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In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses have to reinvent themselves. As innovation accelerates, companies are leveraging digital advancements not just to streamline operations but to create entirely new business models. With digital transformation no longer just a competitive advantage but a necessity, the role of cloud computing, AI, and connectivity is shaping the future of businesses.
As businesses across industries race to adopt digital technologies, the underlying infrastructure has become the focal point of progress. Yatin Dharamshi, CTO tech strategy, Cloud & network services, Nokia, emphasized the growing need to make networks more programmable and intelligent. “We are working towards application developers providing their business intent, and AI systems translating that intent into telecom-specific requirements,” he explained. This shift, he noted, is making networks increasingly autonomous and API-driven, enabling enterprises to integrate connectivity seamlessly into their operations.
Cloud computing and AI have accelerated this transformation, particularly for industries that require low latency and high bandwidth. Neelakantan Venkataraman, vice president and global head of Cloud, AI & edge computing business at Tata Communications, highlighted how enterprises are optimizing cloud-native functions to prevent resource wastage. “AI-driven reinforcement learning helps optimize containerized workloads, reducing unnecessary compute usage and cutting costs,” he said. “If you want to be an AI-first company, you have to fix your data. Data is like a fuel for the rocket, the rocket being the AI”
The discussion quickly turned to AI and its role in transforming industries. Dharamshi pointed out the importance of industry-specific AI stacks rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. “A generic AI stack cannot serve every industry. We need vertical stacks that cater to sector-specific needs,” he stated.
Ajit Narayanan, chief technology & product officer, Licious brought in a practical perspective, explaining how AI is not just a trend but a tool for solving real business problems. Reflecting on his past experiences, he noted, “If you see a big enough consumer problem, chase it. There will be a hundred reasons not to, but one good reason is enough to make it work.” AI, he suggested, presents immense opportunities to reinvent existing business models with more efficiency and scale.
While large enterprises are leading the charge, startups play an equally critical role in shaping the future of digital transformation. Nokia, for instance, is opening its MX Industrial Edge network to entrepreneurs, providing an API marketplace to develop applications for various industries, from healthcare to mining.
Rahul Lodhe, vice president and global head of engineering SAP Gen AI Copilot Joule pointed out that the recent emergence of AI agents is proving that startups don’t need massive investments to solve complex problems. “DeepSeek, for example, has demonstrated that you don’t need billions in funding to build impactful AI solutions. The key is working smarter, leveraging open-source tools, and optimizing resources,” he said.
SAP’s SAP.io program is actively supporting startups, while Tata Communications has created a marketplace for AI use cases. Neelakantan elaborated on this initiative, explaining how startups can access AI cloud infrastructure to build, fine-tune, and deploy new AI-driven solutions. “We provide GPUs, storage, and AI studio components, making it easier for startups to develop next-gen AI applications,” he said.
While technology continues to evolve, the panelists agreed on one thing; innovation is no longer limited to large corporations. Entrepreneurs who can identify critical pain points and harness technology efficiently will be at the forefront of the next wave of disruption. As Narayanan aptly summed up, “This AI wave is different. It’s still growing, and no one knows its peak yet. That means opportunities are everywhere—if you’re looking in the right places.”
The panelists were speaking at Entrepreneur India’s Tech & Innovation Summit, moderated by Sameer Nayak, Partner and Director at BCG.
