EXL CEO Rohit Kapoor: AI Triples Alternatives for BPM Development

Right now, 45 % of EXL’s income comes from operating shopper operations, whereas the remaining 55 % focuses on managing, storing, and governing knowledge, constructing analytical fashions, making use of machine studying, and embedding AI into workflows.

“The enterprise alternative for us has exploded by greater than thrice,” Kapoor mentioned within the interview. He additionally mentioned investments in IT capabilities, worker retraining, and the alternatives forward.

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Whereas IT providers companies proceed to see a blended demand atmosphere, is the image any completely different for BPM(Enterprise Course of Administration), on condition that AI is now being embedded immediately into enterprise operations?

The final two years for EXL have been phenomenal. We have been rising double digits organically.

Many of the earlier interventions that got here in, whether or not it was mobility, whether or not it was cloud, mainly required you to grasp an organization’s platform and methods and know-how, however did not actually focus a lot on the method aspect or on the workflow aspect.

However with AI, that is the primary time that that contextual data and understanding of the operation, understanding of the workflow, the area data is vital. So, we’re discovering this to be a extremely, useful time for us.

AI is a tailwind. It opens an enormous quantity of alternative for us. And the full addressable marketplace for EXL has gone up by greater than thrice. So, the enterprise that we’re chasing, that chance set has exploded by greater than thrice. So, it is a good time for us.

Do you suppose BPM gamers have successfully cracked the analytics dimension? The tech–knowledge–AI providing appears to be working properly for Genpact, Firstsource, and EXL…

I do suppose these gamers that invested in knowledge analytics received a leg up. For those who take a look at EXL, we’ve 45 % of our enterprise the place we run operations for purchasers. However then 55 % of the enterprise that we do with purchasers is throughout serving to them handle, retailer, entry, and govern their knowledge, construct analytical fashions, apply machine studying, after which apply AI into the workflow.

And this data and expertise that we had by way of knowledge analytics allowed us to pivot on AI in a short time. And there are two basic causes for that. After we have been doing analytics, we have been already doing the querying on knowledge. And so, we have been already writing algorithms and constructing packages and constructing fashions that might attempt to derive perception from the information. So, we have been very acquainted with easy methods to use knowledge, easy methods to construct these fashions. And AI specifically requires an iterative fashion of with the ability to leverage that perception from knowledge and make the enterprise final result actual.

So, this data and mastery over knowledge and the power to appropriately apply AI, that is what generates the ROI for the purchasers.

However do not forget, the operations aspect can be essential as a result of that is the place the area data resides. And the best way we give it some thought is, it is the mix of area data, the mastery of knowledge, and the applying of AI that you want to type of orchestrate and produce collectively that creates a distinction.

However to maintain this sort of momentum, would you additionally have to considerably strengthen your platform engineering and even IT capabilities on that aspect?

Oh, completely. I believe having an enormous bench power of technological engineering capabilities is vital.

So right this moment, we’ve virtually 6,000 folks out of the 60,000 workers, who’re skilled and proficient by way of utilizing AI applied sciences, utilizing knowledge administration methods, integrating this into the workflow.

Now we have additionally employed loads of expertise from the surface. And the final piece is we have been beefing up our program for bringing in new expertise from faculties and taking in individuals who’ve received the correct of aptitude after which constructing coaching packages for them in order that they’ll type of be a part of the group.

Capgemini shopping for WNS was one of many greatest consolidation offers within the BPM house. Do you see scope for extra such consolidation alternatives?

I do suppose there will likely be seemingly extra consolidation within the BPM house. Not too long ago, Thrive Capital, which is a enterprise capital agency, has created Thrive Holdings. So, they will be shopping for firms which do providers work. And so they need to apply AI into these providers firms and that is an strategy that they need to take.

You additionally produce other conditions the place you are going to have this mixture of AI being utilized to providers firms which have been laggards and which have not actually been capable of develop and construct their companies.

It is not a contest of BPM firms with BPM firms and IT firms with IT firms and name middle firms with name middle firms. The competitors set goes throughout and now you’ve got received new gamers.

Now we have operations with us, knowledge and analytics, and we’ve AI and we are able to deliver all of that collectively for our purchasers.

You’re guiding to double-digit income progress this 12 months—do you anticipate that momentum to hold into subsequent 12 months as properly?

The information and AI portion of our enterprise right this moment is 55 % of our revenue- that is rising at 17 %. So, within the third quarter it grew at 17 % year-on-year. So, that is changing into larger a part of our enterprise. So should you can develop that piece at that type of a tempo we actually suppose the entire firm can develop in double-digit.

Do you see a convergence going down, with you shifting deeper into IT providers whereas IT gamers broaden into BPM?

Now we have no ambition of attempting to do what IT providers companies do properly. So like utility improvement and upkeep or for them to write down software program code to construct a program.

What we need to do is give attention to how we may help enterprises embed AI within the workflow and get an actual tangible enterprise profit and an final result and an ROI.

Are you able to stroll us via how your workforce will appear to be within the period of AI and agentic AI?

I believe one of many tendencies that we’re already seeing, and that is seen during the last two or three years, is our income progress is in double digits, and our worker progress is in single digits. So, what which means is that the income per worker is rising, and that pattern is prone to proceed to speed up as we go ahead.

Do you imagine that the trade will proceed to rent in large numbers like earlier than?

For those who see the expertise pool base, the expertise that’s required for AI and for knowledge — that is in brief provide. So, there is a scarcity of individuals, and we might rent as many as we are able to to type of construct that functionality.

Then again, there are going to be workers who’re doing the legacy and the normal work — these folks should transition over to doing these new talent units or with the ability to apply among the new talent units of their present roles. And people who will make that transition, I believe they will nonetheless be productive they usually’ll be helpful. However these people who find themselves not going to be utilizing a few of these newer applied sciences and capabilities — I believe their roles will grow to be redundant.

Would you describe this as a renaissance of kinds for the BPM trade?

Sure, I believe it’s. It’s a second leg up for the BPM trade. Prior to now, a lot of the decision-making used to occur on know-how by the CIO and the CDO. Now, the decision-making is absolutely occurring with the COO and the CEO. And it is way more of a enterprise choice. And using know-how is part of it, however the overarching piece of it’s, how do I modify my enterprise? And the way do I modernize my enterprise? And the way do I make it simpler for my purchasers? And that requires that area data and that processing understanding, which the BPM firms have.

Looking forward to 2026, have purchasers begun discussing their tech budgets? Are you anticipating any macro-related headwinds?

The US financial system is doing fairly properly. There isn’t any actual concern of a recession within the US financial system. It is secure. For those who take a look at the quarterly earnings within the third quarter, it is not solely the MAG 7 (Magnificent Seven know-how shares), it is everyone else that has accomplished properly.

And as you retain getting this productiveness profit from AI, the extent of funding in know-how, the extent of funding in utilizing AI into the workflow — that may seemingly proceed.

As BPM companies like yours more and more tackle end-to-end operations, does that shift push IT suppliers towards extra of an ecosystem-orchestrator function slightly than a conventional systems-integrator function?

Sure. So, up to now, for instance, if any individual got here to us and mentioned, you realize, change my buyer journey and my course of, we might make that change to the method. We would not actually contact the know-how, however we might change the alternative ways by which issues have been being dealt with. Then it was like making the change to the know-how and put the algorithm within the know-how and into the method and produce that collectively. And so, we did that.

Now we’re seeing firms come to us, as an example on the contact middle aspect, they usually’re saying: you resolve the know-how, you resolve the cloud, you resolve the algorithm, you resolve the client journey, and simply give us an entire bundle and deal with this for us on an ongoing foundation.

I believe we’re going to see much more of full outsourcing of that perform, which incorporates the cloud, it consists of the know-how platform, it consists of the applying layer, it consists of the mannequin, and it consists of the service, and it consists of the human-in-the-loop — fully type of being put in there. So, consider it as the complete stack from cloud, platform, utility, service, and strategic path of the place we have to take that.

So, you are successfully consuming IT’s lunch?

Effectively, I believe it is going to be in areas the place we’re controlling and managing this for our purchasers, yeah, type of doing the complete finish stack. And there’s an overlap with that, you are proper. So, we will likely be going into these areas.

Does this additionally indicate that we should always anticipate better IP creation from you going ahead?

Sure, I believe IP creation has grow to be actually, vital. And all these patents are throughout the applying of AI. And subsequently, the IP degree is rising very, very quickly.