US-based Sally Beauty taps Infosys for AI-led transformation

India’s second-largest IT services company Infosys on Thursday announced a collaboration with Sally Beauty Holdings (SBH), a speciality beauty retailer and distributor based in the U.S., to enhance IT operations through hyper-automation and AI-driven solutions. The partnership aims to deliver efficiency in IT service delivery, allowing SBH to modernize its systems and drive enterprise-wide digital transformation.

By utilizing Infosys Topaz, an AI-focused suite of solutions, the collaboration will enable SBH to standardize and streamline its IT systems. This will result in predictive and proactive 24/7 monitoring of IT services, improving overall customer experience, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Scott Lindblom, CIO of Sally Beauty, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating that it is an essential step in modernizing IT service delivery under the company’s “Fuel for Growth” initiative. “Embracing AI-amplified IT is a significant step forward for us,” he noted.

Karmesh Vaswani, EVP and Global Head of Consumer, Retail, and Logistics at Infosys, highlighted the company’s commitment to helping SBH achieve industry leadership. The project will consolidate support services, optimize processes, and reduce costs over the next five years, aiming to amplify both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Infosys has been working closely in the areas of AI and generative AI with MD & CEO Salil Parekh underscoring it as a growth driver in its Q1 results in July 2024.

Parekh also said that there is a huge reception from clients on AI and Generative AI. “With our focused approach to generative AI for enterprises working with their data sets on a cloud foundation, we have strong traction with our clients. This is building on our Topaz and Cobalt capabilities," he said.

In August, Infosys joined the Stanford University Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (Stanford HAI) Corporate Affiliate Program to accelerate AI research initiatives, which has funnelled more than $40 million into human-centred AI research, supporting over 300 Stanford scholars across disciplines and collaborates with several global organisations to drive innovation. The recent tie-up with Infosys will focus on responsible AI, enhancing business process efficiency through AI and Machine Learning, and optimising AI models for cost and scale efficiency. 

The Bengaluru-based tech company also said it is working on over 225 Generative AI programs for clients, and that over 2,50,000 employees have been trained in the areas of generative AI.

Not just Infosys, its rival and India’s biggest IT firm TCS said that it has doubled down on its commitment to AI technologies, significantly enhancing its deal pipeline in these areas to $900 million. Krithivasan emphasised the strategic importance of these initiatives, said, “Our investment in AI and GenAI is not just about staying current. It’s about setting the pace, leveraging these technologies to transform client businesses and our operational models”.

IT major Wipro too sees strong traction in the generative artificial intelligence space. “Artificial intelligence is transforming our clients' needs as they seek to harness its power for competitive advantage and enhanced business value,” Srinivas Pallia, Wipro's CEO and managing director said.