As the Chief Delivery Officer at QBurst, I’ve had a front-row seat to one of the most pivotal transformations in our company’s journey, the embrace of a High AI-Q philosophy that is reshaping how we think, build, and deliver.
This shift came into even sharper focus at Tech Investor and Advisor Jeroen Tas’s recent book launch in Kochi, where I had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion with Jeroen, Vishal Kulshrestha (Head of eCom and & Omni Channel at Alshaya Group), and our CEO, Arun “Rak” Ramchandran. Listening to their perspectives, I was struck by the sheer gravity of this moment, not just for us at QBurst, but for every senior business leader navigating the AI era.
What's in this article:
- Key insights from a panel with Jeroen Tas, Vishal Kulshrestha, and Arun “Rak” Ramchandran.
- How QBurst is anchoring its transformation while accelerating AI-driven operational delivery.
- Early outcomes from QBurst's AI-Driven SDLC, including gains in speed, quality, and efficiency.
- QBurst's shift toward ecosystem thinking and the introduction of Managed Agents as a strategic differentiator.
- Leadership priorities for the AI era.
The conversation revolved around the layers of change—the Existential, Strategic, and Operational—defined in Jeroen’s book, Changing Fast & Slow: For QBurst, these aren't just abstract concepts; they are the framework we've used over the last seven months to accelerate our own transformation. My focus, naturally, is ensuring the "fast" layer of operational delivery aligns with our long-term purpose.
The Slowest Layer: Why We Exist
When we began this journey, the biggest challenge wasn't coding or deploying new models. It was addressing the Existential Layer or the "why." Jeroen emphasized that organizations often derail when their ambitious plans clash with a deep-seated fear of risk or a failure to let go of old ways.
At QBurst, we realized our foundational anchors—our team culture, love for technology, and unwavering client-centricity—were the slow layers we don't want to change. These define us. Our leadership team had deep and honest conversations, looking each other in the eye to ensure we were aligned on our core capabilities and identity. This shared clarity gives us the stability we need as we navigate the rapid, unpredictable evolution of AI.
At QBurst, we realized our foundational anchors—our team culture, love for technology, and unwavering client-centricity—were the slow layers we don't want to change. These define us.
The Fast Layer: Where AI Unlocks Abundance
Speed is now dictated at the Operational Layer, where AI is creating true abundance. Rak beautifully articulated the need for a shift in mindset: we must move away from a scarcity model (charging by time, materials, or headcount) toward one that shares the value created by this new abundance.
From a delivery standpoint, we're seeing this play out daily through our AI-Driven SDLC framework. This is the "how" of transformation, where we’ve embedded AI into every stage of development, from user story generation to self-healing test scripts. The data speaks for itself:
- Time-to-Market: Significant reduction in development and testing cycles.
- Quality: A remarkable 25-35% reduction in post-release defects.
- Efficiency: A consistent 20-30% improvement in overall delivery.
This operational excellence is non-negotiable, but as Jeroen pointed out with a restaurant occupancy prediction experiment, this efficiency is only the starting point. Everyone will soon do it. The real differentiation lies in the Strategic Layer.
The Strategic Layer: Orchestrating the Ecosystem
The Strategic Layer is where we move beyond optimizing parts to optimizing the whole ecosystem. We realized that focusing solely on departmental targets led to what Jeroen called "optimizing the parts," leaving the "whole" unoptimized.
This demanded a rethink of our solution pillars, leading to the creation of Managed Agents, a fusion of Enterprise Agentic AI and Managed Services. For our clients, this means AI agents handle front-end and back-end tasks, workflows, and operations, driving both efficiency and continuous innovation. We're not just delivering services; we’re orchestrating a seamless value network.
We're not just delivering services; we’re orchestrating a seamless value network.
Final Thought: Excitement Over Fear
When I asked Jeroen whether I should be scared or excited about AI, his answer was: be excited, but mindful. As we guide our teams through this disruption, the key is leadership that understands and addresses the human fear of change.
Our role as leaders is to:
- Convey Value: Clearly articulate what people gain, not just what they lose.
- Foster Trust: Recognize people as the source of potential, not just "human resources" (a term Jeroen rightfully called "derogatory").
- Empower People: Allow people to experiment, and if they fail, support them, ensuring they learn from the data.
QBurst’s High AI-Q journey is a conscious decision: running fast on the operational layer with AI-Driven SDLC, making bold moves on the strategic layer with Managed Agents, and most importantly, anchoring the entire enterprise in the slow, foundational change of culture, values, and human capability. It is the only way to ensure our organization is not just adapting to the future, but actively shaping it.
Watch the full panel discussion.
