Birlasoft—a challenger brand aspiring for strong growth in the Azure ecosystem

Microsoft Azure is a critical enabler of digital transformation, helping businesses modernize IT infrastructure, harness advanced analytics, and adopt technologies such as AI and IoT. Service providers play a vital role in unlocking Azure’s full potential by offering expertise in migration, modernization, and cloud-native development. Through tailored solutions, proprietary tools, and deep industry knowledge, they align Azure’s capabilities with business outcomes, ensuring seamless transformation.

Among the key challengers in Azure’s service provider ecosystem is Birlasoft. The company aspires to grow its Microsoft division’s revenues nearly threefold in the next three years. Growing its cloud practice is among its key priorities. HFS Research spoke with executives from Birlasoft on their aspirations for growth, strategy, and the road ahead.

The Birlasoft-Microsoft partnership is a key focus area

Birlasoft is heavily invested in its partnership with Microsoft, aiming for significant growth in its Microsoft Business Unit. The partnership is built on three key pillars:

• To become a top 10 partner for data center optimization, data modernization, and delivering industry use cases in AI
• A deeper industry focus on industry segments, including manufacturing, life sciences, energy & utilities, and financial services
• A joint go-to-market strategy with Microsoft for Birlasoft’s top 25 accounts

Birlasoft has established a Generative AI Centre of Excellence, leveraging Azure capabilities to deliver solutions such as AI-driven analytics and generative models for clients such as a New Jersey-based pharma and MedTech company and a Silicon Valley-based large chip manufacturer. Birlasoft has also invested in training its employees on Microsoft’s AI methodologies to strengthen its services portfolio.

Birlasoft also launched Birlasoft Cogito™, an AI-powered platform for accelerating enterprise transformation through advanced generative AI and automation. Built on Microsoft Azure, Birlasoft Cogito™ enhances business decision-making by leveraging large language models, AI-driven analytics, and intelligent automation. It enables organizations to optimize processes, improve efficiency, and drive innovation across manufacturing, life sciences, and financial services.

Industry focus is where service providers can differentiate

“Change is the only constant” is a permanent truism. However, the pace of change has significantly increased since the advent of generative AI. As we enter the generative enterprise era, there will be significant changes in operating models and how work gets done. A great deal of code creation is already becoming automated, achieving substantial efficiencies. Companies are investing in creating agents that can take on increasingly complex tasks. In this rapidly evolving landscape, industry-specific expertise becomes even more critical. Business outcomes are increasingly tied to sector-specific needs, regulatory compliance, and evolving market demands. Service providers that embed deep industry knowledge into their solutions and align technology investments with industry guardrails will be better positioned to drive meaningful transformation.

Birlasoft has invested in delivering industry-specific solutions to its clients. In manufacturing, tools such as its Supplier Risk Radar minimize supply chain disruptions, while in healthcare, GenAI-enabled biosurveillance and medical device applications enhance clinical and operational efficiency. The oil and gas sector benefits from innovations such as Intellidrilling, which streamlines data collection and analysis for critical drilling operations. These solutions, tailored for industries with unique challenges, underscore Birlasoft’s ability to deliver industry-focused business outcomes.

Complementing its vertical solutions, Birlasoft provides end-to-end security and compliance services spanning identity and access management, threat protection, data security, compliance enforcement, and risk management. The proprietary IT/OT Risk Dashboard integrates data from diverse security tools to provide organizations with a unified risk score and actionable insights. Leveraging the Microsoft Security Stack, Birlasoft delivers robust solutions such as Azure Sentinel, Defender, and Purview, ensuring data protection, regulatory compliance, and operational continuity. Its zero trust framework, coupled with advanced threat intelligence and security automation, helps enterprises proactively identify, mitigate, and respond to security threats across hybrid and multicloud environments.

Birlasoft’s JD Edwards capabilities provide a niche differentiator

Birlasoft has established itself as a key player in enterprise application modernization, with deep expertise in migrating and optimizing JD Edwards, SAP, and other enterprise applications on Microsoft Azure. While JD Edwards remains a significant area of focus, Birlasoft also provides end-to-end modernization services for SAP on Azure, ensuring seamless migration, integration, and performance optimization. Its strategic collaboration with Microsoft extends beyond JD Edwards to broader ERP transformations, leveraging Azure’s scalability, security, and AI-driven insights capabilities.

With Oracle extending JD Edwards’ lifecycle, Birlasoft is helping organizations maximize the value of their existing investments while enabling seamless integration with cutting-edge technologies such as AI and analytics. By combining deep technical expertise with a focus on cloud modernization, Birlasoft helps clients achieve operational efficiency and drive innovation, making its JD Edwards capabilities a standout feature in its service portfolio.

Why Birlasoft’s strategy matters for enterprise leaders

As enterprise leaders increasingly turn to Azure for digital transformation, the demand for industry-specific solutions, operational efficiency, and seamless modernization is growing. Birlasoft’s strategy directly addresses these needs by focusing on:

• Scalable AI solutions: Through its Generative AI Center of Excellence and strategic investment in AI training, Birlasoft positions itself as a partner capable of helping enterprises harness the disruptive potential of AI and automation.
• Industry-specific outcomes: Birlasoft’s focus on manufacturing, healthcare, and oil & gas industries aligns with the growing need for sector-specific transformation strategies that deliver measurable outcomes.
• Modernization expertise: By carving a niche in JD Edwards modernization on Azure, Birlasoft enables enterprises to modernize legacy applications while integrating innovative cloud and AI capabilities.

The Bottom Line: Enterprises should take note of Birlasoft’s growth initiatives

Birlasoft’s bold ambitions in the Azure ecosystem reflect its focus on industry-specific solutions, generative AI, and JD Edwards modernization. While promising, enterprise leaders must critically evaluate its ability to deliver measurable outcomes at scale and differentiate from larger competitors. Birlasoft’s challenger status offers agility and niche expertise, and enterprise leaders must evaluate whether its strengths align with their long-term transformation goals.