Our Bengaluru GIC powers global operations and drives AI innovations in CX automation: Rob Scudiere, Verint

In a recent interaction with Express Computer, Rob Scudiere, CTO, Verint, shares insights into the company’s decision to establish its first Global Innovation Centre (GIC) in Bengaluru. Rob emphasises the pivotal role India plays in Verint’s global strategy, particularly in advancing AI-driven customer experience automation. He discusses how the Bengaluru GIC serves as a technology hub, powering Verint’s operations across over 100 countries and contributing to innovations in AI, data science, and automation.

What led to the decision to establish Verint’s first GIC in Bengaluru, and how does this align with your global strategy?

As CTO, I bring 30 years of experience in the SaaS space, with the last six years focused on contact centres and CX automation. Over the past three years, I’ve been driving innovation around our open platform to deliver AI-powered business outcomes, helping customers solve real-world challenges. This includes cost savings, revenue generation, and enhancing customer and employee experiences. We currently support over 10,000 customers, including leading global brands.

India, and specifically Bengaluru, plays a crucial role in our success, particularly in leveraging AI to pioneer CX automation. The decision to establish Verint’s first GIC in Bengaluru was driven by the incredible talent and thriving innovation here. Our investments in India have led to the development of a strong technology hub. The Bengaluru team powers Verint’s operations on a global scale, supporting R&D, customer care, and other functions, not only for India but across the 100 countries we operate in.

This is Verint’s first GIC in India or globally?

It’s our first, globally.

India has a strong tech talent pool. How do you plan to attract and retain top talent for the Bengaluru GIC, and what skills are you prioritising?

We’re taking a multi-faceted approach to attract and retain top talent for our Bengaluru GIC. First, we recruit from top-tier universities like IIT and also bring in experienced professionals with expertise in AI, data science, research, and design—skills crucial for driving innovation. This mix of new and experienced talent helps foster a collaborative environment where employees can learn and mentor each other.

Second, we have a robust career development and internal training program, in partnership with HR, ensuring our people acquire the necessary skills to strengthen our leadership in CX automation. We also collaborate with external partners, including hyperscalers, to provide top-notch AI training resources.

Lastly, we promote innovation through initiatives like hackathons, which allow our employees to tap into their creativity and generate ideas that improve our products and customer engagement.

With AI and automation transforming customer engagement, how is Verint leveraging these technologies to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency?

At Verint, our primary focus is on leveraging our open platform to deliver AI-driven business outcomes for our customers. When it comes to CX automation, the goal is twofold: reducing costs and enhancing customer experience. Our AI technology automates both micro and macro workflows within contact centres, which traditionally relied on more agents for manual tasks.

For example, a large US healthcare company is using our solutions to automate call summaries for 30,000 agents, saving 30 seconds per call and $70 million annually. Another organisation, using our IVA self-containment system, is handling 80% of 10 million interactions, saving $10 million a year. These aren’t just claims from Verint; they are real customer testimonials showcasing tangible savings and improved operational efficiency.

You mentioned AI, which has been around for about a decade and is not a new phenomenon. What is truly groundbreaking is generative AI. Has generative AI had any relevance to your operations?

We use generative AI extensively in our operations. We have over 50 bots automating various micro and end-to-end workflows, though not all of them rely on GenAI. In some instances, we use GenAI, while in others, we utilise open-source or proprietary models. The key benefit is that we can choose the best model suited for each specific workflow. As these models evolve, we can switch to a different one that offers the best price-performance balance to ensure we deliver optimal results for our customers.

We often discuss the positive aspects, but what are the challenges you encountered or anticipate when setting up a GCC?

In a fast-moving market, we face a couple of key challenges. One is ensuring our talent pool stays relevant by keeping up with the latest innovations, especially in rapidly evolving fields like AI. The other challenge is retaining top talent after investing heavily in their development. We focus a lot of energy on recruiting, retaining, and continuously upskilling our best talent to stay competitive from a technology perspective.

What key functions and innovations will the Bengaluru GIC focus on, and how do you see it evolving in the next few years?

The Bengaluru GIC is focused on developing innovations that contribute to our global platform, not just the Indian market, but for all our customers. Our key strategy is to have teams be responsible for the end-to-end product lifecycle for specific parts of the platform and drive innovations. For instance, the GIC leads the full product lifecycle for our Engagement Data Hub and Data Insights. The Engagement Data Hub collects and consolidates all behavioural interactions across channels, providing meaningful insights that reduce the time it takes for customers to engage with their data. The Data Insights bot enables agents, supervisors, and analysts to interact with their data in their preferred language.

Additionally, the GIC is responsible for the Time Flex bot, which allows agents to manage their schedules without supervisor approval, promoting better work-life balance. These innovations are driven by the GIC, helping democratise processes and enhance efficiency.