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.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Scroll.in

12 minutes ago

• Scroll.in

How the Israel-Iran conflict could impact India

On June 13, the Israeli military began striking what it claimed were nuclear targets and other sites in Iran, with the aim of stalling Tehran's nuclear programme. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel. The official toll in Iran is at least 430 so far, while at least 25 persons have died in Israel. The continued exchange of fire has led to concerns of a wider regional conflict that the United States could get drawn into. Washington is an ally of Israel and acts as a guarantor of the country's security. Tehran has rejected US President Donald Trump's demand for an ' unconditional surrender ' and vowed to fight back. The prevailing uncertainty has led to a spike in global oil prices. The price of benchmark Brent crude had jumped to $78 per barrel by Thursday from $69 per barrel on June 12, the day before the conflict began. But the spike was not because of Israeli military's strikes reportedly on the Shahran oil depot in Tehran and one of Iran's largest refineries in Shahr Rey. These actions have little impact on Iranian energy exports. Instead, the spike in prices primarily stem from concerns about the possible blocking of the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict. The closure could threaten global energy security. The chokepoint The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterbody that connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea. In 2024, an average 20 million barrels of oil was transported through the strait every day. That was about one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption. This makes the Strait of Hormuz one of the most strategically important chokepoints. Iran has in the past threatened to block the waterbody in retaliation to pressure from the West. On Sunday, the Iranian Parliament decided that the Strait of Hormuz should be closed, state-run Press TV quoted lawmaker Major General Kowsari as saying. The final decision will be taken by the Supreme National Security Council, the member of the parliamentary national security commission added. Unlike other chokepoints such as the Suez Canal or the Strait of Malacca, there is no practical alternative for fuel supplies to bypass the Strait of Hormuz in large volumes. Cargo ships are already sailing closer to the Omani coast and have been advised by maritime agencies and governments to avoid Iranian waters in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on Wednesday. An attempt to shutter the strait will not go unchallenged because of the regional powers' strategic interest in keeping fuel supply open. But the ensuing military confrontation may still disrupt supplies to some extent. India's interest When Tel Aviv and Tehran last exchanged missile fire in October, former Indian diplomat Navdeep Suri had told Scroll that if the conflict escalated and became an all-out war, Iran, feeling threatened, had the capacity to block the Strait of Hormuz. In that case, New Delhi will be staring at a scenario that will 'directly impact India's energy security', he had said. 'A very large chunk of India's energy supplies come from there and that could really be serious for us,' explained Suri, who served as India's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. 'It's in our interest that it doesn't get out of hand.' India consumes 5.5 million barrels of crude per day for refining. Of this, 1.5 million barrels come through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. If the strait gets blocked, Amena Bakr, the head of Middle East and OPEC+ insights at analytics firm Kpler, told CNBC International on June 13 that oil prices could jump to three-digits. To put the impact of such a scenario into context: a spike of every $10 per barrel drives up inflation in India by about 0.5%, financial services company Morgan Stanley had estimated in April 2024. But Puri told NDTV that closing the strait was not in Iran's own interest. Yet, he said, India remained comfortably placed to meet its fuel needs, adding that New Delhi can tap into alternative supplies if needed. Here is a summary of the week's other top stories. Countering Trump's claims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told United States President Donald Trump that India will never accept mediation to resolve tensions with Pakistan. The topic came up during a phone call when Trump asked for the details about India's military strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on Pakistan in May, said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. Trump was told that India had agreed to the ceasefire only on Islamabad's request, said Misri. The 'halt to military action was directly between India and Pakistan', the foreign secretary quoted Modi as having reiterated. The call between the two leaders came against the backdrop of the US president repeatedly claiming that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan. New Delhi has rejected Trump's assertions. , writes Rohan Venkataramakrishnan A thaw in relations. India and Canada agreed to reinstate high commissioners in each other's capitals. This was announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit. Other diplomatic steps 'to restore stability in the relationship' will 'follow in due course', said New Delhi. In October, New Delhi and Ottawa expelled several diplomats amid frosty bilateral relations. Ties between India and Canada strained in September 2023 after Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister at the time, told his country's Parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing 'credible allegations' tying agents of the Indian government to the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. New Delhi has rejected Canada's allegations. The language debate. Opposition leaders criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for saying that those who speak English in India will soon feel ashamed. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that English was 'not a barrier, but a bridge', adding that the language provides employment and boosts people's self-confidence. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi said to Shah that 'the only thing to be ashamed of is imposing your will on the people and trying to destroy the pluralism of India'. Shah's comment on Thursday came against the backdrop of several state governments and regional parties accusing the Union government of imposing Hindi through the National Education Policy's three-language formula. Also on Scroll this week for a curated selection of the news that matters throughout the day, and a round-up of major developments in India and around the world every evening. What you won't get: spam.

Time of India

16 minutes ago

• Time of India

Proposed dilution of local content rules may hurt Indian telecom firms, benefit MNCs: GTRI

New Delhi: Major dilutions to local content rules for the telecom sector under the Public Procurement Order could negatively impact Indian firms by giving greater access to multinational corporations (MNCs) in government contracts without manufacturing in India, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative ( GTRI ) . The GTRI in a note further said that the move will benefit major foreign MNCs active in the Indian telecom component industry. Earlier this month, on June 3, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) initiated a public consultation to revise its Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) (PPP-MII) Order for the telecom sector. The consultation, open to industry comments until July 3, proposes a series of technical adjustments to the existing local content (LC) framework -- changes that could have far-reaching consequences for the sector's future. "Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is moving to relax local content norms for government telecom procurement -- a shift that could favour multinational corporations (MNCs) like Cisco and Ericsson while undermining Indian manufacturers who have invested in domestic production and innovation," GTRI's note added prepared by former Indian Trade Service Officer, Ajay Srivastava said. It added that MNCs are "lobbying India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to ease local content (LC) requirements, as they struggle to qualify as Class-I local suppliers for government telecom tenders." India's current PPP-MII policy, which was first updated in October 2024, mandates that any firm seeking preference in government telecom tenders must meet a minimum 50 per cent local content threshold. Srivastava added in the note that in order to qualify as a "Class-I" supplier and enjoy pricing and selection advantages, firms must demonstrate that at least 50 per cent of a product's value is sourced or manufactured in India which has become a difficult task for MNCs. The PPP-MII policy applies to 36 key telecom product categories -- including routers, ethernet switches, GPON devices, media gateways, customer premises equipment (CPE), satellite terminals, telecom batteries, and optical fibre and cables. Under the current PPP-MII framework, several exclusions apply to the calculation of local content. Imported parts routed through Indian resellers, royalties, overseas technical fees, and refurbished products do not count toward Indian value addition. Design and software work performed in India is permitted, but the value generated is capped, with restrictions in place to prevent companies from inflating LC percentages purely on the basis of R&D activities while continuing to import most hardware components. Srivastava added in the note that global majors are finding it "difficult to meet these thresholds." He further added that the underlying issue is that most of the work performed in India is done on an outsourcing basis for their foreign parent companies. The parent companies retain ownership of intellectual property (IP) and earn the bulk of profits. Highlighting the impact of policy change, GTRI note said that the move will put Indian telecom firms -- who have made long-term investments in Indian-based manufacturing, R&D, and IP development -- at a severe disadvantage. "Such Indian firms would face the prospect of losing market share to foreign MNCs whose products remain largely imported and foreign-owned," the GTRI note added. It further points out that dilution of standards would discourage Indian firms from investing in genuine IP creation, as Class-I status could now be achieved simply through superficial assembly or software wrapping of imported goods. "India's telecom sector would remain reliant on foreign technologies, with little strategic control," the GTRI note added.

Business Standard

18 minutes ago

• Business Standard

India pursuing FTAs with mature, rule-bound markets: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has termed India's bilateral trade agreements as the 'space to watch', and said New Delhi has, over the past 11 years, pursued trade pacts with countries that have 'more mature markets' and are more 'transparent and rule bound' compared to East Asian countries. Jaishankar said India is now more interested in key free trade agreements. He said the one with the United Kingdom is more or less finalised, the one with the European Union is in advanced stages of negotiation, and there have been several rounds of discussions between Indian and American officials for a bilateral trade agreement. In an interview to public broadcaster DD India, a link to which the minister posted on X on Saturday, Jaishankar said that in the years following economic reforms, most of India's trade agreements were with Southeast Asian nations, which 'skewed the balance' as several of these economies competed with India and did not provide market access. It was important to make the correction and reach an understanding with more mature markets, which are more transparent and rule bound. Jaishankar said India's trade pacts with the United Arab Emirates and Australia are significant achievements, describing New Delhi's push for FTAs as the 'space to watch'. In 2019, India did not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trading bloc that comprises the 10-member ASEAN grouping and other Asia-Pacific economies, including China, Australia and Japan. He said India has, in the past 11 years, systematically tried to 'deepen our posture, our strategic posture, to have good relations with all major countries, but also other regions, so that we get into the optimal position'. In the past 11 years, the EAM said, the consistent theme underpinning India's foreign policy has been planning for a multipolar world, which India not only desires as it gives it a higher profile and more influence. 'But it is not just the question of our wishes, that is the direction in which the world is moving,' he said, which is why New Delhi, despite enormous pressure on it, maintained its relationship with Russia, he added. About India's ties with the US, he said, 'Where the US is concerned, yes, there is unpredictability, therefore at a systemic level, you stabilise it with as many linkages and relationships as possible.' On India's relations with China, Jaishankar said, 'With China, if you have to stand up to that country and we have had some very difficult periods, (and) so it is important to prepare the capabilities.' The minister said a 'really perplexing' aspect of India's China policy before 2014 was the 'complete neglect of our border infrastructure in the previous decades'. 'To have a China policy and neglect your border infrastructure was absurd,' he said. 'And that is one of the things which has changed. We have today that standing up, in defence of our national interests, along the LAC. It is because we have built the border infrastructure to make that possible,' Jaishankar said. On India's ties with its immediate neighbours, Jaishankar said that India 'should not expect smooth sailing' all the time. He said New Delhi has attempted to shape a 'collective interest' to build an inherent stability in relationships, irrespective of changes in regimes. At the end of the day, 'the logic every one of our neighbours must realise' is that working with India will 'give you benefits', and not working with India 'has a cost', he said. 'Some take longer to realise, some understand it better. One exception of course is Pakistan, because it has defined its identity under the army, in a way it has an in-built hostility in it. So if you put Pakistan aside, the logic will apply everywhere else,' the EAM said.