PUNE: The small and medium businesses (SMBs) of Pune are entering their most confident decade yet. New LinkedIn research finds that 92% of SMBs are already investing in or planning AI adoption, indicating how technology has moved from experiment to infrastructure. At the same time, around 91% of SMB decision-makers expect business growth in the next 12 months – signalling a sector rebuilding itself around smarter systems, skilled talent, and measurable digital impact.

For Pune’s SMBs, evolution is survival, not optional

Behind their confidence lies urgency. AI is no longer a buzzword, but the new baseline for growth. The research shows that 60% of SMBs prioritise adopting AI and automation for efficiency and operational efficiency, while 49% are focused on digital transformation.  

Kumaresh Pattabiraman, Country Manager, LinkedIn India, said, “Pune has been an enduring powerhouse for entrepreneurial progress, and its SMBs are carrying that legacy forward with decisive investments in AI and skilled talent. This is a city that scales with intent, choosing platforms that deliver trust, insights, and real ROI. Our focus at LinkedIn is to help accelerate this journey by offering the right network, the right clients, and the right talent, all in one place – so, every small business can operate with the confidence and capability of a large enterprise.”

AI becomes the new operating system for growth

AI has become the engine behind how SMB’s hire, market, and grow. Nearly all surveyed businesses say they use or plan to use it to automate workflows (94%), strengthen analytics and business intelligence (96%), and streamline hiring, marketing, and sales (over 90%). 

Hiring models are being rebuilt around capability, not credentials. SMBs now value digital literacy and AI fluency (67%), problem-solving (63%), and digital communication (50%). To find this talent, 63% already use AI hiring tools, citing better assessments and higher engagement.

Marketing and sales are also becoming increasingly intelligence-driven. Nearly 78% SMBs are using AI marketing tools, with 96% investing up to half their budgets in them. 78% now rely on AI in sales for sharper targeting and automated follow-ups, allowing them to operate with the sophistication of larger enterprises.

Rahul Karthikeyan, Chief Marketing Officer, Scaler, said, “Scaler’s recent campaigns have seen strong performance through precise audience targeting and data-driven optimisation. Sponsored Content, especially vertical formats, delivered a 20% higher lead-to-payment conversion than static formats on other channels. In August alone, LinkedIn generated about 70–80 new payments with a return on spend (RoS) of 2.2. We plan to further scale this high-impact channel while maintaining cost-per-sale efficiency.”

Trust is the new competitive advantage

Even as they adopt AI at speed, Pune SMBs are discerning about where they place their trust. 95% say their decisions are guided less by cost and more by credibility. Their top considerations are security and data privacy (77%), seamless integration with existing systems (84%), and clear ROI (78%). Together, these shifts signal the rise of a smarter, more resilient SMB ecosystem – one that is not just adapting to the AI era but actively shaping it.

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INDIA: Global technology and digital talent solutions provider, NLB Services, has today unveiled its report “Workforce 2.0 Reset – India’s GCCs Go AI-Native”, highlighting in-depth insights on emerging technology reshaping India’s Global Capability Center (GCC) landscape, thereby bringing a paradigm workforce shift. With more than 58% GCCs moving beyond AI pilots, the workforce is projected to reach 3.46 million by 2030, adding 1.3 million new job roles. The report also estimates a significant impact in 2026 itself, indicating an 11% increase in jobs, thereby expanding personnel to 2.4 million in the sector.

In 2025, nearly 70% of GCCs are already investing in Generative AI (GenAI), while over 60% will set up dedicated AI safety and governance teams by 2026. A remarkable 75% aim to embed GenAI in daily operations within the next year. These investments are not only driving efficiency but also reconfiguring roles. For instance, 27% of mid-level and 25% of junior tech roles are being redesigned as AI copilots and automation tools become mainstream.

Sharing his perspective on the report, Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services, said, “India is at a critical intersection in its GCC 4.0 journey, building a unique & unmatched synergy of scale, skill, and talent. Today, GCCs are no longer just exploring AI – rather, many have or are moving towards deployment. While AI thrust in this sector was expected, this year has seen a stronger drive for implementation. This cements India’s move from delivery centers to AI-driven enterprises, marking a leap in innovation and governance. All of this has certainly brought new layers to the talent take-off we predicted at the onset of the year. GCC workforce projection by 2030, indicated earlier, is now set to see a 30% surge, adding 1.3 million new jobs.”

As AI becomes mainstream, entirely new roles are emerging across GCCs, including Cybersecurity & AI Governance Architects (29%), Prompt Engineers (26%), GenAI Product Owners (22%), and AI Policy & risk strategists (21%), symbolizing India’s shift from execution to accountability and innovation-led leadership. Simultaneously, legacy roles such as L1 IT Support (75%), Legacy Application Development (74%), Manual QA (72%), and On-Prem Infrastructure Management (67%) are being phased out as GCCs modernize towards AI-native, product-oriented teams.

With AI deployment further maturing, India’s GCC map is undergoing a major geographic shift, with Tier II and III gaining prominence. GCCs are inclining towards these belts to capitalize on the proposition of 10–12% lower attrition rates, 30–50% lower office costs, and 20–35% talent cost advantages compared to Tier-1 metros.

Sharing his thoughts, Varun Sachdeva, SVP & APAC Head, NLB Services, said, “By 2030, nearly 39% of the GCC workforce will operate from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, enabling our shift from metro-focused to a more distributed workforce model. While Tier-1 cities will continue to serve as centers for leadership, governance, and R&D, emerging Tier-2 and Tier-3 hubs such as Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, and Bhubaneswar are rapidly becoming specialized delivery centers. The new synergy across Tier II/III cities will create 0.715 M net new GCC jobs by 2030.”

As GCCs adopt AI at scale, continuous learning and capability development have become organizational imperatives. “While AI is changing the way work is done, it is not replacing people, rather amplifying human judgment and expertise with technology integration. To enable the workforce to adapt to this workforce reset, 80% of GCCs are already funding continuous learning and internal mobility programs, enabling faster, flatter, and more agile decision cycles. The top upskilling models are focused on role-specific reskilling journeys or micro-credentials (18%), corporate academies and focused programs (17%), and embedding AI skills into career frameworks (16%). Moreover, 38% of GCCs are also closing GenAI skill gaps by hiring external talent, while22% are building in-house academies”, added Abhilash Raghavan, Chief Business Officer – GCC Vertical, NLB Services.

India’s GCC ecosystem has also reached a defining point — where leadership readiness for AI is now the true differentiator. Hyderabad and Bengaluru lead this shift, with 70% and 69% of GCCs showing strong AI leadership maturity in both vision and budget ownership. These hubs aren’t just adopters but are instead shaping the global playbook for scaling AI. This leadership momentum is mirrored across industries where AI has become central to competitiveness. Telecom & Internet Services (70%) and BFSI & Fintech (69%) lead in strategic clarity, while Software & Consulting (65%) and Media & Gaming (67%) show robust budget commitment. Together, they mark a decisive shift — India’s digital-first enterprises aren’t experimenting with AI anymore; they’re institutionalizing it as a leadership and governance discipline.

“Workforce 2.0 Reset – India’s GCC Go AI-Native” report also signals that AI governance is rapidly institutionalizing across India’s GCCs. 33% have established central AI committees or CoEs, while 29% manage oversight through business units under audit and compliance frameworks. Delhi/NCR (39%) and Bengaluru (37%) lead with centralized governance models, reflecting higher maturity, while Hyderabad (35%) and Mumbai (34%) favor decentralized oversight, signaling a growing push for flexibility and autonomy.

Progressive state policies are accelerating India’s GCC expansion, driven by strong digital infrastructure, talent pipelines, and AI-focused incentives. These frameworks, reinforced by rising STEM talent in non-metro cities, are transforming regional hubs into future-ready innovation corridors. As GCCs move from pilots to full-scale AI-driven operations, the next five years will cement India’s position as the global hub for AI engineering, analytics, and governance excellence — showcasing a model that blends innovation, talent, and responsible growth.

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NAIROBI, KENYA: In a landmark move to advance Africa’s digital transformation agenda, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), Sybyl, and IXAfrica Data Centre Limited (iXAfrica) have announced a strategic partnership to establish and scale sovereign cloud infrastructure in Kenya and other East African countries. Through a Memorandum of Understanding with both Sybyl and iXAfrica, TCS aims to empower governments, enterprises, and innovators with secure, locally hosted cloud offerings that comply with national data residency and sovereignty requirements, marking a major milestone in Africa’s journey towards digital independence.

TCS, Sybyl, and iXAfrica will combine their strengths to build a robust foundation for digital transformation in East Africa. TCS will bring its sovereign cloud and global cloud expertise, Sybyl will bring its regional engineering and customer support expertise, and iXAfrica will provide secure, scalable AI-ready data centre infrastructure. With complementary strengths, the trio will ensure enterprises benefit from world-class technology, local implementation, and resilient data hosting. As Africa doubles down on its digital transformation agenda, data sovereignty has become a defining issue across the continent. Several national governments and enterprises are increasingly seeking solutions that ensure data is housed within a country’s borders, regulated as per regional laws, and managed through secure and robust infrastructure. This partnership directly addresses that urgent need by offering a trusted, built-in-Africa cloud environment.

TCS will deploy TCS Sovereign Secure Cloud, a bespoke offering for government, public enterprises, and regulated industries, that offers a sovereign cloud with integrated AI to drive data, operational, and digital sovereignty. It will provide the sovereign cloud architecture, deployment frameworks, and security expertise, drawing from its global leadership in IT services, consulting, and digital transformation.

Satishchandra Doreswamy, Vice President & Head, Cloud Unit – Growth Markets, TCS, “We offer a resilient and future-ready cloud infrastructure, powered by AI-driven intelligence, that can be tailored to the specific needs of our customers. With built-in compliance to global and local regulatory authorities, our sovereign cloud fuels future-forward business models while meeting the most stringent standards for privacy and regulatory requirements. It is the ideal solution for countries and enterprises that are looking to safeguard their digital sovereignty through robust cloud technology.”

Sybyl, one of East Africa’s leading systems integrators, will lead local implementation, support, and customer enablement, leveraging its deep regional expertise in enterprise technology solutions and managed services. Shailendra Yadav, CEO, Sybyl Kenya & Tanzania, said, “Digital independence must deliver real gains. By running sovereign cloud in iXAfrica’s AI-ready campus along with TCS’s cloud expertise, we cut currency exposure,  foreign policy risks, keep services reachable on local routes during outages, and create skilled jobs for Kenyans and Africans as a whole.”

Home to East Africa’s leading carrier-neutral and AI-ready data centre campus (NBOX1), iXAfrica will provide the secure, scalable, and energy-efficient infrastructure hosting the Sovereign Cloud. Snehar Shah, CEO, iXAfrica, said, “Data sovereignty is the cornerstone of Africa’s digital future. By hosting Sovereign Cloud infrastructure within iXAfrica’s AI-ready campus, we are ensuring that African data stays in Africa, secure, sustainable, and ready to power the next generation of innovation.”

A sovereign cloud infrastructure leverages economies of scale of cloud computing while strictly protecting data, complying with privacy needs, ensuring operational sovereignty, and enabling easy access to the full range of cloud services with powerful computing. It has applications across sectors such as banking, telecom, the public sector, and the enterprise sectors. By leveraging locally hosted and globally secure cloud environments, both public and private enterprises are empowered to operate within a framework that fully supports compliance with national data protection laws. This ensures that sensitive data remains within the country’s borders while adhering to rigorous regional and international security standards.

TCS’s sovereign cloud offering is designed to future-proof companies by providing access to advanced AI and analytics capabilities. Enterprises will also gain the advantage of end-to-end managed services and local technical expertise. This comprehensive support enables organisations to seamlessly adopt, operate, and scale their cloud solutions, fostering confidence and resilience in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

This initiative is aimed at creating jobs that will employ local talent, strengthen local digital infrastructure, and position East Africa as a strategic technology hub for Africa as a whole. TCS has operated in Africa for almost two decades and has over 50 clients in the region. It serves most of the region’s large enterprises, including top telecommunication companies, leading banking and insurance firms, as well as utilities and public enterprises. Additionally, TCS has been awarded the Top Employer Award for nine consecutive years in the region.

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LAS VEGAS, NV: Qlik^®, a global leader in data integration, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), today announced strong momentum in supporting cloud migration for enterprises, allowing them to leverage AI technologies more effectively. By removing barriers to cloud adoption, Qlik is helping organizations leverage Amazon Web Service (AWS) cloud computing technology to unlock greater value from their data assets and achieve better analytics outcomes.

For businesses seeking to adopt AI, a successful strategy often starts with cloud migration. Moving to the cloud provides access to a stronger technology ecosystem, including emerging AI solutions that enhance analytics outcomes. Recognizing this, Qlik has focused on simplifying the cloud journey, offering solutions that streamline the transition and support seamless cloud-based operations.

Recent features, such as the launch of PixelPerfect reporting and anonymous access in the cloud, demonstrate Qlik’s commitment to bridging the gap between on-premises and cloud functionality, making it easier for enterprises to adopt AI-ready environments.

“AI isn’t just about implementing specific AI technologies; it’s about having the right environment to support them,” said Brendan Grady, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Qlik’s Analytics Business Unit. “Our focus has been on clearing the path for our customers to move to the cloud, which means providing solutions that remove traditional barriers. By continuing to enable new critical features in our cloud analytics offerings, we’re ensuring that our customers can seamlessly transition to the cloud and, in doing so, position themselves to leverage the best of AI.”

One example of Qlik’s ongoing innovation in AI is Qlik Answers, its unstructured data AI solution, launched at Qlik Connect in June 2024. Qlik Answers has garnered significant interest among customers across a wide range of industries, including logistics, financial services, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and education. Organizations across these sectors are exploring how Qlik Answers can help them unlock valuable insights from their unstructured data, highlighting the growing demand for innovative AI and analytics solutions.

Recent Qlik Innovations Supporting Cloud and AI Adoption:

• Qlik Answers: Launched in June, this AI-driven solution addresses unstructured data challenges, enabling organizations to extract valuable insights from organizations vast troves of unstructured data.
• Qlik AutoML: This year, Qlik’s predictive analytics platform has seen a 40% increase in usage and introduced enhancements such as intelligent optimization and embedded analytics.
• PixelPerfect reporting in the cloud: High-quality, precise reporting that was previously only available on-premises is now fully available in Qlik Cloud Analytics.
• Anonymous Access: Provides secure, accessible data analytics in the cloud, making it easier for businesses to share public data to anonymous users without compromising security.

Qlik’s continued investment in removing barriers to cloud adoption aligns with its broader mission to provide end-to-end data integration and analytics solutions that empower enterprises to thrive in a data-driven world. By facilitating seamless cloud transitions, Qlik ensures that companies can position themselves to leverage cutting-edge AI technologies, driving innovation, agility, and smarter decision-making. To learn more, please connect with the Qlik team at AWS re: Invent December 2-6, 2024 in Las Vegas.

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PUNE: Adoption and implementation of green practices will significantly benefit the buyers, sellers and overall industry opined various experts. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Green Business Centre organized the 12th edition of the ‘GreenCo Summit’ at Hotel Westin on 12th  and 13th July 2023. The aim was the conference was to further advance the need & importance of Green initiatives in the Indian industry and share the latest green concepts & technologies, thereby fostering and promoting sustainable models.

Eminent Scientist Dr. R.A Mashelkar delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session. Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Pradeep Bhargava, Chairman Green Co Summit and Chairman, CII GreenCo Council, Mr. Milind Wagle, Managing Director, Burckhardt Compression (India) Pvt Ltd, Vikram Kasbekar  Executive Director, Hero MotoCorp Limited amongst others were present at the inaugural session.

The theme of the conference was ‘Maximizing the Synergies of Net Zero, Circular Economy, and ESG’. The conference included a thought-provoking panel discussion featuring industry experts sharing their experiences and insights on maximizing the synergies between net zero and circular economy practices for environmental sustainability.

A GreenCo annual report was released at the hands of dignitaries at the inaugural session along with the release of GreenCo Rating System Version IV guidelines and GreenCo Publication – An Enabler of Net Zero. Companies achieving or retaining Platinum+ and Platinum GreenCo ratings were felicitated on the occasion. 

Dr.Raghunath Mashelkar said that GreenCo is not just a rating system or award but a movement and is making enterprises move up the curve. Looking at their performance in terms of revenues and profit, it is clear that Green Growth also means profitable growth. He added that talent, technology and trust, public-private partnership, integration, innovation and investment, speed, scale and sustainability, digitalization, decentralization, and decarbonization are the five principles for Green Growth.

Mr.Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman of CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre said that every company today has a green supply chain that has to be developed. It is not a humongous task to transform this into green supply consideration of the fact that 80% of the buy value is from 20% of suppliers. The benefit to the buyer and seller is enormous, not just the saving but huge reduction in waste, and benefits of recycling amongst others. He added that India is a vibrant economy, but when we grow we need a lot more energy. Green and Renewable energy will become crucial in the journey of net zero. 

Dr.Pradeep Bhargava, Chairman of Green Co Summit and Chairman, of CII GreenCo Council in the theme address said that  GreenCo as a concept looks at every conduct of enterprise with an integrated approach. At a time when the impact of climate change is real and now, it is in this context that the topic is important.

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