TCS, Virgin Atlantic extend tech alliance of two decades; AI to power this phase

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic have prolonged their know-how partnership for one more seven years, aiming to drive synthetic intelligence (AI)-led airline operations and improve buyer expertise. The renewed settlement builds on the 20-year collaboration between the 2 corporations.

Monetary particulars of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Underneath the expanded engagement, TCS will modernise Virgin Atlantic’s core programs with a cloud-first, AI-led digital core, TCS mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday.

A Know-how Command Centre, co-developed by the 2 corporations, will function the operational mind of the airline, providing real-time insights to enhance decision-making and allow frontline workers with contextual knowledge.

As of FY25, the UK market was the second-largest area for TCS, accounting for 16.8% of revenues, second solely to North America, accounting for 48.2%. The Europe market (together with the UK) accounted for 31.1% and grew at 4% in the course of the yr. TCS’ second-largest rival, Infosys, additionally fetched 31.1% of its revenues from Europe, which grew in double digits at 15%.

Heightened commerce tensions and Indian IT’s overdependence on the US market have led Indian tech outsourcing corporations to diversify in European and different regional markets. This March, Wipro introduced a £500 million (round ₹5,500 crore), 10-year strategic cope with the UK’s Phoenix Group, one of many largest publicly introduced offers for Wipro since 2020.

“TCS has been a companion for greater than 20 years, and collectively we’ll proceed to construct in the direction of our imaginative and prescient of turning into essentially the most cherished journey firm, powered by AI know-how to modernise our programs, drive effectivity and ship for our prospects,” mentioned Oli Byers, chief monetary officer, Virgin Atlantic.“With our deep aviation experience and superior capabilities in knowledge, AI, and engineering, we’re serving to Virgin Atlantic construct clever, scalable digital ecosystems and redefine the way forward for journey,” mentioned Amit Kapur, Nation Head, UK & Eire, TCS.

The partnership will proceed to assist transformation packages throughout crucial operational areas, together with crew administration, cargo, engineering, and enterprise platforms.

Virgin Atlantic carried over 5 million passengers in 2024 and connects to 30 locations globally. In November 2023, it led the world’s first transatlantic flight powered by 100% sustainable aviation gas (SAF), a part of its broader ambition to function a 100% next-generation fleet by 2028 and attain Web Zero by 2050.