Fears of AI decimating India’s IT services industry are overblown, according to a fresh analysis from JP Morgan’s Asia Pacific equity researchers. Released on February 14, the report asserts that rather than shrinking the sector, AI will unlock new revenue streams and efficiency gains.
Historically, tech revolutions—from labor offshoring to cloud migration—have reshaped IT work without erasing jobs. AI fits this pattern perfectly, helping companies squeeze more output from flat budgets. ‘AI won’t reduce opportunities for IT firms; it will create them in novel domains,’ the report emphasizes.
Key growth areas include upgrading outdated infrastructure, customizing SaaS tools, deploying operational AI agents, building reliability into AI frameworks, and fusing AI with physical systems. Each demands specialized IT expertise that pure automation can’t replicate.
The analysts liken IT professionals to indispensable ‘plumbers’ of the tech world, keeping complex enterprise ecosystems flowing smoothly. With enterprise IT budgets lagging behind ambitions, AI’s role will be augmentation, not automation takeover.
Overly simplistic views that AI can self-generate sophisticated software overlook the nuanced integration work IT companies excel at. Market dips in IT shares lately stem from AI anxiety, but JP Morgan urges investors to see the upside: a sector poised for expansion through intelligent tech adoption.