Post pandemic, businesses moving to cloud ecosystem: Unisys India

Unisys is a multinational company headquartered at Blue Bell in the US with its delivery centres in India and Hungary. It has grown multifold in the past 25 years in India across areas like talent, capabilities, processes, and infrastructure. It focuses on adding to the talent pool and re-skilling and up-skilling existing talents. In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, Sumed Marwaha, Managing Director of Unisys India, shares about new challenges post Covid-19 and the necessity of moving to cloud to achieve business continuity in a viable manner. He explains how their company understands the employee sentiments during the post-pandemic era of hybrid working

Our suite of offerings includes - Cloud and Infrastructure Services, Digital Workplace Solutions, Security Solutions and Application Services. Our award-winning security solution – Unisys Stealth secures networks in a unique way

Unisys has approximately 4,000 employees in India. Our hiring strategy has not changed and it stays aligned to the growth and demands of the organisation. We will continue to hire fresh talent and harness our relationship with academia

How many employees are currently working in Unisys India? What are the hiring plans for the next year?

Unisys has approximately 4,000 employees in India. Our hiring strategy has not changed and it stays aligned to the growth and demands of the organisation. We will continue to hire fresh talent and harness our relationship with academia. Our flagship event Unisys Innovation Program (UIP) erstwhile Cloud 20/20 continues to play a significant role here.

India is an important centre for Unisys Global hence, we will continue the growth trajectory and I believe that we are in a strong position to align ourselves to the market. Unisys has always been an equal opportunity employer and this year we have hired 37 per cent female candidates.

How many employees are still working from home? Will you continue the hybrid working model?

Along with the rest of the country, Unisys also shifted to working from home (WFH) in March 2020. With a robust infrastructure, our transition was smooth and we were one of the first few companies that had adopted 100 per cent WFH. We recognise the importance of flexible work arrangements and will offer these options to our associates.

At this point in time, we are conducting pilot programmes on bringing back associates in the phased manner, adhering to all Covid-19 protocols.

What is the attrition rate per month at Unisys India? What measures the company is taking to retain the talent?

Unisys attrition is lower than our peers in the Indian IT industry. Our engagement strategy helps us retain our key talent. At Unisys, we are very particular about our employees' safety and well-being. We have an Employee Assistance Program to ensure that all our employees are equipped with the right tech support, and to make remote working a seamless experience.

As the remote working model continues, Unisys is extremely vocal about work-life balance and frequent connection between associates and leadership so as to address any associate concerns. We have also provided associates with some tools such as a personal digital health coach. The app offers health checks and promotes healthy competition between co-workers.

Unisys India Wellness Program helps associates to avail 1:1 consulting with credible holistic wellness practitioners. We bring in experts from the field of medical sciences to address lifestyle related health challenges for associate interactions. We also have five Associate Councils to focus on areas such as CSR, diversity, sports and talent.

Most of your clientele are from which sectors? In which countries, Unisys has a strong presence?

Globally, Unisys primarily focuses on three major sectors: commercial sector, financial services and government. In India, travel and transportation which is a part of the commercial sector is our focus. Headquartered at Blue Bell in the US, Unisys has presence in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions with its delivery centres in India and Hungary.

How digital platforms helped small-scale businesses during the pandemic situation? Do you think the usage of digital tools will be continued ever after?

The pandemic posed several threats to small businesses. They needed to adapt to new technologies in a short time. In India, we saw a surge in small scale businesses adapting to digital technologies at a rapid pace. This was given an impetus by a large number of financial applications that were simply plug and play and required minimum technological know-how.

Digitalisation and adoption of digital platforms enabled small-scale businesses to respond effectively to the public crisis by making use of their dynamic capabilities. Small businesses are witnessing growth, improvements in customer experience, better reach through online sales, and access to information from around the world.

Remote working and virtual business operations have been evolving for a while now but its importance to growing business has gained popularity because of the pandemic. This is the perfect time for businesses to grow digitally, whether small or big. Hence, using digital tools will be continued even after the pandemic as it has emerged as the new normal.

What are the latest technologies offered by Unisys to provide better end-user experience?

Latest today is redundant tomorrow. Technology like bots are almost out of the game and newer tech is taking their place. Unisys' offerings in Digital Workplace Service focus on End User Experience Management as against traditional mechanisms. We ensure that our customers continue to evolve their IT and be ahead.

IntelServe platform, an integrated suite for omnichannel support, advanced analytics, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Cloud Forte and Stealth solutions provide technology parity and experience parity while keeping in mind the human side of things ensuring Organisational Change Management (OCM) in transformation.

Along with these, our seamless workplace services solutions play an important role in the digital experience of our end users. With unified experience management covering all aspects of digital life, going beyond just monitoring devices, we aid in better collaboration and enhance the productivity of tools.

This fast paced and ever-evolving field requires us to rapidly adapt to a new technology almost every single day. The two acquisitions in 2021, Unify Square and Mobinergy, continues to enhance Unisys offerings to achieve seamless collaboration and experience parity through excellent end-user experience and agile ways of working that enable innovation.

How can the latest digital solutions like cloud services boost the productivity of businesses in India?

In India, businesses across sectors such as BFSI, manufacturing, e-commerce, healthcare, and government are moving to the cloud ecosystem. This transition has been accelerated by the pandemic as moving to the cloud became necessary to achieve business continuity in a viable manner.

This movement to the cloud is associated with cyber-security risks as traditional perimeter security can no longer protect the enterprise network from malicious attackers. Business and technology leaders in India are aware of cloud security challenges and are investing significantly in cloud security.

Hence in the era of rapid digital transformation, services like cloud computing and data warehousing services help organisations handle their systems and processes in a seamless manner. Cloud computing brings collaboration among remote workers, colleagues, and business partners to the mainstream which helps reduce the wastage of time.

Digital solutions help managers and leaders focus on the big picture and not worry about IT troubles. Additionally, adoption of digital solutions may seem like an expensive affair in the beginning but it is actually an economic solution in the long run as the financial model is predictable and affordable.

How automation will help the next generation? Will automation kill the jobs or bring more opportunities in India?

Automation and AI are transforming businesses across the globe and the most important advantage they provide is productivity. However, we believe that automation will bring more job opportunities, make way for new skills and capabilities. The need for up-skilling and re-skilling is crucial in the disruptive technology space.

Emerging technologies have created a greater need for more cyber-security experts, data scientists, platform engineers among others. Skill sets in areas such as big data analytics, cloud and cyber security services, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, AI, ML and so on are in high demand.

Even universities and colleges recognise the importance of disruptive technologies. They are enabling students to become industry ready through courses on ML, AI, DevOps and IoT. Unisys also works with academia to bridge the existing industry-academia gap through campus connect programs, webinars and events like Unisys Innovation Program (UIP).

Filling this gap with relevant knowledge will help in bringing the new generation up to speed with the current technologies.