MUMBAI, Oct 2: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and US consumer electronics retailer Best Buy have entered into an agreement to transition Best Buy’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) in India to TCS, with the technology hub set to evolve into an AI-native capability centre.
The agreement, announced on October 1, brings together Best Buy India’s existing retail and enterprise technology expertise with TCS’s capabilities in artificial intelligence, engineering and global technology delivery. The companies said the arrangement is designed to accelerate innovation and expand the use of AI-powered solutions across Best Buy’s operations.
Under the multi-year arrangement, the Best Buy India entity will move into the TCS organisation while maintaining continuity for the business and its technology operations. The centre will gradually be transformed into an AI-native capability centre, with teams expected to redesign workflows, develop technology-enabled customer experiences and scale artificial intelligence applications.
The move reflects the growing importance of GCCs in India as multinational companies increasingly use the country not only for technology support but also for engineering, product development, analytics and advanced digital innovation.
TCS said the transition would allow Best Buy to retain the business and technology knowledge accumulated by its India workforce while giving employees access to TCS’s wider learning, innovation and AI ecosystem.
Krishnan Ramanujam, President of the Consumer Business Group at TCS, said the combination of Best Buy’s knowledge of its customers and business with TCS’s retail expertise, engineering capabilities and AI technology would create an AI-focused capability engine.
The companies have not disclosed the financial terms of the agreement.
Best Buy’s India team has played an important role in advancing the company’s technology priorities. According to Ahrey Smith, Vice President of Technology Strategy and Transformation at Best Buy, the company sought a partner that understood the value of the existing team and could provide the technology and artificial intelligence capabilities needed to build on that foundation.
The transition also highlights a broader shift in the role of corporate technology centres. Traditional GCCs were often established to provide software development, back-office support and operational services. Many have since expanded into areas such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, automation and artificial intelligence.
With generative AI and AI agents becoming increasingly integrated into enterprise operations, companies are now looking at ways to reorganise technology teams around these capabilities. Instead of treating AI as an additional software tool, businesses are increasingly incorporating it into product development, customer service, internal workflows and decision-making systems.
The Best Buy-TCS arrangement follows this broader change by placing artificial intelligence at the centre of the future direction of the India-based technology operation.
For TCS, the agreement also strengthens its focus on GCC transformation. The company said its Global Value & Innovation Centres framework is intended to support organisations in building and scaling technology capabilities and turning them into AI-led engines of innovation.
The partnership could also provide a model for other companies seeking to modernise established technology centres without completely rebuilding their existing teams.
A significant element of the arrangement is the retention of institutional knowledge. Best Buy employees already understand the retailer’s systems, customers and business processes. Moving them into TCS while maintaining that knowledge could help the technology centre transition toward AI-driven operations without losing familiarity with the underlying business.
TCS said Best Buy India employees will become part of its global organisation and gain access to its global learning and innovation network. The company also said employees would have opportunities to develop AI skills and participate in global projects.
The agreement comes at a time when the Indian IT services sector is undergoing considerable change because of the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. Major technology companies are facing pressure to move beyond conventional models based heavily on manpower and billable hours as customers demand more automation and AI-enabled services.
Recent industry analysis has pointed to AI-driven pricing pressure and cautious client spending as challenges for India’s large IT services companies. Analysts have also highlighted the need for technology providers to adapt their business models as AI changes how software and digital services are delivered.
Against this background, converting a large enterprise technology centre into an AI-native operation represents a significant strategic direction for TCS.
The term “AI-native” generally refers to an organisation in which artificial intelligence is integrated into core workflows rather than being used only for individual experiments or isolated projects. Such a transformation can involve AI-assisted software development, automated business processes, intelligent customer interactions, data analysis and systems capable of supporting employees in complex tasks.
The Best Buy centre will therefore be positioned to work on AI-powered experiences and solutions while continuing to support the retailer’s broader technology requirements.
The partnership also underlines India’s position as a major base for multinational technology operations. Indian engineers and technology professionals have increasingly moved from support functions into specialised areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, semiconductor design and product engineering.
For Best Buy, the arrangement provides a way to combine its established India-based technology expertise with the scale and resources of a major global technology services company.
For TCS, it expands the company’s role from providing technology services to helping transform an existing corporate capability centre into an AI-focused operation.
The next stage of the partnership will involve the gradual redesign of workflows and development of new AI-enabled solutions. Its longer-term impact will depend on how effectively those technologies are integrated into Best Buy’s operations and whether they deliver measurable improvements in productivity, customer experience and innovation.
The agreement nevertheless illustrates how artificial intelligence is changing the structure of enterprise technology operations. As companies move toward AI-assisted workflows, the focus is shifting from simply adding new tools to reshaping entire technology organisations around emerging capabilities.