As we have moved to virtual briefings, I have increasingly been excerpting short video segments (with permission ) as part of my Analyst Cam series.
HCL is a leading Indian outsourcing firm. Differently from some of its Indian peers, it has long had a strong product engineering/testing focus, not just an IT practice. I profiled some of that prowess in a case study I wrote (see excerpt here) on the innovative Boeing 787 design and the radically redesigned supply chain for the plane’s components. HCL had helped Boeing with testing and other services.
HCL has also been investing in and offering more in packaged software and IP, not just selling labor and project services. As an example, it acquired collaboration, commerce, digital experience, AppScan, & BigFix solutions from IBM in 2019.
With that backdrop, we had Colin Breakwell, Associate Vice President at HCL Technologies present on their iMRO and iSAM extensions to SAP’s S/4HANA ERP core for applications in aerospace and other complex equipment settings.
Many of those complex product industries have been generating more in services revenues – it is a trend called servitization – see episodes here and here which go into more of that trend. That transition to services is calling for a wide range of asset tracking, digital twin, field service, spare part inventory, outcome based business models, SLA management and other functionality and as Colin points out coordination across a vast ecosystem of cross-border equipment makers, operators, lessors and service providers.
It is also leading to legislation around the world under the moniker of “Right to Repair”. Customers want the choice to maintain these assets on their own or with third party service providers, not just be forced to sign up for multi-year service contracts with the equipment maker.
Colin does a nice job describing in about half an hour this new world of making, maintaining and monitoring some of the most complex aircraft engines, wind turbines, mining, oilfield, medical, transportation and other equipment. And the wide range of software functionality SAP and HCL offer this sector.
