Business
Part of a ZDNET Special Feature:
The Evolution of Enterprise Software
Infosys replacing workers with software robots
From next week the Indian outsourcing giant will train staff how to use applications that perform low-level, recurring IT tasks, eliminating the need for some human workers and potentially reducing IT cost by some 30 percent.
Infosys will start training staff how to use applications that perform low-level, recurring IT tasks --reducing the need for human engineers.
Chandrashekhar Kakal, Infosys head of business IT services, told ZDNet the first of 5,000 personnel would start learning to use the IPCenter automation application in the second week of May.
They will be trained at the Infosys-IPsoft Autonomic Centre of Excellence located at the Indian outsourcer's Mysore campus--also the site of a lab to develop proofs-of-concept and design autonomics solutions for clients.
Infosys will train staff how to use applications that perform low-level, recurring IT tasks.
IPsoft's self-learning software automates tasks, such as diagnostics, much faster than the scripts used in traditional tools, Forrester vendor strategy analyst Fred Giron wrote in a blog post. IPsoft claims to automate at least 60 percent of level 0 and level 1 issues in a support environment, he wrote.
Infosys's Kakal said the first staff will start work with customers in the "near future", with engagements increasing as training is completed by December. It will target existing customers first, who be charged based on a project's related productivity gains.
"We have already been showcasing this solution to quite a few of our clients since the agreement was signed mid-March. The reaction has been very positive," Kakal said. "We have shifted to planning for execution mode on a couple of engagements, rest are in advanced stages and we hope to have them flow in line with our training rollout."
While Infosys's Kakal wouldn't disclose revenue projections, he expects the autonomics driven service delivery to have a material impact on the outsourcer's operations and revenue.
Livemint reported Tuesday that Infosys and IPsoft will share revenue for each project.
The tie-up could reduce the cost of IT operations by up to 30 percent, according to U.K.-based Ovum analyst Thomas Reuner. "If successful, their approach will advance more complex pricing mechanisms such as outcome-based pricing that have so far only been adopted by very mature organizations and in specific use cases," Reuner said.