Healthcare is undergoing a serious transition away from hardware-centric systems toward software-defined and physical AI-enabled healthcare environments.

Healthcare is also moving toward a paradigm that is proactive, personalized, and ambient, leveraging intelligent technologies to improve patient care, operational efficiency, and clinical outcomes.

The conversation explores how technologies such as advanced diagnostics, surgical robotics, remote monitoring, and smart medical devices are reshaping healthcare delivery. Gopal also shares practical insights into the challenges the industry faces around regulation, cybersecurity, data interoperability, verification and validation, and operational transformation.

Most importantly, the discussion highlights how healthcare is gradually moving from reactive treatment models toward more proactive, personalized, and patient-centric care by 2030.

This is a valuable conversation for healthcare leaders, technology executives, and anyone interested in the future of healthcare innovation.

Watch this insightful interaction Ramachandran S, HFS Research, had with Gopalratnam VC, Executive Vice President and Global CIO at Philips, on the move toward software-defined healthcare.

Key Takeaways

• Software is becoming the key differentiator in modern medical devices.
• Intelligent systems and robotics are improving precision and operational efficiency in healthcare.
• Verification, validation, and compliance remain critical in healthcare technology adoption.
• Data fragmentation and lack of interoperability continue to slow innovation across healthcare ecosystems.
• The healthcare industry is moving toward more proactive and preventive care models.
• Personalized healthcare experiences will become increasingly important by 2030.
• Automation can help reduce administrative burdens for clinicians and healthcare staff.
• Future healthcare systems are expected to become more connected, efficient, and patient-focused.

iOPEX CRO Dharmesh Mistry and HFS Executive Research Leader David Cushman discuss how iOPEX applies domain expertise and outcome-based pricing to deliver agentic services in the enterprise.

Key points discussed:

• Dive deeper into iOPEX’s impact in the first-ever HFS Agentic Services Horizons report.
• How are they combining deep domain and process expertise with gain-share commercial approaches to move the needle for a significant client?

Learn more about the 2026 HFS Agentic Services Report - covering 35 service providers: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/hfs-horizons-agentic-services-2026/

What happens when services are no longer delivered through people alone, but through platforms, software, and AI working together?

In this Fireside Chat, Phil Fersht speaks with Jo Debecker, President and CEO at Akkodis, on how the company is shifting from a traditional staffing-led model to outcome-driven digital engineering.

With engineering becoming increasingly digital, Akkodis is combining deep domain expertise with platforms, IP, and AI to accelerate innovation for clients. From building simulation environments for industries like aerospace to enabling faster product development cycles, the focus is on delivering measurable outcomes rather than just effort.

The conversation explores what it really takes to move away from headcount-based services, how sales and delivery models must evolve, and why AI should be seen as an enabler of human potential rather than a replacement.

It also highlights a critical shift ahead. Less experimentation, more focused implementation. Less hype, more real impact.

Subscribe to stay up to date with our visionary research, insights, and upcoming events: https://www.hfsresearch.com/subscribe/

Join Saurabh Gupta and Rita Scroggin in a compelling discussion about the transformative power of diversity in corporate leadership. Discover how Firstboard.io is leading the charge to place more women in boardrooms, challenging traditional norms, and fostering innovation and inclusivity in governance.

What you'll hear:

• This episode delves into the mission of Firstboard.io, the challenges of diversifying boardrooms, and the urgent need for modernizing leadership to keep pace with technological advancements like AI.
• Rita shares her insights on breaking insider networks, building new ecosystems, and the strategic importance of gender parity in corporate boards.

Key takeaways:

• The impact of Firstboard.io's mission on corporate leadership and diversity.
• Challenges posed by traditional board appointment processes and insider networks.
• The importance of creating new networks for visibility and board readiness.
• The disconnect between AI advancements and board expertise, and the leadership gaps that hinder innovation.
• Balancing short-term financial results with long-term strategic vision in boardrooms.
• The influence of company size, reserves, and industry on board composition and decision-making.
• The future of gender parity on boards and the need for nimble, inclusive leadership.
• Best practices for private companies in adding independent directors early for growth and scaling.

AI is both exposing and accelerating the fight against tech debt, but it’s not a silver bullet.

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered Stories, Saurabh Gupta, President at HFS Research, speaks with Amardeep Setty, Director - Global IS - Customer Experience, at Nissan Motor Corporation, and Pinak Kiran Vedalankar, Group VP Technology & International Head of Engineering at Publicis Sapient, about what it really takes to become “AI-ready.” The discussion goes beyond technology to focus on mindset, governance, data readiness, and the shift toward new operating models.From using AI to tackle technical debt to introducing the concept of “context debt,” this conversation explores how enterprises must rethink architecture, decision-making, and transformation itself.

Cognizant Chief AI Officer Babak Hodjat - Head of the firm’s AI lab in San Francisco, tackles the realities of scaling agentic AI across the enterprise, with HFS Executive Research Leader David Cushman.

Key points discussed include:

• Where multi-agent systems break first - and what that means for the state of progress in agentic AI.
• How an agent OS - a standardized layer for governance, orchestration, observability, data trust, and workforce integration, helps enterprises handle the complexity ceiling they will inevitably hit when scaling the use of agentic AI.
• And what’s the impact of the newly emerged OpenClaw and its promise of end-to-end workflows?

Read the associated Market Impact Report “Design your agent OS to win the AI future” here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/design-your-agent-os-to-win-the-ai-future/

In the latest episode of Unfiltered Stories, Sam Duncan, Practice Leader at HFS, sat down with Paul Brody, Former Global Blockchain Leader at EY, and Clare Adelgren, Global Blockchain Leader at EY, to discuss the findings of the latest HFS Enterprise Blockchain Services Horizon. They concluded that enterprise blockchain is very much alive, but it's become all the right kinds of boring.

Key discussed points include:

• Serious players never stopped investing
• The core drivers of enterprise blockchain today (stablecoins, tokenization)
• How engagements can move to production
• What differentiates leaders in the market

If you think enterprise blockchain is dead, think again.

Read the associated HFS Horizon Report here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/hfs-horizons-enterprise-blockchain-services-2025/

Is AI truly transforming insurance, or is it just the latest industry buzzword?

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered, Saurabh Gupta, President at HFS Research, sat down with Prashant Hinge, Chief Information & Transformation Officer at MSIG USA, and Ian Maher, Research Fellow & Senior Advisor at HFS Research, to explore what it really takes to move AI from hype to measurable business value.

From underwriting and claims to leadership alignment and talent fears, this candid conversation explores why most AI pilots never scale, and what separates the 5% that actually make it into production.

They discuss:

• Why AI is just a tool, not a strategy
• The gap between ambition and reality
• How AI impacts insurance P&L, not just productivity
• The real leadership challenge behind transformation
• Why employee fear is an opportunity, not a barrier
• The biggest mistake insurers make when scaling AI

If you’re navigating AI in a highly regulated, legacy-heavy industry like insurance, this discussion is a must-watch.

Everyone wants to be AI-first. But no one wants to fund it. In this HFS Unfiltered Stories conversation, Saurabh Gupta, President at HFS Research, sits down with Kailash Attal, Chief Solutions Officer at UST, to tackle one of the toughest questions facing enterprises today: How do you fund AI when budgets are tight, and legacy costs are high?

With CFO scrutiny increasing and capital discipline at an all-time high, enterprises can’t simply “wait for the next budget cycle.” Instead, a new operating model is emerging, a self-funded transformation, where savings generated from optimization are reinvested directly into AI and innovation.

They together explored:

• Why 8 out of 10 enterprises say they cannot wait to transform
• How to combine “run” and “transform” into one operating model
• Why AI is blurring the lines between IT and business
• How services-as-software becomes realistic through structured self-funding
• What must change culturally and operationally to make this work

This isn’t about cost-cutting. It’s about creating a flywheel of savings, reinvestment, and growth, and if your organization is struggling with the how of AI, this conversation is for you.

For more insights, read our POV, Stop waiting for budget: How enterprises are funding transformation from within: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/stop-waiting-for-budget-how-enterprises-are-funding-transformation-from-within/

Learn more about UST’s approach to self-funded transformation here: https://www.ust.com/en/sft

If you’re interested in discussing SFT with UST, you can connect with their team here: https://www.ust.com/en/contact-us

Everyone understands why AI matters. The value is clear. The technology is evolving at breakneck speed. But here’s the real question: how do you actually make it work at scale?

In this episode of HFS Unfiltered Stories, Saurabh Gupta, President at HFS Research, sat down with Thiru Venkatachalam, VP & Senior Partner, Enterprise AI Transformation Leader at IBM Consulting, to tackle the biggest issue enterprises face today: moving beyond endless pilots and into real, production-grade AI.

Over 90% of enterprises are still stuck in “pilot purgatory.” So what’s missing?

They discussed:

• Why enterprise AI is very different from the ChatGPT consumer moment
• The hidden “enterprise debts” holding organizations back
• How to think about AI ROI across short-term wins, competitive plays, and long-term moonshots
• Why cost reduction alone is the wrong lens
• The disruption AI is creating in IT software and services
• Why AI transformation must be CEO-led
• The role of platforms, governance, and security in scaling AI

This is a practical conversation about what it really takes to operationalize AI, from data and org design to leadership mindset.