The show must go on: Even as COVID-19 inflicts a new, jolting reality on business operations worldwide, this has become the new charge for COOs and CIOs everywhere. In my conversations over the past few weeks with manufacturing clients, I have learned a lot about how businesses are coping with the sudden onset of change and how – as these new practices are followed, enhanced, and supported – they could end up accelerating enterprise modernisation in the long run.

Forward-looking businesses are offloading data centre maintenance and management to the cloud to keep things running during the covid-19 pandemic. Raja Renganathan, vice president at Cognizant and head of Cloud Services Business takes a closer look at what it takes to keep things ticking over during lockdown.

Just as Y2K served as an inflection point for the IT services industry, businesses are now going through another period of significant change and opportunity, says Cognizant’s Humphries, in an interview with Forbes India.

More than a dozen doctors employed with technology major Cognizant for its healthcare and life sciences practice in Mumbai have volunteered to be a part of a telephonic helpline for addressing questions on COVID-19.

This article was first published in the Spring 2020 issue of Best Execution. www.bestexecution.net.

For the financial organisations swimming through a sea of regulation, the news that the European authorities were delaying the impending stricter clearing and settlement regime was a huge relief.

AI driven solutions are becoming a competitive differentiator for banks and other financial services — delivering a hyper-personalised customer experience, improving decision-making and boosting operational efficiency. Yet, many financial services institutions (FIs) remain in an experimental phase and will need to accelerate actual AI deployment. Otherwise, they risk being left behind by digitally native players.

The ongoing technological revolution continues to change the world in unforeseeable ways, which can make difficult the accurate forecasting of jobs we cannot yet imagine. Nevertheless, to help organisations and individuals prepare for changes we are expecting to see in the coming years, we embarked on the enormous endeavour of applying our knowledge across several industries to predict the new jobs that are likely to emerge over the next decade.

The pharma manufacturing landscape is evolving as never before. Much of this change is driven by greater connectivity and Industry 4.0. The subsequent availability of data is driving operational efficiencies and providing unique insights.

After the coronavirus pandemic, the world will be quite different. Whether the current lockdown lasts weeks or months, very little will remain unchanged by COVID-19. A special report from Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work, After the Virus: A Special Report Looking Back on the Next Five Years, explores the most probable shifts across healthcare, education, retail, travel, technology, and government as the world becomes more connected and virtual. The report was written from a future perspective – as if the events were being chronicled in 2025, tracing the changes that unfolded in the immediate years following this pandemic.

We do not need a crystal ball to determine the future of payments, it can be summed up in a few words: speed, transparency, personalisation, choice, and safety. The evolution of entities in the payments ecosystem in the last decade – whether traditional banks, payment processors, fintechs, or merchants – points to the fact that we are moving to a model where the transfer of money will be instant, frictionless, and omni-channel.

After COVID-19, banking will be much different than it was pre-pandemic. The change in the way people bank, the future of work, the use of modern technology and the value of brands will all depend greatly on the time it takes to settle on a 'new normal'. A look into the future provides a good foundation for what needs to be done today.

Tata Consultancy Serivces, Cognizant Technology Solutions and Persistent Systems have emerged on the frontlines in the battle to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The IT services providers are helping governments as well as drug developers identify new molecules to combat the pandemic, create simulations on how the virus spreads and build digital tools for clinical trials.

The rollout of 5G has been met with an element of scepticism. There are questions around whether the technology will deliver on expectations, concerns around security for both businesses and consumers and, although not proven, worries about potential health risks. Whatever reservations people may have, the fifth generation of cellular technology is upon us, bringing with it an abundance of opportunity for businesses to capitalise on increased data speed and potential new revenue-generating models as well as benefits for society at large.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp will pay an extra 25% of base pay to some employees in India and the Philippines as a majority of its offshore workforce work from home amid the coronavirus pandemic, taking on extra work, Chief Executive Officer Brian Humphries said.

Many banks and other financial services institutions (FIs) are beginning to recognise the benefits of AI-driven solutions as a way to get ahead in the market and challenge the competition. Amongst many other benefits, the technology enables organisations to offer hyper-personalised customer experience, dramatically improve internal decision making, and drive operational efficiency. However, many businesses are struggling to move beyond the experimental phase and reach actual AI deployment. It is those organisations that are at risk of being left behind.

Having the ability to access additional information via augmented reality AR is becoming more commonplace as businesses realise the advantages this can deliver. Enhancing what people see via smartphones, tablets and – increasingly – head-mounted displays (HMDs), has the potential to transform many business processes.

This month, some of the world’s largest interdealer brokers, who negotiate OTC trades between the big banks, have seen record trading volumes as sudden changes in interest rates, coupled with the plummeting oil price, trigger a whirlwind of global price volatility.

The Internet of Things is now powering industries but we have only scratched the surface of what’s possible. The advent of 5G will enable enterprise companies to have unprecedented insight into the digitization of almost everything. As 5G rolls out nationally and offers more reliable connectivity, the manufacturing companies that forego increased digitization within their plants will be left behind financially. Especially with the rise of smart factories – digitally connected production facilities that improve processes through automation and self-optimization, traditional manufacturing operations will be at a disadvantage.

End-to-end product transparency has fast become a key factor for millennials when deciding whether or not to purchase from a brand. A recent McKinsey study revealed 52% of millennials do research for background information on a product before making a purchase. Because of this, product traceability has become ever more important for retailers wanting to gain and maintain trust with their customers, but this comes with its own challenges.

In line with this year’s International Women’s Day theme of #EachForEqual, Human Resources Online reached out to HR leaders to find out what their organisation’s call-to-action is in the push for a gender-equal workforce.

It takes a lot to lead a business. And while there are several things you can do to ensure you’re being the best leader, other rules may best thrown out.

"The opportunities in tech are endless and rewarding and while digital skills are important, human skills such as creativity, abstract thinking, and adapting to changing conditions are equally important," says Carol Cohen.

To provide a positive experience at a stressful time requires insurers to rethink how they approach customer service and explore how AI can improve communications and accelerate claims handling.

The Central Securities Depositories Regime (CSDR) has been at the top of many agendas in the asset servicing industry for some time now. The regulation addresses Europe’s settlement systems, to create a smarter and more efficient industry best practice.

Brian Humphries was appointed as CEO of Cognizant last April. He took over at a time when the company lost its bellweather status. In conversation with TOI, he details his plans and vision to get back to industry leadership.