rishi Aurora: AI is no longer a value-add—it's a non-negotiable foundation of every proposal, every project, and every outcome. Organizations that invest now in AI governance, workforce readiness, and scalable infrastructure will lead the next phase of enterprise growth. We are entering a future where consulting is redefined by hybrid intelligence—a collaborative engine powered equally by human insight and machine intelligence. That's the future we're building at IBM Consulting. As industries accelerate toward digitization, AI is fast becoming the defining lens through which consulting services are delivered and measured. For IBM Consulting, the journey is not just about faster solutions—it's about building trust, transparency, and long-term value in every engagement. With a strategic focus on Responsible AI and a growing library of real-world success stories, IBM is setting the standard for a new era of consulting, where insight is data-driven, delivery is intelligent, and transformation is continuous.
Mint
30-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Unpacking the AI Revolution in Consulting with IBM and Mint
A compelling webinar hosted by Mint in collaboration with IBM recently delved into the transformative power of artificial intelligence within the consulting industry. Titled "The Reinvention of Consulting — How IBM is Supercharging Its Employees with AI," the session offered invaluable insights into how IBM Consulting is leveraging AI to empower its consultants and deliver enhanced value to clients. Moderated expertly, the webinar commenced by setting the stage for the AI-driven revolution sweeping across the global consulting landscape, with a particular focus on India's dynamic market. Drawing upon the IBM CEO Study 2023, the moderator highlighted that a significant 75% of global CEOs recognize generative AI as the key to future competitive advantage. This sentiment resonates strongly in India, where over 60% of enterprises are already integrating AI into their core operations, as noted in the NASSCOM Report 2023. At the forefront of this transformation is IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM's innovative AI services platform powered by IBM watsonx. This cutting-edge platform is equipping consultants with the tools they need to deliver smarter, faster, and more impactful outcomes for their clients. The session featured Mr. Rishi Aurora, Managing Partner, IBM Consulting, India & South Asia, who brought his extensive 25 years of experience in driving transformational change to the discussion. Mr. Aurora shared IBM's perspective on the profound impact of AI on the consulting industry, emphasizing that AI is no longer just an efficiency driver but a fundamental force creating tangible business results, as highlighted by the IBM Institute for Business Value. He elaborated on how IBM Consulting Advantage provides consultants with access to pre-built AI assets, leading to remarkable productivity gains of up to 50% in pilot phases, as reported by IBM Newsroom. Focusing on the Indian context, Mr. Aurora underscored the accelerated pace of AI adoption across crucial sectors like BFSI, healthcare, and retail. The conversation then shifted to real-world applications of AI in consulting. Mr. Aurora shared compelling examples of how IBM Consulting is collaborating with clients to drive tangible improvements. In the BFSI sector, AI-powered automation has led to over a 40% reduction in KYC processing times, as evidenced by IBM Client Success Stories. In retail, AI is being implemented for demand forecasting, optimizing inventory cycles. Furthermore, AI-powered virtual agents have significantly enhanced customer service, reducing manual call operations by an impressive 80-100% and accelerating agent onboarding by 30-40%, according to a Diginomica Report. Mr. Aurora emphasized how IBM's Consulting Advantage platform significantly accelerates the time to value for these solutions. Addressing the potential challenges and risks associated with AI adoption, Mr. Aurora highlighted the existing trust gap, with only 20% of businesses feeling fully confident in deploying AI models into full production, as reported by BizTech Magazine. Ethical concerns also loom large, with approximately 80% of executives viewing AI ethics as a hurdle in moving from pre-production to full deployment. To mitigate these concerns, Mr. Aurora detailed IBM's robust Responsible AI Framework, anchored by This framework offers end-to-end lifecycle monitoring and governance, automating risk management by capturing model metadata, monitoring for bias and drift, and ensuring compliance at scale. Notably, IBM's AI governance solutions are designed for seamless integration with third-party platforms like Amazon SageMaker, as demonstrated by the AWS x IBM Governance Collaboration. In his concluding remarks, the moderator aptly summarized the key takeaways, emphasizing how AI is not merely enhancing but fundamentally reinventing the consulting landscape. From enabling smarter engagement models and accelerating solution delivery to championing the responsible and ethical application of AI, IBM Consulting is establishing a global benchmark for future-ready advisory services. The webinar served as a powerful demonstration of AI's potential to revolutionize the consulting industry, offering valuable insights for businesses navigating their own AI adoption journeys. The collaboration between Mint and IBM provided a platform for a crucial conversation, underscoring the importance of strategic AI implementation for enhanced business performance and broader societal impact. Note to the reader: This article is part of Mint's paid consumer connect initiative and is independently created by the brand. Mint assumes no editorial responsibility for the content, including its accuracy, completeness, or any errors or omissions. Readers are advised to verify all information independently. First Published: 30 Apr 2025, 06:34 PM IST
