A structural shift is inevitable in India’s IT space

A FEW WEEKS AGO, at the company’s Investor AI Day 2026, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani shrugged off the opportunity threat posed by AI. “If anything, the opportunity is bigger than ever before. So don’t get distracted by that,” he told analysts. However, as companies chart their own paths to navigate the AI transition, Nilekani hinted at an execution risk. “I’m sure everybody won’t execute the same way. It is not an opportunity risk; it’s an execution risk.”

His view aligns with industry peers. For instance, on the sidelines of the Nasscom Technology & Leadership Forum 2026, C. Vijayakumar, CEO and MD of HCLTech, said, “Today, there is a big lag between how fast the technology is evolving and how it is getting deployed in the enterprise. I think that’s where the challenges will be. So it’s going to take time. It’s not as dramatic as what is being portrayed... But in the real world, there is so much legacy in every enterprise. I think that’s where the journey is going to be long.”