Ciprian Dan, Country Head of Wipro Romania, says Romania remains one of the most important near-shore outsourcing destinations in Europe, although artificial intelligence will significantly reshape the industry in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor now, Romania is still one of the most important near-shore destinations for outsourcing in Europe. This remains valid as long as the model continues to offer cost reductions compared to Western Europe or the US, as well as language capabilities. But this model will not continue forever, given the impact of AI,\u201d Ciprian Dan said during Romanian Business Services Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest and Outsourcing Today.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to him, there are several possible scenarios regarding the impact of AI on the IT and business services sectors, ranging from highly disruptive to more balanced outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne can be catastrophic for our industry and for the IT industry. But there are also more moderate scenarios compared to this catastrophic one,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u201cI subscribe to the moderate scenario rather than the catastrophic one when it comes to Romania and globally to the business services industry. Predictions from major voices in the IT and business services sectors show that the industry will not disappear because of AI \u2014 it will continue to grow. Estimates suggest the outsourcing industry could reach 800 billion euros by 2030.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u201cThis would represent a significant increase, even in the context of AI. But there are different aspects to consider. One of them, returning to Romania, is that reskilling is urgent. And when I say reskilling, I mean AI reskilling. We cannot delay AI adoption. We cannot block it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u201cReskill immediately. Get ready, because it will come. Romania still has the advantage of a skilled workforce, which in the context of AI can be relatively easily reskilled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u201cThe second advantage of Romania is that the workforce is culturally aligned with Western Europe and the US. These are two major advantages: reskilling capacity and cultural alignment with the Western world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u201cRomania will continue to remain relevant in this industry. Of course, roles in the business services industry will change quite significantly. Today, the changes are not yet dramatic. But they will come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan said that, despite years of discussions around AI, the direct impact on the industry remains relatively limited for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday, I cannot say we are strongly impacted by AI evolution. We have been talking about AI for four years now, and the impact has so far been modest. But it will come. We are now moving from promises to actual impact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u201cGovernments around the world should try to put in place some form of safety net for the roles that will be impacted by AI. This is an extreme opinion \u2014 it may work or it may not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u201cIn Romania, I do not expect such measures because this industry, historically speaking, has grown by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 \u201cWhat we do at Wipro is massive training, and we see it as an investment \u2014 especially AI training. Apart from partnering with major players and major LLM producers, we are also building our own platforms for AI agents. Across the world, we are building AI innovation labs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n