In 2019, Carrier established its first Digital Hub in Hyderabad, India, coinciding with its transition to become an independent, publicly traded company in 2020. Led by Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Bobby George, Carrier embarked on a digital transformation journey to modernise and strengthen the digital infrastructure of a 100-year-old organisation.
Since then, Carrier’s success with Digital Hub India has led to the development of the “Connected Hubs” model, integrating hubs in Mexico and China with operations in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
“Following our spin-off, where we prioritised goals, such as becoming more customer-centric, transforming our customer interactions, fostering innovation, and developing sustainable products, we recognized an internal talent deficit. This led us to make the strategic decision to establish a centre in Hyderabad, India,” shared Bobby George, SVP and CDO of Carrier, in a recent interview with AIM.
“This move was pivotal in streamlining and accelerating digital deliveries worldwide, inspiring us to replicate the model across three countries, each with tailored focus areas.”
More Than a Delivery Center: A Strategic Partner
Today, Carrier’s India Hub is the company’s largest digital transformation centre, making up nearly 40% of Carrier’s digital talent from its two locations in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, respectively. Over the years, the hub has evolved into a strategic partner, collaborating with business units globally to develop innovative solutions and create significant impact.
“There’s no secret that India boasts the largest concentration of digital and engineering talent. Currently, Carrier is investing in artificial intelligence and data sciences. These skills will shape our future, and our hubs in Hyderabad and Bengaluru will play a pivotal role,” Bobby elaborated.
India: A Key Player in Carrier’s Global Strategy
Carrier’s strategy of interconnected hubs consolidates operations across Mexico, China, and India under unified leadership, fostering specialised talent pools. The Mexico hub pioneers automation and digital solutions for future factories, while the China hub enhances digital capabilities for the APAC region.
Meanwhile, the India hub functions as the digital twin to the global headquarters, operating across multiple domains. India’s strategic location and versatile capabilities are crucial for bridging time zones and enhancing global coverage.
“Carrier Digital Hub India plays a pivotal role in our global strategy, accelerating our digital transformation journey. By leveraging India’s robust talent pool and strategic capabilities in cybersecurity, cloud operations, customer experience, IOT, and data science, we enhance operational agility and drive innovation across our enterprise,” emphasised Bobby.
This approach enables Carrier to swiftly implement innovative solutions, ensuring efficient product deliveries and streamlined modernization projects. The India hub significantly contributes to Carrier’s flagship products: Abound, a cloud-native platform for Healthy & Efficient buildings, and Lynx, a cold chain platform leveraging advanced data analytics, IoT, and machine learning.
Carrier’s Big Bet On AI
Looking ahead, Carrier is set to establish a 100+ employee AI Center of Excellence in India, aiming to propel the company to the forefront of AI innovation and advancement. This strategic move underscores Carrier’s commitment to harnessing artificial intelligence to drive transformative change across its operations and offerings.
Focus On Talent Innovation & Inclusion at Carrier’s Digital Hubs
“At Carrier, we often say we are a 100-year-old company with the spirit of a startup. It’s essential that our employees have every opportunity to capture ideas, big or small, and continually innovate,” remarked Bobby George.
Carrier’s global digital teams have implemented an idea crowdsourcing program called iD8. This platform allows employees to submit their ideas during planned idea collation sprints and internal hackathons. Subject matter experts review these ideas, and selected concepts advance to the proof-of-concept stage.
Carrier’s culture of collaboration and respect has fueled its rapid growth in India, a trend poised to continue. The company is committed to hiring highly skilled deep tech talent in India.
“Our strategic focus on acquiring top-tier talent is critical to advancing our digital transformation and innovation initiatives,” said Bobby George. “India’s extensive pool of tech professionals is pivotal to our global strategy. Furthermore, we are committed to recruiting fresh talent from colleges to infuse our teams with new perspectives and cutting-edge ideas, ensuring sustained innovation and growth.”
Empowering Women in Tech at Carrier
Carrier’s commitment to collaboration and equity extends to fostering an environment where women in tech can thrive. The AccelHerate program mentors women leaders, while the WomenUp program provides female employees with opportunities to interact with industry experts and gain valuable leadership insights.
“We are dedicated to the growth of women in tech. Our programs for skill development and recruitment of women candidates are a testament to this commitment. In Digital Hub India, our diversity ratio has increased from 2% to 24% in recent years, highlighting the progress of our initiatives. We remain committed to further enhancing diversity and inclusion,” Bobby emphasised.
All of this clearly portrays that Carrier’s strategic focus on AI and digital transformation, anchored by its robust India Hub, positions the company at the forefront of innovation. With a strong emphasis on talent acquisition, collaboration, and diversity, Carrier is set to drive sustainable growth, empowering its global operations to meet future challenges effectively. You too can be part of this growth, openings here: link
