Why Personalised Customer Interactions Are Central to Tata Communications’ Growth Strategy

For years, Tata Communications has operated largely behind the scenes, powering the networks and digital infrastructure that keep global enterprises running. Now, as brands compete less on products and more on experiences, the company is stepping into a more visible role in shaping how businesses engage with customers across channels.

As Tata Communications sharpens its positioning as a communications technology player, customer interaction services have emerged as a clear growth focus. With AI reshaping expectations around speed, personalisation and context, the company believes the next phase of enterprise CX will be driven by unified platforms that blend data, automation and human engagement at scale.

In this conversation with BrandWagon, Sumeet Walia, Chief Business Officer at Tata Communications, talks about why customer interactions are moving from the periphery to the core of enterprise strategy, how AI maturity is replacing experimentation, and where brands stand to gain the most as CX becomes a growth lever rather than a support function. (Edited excerpts)

Q. Brands today want to deliver personalised, contextual experiences across every channel. How is Tata Communications helping brands leverage marketing technology for personalised customer interactions at scale?

Today, businesses compete on experience, with customers expecting brands to understand their intent and respond with relevance across every touchpoint. Tata Communications addresses this through a unified Interaction Fabric that connects voice, messaging, video and app-based engagement. By leveraging Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) to unify fragmented data and AI-led automation, brands can orchestrate personalised campaigns across email, SMS, WhatsApp and social channels.

Our approach is anchored in the principle of ‘human-led, AI-powered’ CX. We enable AI-driven interactions that are smart, fast and context-aware, alongside human-led engagement that brings empathy and expertise, all within a unified Customer Experience Platform.

We believe the next frontier of CX will be defined by a brand’s ability to move from reactive campaigns to proactive, predictive and adaptive engagement powered by real-time data and AI-based decisioning. For marketers, this means running targeted campaigns, automating journeys and personalising offers without adding layers of complexity. Whether it is a retailer sending back-in-stock alerts, a bank delivering context-aware onboarding flows or a digital-native brand driving conversions, we help enterprises transform marketing into a real-time, experience-first growth engine.

Q. Working closely with global customers across industries, what fundamental shifts are you seeing in how enterprises are approaching digital transformation today?

My conversations with CXOs highlight a growing consensus that AI maturity, not mere adoption, has become a critical differentiator for enterprise success. Businesses are no longer treating this as a long-term technology programme; it has become a revenue and competitiveness mandate. The key shift is from experimentation to industrialisation.

This is creating three clear behaviours. Companies are re-architecting their digital foundations as AI demands low-latency, high-integrity infrastructure. There is also a pivot towards outcome-based transformation, with enterprises looking for partners who can link technology to measurable business value. At the same time, customer expectations have changed fundamentally, with AI setting a new bar for personalisation, speed and predictive service.

We recognised this early and built an AI Maturity Assessment Framework to evaluate capabilities and outcomes across the full lifecycle. This has helped us scale innovations such as our multilingual Voice AI platform delivering enterprise-grade interactions across customer journeys. By focusing on people, culture and governance alongside technology, we are positioning ourselves and our customers for an AI-driven future.

Q. As Tata Communications positions itself as a communications technology player, why are customer interaction services a key growth focus, and where do you see the biggest opportunity?

Our Customer Interaction Suite did not emerge from a market trend or a product idea. It was born from customer-centricity that has long been part of our DNA. For years, we have been a trusted partner for mission-critical digital infrastructure and CCaaS solutions, powering over 60 billion interactions annually. Working closely with customers revealed a clear requirement: not just seamless networks, but seamless experiences for their end customers.

In 2023, we acquired Kaleyra Inc., enabling secure and frictionless interactions across channels. More recently, our majority acquisition of Commotion Inc., an AI-native enterprise SaaS platform company, marks a significant step in redefining customer experience in the AI era.

The biggest potential lies in helping enterprises move from siloed channels to end-to-end, data-driven journey orchestration across sectors such as BFSI, retail, logistics, aviation and digital-native businesses, where interaction volumes and expectations are growing rapidly. As CX becomes a core business priority, this represents a significant multi-year growth opportunity.

Q. What does your Customer Interaction Suite portfolio comprise today, and how does it help enterprises deliver more meaningful, personalised interactions?

Customers today require a unified CX approach to map journeys, identify friction points and optimise channels dynamically. Our Customer Interaction Suite comprises a data layer, channels and connectivity, programmable APIs, workflows and orchestration, all delivered through a single pane of glass. This Agentic AI-powered platform enables context-rich interactions by eliminating blind spots caused by siloed systems and ensuring seamless hand-offs between bots, AI agents and human agents.

One of our customers, a multinational automotive company, faced challenges in managing omnichannel engagement and post-sales feedback. The lack of a unified approach led to fragmented experiences and delayed responses. We implemented an integrated CX strategy that delivered a real-time 360-degree customer view and automated empathetic post-delivery feedback calls, complemented by WhatsApp follow-ups. Interactions were standardised across digital and human channels, enabling hyperpersonalised engagement without repetition.

The campaign delivered a 25% increase in customer satisfaction, doubled feedback completion rates and reduced manual follow-up efforts by about 50%.

Q. In your role, you have a ringside view of global customer priorities. What themes are dominating the CEO agenda when it comes to CX?

CXOs are reimagining customer engagement, shifting it from a cost centre to a growth engine. Three themes consistently dominate discussions.

First is personalisation at scale, with businesses moving away from generic outreach to predictive and contextual experiences. Second is trust and transparency, as enterprises embed governance, responsible AI and clear data practices into their CX strategies. Third is omnichannel journey orchestration, with companies integrating digital, physical and human interactions into a single connected experience.

As enterprises invest in AI-driven ecosystems that unify cloud, applications and data, the priority remains anticipating customer needs and delivering differentiated experiences.