At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, AI emerged as a central theme, with leaders emphasizing its transformative potential. In an interview at the event with NDTV, Rishad Premji, Executive Chairman of Wipro Ltd, stated that the success of AI adoption is linked to one critical factor: reskilling employees. For C-suite executives and ERP leaders, this insight underscores a strategic imperative—organizations must prioritize reskilling to harness AI’s full potential while ensuring workforce readiness and resilience.
The reskilling imperative
Premji’s message is clear: AI’s value lies not just in its technological capabilities but in how effectively it is deployed and utilized to solve business problems. Yet, the pace of AI advancement far outstrips the current ability of organizations to adopt it. Bridging this gap requires a dual focus—on technology and people. “The success and adoption of AI will be tightly coupled with the reskilling agenda we have as companies, as an industry, and as a country,” Premji stated. Reskilling is not merely a reactive measure to address job redundancy; it is a proactive strategy to build an AI-ready workforce capable of driving innovation and operational excellence.
For ERP and other technology leaders, this means embedding reskilling into the core of their AI strategy. Employees must feel secure about their future, knowing that their skills are aligned with the demands of an AI-driven world. This alignment fosters a culture of change management, where employees become enablers of transformation rather than blockers.
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Wipro’s AI-driven transformation
Wipro’s approach to AI offers a blueprint for other organizations. Premji revealed that Wipro has made AI “all-pervasive” within the company, starting with a comprehensive reskilling initiative. Over the past year, 235,000 employees underwent foundational generative AI training, with 50,000 advancing to higher levels of certification. This structured approach ensures that employees at all levels are equipped with the mindset and skills needed to leverage AI effectively.
Wipro’s strategy focuses on three key areas: operational efficiency, enhanced delivery and innovation. For instance, the company is using AI to streamline complex processes, such as distilling 400-page legal documents, into actionable insights. This not only improves efficiency but also frees employees to focus on higher-value tasks. Also, AI is being deployed to optimize project delivery and develop domain-specific use cases that deliver measurable and meaningful business outcomes.
Premji also highlighted the growing potential of agentic AI—a self-learning, autonomous technology capable of adapting to dynamic environments. Unlike traditional AI, agentic AI can self-heal, collaborate with other AI systems and interact with humans through APIs. This represents a significant leap forward, offering businesses the ability to solve complex, real-world problems with unprecedented speed and precision.
What this means for ERP Insiders
Legacy systems, unstructured data and outdated applications hinder full utilization of AI. ERP and other technology leaders must address these barriers by modernizing their IT ecosystems and ensuring data is well-structured and accessible. As Premji noted, “There is no AI without data.” Organizations that invest in data architecture and governance will be better positioned to unlock AI’s transformative potential.
Reskilling is the cornerstone of any successful AI strategy. Data from an SAPinsider survey shows that 29% of the organizations surveyed still view themselves as slightly behind their competitors, indicating that while some organizations lead in AI adoption, many recognize the need for enhancement or are in the process of advancing their AI integration to keep up with the competition. However, unless business and technology leaders are willing to invest in their employees by giving them the proper training, companies will struggle to see tangible ROI from their investments.
Organizations must adopt a holistic approach to AI. Senior business and technology leaders must focus their AI strategies on operational efficiency, enhanced delivery and innovation. AI governance is one of the cornerstones of this approach. For instance, Middle East based technology provider e& and IBM announced a strategic partnership at Davos this week offering a multi-model AI and generative AI governance solution to enhance e&’s AI governance framework. This is an example of AI technology providers partnering to address this need. Without a holistic approach and technology that can enable it, organizations’ AI plans may well turn into failed experiments that drive no return.
