Artificial intelligence (AI) may be fuelling market volatility and concerns over job losses, but Nasscom President Rajesh Nambiar has rejected the view that AI tools will replace technology services roles. The statement comes at a time when the market capitalisation of Indian IT firms has lost $50 billion since 2025 due to growing anxiety about the disruption caused by artificial intelligence.
‘Concerns are strongly wrong’
“Concerns that such tools, whether it is Claude Cowork or something else, will eliminate technology services are strongly wrong,” Nambiar told Economic Times, stressing the continuing importance of IT firms in managing enterprise systems.
As per a report by the Times of India, analysts have said that artificial intelligence tools, including Anthropic's Cowork plugins and Palantir Technologies platforms, may reduce the revenue growth of IT services firms by 2 per cent annually in the coming years. However, Nambiar said the $283 billion industry could cope with the change.
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Industry shift: From integration to orchestration
According to Nambiar, IT services firms would have to change their focus from being system integrators to becoming AI orchestration partners. He said the value of IT services firms lies in their deep understanding of the enterprise, including complex technology stacks, regulatory compliance and other issues. This would become more important with the growing use of artificial intelligence.
“Tech adoption among enterprises is moving from experimentation to large-scale deployment. When they do, service companies will play a critical role in making sure that they can help these companies make the transition,” Nambiar explained.
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Talent and global capacity
Nambiar said the large talent pool of the country remained a major advantage for the $283 billion industry. He also said IT firms had developed enough local talent in the United States to address the H-1B visa interviews, Times of India reported.
Addressing concerns around US H-1B visa interviews, Nambiar said IT companies have built adequate local capacity in the US to manage their requirements.
NASSCOM will present its annual strategic review at the upcoming Technology and Leadership Forum in February. The broader trends and outlook for the industry will be discussed at the event.
