Cătălin Bădescu, Head of Business Services, Capgemini Romania: Our strength comes from a combination of long‑term AI investment, scalable data and cloud architecture, and a strong focus on the human side of transformation
Magda Purice
Posted On February 10, 2026
As 2026 began, Outsourcing Today, the business services industry’s integrated networking and news platform, continues its interview series with leaders shaping the future of business services and related sectors. We explore their perspectives on the year ahead, strategic priorities, and growth opportunities.
Read below the key standpoints and perspectives of Cătălin Bădescu, Head of Business Services, Capgemini Romania. Experienced manager with extensive experience in mechanical engineering and IT/HR service management, Cătălin Bădescu stands for people management, transition/project management, customer relationship management and operational efficiency among other capabilities and responsibilities within the company.
A common misconception is that AI is a ‘plug‑and‑play solution’ that immediately generates ROI. The hard work happens behind the scenes – building the right data foundations, establishing governance, integrating AI into operations, and ensuring teams are ready to work alongside these technologies. Many organizations are now discovering this as the conversation shifts from hype to practical value
The AI‑based technologies changing competitive edge in 2026
Over the past year, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a real accelerator for the way we operate and deliver value across Capgemini. We’re well past the stage of isolated pilots. AI is now embedded across our business services, helping us work faster, more efficiently, and with greater precision.
This shift mirrors a broader global trend—nearly 38% of organizations have already moved generative AI use cases into production (1), and long‑term investment in AI continues to rise.
What makes a difference today is not just using AI but investing in it consistently. Companies that take a multi‑year approach to AI gain compounding advantages that late adopters simply cannot catch up with. And that’s exactly the mindset we have at Capgemini – we’re building enterprise‑wide intelligence that strengthens our competitive edge year after year.
Better understanding the AI impact
A common misconception is that AI is a ‘plug‑and‑play solution’ that immediately generates ROI. The hard work happens behind the scenes – building the right data foundations, establishing governance, integrating AI into operations, and ensuring teams are ready to work alongside these technologies. Many organizations are now discovering this as the conversation shifts from hype to practical value.
Another misconception is that AI replaces people. What we’re seeing is the opposite: 66% of organizations report productivity gains when humans and AI work together. (1) AI augments judgment, speeds up analysis, and enhances creativity however, people remain at the center.
The AI‑led business decisions
AI plays a growing role as a decision‑support partner across our global operations. More than half of executives worldwide already rely on AI to support strategic decision‑making, and this trend continues to accelerate.
In Business Services, we’re using AI to improve:
- capacity planning and forecasting
- pricing and risk modelling
- workflow orchestration
- talent allocation and capability mapping
We realized, AI doesn’t replace human judgment it enhances it. It helps us make decisions that are faster, better informed, and more cost‑efficient, reflecting industry‑wide patterns.
AI changing the customers’ expectations
Our clients now expect intelligence to be built into the experience from day one. Across industries, AI maturity has reset expectations. Today, customers want:
- faster delivery
- predictive and actionable insights
- frictionless human‑AI workflows
- operations that learn and improve over time
This aligns with the broader move toward intelligent, end‑to‑end operations, where processes are orchestrated dynamically instead of being handled in silos.
We are also seeing an increased demand for trustworthy and explainable AI, as data sovereignty and responsible use have become strategic priorities for most organizations.
How to stay differentiated in the market? What tools and competitive advantages are leveraged in 2026?
Our strength comes from a combination of long‑term AI investment, scalable data and cloud architecture, and a strong focus on the human side of transformation. Organizations that commit to AI consistently – rather than treating it as a series of isolated experiments – build advantages that only grow with time.
We also invest heavily in our people. Globally, more than 60% of organizations are redefining skill sets and upskilling their workforce to build “human‑AI chemistry,” (1) and this is an area where we continue to lead with purpose.
Balancing rapid innovation and responsible and ethical AI use
Responsible AI is built into the way we work. Governance, transparency, and data control are not afterthoughts – they are the design principles. More than half of organizations globally view strong governance as essential for scaling AI, and we fully share that view.
We balance speed with responsibility through:
- Robust governance frameworks
- Clear data and AI sovereignty policies
- Risk and explainability assessments
- Keeping human oversight at the center
We want to innovate quickly, but never at the expense of trust. Ethics is not just a compliance requirement for us, it is a core part of our identity as a responsible business.
What technology trend beyond AI should businesses be paying attention to now?
We have observed that beyond AI, Cloud 3.0 is emerging as one of the most important shifts for businesses. Hybrid, multi‑cloud, sovereign, and edge environments are becoming the foundation for running AI at scale balancing performance, regulation, and resilience.
Another powerful trend is intelligent operations. As automation, AI, and analytics converge, we’re seeing value chains evolve into adaptive, self‑optimizing ecosystems. This will fundamentally change how back‑office and business services operate across industries.
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* The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not, in any manner, represent, reflect, or align with the official views, policies, or positions of Capgemini. Capgemini does not endorse or support any of the statements expressed by the author.
