September 2025 | 761 words | 2-min read
The value of an idea lies in the using of it," famously said the renowned American inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. A maxim that resonates even in the 21st century where large enterprises have to systematically and repeatedly innovate at scale to unlock business value.
TCS PaceTM, with a macro view, helps organisations anticipate and navigate future business landscapes through foresight-enabled innovation, strategic planning, and ecosystem engagement. It connects enterprises with TCS’ advanced capabilities and a powerful collaborative ecosystem through a global innovation network — TCS Pace PortsTM in Tokyo, Amsterdam, New York, Pittsburgh, Toronto, London, Paris, and Singapore, and TCS Pace Studios in Riyadh, Sydney, Letterkenny, Stockholm, and Manila.
The TCS PaceTM experience
TCS PaceTM harnesses the power of collective intelligence by uniting an ecosystem of partners, including start-ups, developers, futurists, and academia, and taps into diverse skills like strategic foresight, design thinking and more. This collaborative approach delivers tailored co-innovation experiences that elevate customers’ innovation strategies and helps them navigate future business landscapes.
“The innovation process starts with having a very clear point of view on the future of several technology and business themes that anchor strategic conversations with customers,” says Leena Walavalkar, Global Head, TCS PaceTM. “Customers typically approach us to devise an innovation strategy for them. How do I reimagine retail experiences with AI? Or how can physical AI solutions transform my warehouse and enable 10x scale in e-commerce? Or what does the future of personalised healthcare look like? Or how can I prepare my business for an AI-led future?
We start by painting a vision of the future, and presenting a unique viewpoint about what it holds. We develop a strategy through foresight-led innovation, anticipating future scenarios and implications. This generates a lot of interesting ideas worth trying to realise that future vision. Then comes putting the ideas in action, which involves employing design thinking for problem and solution discovery, bringing them to life with rapid prototypes and finally creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
The real game-changer is doing this end-to-end, repeatedly, and at scale. Quite often, we have constructs where we actually establish joint innovation engagements with a customer. Our focus is on creating a curated innovation strategy through our foresight-led approach to innovation,” she adds.
She cites the example of a joint innovation exercise that TCS undertook with TotalEnergies, which began with a shared vision of Refinery 4.0. The process involved clearly defined and measurable metrics at every stage, resulting in ideas that were translated into MVPs, which were scaled successfully, resulting in several industry-first solutions.
Disruptive by design
From core computing and AI to life sciences and material sciences, TCS has invested in research for over 40 years— serving a diverse spectrum of industries and customers. As a technology leader with sustained investments and deep domain expertise, TCS has remained at the forefront of exploring and adopting emerging technologies. Leading the AI-first revolution, TCS embedded AI across every step of its innovation lifecycle. “A large part of AI infusion at TCS Pace™ is happening in core research and development. For instance, AI is redefining how research is done, completely transforming and accelerating the research to ideas to business outcomes. We are reimagining our own industry with AI and helping customers reimaging their business,” says Ms Walavalkar.
Through its proactive foresight-led approach to innovation, TCS finds itself perfectly positioned to anticipate future scenarios for its customers. “We are making sure that we have a forward-looking view on emerging technologies, how they are likely to transform business, and advise customers on investments they should make to future-proof their business. We stay ahead of the game and make investments for the future. For instance, recognising the impact of AI, particularly robotics and physical AI, and the transformative potential across industries, we have consciously invested in a strong Physical AI research and innovation programme and are working closely with customers to build industry specific solutions. Of course, quite often this requires partnering with niche technology providers, start-ups,” says Ms Walavalkar. This is where the TCS COIN™ ecosystem — TCS’ Co-Innovation Network™ to foster collaborative innovation — comes into play, bringing together industry players and hyperscalers to build end-to-end solutions.
Future-ready with TCS Pace™
“The nature of work in every industry is going to change,” proclaims Ms Walavalkar. “By understanding how this disruption will unfold and by positioning ourselves in those industries, we are preparing ourselves and our customers for the future.” TCS Pace™ has transformed how customers perceive TCS, elevating it from an IT services provider to a leader at the forefront of technology. “By taking a forward-looking view, bringing the right ecosystem, we have been able to lead the way towards a reimagined future for our customers,” she concludes. With TCS Pace™, TCS is clearly setting the pace of innovation.
