Mastek launches AI-native services to cut software costs

Mastek has launched an AI-native Services as Software strategy aimed at reducing enterprise software subscription costs.

The approach combines domain expertise, AI, data and engineering to move clients away from traditional enterprise software and toward services designed around business outcomes. Mastek is applying the model across its industry verticals.

The company outlined three principles for the strategy: delivering measurable business results, shifting enterprise platforms from systems of record to systems of intelligence, and selling outcomes while cutting software costs.

Mastek said many enterprises use only a fraction of the software applications they license. Its model assesses how software is used, retains workflows that create business value and replaces other functions with AI-native alternatives.

Internal rollout

As an initial example, Mastek built an AI-native CRM platform to replace its legacy CRM environment. The system was developed at the company's AI Centre of Excellence and tested internally under what it described as a Customer Zero approach, with global sales and marketing teams using it in production.

According to Mastek, the internal deployment helped validate the platform's scalability, usability and business impact before it is offered to customers. The company is targeting a 10% improvement in win probability by using contextual data to turn the CRM into what it called a system of intelligence and execution.

"Our learning is that applying AI simply to speed up old ways of working will not deliver tangible business benefits. Organisations must reimagine their processes and reskill their talent. We also had to ensure that frontier models were combined with Mastek's contextual data to generate Mastek-specific intelligence. Finally, adoption required working with sales teams and leaders on the ground to understand grassroots details. Unless solutions are built for an organization's specific nuances, it is hard to achieve tangible benefits," said Umang Nahata, Chief Executive Officer, Mastek.

The CRM system sits on top of Mastek Hub, a centralized knowledge platform built as part of the project. According to the company, the platform brings together customer case studies, project experience, proposal assets and business intelligence.

"We reimagined our data and built Mastek Hub, the company's centralized knowledge platform. MastekCRM combines customer case studies, project experience, proposal assets and business intelligence to enable AI-driven decision-making. The platform helps sales teams prepare for client meetings, improve forecasting, automatically capture institutional knowledge and surface relevant recommendations in real time," said Ritwik Batabyal, CTIO, Mastek.

Wider use

Mastek is extending the same model to other internal business functions. It has developed an AI-native intelligent document processing system to replace legacy SAP procurement, accounts payable and expense management applications.

These deployments are intended to simplify processes and lower costs. Mastek argued that the combined projects show how businesses can gradually replace conventional enterprise software with AI-led services tied to specific operational goals.

The strategy marks a notable position for a services company at a time when many technology groups are trying to build or sell software products around generative AI. Mastek instead framed the initiative as a services-led model built around ongoing delivery rather than licensed software.

Mastek operates in more than 40 countries and employs close to 5,000 people. It serves more than 400 active customers across sectors including public sector, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, higher education and financial services.

The company also works with large technology vendors including Oracle, Salesforce, Microsoft, AWS, Snowflake and Databricks. That partner network gives it access to customers already running established software estates, which Mastek is now seeking to rationalize through AI-based replacements.

For enterprises, the commercial case for the strategy is likely to rest on whether AI-based services can reduce spending on underused software while improving sales, finance and procurement processes. For service providers, it points to a model in which revenue may increasingly come from outcome-based delivery layered over customer data and workflows rather than from traditional implementation projects alone.

"Mastek's strategy is not about becoming a software product company. Instead, we represent a new services-led model in which deep domain expertise, AI, data and engineering converge to deliver continuously evolving business capabilities," said Umang Nahata, Chief Executive Officer, Mastek.