Wipro top executive says AI will rule for next 20 years, these IT skills will matter most
Top Wipro executive Hari Shetty says fears that AI will hurt Indian IT companies are misplaced, arguing that the technology will keep companies busy for decades while engineers who deeply understand AI will be rewarded.
According to Hari Shetty, chief strategist and technology officer at Wipro, AI will dominate the technology conversation for the next 20 years, but it is unlikely to impact India’s IT services business. At a time when investors are nervous about whether AI can reduce the need for large outsourcing teams, Shetty believes the technology will actually give IT companies more work, not less, Reuters reports.
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Indian IT stocks have taken a hit in recent weeks as concerns grow over AI-led automation. The fear is that if machines can write code, transfer data and connect systems faster than humans, will companies still need thousands of engineers on the payroll? For an industry worth approximately $283 billion and built on a people-heavy delivery model, this question has unsettled the markets.
Shetty considers the concern misplaced. “When you look at the full scope of what’s possible, it really seems like a huge opportunity for us,” he said, adding that AI has the potential to create far more jobs than it actually does. According to him, what most people are seeing today is only superficial use of AI.
“What you’re seeing today is basically task automation. We’re really talking about the autonomous enterprise, which is a completely different ball game that will require IT services companies to work deeply with customers,” Shetty said. In simple terms, he believes that IT companies will move from executing instructions to working closely with customers on how their business actually runs.
Shetty described AI as “probably the biggest opportunity” seen by the industry and placed it alongside major technological breakthroughs such as electricity and the Internet. He said the debate around AI often gets stuck on job losses, while missing how deeply it could change the kind of work companies ask IT partners to do.
Wipro CTO says these IT skills will matter most as AI takes over
He cited World Economic Forum estimates that suggest AI could create about 170 million jobs worldwide, even as about 92 million roles disappear. Shetty said India’s IT sector will see increased demand for skills beyond traditional programming, including model training, data curation and responsible AI practices. “The primary difference here is people who know AI and people who don’t know AI,” he said.
Contrary to speculation that automation will hollow out the industry’s staffing pyramid, Shetty said Wipro continues to hire young engineers who are comfortable working with AI tools. Comparing it to the early days of cloud computing, he said new technology typically increases rather than reduces the scope of work handled by IT companies.
Shetty also pointed out that enterprise customers are no longer looking for vendors just to complete projects. They want long-term partners who thoroughly understand their internal processes to help them move toward what they call autonomous enterprises. This, he said, will keep IT services companies closely involved in customer decision making for years. “We clearly think that AI is a major force, at least over the next decade to two decades, in the kind of business it will drive,” he said.
Not everyone in the industry is sure about the near-term impact. Vishal Sikka, founder and CEO of Vianai and former Infosys CEO, warns that AI is already changing how some enterprise projects are delivered.
“If you look at the application of generic AI to knowledge work, the disruption is real. It’s right here,” Sikka said. He was referring to the use of AI in areas such as code migration, systems integration and connecting different applications, which are a large part of enterprise technology work.
According to Sikka, teams that use generative AI well are seeing a dramatic boost in productivity. “I’ve seen examples of 20, 30-fold productivity gains,” he said. While this improves efficiency, it also raises uncomfortable questions for IT companies about timelines, pricing and team size.
“If a client expects you to do this project now dramatically faster or cheaper or with fewer people, that’s going to have an impact on the here and now,” Sikka said. He said some customers have already started incorporating these benefits into negotiations. “I have seen customers asking for discounts, there was a report I read about “AI discounts”.
These concerns led to a recent selloff in Indian IT stocks, followed by a global decline in software stocks. The pressure increased after Google-owned Anthropic introduced new plug-ins designed to automate work in many software functions.
