HCLTech wins 5-year deal with Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna

HCL Technologies, India's third-largest IT services company, has signed a five-year agreement with Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna Group for a strategic digital transformation partnership through artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions.

Husqvarna Group is a global producer of outdoor power and watering products, cutting equipment and power tools. Under the new five-year agreement, HCLTech will leverage its AI, digital, engineering and support services to enhance the resilience and stability of Husqvarna Groups’ IT environments through hyper-personalised, adaptive, AI-based solutions and a collaborative governance framework, the statement added.

Based on research conducted by the University Of Tennessee College Of Business Administration, Vested is a business model for creating highly collaborative win-win business relationships.

The financial terms of the deal agreement not shared. But the IT company said, “In a major milestone for HCLTech, this is the first time a large global IT contract by an India- headquartered technology company has been Vested certified.”

“We are excited to formalise our partnership with HCLTech as our strategic Vested IT partner. We have co-created a unique governance model that will improve and accelerate technology development and a unified operating model that would further IT’s cause of creating value for our customers," Robert Hafredal, Group CIO, Husqvarna Group, said.

The partnership would continue to enable the company to empower its business with sustainable technology and data together with HCLTech, he said.

“We are glad to be a fully certified partner to Husqvarna Group in Vested methodologies, creating a unique model of transparency and incentives for us to jointly grow in our partnership," said Pankaj Tagra, Corporate Vice President – Europe and Africa, HCLTech.

The Nordic region, including Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, have become an attractive destination for Indian IT services firms. For example, December 2022, Finland signed a memorandum of understanding with the Confederation of Indian Industry for talent mobility inviting Indian tech professionals to migrate there for work. 

IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said in March this year that it has over 20,000 employees supporting leading enterprises in the Nordic countries to drive growth and transformation. They have also been recognised as a Top Employer in the region.

India’s second largest IT services company Infosys has also expanded its presence in the Nordics. The company recently established a new proximity center in Oslo, Norway, as part of their continued expansion plans in the region. The centre aims to re-skill and upskill local talent to work on global opportunities using next-gen technologies like cloud, AI, IoT, 5G, and software engineering. In addition, Infosys completed its acquisition of Danske Bank's IT centre in India in September, following a $454 million contract with the Nordic-based bank.

Another IT company Tech Mahindra's research and development arm, Makers Lab, established a quantum center of excellence (CoE) called QNxT in Helsinki, Finland in April last year. The purpose of this centre is to leverage Finland's expertise in quantum computing and accelerate the commercial use of quantum computers globally. The primary focus of the QNxT center is to provide training, education, testing, and R&D in quantum computing.

On the contrary, earlier this month, Swedish industrial robot accessories firm Robot System Products (RSP), a spinoff company of automation firm ABB Ltd, announced its plans to set up a subsidiary in India. Its India entity has been registered in Chennai and the company said, it plans to manufacture at least two products from India.