Wipro FullStride Cloud head Jo Debecker: ‘...AI hunger has not gone down..’

Wipro FullStride Cloud global head Jo Debecke believe that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly increasing. In an interview with Money Control recently, he said that more than half of artificial intelligence proof-of-concept (PoC) projects are progressing to production and delivering tangible business value.

“The AI hunger has not gone down… It's all about scaling, industrialising, and rolling it out. I would put more than half of those PoCs getting to production and really generating business value to our clients,” Debecker said.

Stating that the pace of introducing new use cases has slowed down, Jo notes that companies are focusing on improving the maturity and return on investment (ROI) of their AI projects. He says that AI is no longer just about reducing costs; it is now being seen as a tool for improving sustainability, boosting sales, and providing long-term business benefits.

“The number of clients going through that phase is actually still increasing, so even the laggards are now catching up,” he stated.

AI should not only be a cost play: Wipro Cloud chief

Jo Debecker emphasized that AI should not just be viewed as a tool for cutting costs but also as a means to enhance sustainability and drive sales. “AI should not only be a cost play,” he said, adding that companies must develop a solid framework to measure the benefits it brings.

"Everybody was jumping on the bandwagon to do PoCs, but now those PoCs need to create business value. That’s the logical next step for the industry," Debecker added.

Jo stated that the growing cost-effectiveness of AI, particularly with the advent of Small Language Models (SLMs), is further fueling its adoption. SLMs, which are smaller, more affordable, and tailored for specific tasks, make AI more accessible and practical, especially for small businesses or sectors with stringent privacy needs. SLMs can operate locally on devices like smartphones, reducing reliance on large-scale cloud infrastructure and offering greater security.

“It is good to make the technology much more useful and friendly for everyone. So for me, the ultimate democratisation of AI is going to be enabled by SLMs,” he said.



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