At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, artificial intelligence has become the focus, and business leaders generally believe that employee retraining is crucial to realizing the full potential of AI. Wipro Executive Chairman Rishad Premji stressed that successful AI applications are inseparable from employee retraining, which is a strategic task for corporate executives and ERP leaders. This article will explore in-depth how Wipro successfully integrates AI into company operations through a comprehensive retraining program and provides reference for other organizations.
Artificial intelligence (AI) became a hot topic at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with many industry leaders stressing that retraining employees is crucial to fully realize the change potential of AI. Rishad Premji, executive chairman of Wipro Ltd., pointed out in an interview with NDTV that successful AI adoption is closely related to the key factor of retraining employees. For corporate executives and ERP leaders, this insight highlights a strategic need – organizations must prioritize retraining of their employees in order to capitalize on their potential in an era of increasing popularity of AI and ensure the workforce’s Preparation and resilience.
Premji makes it clear that the value of AI is not only reflected in its technical capabilities, but also in how it can be effectively deployed and utilized to solve business problems. However, AI is developing far faster than organizations’ adoption capabilities, and filling this gap requires a two-pronged approach: both technology and personnel. “The success and adoption of AI will be closely linked to our retraining agenda as a company, industry and country.” Retraining is not only a passive measure for work redundancy, but also an active strategy to develop innovation that can drive innovation and operate an outstanding AI-ready workforce.
In this regard, Wipro’s approach provides a blueprint for other organizations. Premji revealed that Wipro has made AI “everywhere” within the company and started with a comprehensive retraining program. Over the past year, 235,000 employees have received basic generative AI training, of which 50,000 have further improved their certification. This structured approach ensures that employees at all levels have the mindset and skills they need to effectively utilize AI.
Wipro's strategy focuses on three key areas: operational efficiency, delivery improvement and innovation. For example, companies are leveraging AI to simplify complex processes, distilling 400-page legal documents into actionable insights. This not only improves efficiency, but also allows employees to focus on higher value tasks. At the same time, AI is also deployed to optimize project delivery and develop application cases in specific areas to achieve measurable business outcomes.
However, Premji also stressed that legacy systems, unstructured data, and outdated applications are still obstacles to the full use of AI. ERP and other technology leaders must address these barriers by modernizing the IT ecosystem and ensuring data structures are well-accessible. As Premji said: “Without data, there is no AI.” Organizations that invest in data architecture and governance will be more likely to unlock the potential for change in AI.
To sum up, Wipro's success story shows that an active employee retraining program is crucial to the effective implementation of AI. Only by focusing on improving employees' skills and investing in modern IT infrastructure can enterprises truly unleash the potential for transformation of AI and remain competitive in the era of artificial intelligence. This is not only about the technology itself, but also about the overall strategy of talent training and organization.