TLDR: Albert Nel, Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific & Japan at Genesys, emphasizes that Indian enterprises must prioritize cloud readiness before effectively scaling Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives. While interest in AI for efficiency is growing, many large Indian firms remain reliant on on-premise systems, making India one of the slowest markets in the APAC region for cloud migration. Nel highlights the necessity of cloud environments for leveraging AI’s full benefits and anticipates a significant shift towards cloud adoption by next year, driven by competitive pressures.
Indian enterprises are progressively evolving their customer experience strategies, with cloud adoption and Artificial Intelligence (AI) playing an increasingly vital role. Genesys, a leading global provider of AI-powered cloud and hybrid contact center software, observes a rising interest in tools designed to enhance efficiency and service quality. However, a significant number of large enterprises in India continue to operate with on-premise systems.
In an exclusive conversation with TechCircle, Albert Nel, Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific & Japan at Genesys, delved into the current pace of cloud migration, emerging AI use cases, regulatory hurdles, and India’s dual role as both a market and an R&D hub. Nel noted a slow but discernible shift in India’s approach to customer experience, though AI adoption predominantly focuses on improving efficiency rather than building customer loyalty, a trend gaining global traction. While some digital-native brands are exploring loyalty-driven AI applications, it remains an early stage for the broader market.
A critical challenge for Indian enterprises is their continued reliance on traditional data centers, infrastructure, and on-premise licenses. Despite increasing openness to cloud migration, India lags behind other Asia-Pacific markets like Australia and Japan in this transition. Australia, for instance, embraced cloud technologies five to seven years ago, and Japan has recently made a strong commitment. Nel attributes India’s slower pace, particularly in sectors like banking and insurance, to regulatory constraints and a persistent attachment to physical data centers. Genesys is actively engaging with financial institutions and regulators in India to demonstrate how cloud adoption can still ensure robust customer data protection.
Nel elaborated on the transformation of contact centers into ‘experience hubs.’ He cited Genesys’s annual State of Customer Experience survey, which consistently shows escalating customer expectations. Modern customers demand more personalized and context-aware interactions. Despite a reduction in direct calls due to the rise of chatbots and self-service, the volume of meaningful conversations is projected to nearly double over the next three years. The stakes are high, with the survey indicating that 30% of customers will abandon a brand after just one negative experience, underscoring the importance of well-prepared agents.
AI-powered co-pilot tools are emerging as crucial enablers, supporting agents by providing instant access to knowledge, customer history, and context, thereby ensuring accurate and consistent service. Supervisors are also leveraging AI to review conversations at scale, identify patterns, and receive recommendations for coaching and training. A key focus for Genesys is embedding empathy into AI tools, which are used to evaluate agent performance and suggest targeted training to enhance empathetic interactions. This broader goal aligns with a growing trend where customer experience is recognized as a top strategic priority in corporate financial reporting.
Beyond chatbots, Nel highlighted the evolution towards ‘agentic AI,’ where virtual agents can learn autonomously and adapt based on specific customer interactions, moving beyond predefined scripts. This shift aims to create more natural and responsive conversations. Genesys has established an internal ethics board focused on AI and has integrated empathy into its large language models, ensuring that virtual agents protect brand reputation and foster customer trust and loyalty, not just efficiency.
Regarding global AI and data privacy regulations, including India’s DPDP act, Nel noted a mixed response from Indian enterprises. While some are proactively engaging with Genesys on these topics, others are still reacting to changes. Genesys’s internal AI ethics and security teams work closely with customers to navigate these evolving regulatory landscapes.
India’s significance to Genesys extends beyond being a customer market. It hosts the company’s third-largest R&D center globally, with a new Asia-Pacific Executive Briefing Centre in Chennai. The Indian R&D center is a top contributor to patent filings within Genesys, playing a central role in shaping future innovations.
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Looking ahead, Nel anticipates a major shift in cloud adoption by next year, with many large enterprises finally migrating to the cloud. This move will be primarily driven by the competitive necessity of leveraging AI, which increasingly relies on cloud infrastructure. By 2027, he foresees a broader and deeper integration of AI, transforming its role from a mere support tool to a core component of business operations and growth, enabling companies to improve operational efficiency and build customer loyalty.
