AI: the storm on the horizon? As customer behaviour and tech trends pivot towards artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security, and machine learning, brands are actively revising their strategies. They are doubling down on advanced security offerings, recognising the crucial role they play in this AI-powered future. This strategic reinvention positions them to ride the next wave of innovation.
Sector at crossroads: With USD155 billion in collective brand value, the IT services sector is far from flatlining as brands are facing a post-pandemic evolution. While 15 of the top 25 brands saw brand value uplift, we can see how the sector is adjusting to a new landscape, poised to capitalise on the AI-driven boom that's brewing.
2023 has witnessed a shift in the sector towards a careful balance between ongoing optimisation efforts and the pursuit of ambitious, transformative projects. This trend is expected to continue, with industry leaders expressing optimism about increased investment in cutting-edge initiatives. One particularly exciting area is Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), whose potential is actively being explored by enterprises.
Lorenzo Coruzzi, Valuation Director at Brand Finance, said:
“While IT services brands thrived during the pandemic's digital transformation boom, a current slowdown driven by macroeconomic headwinds, inflation, and geopolitical tensions has them rethinking their strategies. Despite cautious short-term spending, the substantial long-term demand for AI presents a crucial opportunity for IT services brands to adapt and differentiate themselves.”
IT service providers are investing heavily in developing GenAI capabilities, as early experiments have shown promising results in boosting productivity and efficiency throughout the IT service value chain, including code generation, testing, and support processes. The widespread adoption of GenAI may, however, impact the demand for traditional IT services, necessitating adaptation from providers. Offering crucial integration assistance for GenAI within enterprises will be critical to address challenges and unlock its potential to enhance various business aspects.
GenAI projects demand significant technical expertise, forcing IT service providers to choose between extending their current business model or undertaking a complete transformation. The latter path involves embracing an expanded consulting role, shifting expertise towards new specialities, adjusting pricing to reflect increased value, and committing to substantial R&D investments. While this outcome is not guaranteed, it presents a potential route towards revolutionizing the IT service model and allowing companies to climb the value chain.
In the context of data analytics, AI is playing a transformative role in the consulting industry. Its ability to rapidly analyse vast amounts of data and generate accurate insights is empowering consultants to make informed decisions and focus on more complex, strategic tasks.
AI-powered virtual assistants further enhance efficiency by supporting consultants with research and administrative duties. These benefits extend beyond individual consultants, with AI-driven consulting ultimately leading to improved customer experience and enhanced decision-making across enterprises. However, challenges remain, including the need for a skilled workforce able to implement and manage AI effectively, ensuring ethical considerations are met, and seamlessly integrating AI solutions into existing workflows. In conclusion, AI is undeniably reshaping the consulting industry, presenting both exciting opportunities and significant challenges. By embracing AI-driven consulting, businesses can not only navigate these challenges but also position themselves for success in the evolving digital landscape.
Accenture and TCS continue to lead a group of fifteen IT services brands growing in value this year. Accenture has built a consistent and robust brand, leading to a 2% increase in brand value to USD40.5 billion. With generative large language models obtaining a lot of attention now, Brand Finance research suggests that Accenture is well poised to embrace the mega-trend that offers the possibility of reinventing businesses and industries. The key factors contributing to Accenture's success in the realm of generative AI include its strong ecosystem partnerships, a pool of talented individuals, and a commitment to the development and implementation of responsible AI practices.
TCS has demonstrated a remarkable 11% growth in brand value, reaching USD19.2 billion
TCS’s growth is driven in significant part by its continued and consistent brand and marketing investment. TCS's sponsorship of Formula E is a good example. The partnership with Jaguar not only gives TCS visibility with key audiences, building awareness and familiarity, but it also acts as a showcase for TCS’s capabilities, enhancing reputation and consideration. TCS’s technology helps to inform race strategy by powering data-driven decision-making, enabling Jaguar TCS Racing to push the boundaries of the race car in the virtual world to improve its performance in the real world. This is a strong example of TCS' commitment to purpose, technology, and sustainability.
Infosys has been the fastest-growing IT services brand over the last 5 years
Infosys has established itself as one of the preeminent IT services brands, achieving the fastest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in brand value over the last five years among IT Services brands. With an impressive increase of 9.3% to USD 14.2 billion this year, Infosys is now the third most valuable IT brand globally.
Under the leadership of CEO Salil Parekh, who has recently ascended as the number 1 CEO in the IT services sector in the Brand Guardianship Index, the company has consistently delivered strong brand value growth amidst rapidly evolving and challenging market conditions. Committed to amplifying human potential and creating new opportunities for individuals, businesses, and communities, Infosys has championed the provision of AI-focused training to over 100,000 of its employees worldwide. Importantly, this is not just an internal-facing activity. They have leveraged their skills through public sporting partnerships, especially in tennis. Their innovative approaches have transformed the tennis landscape, enriching the experience for a billion fans through advanced AI, cloud services, data analytics, and immersive digital interactions. Infosys continues to break ground as the digital innovation partner for prominent institutions like the Madison Square Garden, including key MSG properties New York Knicks, New York Rangers and the Madison Square Garden Arena, ATP Tour, Roland-Garros, the Australian Open, and The International Tennis Hall of Fame.
This year, reinforcing its sponsorship strategy, Infosys signed tennis champions Rafael Nadal and Iga Świątek as brand ambassadors, embodying the company's ethos of equality, professionalism, and purpose.
HCLTech is the fastest-growing brand in the top 10 this year achieving 16% growth
HCLTech’s brand valuation rise (brand value up 16% to USD7.6 billion) positions it among the five fastest-growing IT brands and as the fastest-growing brand among the top 10 largest IT brands in this year’s ranking, boosting value through significant sponsorship deals with sporting giants such as the New York Giants and New York Jets.
According to Brand Finance’s research, HCLTech’s CEO was also found to top the IT services sector in the category of, “is a sustainability champion”. HCLTech has showcased its commitment to sustainability by focussing on initiatives via strategic partnerships, such as with Schneider Electric, to develop sustainability solutions for its data centres.
Globant fastest growing IT brand amongst top 25 with 34% brand value increase
Globant (NYSE:GLOB), a company born in Argentina, have shown exceptionally fast growth in its brand value surging 34% to USD1.6 billion. Globant’s growth is driven by its growing global presence and strong financial performance, with Brand Finance research identifying a significant increase in consideration for the brand and other Brand Strength metrics: this year the Brand Strength improved from 77 to 81, making Globant a AAA- rated brand. Thanks to this increase, Globant secures a position amongst the top 5 strongest IT Services brands in the world. Globant has pioneered the adoption of generative AI and the recent advancements in its product offerings such as the GeneXus Enterprise AI platform are well aligned with the great AI vision score we registered in
our survey.
In 2023, the year that marked its 20th anniversary, Globant was very active through new partnerships and sponsorships: as part of its partnership with FIFA, Globant will also become a FIFAe Series™ Global Sponsor in 2024 and 2025 continuing to build on the sponsorship activities it has developed over the last year.
Atos spin-off
Atos (brand value down 49% to USD1.1 billion) is the fastest-falling brand in the rankings. The main reason behind the drop in value lies in the spin-off between its computing infrastructure business – which remains under the Atos brand – and the more services oriented part focused on digital transformation, big data and cybersecurity, which have now been integrated under the Eviden brand.
This reminds us of the IBM – Kyndryl spin-off; the difference is that in that instance, the IBM brand was retained in the consulting part of the business while here the company would appear to have bet on the new identity to bring the consulting business to the next level.
Virtusa cracks the top 25 ranking for the first time, marking a noteworthy entrance into the IT services elite
Virtusa, ranked 25th (brand value USD785 million), makes it to the IT Services table for the first time, achieving a brand strength index score of 73.3 this year. The brand achieved good scores in familiarity and ratings for service delivery perception. This is consistent with Virtusa’s strong achievements over an extended period as customers become more familiar with the brand.
Further, Brand Finance research found the brand achieved very strong results in voice of customer (reputation) and recommendation. This means that the brand is likely to achieve further growth as more customers use and then recommend the brand: those customers who are familiar with the brand are increasingly providing strong benefits to the brand’s reputation through word of mouth. Contributing to this, Virtusa is strengthening its collaboration with Microsoft, extending its reach to encompass a broader spectrum of solutions on the Microsoft Platform.
This strategic agreement underscores Virtusa's commitment to developing industry specific solutions within Microsoft's industry clouds, with a particular focus on the healthcare and life sciences, as well as financial services sectors, catering to a global clientele. In line with this initiative, Virtusa is making substantial investments in its Microsoft business group, establishing additional capability centres to bring specialized technical expertise, client service, and customer success roles to various geographic locations.