By Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services
“India’s rise as a global technology and innovation hub is being driven by the rapid convergence of AI, cloud, data infrastructure, cybersecurity, semiconductors, and digital public infrastructure. As industries accelerate digital adoption, technology is increasingly shaping enterprise growth, workforce transformation, and national competitiveness. In this evolving landscape, the ability to build future-ready digital capabilities will define long-term global leadership.
Amid this accelerating wave of digital innovation, technology adoption has evolved significantly over the last decade, from enabling digital transformation to becoming central to how enterprises operate, innovate, and scale. With AI and Generative AI now entering the mainstream, organisations across industries are fundamentally rethinking business models, workflows, and talent strategies. AI familiarity is increasingly becoming a baseline expectation across technology functions, with nearly 40% of tech roles now requiring AI or GenAI exposure in some capacity. This reflects a broader shift towards capability-led workforce development, where adaptability, problem-solving, and cross-functional expertise are becoming as important as technical proficiency.
At the same time, the definition of a ‘tech role’ is rapidly expanding. Beyond traditional software development, sectors such as BFSI, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, SaaS, and GCCs are investing heavily in data engineering, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, and MLOps capabilities to support AI-led ecosystems. Demand for data engineering roles has grown by nearly 47% YoY, while infrastructure-led functions such as DevOps, SRE, and platform engineering are witnessing almost 35-40% growth, outpacing several conventional application development roles. Simultaneously, the rise of AI-driven applications is accelerating demand for real-time data processing, scalable backend systems, and privacy-first engineering frameworks. Nearly 30-35% of job descriptions now require multi-domain expertise across cloud, data, backend systems, security, and architecture, reflecting the growing need for agile, production-ready talent capable of operating in increasingly complex digital environments.
We are also seeing enterprises move away from traditional volume-led hiring toward leaner, high-impact engineering models powered by automation and AI. For every AI or Machine Learning role being created, demand is also rising for adjacent capabilities such as platform operations, model deployment, cloud optimisation, and data governance. This is particularly visible across India’s GCC ecosystem, where organisations are building global capability centers focused on product ownership, engineering innovation, and enterprise-scale digital transformation. The convergence of AI adoption, evolving regulatory frameworks, and growing emphasis on digital resilience is expected to significantly reshape workforce priorities in the years ahead.
As technology continues to evolve, the future of work will be shaped not just by coding expertise, but by the ability to collaborate across functions, work alongside AI systems, and continuously adapt to changing business needs. Technology is no longer just transforming industries but is fundamentally redefining how organisations build teams, drive innovation, and prepare for the next era of global growth.”
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