TCS Steps Up Digital, AI And Sector‐Wide Transformation Push Across UAE And GCC

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT company, is sharpening its focus on digital transformation across the UAE and the wider Gulf, as governments accelerate investment in AI, data infrastructure and next‐generation services, a senior official said.

“The Middle East is uniquely positioned because it doesn't carry decades of legacy data,” said Sumanta Roy, President & Regional Head (Middle East & Africa), TCS, in an interview.“Most data here is 30 to 40 years old at best, and usually structured. That gives the region a head start.”

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Roy said this foundation has enabled TCS to address long‐standing digitalisation bottlenecks, particularly in the energy and utilities sectors. The company has been working on converting old paper‐based P\&ID diagrams into intelligent digital formats for oil and gas operators in Qatar and the UAE.“Even where documents were digitised, they weren't intelligent,” he said.“We've taught software to recognise symbols and convert them into usable, analysable assets.”

In Dubai, TCS partnered with a major water and electricity utility to rapidly assess infrastructure availability for temporary power connections in remote areas. Roy said processing time has dropped dramatically.“Approvals are quicker, investments move faster, and the entire chain - from load assessment to inventory - becomes more efficient,” he explained.

TCS is also a core player in the UAE's smart grid programme. Referring to major urban outages in other global cities, Roy said,“Those cascading failures you saw in places like New York won't happen here. The smart grid allows instant islanding - faults stay isolated instead of spreading.”

In the financial sector, TCS quietly powers much of the UAE's payments backbone.“Seventy to eighty percent of all payments in this country run through our systems,” Roy noted. The company's Enterprise Payment Hub centralises compliance and risk checks across banks, easing regulatory updates from the Central Bank and improving resilience.

Sustainability is emerging as another major area of collaboration with Gulf governments. TCS is working on standardised, audit‐ready frameworks for emissions reporting.“Intent is there across the region, but what's missing is comparability,” Roy said.“We're helping build systems that can measure Scope 1 and 2 emissions consistently.”

On the AI front, the Gulf's massive capacity‐building push is creating new openings for TCS. The company is in discussions with UAE telecom operators on AI‐driven consumer use cases and is also experimenting with B2C models, such as virtual sports coaching platforms.“It's not enough to build big data centres,” Roy said.“For sustainability, the common citizen must have reasons to use AI.”

TCS continues to expand geographically as well. The company recently opened in Oman, will enter North Africa next fiscal year, and is evaluating a new UAE delivery centre, likely in the Northern Emirates. In Saudi Arabia, TCS already employs around 3,000 people - including 800 Saudi women, a dramatic shift from when the operation began.“We started with 20 per cent Saudi women; today it's 70 per cent,” Roy said.“That's one of the achievements we're proudest of.”

With AI infrastructure, talent programmes and regulatory frameworks advancing rapidly, Roy believes the GCC is entering a breakthrough phase.“All three legs of the tripod - people, policy and infrastructure - are coming together,” he said.“The region is extremely well‐poised for the next leap.”

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