AI Creating New Consumer Demands, Biz Opportunities Beyond Productivity Gains: Bosch Global Software Technologies CEO

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expanding the scope of engineering work by creating new consumer demands and business opportunities, making it a value-creation tool rather than merely an instrument for cost-cutting, Bosch Global Software Technologies CEO Dattatri Salagame has said.

Salagame told PTI in an interview that AI presents India with an opportunity to move from "volume engineering" to "value engineering", helping technology firms deliver higher-impact outcomes.

AI is often viewed only through a technological lens, even though its impact extends far beyond technology, right from social re-engineering of the corporate landscape to fundamentally changing how organisations work, structure teams and lead people, he said.

While automation may impact traditional 'volume engineering', it creates an opportunity for companies to shift towards `value engineering' and deliver higher-impact, globally-benchmarked outcomes.

"... to break stereotypes of India being low-cost, being the best place to do repeat work, extended workbench, etc...and to move up the value chain and deliver high-impact outcomes which are benchmarked to the global standards, that is an opportunity for us now.

"If you are bogged down only by rationalisation of the workforce, then you miss an opportunity, and hence we are very mindful that we are looking at this as an opportunity to deliver high-impact outcomes for Bosch worldwide, and not look at it as how do I manage my cost structures, or how do I rationalise my workforce. And that's a very exciting space," he said.

Salagame said companies that view AI only through the lens of efficiency and productivity gain, risk missing its larger potential: that of creating new products, services and consumer experiences.

"AI must become a value creation tool, enabling newer forms of value creation and unboxing latent value that nobody had visualised," he said.

Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW) is the largest technology centre for Bosch outside Germany and contributes to software development and engineering across nearly all of the German conglomerate's businesses, ranging from mobility solutions and industrial equipment to home appliances.

The company traces its roots in India to the early 1990s, when Bosch set up one of its first global technology centres in the country.

The India operations account for about 24,151 employees out of BGSW's global workforce of 28,907 spread across multiple delivery centres. Apart from a significant footprint in Bengaluru (13000-14000 engineers), the other centres in India are in Hyderabad, Pune, and Coimbatore.

Salagame said India remains the oldest and largest technology hub in Bosch's global software engineering network, with development work spanning end-to-end product engineering for global markets.

"The India center started in the country around 30 years back, so obviously a lot of action happens out of India," the top executive said.

He said Indian centres are deeply integrated into Bosch's global delivery network and work on cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous driving and connected vehicles. Engineers in India develop software and systems for vehicle computers that power driver-assistance, safety and manoeuvring functions, with solutions that go into products deployed across markets including India, Europe, Japan or the United States.

Beyond automotive technologies, Bosch's India teams also work on smart home appliances, including connected refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers.

"If you look at home appliance space, we work on aspects like enhancing the consumer experience of the appliances...Say, how do we make the Bosch washing machine, or a refrigerator, talk to you with an interface, and change the way you use these home appliances? So, some of this engineering and software development, and product engineering work also happens out of this place," he said.

While Pune specialises in vehicle calibration and testing capabilities, Coimbatore leads work on in-vehicle infotainment systems, digital assistants and voice-enabled interfaces, leveraging expertise across Bosch's broader engineering network in other centres.