Indian businesses move from AI pilots to full-scale deployment, says Oracle India head

Indian businesses have moved from testing artificial intelligence in pilot projects to deploying it at full scale over the past year or so and are seeing real benefits, though cost, skills and infrastructure pose some challenges, Oracle India head Shailender Kumar has said.

"Around a year and a half back, we were talking about pilots. Now, we are seeing full-scale productions and the productions where the benefits are very, very real," Kumar, Senior Vice President and regional Managing Director, Oracle India and NetSuite JAPAC, told PTI on the sidelines of Oracle AI World 2026.

Indian companies are not wary of new technology but want proof that it works, he said.

"What they want to see is what will come to them: whether they save time, cost or anything else. Years back, there were a lot of reservations because people were not sure in terms of security, in terms of performance," he said, noting that once tangible benefits become visible, Indian enterprises swiftly move to adopt the technology.

Cost, skills and infrastructure remain key challenges

Asked what could slow AI adoption in India, he said cost is "certainly one of them".

On skills, he said Oracle was working with universities, colleges and state governments to train students, including at industrial training institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics.

Infrastructure "is a challenge", he said, but it is being addressed as new data centres come up in the country.

"People are willing to take the plunge as long as they see the benefit," he said.

On where the line should fall between decisions made by AI and those made by people, Kumar said, "When talking about AI, governance is the most important part". Organisations need people who can evaluate whether AI is producing the right outcomes and being used the way it was intended, he said.

Beyond companies' own governance, Kumar said regulation would also evolve.

"In terms of regulation, yes, there will be changes. We will see things building up as the industry also matures," he said, pointing to incidents of AI models going rogue.

Oracle, which has been in India for 33 years and is present in more than 15 cities, has grown at a double-digit rate in the country for about 10 years, Kumar said.

Banking is the company's biggest sector in India, followed by the public sector, he said, adding that all four of India's telecom operators use Oracle.

Over the next three to five years, Kumar said his priority was faster growth.

"I want to ensure that the business grows faster than what it's growing today because the market has that potential," he said.

"India is on a very, very right track," he said.

"There are a few things that we cannot control; the geopolitical things keep happening. But otherwise, from a country's standpoint, we are very well placed."