Oracle recently hosted its flagship CloudWorld Tour 2025 in Mumbai, bringing together industry leaders, partners, and technology enthusiasts to explore the latest innovations in cloud computing, AI, and enterprise solutions. During the event, Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal engaged in an exclusive interaction with Sunil Wahi, Vice President, Applications Solution Engineering, Oracle Asia Pacific. This insightful discussion delved into the evolving cloud landscape, Oracle’s latest cloud offerings, and how the company is enabling businesses to accelerate digital transformation. Sunil sheds light on various aspects including how Oracle is driving innovation through cutting-edge cloud solutions.
Rajeev: How do you see AI agents and generative AI transforming the cloud applications market?
Sunil: At Oracle, we are heavily focused on AI technologies, particularly within Fusion. We've recently announced several advancements, including AI agents and generative AI technologies. These developments aim to enhance automation and improve business efficiency for our customers. Cloud technologies, especially Oracle Fusion Cloud, act as a multiplier for clients, enabling faster adoption of AI-driven capabilities. We offer these embedded applications as part of our Fusion AI strategy at no additional cost, making it easier for customers to integrate and leverage these features.
Over the years, we've evolved from traditional machine learning to more advanced generative AI capabilities focused on predictive and authoring functions. This year, we have further expanded into AI agents, bringing powerful business process automation capabilities within enterprise applications like Fusion Cloud.
For example, AI-driven touchless finance processes now enable end-to-end automation in areas such as procure-to-pay and receivables-to-cash management. These innovations significantly improve productivity, optimize talent management, and reduce operational costs by driving automation across critical business functions.
Rajeev: Is the adoption of AI agents and automation happening globally across all industries?
Sunil: We observe that some industries are naturally more forward-thinking, while others tend to lag behind. For example, new-age startups, inherently built on technology, are agile and understand the value technology brings to their business, making them early adopters. Similarly, the healthcare sector, with organizations like Fortis and Apollo, is increasingly adopting AI applications, supported by Oracle's significant investments in healthcare technologies. Other key sectors witnessing substantial AI adoption include BFSI and IT services.
Rajeev: How are ERP and SCM contributing to Oracle’s regional SaaS growth, and do you expect this momentum to continue?
Sunil: ERP and supply chain solutions are integral to our Fusion Applications, which operate on a unified data model. This architecture seamlessly connects ERP, supply chain, manufacturing, HR, HCM, and customer experience applications. Additionally, we offer packaged analytics through Fusion Data Intelligence, which is increasingly AI-powered to enhance decision-making capabilities for customers.
These solutions are central to our business portfolio, and we've witnessed significant market momentum in their adoption. Industries are realizing substantial benefits, such as cost reduction, greater automation in end-to-end business processes, and enhanced decision-making agility. The ability to derive actionable insights from enterprise data is crucial for driving growth, and it remains a core part of our overall Fusion strategy.
Rajeev: Which industries in Asia Pacific region are leading in adopting AI-driven SCM and ERP solutions?
Sunil: We see significant adoption across sectors such as BFSI, manufacturing, and SMBs, which present immense growth potential. New-age startups are also early adopters of these technologies, while professional services and IT industries leverage AI-driven solutions for resource optimization, project-driven operations, and skill set alignment for projects.
Healthcare is another critical sector. Whether it involves hospitals or life sciences, we've introduced remarkable innovations within Fusion. These include inventory management solutions in the space of supply chain management, asset tracking for vital hospital equipment, and enhanced resource scheduling for nurses and care providers, enabling more efficient and effective operations.
Rajeev: How is AI reshaping corporate finance and supply chains, particularly in cutting costs and streamlining operations? Which industries are leading this adoption?
Sunil: AI technologies have evolved through the typical hype curve and are now delivering tangible value across industries. When implemented in areas like finance and supply chain, they enable significant automation. For instance, within Fusion Cloud, a complete finance process can operate in a touchless mode. In manufacturing, our smart operation solutions provide blue collar shop-floor workers with deeper insights, enhancing their task efficiency. Generative AI also supports the automated creation of work order details, ensuring critical information is captured without manual intervention.
In HR, performance management processes, including 360-degree reviews, can be seamlessly automated using pre-built generative AI capabilities in Fusion Cloud. This automation not only streamlines routine administrative functions but also embeds intelligence and actionable insights into operations, ultimately driving improvements in both the top and bottom lines for organizations. These examples are just the beginning of how AI can redefine business processes across sectors.
Rajeev: What are the key highlights of Oracle's SCM and ERP portfolio? How do these solutions support customers, and what primary benefits do they offer?
Sunil: Our Fusion Cloud offers a comprehensive suite of capabilities designed to transform supply chain and financial operations. In the supply chain space, we provide advanced solutions such as predictive demand planning, inventory optimization, and a Supply Chain Command Center that offers actionable insights to better manage risks. We also support distribution management and a robust procure-to-pay framework that enables procurement leaders to optimize spend management and sourcing strategies.
Our logistics solutions, including transportation and warehouse management, drive operational efficiency and cost reduction, particularly beneficial for industries managing complex domestic and international logistics. Leading companies like Unilever have achieved significant efficiencies through our solutions.
In the finance domain, we've pioneered touchless finance capabilities, including AI-driven Invoice Document Recognition (IDR) for automated and efficient invoice processing. Combined with AI agents and generative AI capabilities, these solutions automate business processes and improve productivity. Additionally, Fusion Data Intelligence provides 3,000+ pre-packaged business KPIs across finance, procurement, HR, customer experience, and supply chain, helping organizations derive actionable insights.
What sets Oracle apart is our fully integrated technology stack. Our cloud infrastructure, middleware, and enterprise-grade security are all owned and managed by Oracle, offering customers a secure and unified platform. With embedded AI capabilities included as part of the subscription investment, Oracle's offering provides a compelling value proposition for organizations seeking innovation and efficiency at scale.
Rajeev: What advice do you have for CIOs and CTOs on boosting operational efficiency and productivity? Which strategic priorities should they focus on to maximize their technology investments?
Sunil: Many clients across the Asia Pacific region, particularly in India, are primarily concerned about change management as AI capabilities increasingly integrate into enterprise applications. Their concerns typically revolve around data security, business process changes, evolving skill requirements, and training needs. They also seek clarity on how AI will impact their overall IT strategy.
CIOs and CTOs need to take bold yet calculated steps toward adoption. Careful planning and pilot projects can help mitigate risks. For instance, they could select a specific scenario within Fusion Cloud, automate it using generative AI or AI agents, and evaluate the outcomes. Given the agility of cloud-based applications, the results are often immediate.
Equally critical is building an ecosystem that supports this transition, including learning programs, comprehensive training, and effective change management strategies. Organizations are well-equipped with resources to manage these elements, and leveraging them will be key to successfully adopting AI-powered enterprise systems like Fusion Cloud.
Rajeev: Cost is rarely the biggest barrier to adoption—it often ranks second or third, behind strategic and operational priorities. Would you agree?
Sunil: Our AI applications are included at no additional cost as part of Fusion Cloud, setting us apart from competitors. This is a significant differentiator. We have announced over 100 generative AI use cases, most of which are already live, along with more than 50 AI agents. These capabilities deliver tremendous value to our customers as part of their existing subscription investments, enhancing their overall operational efficiency and decision-making processes.
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 WhatsApp Channel now! 👈📲
𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝐬 👉 Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram