Market View
Navigating the AI transformation journey: How global service providers are reimagining value creation
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Modhura Roy
AI Strategy & Operating Model Transformation at Cognizant
About Modhura Roy
Modhura Roy is a Consulting Principal at Cognizant, specialising in AI Strategy & Operating Model Transformation with an emphasis on enterprise strategy development, business model design, and transformation and change management. With over 13 years of experience across public sector, pharmaceuticals, media and technology industries, she focuses on delivering client satisfaction through strategic planning, clear communication, and people management. Having recently transitioned to the public sector vertical with a specific focus on AI capabilities for healthcare, central government, and defence clients, she brings cross-functional expertise in business architecture and transformation.
How do you see the service provider landscape evolving as AI capabilities mature?
As the global economy moves into an AI-enabled economy, we're witnessing an enormous shift across industries in how services are delivered and valued. One clear indicator of this change is in the BPO space where pure-play providers are increasingly being acquired by larger technology services firms—for example, WNS being acquired by Capgemini. This consolidation is not about scale but about strategic repositioning. Traditional ‘as-a-service’ business model may not be sustainable five years from now, giving way to more disruptive ‘services-as-software’ models.
The industry is fundamentally transitioning from human-delivered services to software-led services. Broader enterprise system integrators are acquiring smaller BPO firms to gain their deep domain and process expertise. Combining this with AI-driven delivery capabilities is leading to a new generation of hybrid offerings. It's creating a new ecosystem where the historically separate domains of process, technology and people are converging in an agentic AI landscape.
When these different capabilities come together—process/operations expertise from BPO providers and technology capabilities from IT services firms—there's tremendous potential for synergies. Instead of operating in functional silos, people, process, operations, data and technology are now working in concert to deliver significantly higher business value.
With AI, anyone can have any skill set and the borders between job titles and job responsibilities are getting blurred. The entire ideation to development lifecycle has become more easily accessible through these AI tools.
What changes are you seeing in how clients think about and value service delivery?
Clients now expect AI to be integrated into day-to-day service delivery—it's become business as usual rather than being seen as a differentiator. In one of my engagements with a mid-tier recruitment firm, we could see incorporation of AI-enabled analysis into their end to end value chain and across their data estate, focusing on customer and employee experience transformation.
Clients are using AI internally and expecting us - as consultants - to leverage AI extensively in our work and deliver faster, high quality outcomes. Whether it is strategic recommendations, operating model design, transformation enablement, product development or technology delivery, the baseline is that AI is leveraged to provide greater insights, shorten delivery timelines and continuously enable value driven outcomes.
AI is also democratising access to skills and capabilities. The barriers around specific job titles and responsibilities are blurring as a result, as AI tools enable individuals to perform tasks across the entire lifecycle, from consulting to design to development.
How are you currently identifying where AI can add the most value in your service delivery?
We're finding immense value in using AI for research, analysis and rapid prototyping. As a top-tier consulting firm, we've traditionally focused on advisory work, but AI is enabling us to extend our capabilities across the delivery spectrum narrowing the gap between strategy and execution.
For example, with a client where we are establishing technology demand management processes, AI has transformed our ability to create working prototypes. Previously, I would have needed to engage a UX designer to produce wireframes on Power Apps. Now, using ChatGPT, I can co-create a full branded, interactive wireframe in just 10 minutes. The need to pause, hand off or wait is completely removed as we move from idea to an end product in a matter of minutes.
This removes traditional barriers—with AI, anyone can develop almost any skill, which is blurring the lines between job roles and converging capabilities. The full lifecycle has become more accessible through these AI tools, allowing us to move seamlessly from advisory to conceptual design to MVP level development when needed.
We went through the entire lifecycle in a matter of two weeks, which would have previously taken almost six weeks and a bigger team to deliver. So it's been cost effective, yes, but productivity enhancement has been huge.
What measurable benefits have you seen from your AI initiatives so far?
We've seen significant benefits in two key areas: productivity improvements and enhanced personalisation. In terms of productivity, the demand management processes I mentioned were created and launched to the client's business teams in just two weeks—a process that would have previously been a six weeks project with multiple roles. The acceleration in speed and efficiency translates directly into cost savings and faster realisation of value.
The personalisation capabilities have also been transformative. Previously, when creating "front door" interfaces for different personas, we would start with a single persona and gradually add more over time. Now with AI we can design for multiple user groups simultaneously - delivering tailored experiences from day one.
What foundational improvements did you need to make before implementing AI in service delivery?
Before implementing AI solutions, three foundational pillars must be in place. 1. Process Streamlining - First, you must standardising the core operating processes in which AI will be injected. If processes are fragmented, AI will only exacerbate the problems. 2. Data Governance & Management - Second, robust data governance & data management is essential—we worked with a client last year to define their AI strategy, and their biggest challenge was that their "data house" wasn't in order. We focused on using a Strategy House template to define the principles for managing and governing data across the organisation. Without good data, AI won't scale. 3. People & Change - The third critical element is people—ensuring teams are equipped with the right knowledge, skills and mindset to adopt and engage with AI tools is essential. This is not about creating a centre of excellence but enabling every individual to participate and embrace the AI journey. To unlock maximum value, all four elements—people, process, data and technology—must work in synchronisation. Companies can build isolated AI proofs of concept, but they will not realise their full potential at scale until they reimagine how work gets done across the enterprise.
The fact is it is not possible to not use AI in your day-to-day work anymore. No matter what your job or skill set, you would have used or interfaced with some form of AI. Especially in Consulting, clients are expecting higher quality, more personalisation and better value for money.
About Cognizant
Cognizant is a multinational professional services company specialising in business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing services. Established in 1994, the firm has grown into a Fortune 500 company with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. Cognizant helps organisations transform their business, operating, and technology models through expertise in artificial intelligence, digital engineering, cloud solutions, and internet of things, serving clients across healthcare, financial services, retail, manufacturing, and the public sector.
About Enate
Enate is the leading SaaS solution for business services. Enate orchestrates work from start to finish, giving clients the visibility and control needed to deliver better services. From email management and data analysis to intelligent document processing, Enate also offers a host of touch-button AI features designed to slash the time spent on manual work. Trusted by global service teams, Enate ensures smooth, consistent operations that help clients perform at their best.