HCL Technologies (HCLT): IoT NXT Summit

Working with leading technology vendors to develop emerging technology offerings in areas such as Internet of Things (IoT) challenges HCL Technologies (HCLT) to differentiate from peers. However, leveraging its deep engineering expertise integrated with vertical capabilities enables HCLT to be more competitive, driving business transformation for new and existing clients with IoT-based services solutions.

TBR perspective

HCLT’s IoT WoRKS business unit benefits from demand for IoT, primarily among existing customers. The company has some advantages in the IoT business and will continue to expand its IoT practice as it generates IP that will prove useful as IoT becomes an increasingly important part of both build and run services.

HCLT has a long history in electronics and mechanical engineering and continues to provide engineering and R&D services beyond the usual scope of IT-oriented companies. TBR has written extensively about HCLT’s engineering heritage and offerings, noting the company’s engineering and R&D expertise serves as a key differentiator within the broader IT services space. Our white paper HCLT’s Intelligent Sustenance Engineering Service Line Unit delivers data insights to extend the product life cycle discusses the impact of engineering and R&D expertise on the value of HCLT’s data analytics services through differentiation. HCLT’s history and continued use of engineering and R&D help the company navigate customers’ operations technology (OT) areas in both technical and cultural engagements, a necessity in IoT. Nevertheless, in IoT, the company engages primarily with customers’ IT organizations, and HCLT’s advantage in the IoT space enables it to efficiently implement IoT-driven solutions using more complex OT factors. However, as OT is far more diverse than IT, one type of OT expertise does not imply knowledge of another. Although HCLT’s established engineering experiences, combined with its IT services for IoT environments, provide an advantage for the company, adding OT skills would bridge any gaps within OT areas and create a simple but strong advantage. TBR believes that OT organizations will continue to initiate IoT solutions, but will evolve to integrate IT-based practices focused on security, scalability and manageability.

On Aug. 22, 2018, TBR attended HCLT’s IoT NXT Summit at the company’s recently opened IoT COLLAB innovation center in Redmond, Wash. The center is located on the same property as HCLT’s Lab 21, which was opened in collaboration with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) around artificial intelligence (AI) and Cortana Analytics in the Azure Cloud. The analyst event centered on HCLT’s 3-year-old IoT WoRKS business unit and featured demonstrations of HCLT’s IoT solutions and how the company works with its partners to develop IoT portfolio offerings as well as extensive discussions with HCLT’s IoT WoRKS industry leads. During the event, HCLT emphasized its focus on existing assets, enhanced by partners and vertical expertise, which, combined with growing demand for cloud-based infrastructure services, enables HCLT to transform clients’ business operations with IoT solutions, providing scale and speed at the edge.