Evolving Talent Strategies for AI-first Operations

Enterprises are rethinking their digital talent strategies as AI adoption reshapes work patterns and elevates the skills required to deliver at scale. Providers are expanding investments in engineering, data, and domain expertise while strengthening training infrastructure and partnering across the ecosystem to build job-ready talent. As AI takes on more routine activities, workforce roles are shifting toward higher-value judgment and oversight. In parallel, academia, government, and industry are working together to expand the pipeline of AI-skilled professionals. 

Both demand-side and supply-side trends are covered in our Digital Talent Capability 2025 Market Insights™ and Digital Talent Capability 2025 RadarView™, respectively. These reports present a comprehensive study of digital talent providers and closely examine market leaders, innovators, disruptors, and challengers. They also provide a view into key market trends and developments impacting the digital talent space. 

Avasant evaluated 48 providers using three dimensions: digital strategy and talent capabilities, talent transformation, talent investments and innovation. Of these, we recognized 23 providers who brought the most value to the market over the past 12 months. 

The RadarView recognizes platform providers in four categories:

• • Leaders: Accenture, Capgemini, HCLTech, IBM, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro 
  • Innovators: Cognizant, LTIMindtree, NTT DATA, PwC, and Randstad Digital
  • Disruptors: EY, Hexaware, Kyndryl, Mphasis, Persistent Systems, and UST
  • Challengers: Atos, CGI, DXC, and Zensar

The following figure from the full report illustrates these categories: 

“AI disruptions and geopolitical uncertainties are forcing enterprises to rethink their operating models and talent strategies,” said Akshay Khanna, managing partner at Avasant.“ In response, they are future-proofing operations by hiring global talent, reskilling continuously, and strengthening culture and change management to adapt at scale.”

The findings in the reports include the following:  

• • Organizations are formalizing AI leadership roles, with 21% of Fortune 500 companies now appointing chief AI officers (CAIOs) to lead enterprise-wide AI strategy and governance. Notably, over half of these roles (51%) are being filled through internal promotions, as companies elevate leaders with strong backgrounds in data, analytics, and AI transformation to drive their AI mandate. 
  • Organizations are collaborating with providers to ensure talent resilience amid rising AI and geopolitical disruptions. 
  • Enterprises are turning to India as a primary hub for digital and AI-ready talent, supported by expanding academic, government, and industry-led skilling initiatives. 
  • As GCCs scale, new gaps are emerging in AI fluency, data engineering, and leadership alignment. This is driving providers to step in with deployment-ready talent, targeted upskilling programs, and support models tailored to next-generation delivery environments.
  • Providers are also strengthening talent pipelines to align with the rising enterprise demand for an AI-ready workforce.
  • Providers continue to pursue strategic organic investments in the emerging talent economy ecosystem.
  • They are embedding AI into talent ecosystems to automate skill matching, accelerate hiring cycles, and deliver hyper-personalized learning at scale.

“Providers are accelerating AI-first delivery models as automation takes over a growing share of routine work,” said Abhisekh Satapathy, principal analyst at Avasant. “They are building an AI-fluent talent pipeline by investing in three key skill areas: engineering, data management, and change management.” 

This RadarView also features detailed profiles of 23 service providers, along with their digital talent strategy, talent investments, and experience assisting enterprises in solving digital talent challenges. 

This Research Byte is a brief overview of the Digital Talent Capability 2025 Market Insights™ and Digital Talent Capability 2025 RadarView™. (Click for pricing.)