Serving the Globe from Hungary

An increasing number of businesses are implementing digital technologies in their daily business processes, driving demand for IT service providers that help their customers to bridge the digital gap, Prabal Datta, Head of Tata’s Global Delivery Center in Hungary says.

A worldwide leader in IT services, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) set up its Global Delivery Center in Hungary in 2001, which was the company’s first one outside of India. Aiming to be closer to its customers, TCS has since developed its operations in Budapest as a near-source center, particularly for Europe. TCS unveiled a major expansion of its Hungarian facility in 2017, adding 500 new jobs. “Our business in continental Europe has been growing significantly in the past few years, faster than the global business. Companies are adopting newer digital technologies and that has created the need for partners who can run the transformation process for them. This was the primary reason for the Budapest expansion and we still see this growth drive continuing,” Datta says. As proof of the supportive industry environment, the headcount in Budapest has more than doubled in the last 4 years and is comprised of more than 80 nationalities. TCS Hungary offers a full range of services from Budapest, including a consultancy-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. The Budapest operation “is expanding every year. We are still to realize the full potential of this country,” Datta says.

Jobs of the future

As new technologies like virtual reality, automation and robotics usher in a new era of change, repetitive work processes are being automated at an ever-increasing pace. “That means a certain part of the work will definitely go away but that is true with any new technology. It’s a choice we have to make regarding how we deploy the talent available to us. The people who are already in the job market need to learn, the younger generation needs to learn how to learn,” according to Datta. Today’s students must be familiar with more than the technology itself, they have to focus on the processes of computational thinking and data analysis. “Data is the new currency and data literacy will be a vital skill,” Datta says, adding that TCS runs multiple programs to help the education process worldwide. In the U.S. it launched a program called ‘Ignite my Future,’ a one-of-a-kind initiative transforming the way students learn through computational thinking, involving about 1 million school kids and 20,000 teachers. In Europe, TCS has introduced a threestage talent program designed to help trainees gain insights into IT consultancy career paths. In Hungary, TCS is mentoring a flagship program of training teachers, which has already reached some 600 teachers.

Businesses and change

A TCS study (see below) on companies’ openness to embark on the transformation journey made necessary by the emergence of digital technologies identifies 4 kinds of behavior that are essential for adapting to digital technologies. The process must involve automation, machine learning and cloud technology, according to Datta. “The more you delay, the more you are going to lose. Many big names, like Blockbuster, that did not see the change coming have fallen victim already. Others will probably share the same faith,” the executive says. TCS invests heavily in training its employees and its partner ecosystem, which includes start-up companies, universities, venture capital firms, and R&D labs. “We also have a 4-behavior system in Hungary within TCS, called CORE. C stands for collaboration, O for openness to change, cultures and learning, R for rigor or responsiveness in addressing the needs of our customers, and E for empathy,” Datta concludes.

WINNING IN A BUSINESS 4.0 WORLD

A global survey conducted by TCS (and mentioned above) examined how companies are leveraging disruptive technologies to drive behavioral shifts in the so-called Business 4.0 transformation. The survey found that by implementing digital technologies, organizations are adopting four specific behaviors to deliver better business outcomes. 1. Driving mass personalization – personalizing products and services to a market of one, and at scale 2. Creating exponential value - adopting business models that enable limitless addressable markets and monetizing escalating layers of data 3. Leveraging the ecosystem - collaborating with partners inside and outside the supply chain to create new products and services 4. Embracing risk - moving beyond rigid planning and operational barriers with an agile strategic approach • Organizations that master these behaviors are best positioned to thrive in the waves of disruption and change. Only 9% of leaders adopted all 4 behaviors and 82% adopted at least one behavior. • Organizations with annual revenue of USD 1 billion or more feature prominently among the leaders. While their larger size makes them less flexible to change, they have greater resources and more experience, thereby able to build new capabilities faster. While banking and financial services as well as telecom lead in the adoption of Business 4.0 principles, retail, CPG and manufacturing are catching up. • Imbibing agile principles is critical. The agile philosophy is integral to embracing risk and key to establishing a culture that drives innovation and transformation. Adopting agile practices widely gives businesses the best chance of translating their new capabilities into Business 4.0 attributes. 51% of companies with annual revenue more than USD 5 billion say agile underpins all their processes • The reluctance of people and senior management to change is among the biggest challenges organizations face in their pursuit of Business 4.0 transformation The survey includes answers from 1,231 respondents from 11 industries in 18 countries and in-depth interviews with 30 business leaders from across industries worldwide, to get their perspective on Business 4.0.