What is TCS AIC?

TCS’ Agile Innovation Cloud (AIC) model delivers innovation at scale for our clients through an accelerated and sustained innovation partnership. The model emphasizes tangible innovation outcomes through rapid agile sprints that go from strategy to ideation and agile development builds in a location-independent mode. AIC allows for rapid experimentation with innovation opportunities, leveraging emerging technologies, ecosystems, transformations, digital, automation, design, and strategic thinking.

TCS AIC—How it works

The AIC model comprises three key components.

A robust governance and collaboration model

AIC brings together teams from TCS and the client organization to fully leverage the technology, domain, and innovation capabilities of TCS Pace™ for effective outcomes. With regular supervision by C-suite members from both organizations, the AIC requires ongoing collaborative engagement between project and technology (or coding) teams to drive innovation outcomes that leverage collective knowledge and insights. TCS and client teams periodically review AIC innovation outcomes to deliberate on and fund identified minimum viable products (MVPs) for production deployment. The model helps clients gain visibility and momentum and move in a strategic direction. 

Strong ideation capability

AIC brings together consulting, strategic thinking, design thinking, and TCS’ ecosystem and technology capabilities to formulate a balanced innovation portfolio for client organizations using the Clay Map. The Clay Map is an innovation portfolio model based on Professor Clayton Christensen’s ideas. This often requires cross-functional teams collaborating in intensive workshops—possibly at TCS Pace Ports™—to inspire and uncover new innovation ideas and create an innovation backlog. AIC helps identify potentially disruptive technologies, trends, and opportunities; iterate through ideation-focused workshops using structured methodologies such as design thinking to generate and prioritize innovation ideas for business; explore innovation partnerships; and develop value propositions to build your innovation portfolio.

Rapid build capability

AIC can output tangible innovation outcomes—MVPs, proofs of concept, user experience/user interfaces, and digital apps—in rapid iterations of 30- to 90-day sprints.

Benefits and outcomes

AIC’s iterative methodology leverages TCS’ diverse capabilities in domain and technology and wide industry coverage to deliver unique innovation outcomes in combination with the client’s industry know-how. It institutes a sustained innovation effort, with a clear agenda and tangible and measurable innovation outcomes.

The Clay Map provides a full-circle view of the scope of innovation—from immediate improvements and efficiencies to blue-sky and disruptive opportunities. It also serves as a guide toward creating a portfolio of innovation ideas leveraging emerging technologies, transformation opportunities, automation, digital technologies, and design thinking.

AIC allows clients to explore and access innovation ecosystem opportunities, from strategic collaborations to new operating models, digital platforms, and new offerings. 

With AIC, clients can rally their troops behind common innovation objectives—across functions and teams—and draw senior-level attention to the innovation agenda.

The AIC model enhances a culture of innovation through initiatives like innovation competitions, workshops, interactive sessions, tech talks, ecosystem explorations, and the use of agile work methodologies.

TCS and the client together develop a portfolio of MVPs as demonstrable innovation outcomes that can be used for internal showcase and commitment.

Set up your AIC now

Reach out to your TCS client partner or innovation champion to discuss the best-fit AIC and establish the appropriate innovation partnership for tangible innovation outcomes, or write to us at tcs.aic@tcs.com