54 INTERVIEW Unlocking an AI-ready operating model Cloud4C’s Hitesh Bhardwaj on why enterprise AI begins with operational foundations – not use cases The pressure to become AI-ready is mounting across every boardroom in 2026. But Hitesh Bhardwaj, chief technology officer and head of business for Asia Pacific APAC at Cloud4C, believes most organisations are asking the wrong question. “Business leaders must realise that AI amplifies existing operational maturity,” he says. “If the data estate is fragmented, AI will expose it. If identity controls are inconsistent, data leaks widen. If operations are over-reliant on manual interventions, AI-led workloads make that fragility more visible.” For Bhardwaj, the real question is not about which AI use case to build first. “The number one question is: ‘Can our organisation continuously and sustainably operate at scale while ensuring intelligence, safety, reliability and regulatory compliance?’,” he says. “Enterprises that move fastest are those that treat AI readiness as an operating model transformation – cloud, data, security, compliance, automation and managed services working together from the start.” That transformation starts in the cloud. For Bhardwaj, being cloud-first isn’t a technical preference – it’s a business imperative. “Being cloud-first is all about agility and adaptability; continuously modernise, innovate and expand leveraging the latest technologies,” he says. “An AI-powered operating model is a business criticality, and enterprise AI use cases are best delivered and responsibly operated via robust cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure.” Cloud4C’s approach combines Azure’s hyperscale infrastructure with what Bhardwaj describes as a connected, fully managed ecosystem – bringing modern applications, data, AI, security and identity together under one roof. Azure Services, in his words, “when integrated reliably, help modernise every layer of the legacy core, adopt the newest IT and operating stacks and set the foundation for a secure AI-led future.” Cloud4C’s own role in this ecosystem is what Bhardwaj calls a unique platform-people-process approach to managed services. At the centre is SHOP, the company’s agentic AI-infused unified operations platform. “SHOP renders customers single control across all operational landscapes, IT and cloud platforms, installed cloud-native services, applications and data stacks, augmented with multi-layer security and proactive predictive maintenance,” says Bhardwaj. Underpinning this is a network of 25 Centres of Excellence, tagged directly into SHOP and governing clients’ mission-critical functions around the clock, alongside what Bhardwaj describes as “encoded standard operating procedure (SOP)-driven and BY LINDSAY JAMES “ Business leaders must realise that AI amplifies existing operational maturity”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=