Brands
TCS surges with record-breaking $ 2 billion brand value growth
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) has been rated as the second most valuable IT services brand in the world in the 2024 Global 500 IT services ranking by Brand Finance. Steered by steady investments in AI readiness and a commitment to sustainability, TCS’ brand value has surged to $19.2 billion from $17.2 billion in 2023, a strong growth of 11.5 per cent YoY. The incremental $ two billion growth is the highest absolute growth posted among the world’s top 25 leading IT firms.
TCS has made significant investments over the past decades to expand the global footprint of its brand. These include strengthening its presence at major industry and business forums, in digital channels and social media, boosting its leadership status in Industry analyst reports, its voice in thought leadership and a series of other actions.
In a first such foray seen in the technology sector, TCS has built up the world’s largest sponsorship portfolio of 12 marathons and running platforms, which include iconic events such as the TCS New York City Marathon, the Tata Mumbai Marathon, the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, among others. Recently, it has further strengthened this portfolio, by adding the TCS London Marathon and the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Every year, over 600,000 runners participate in TCS-sponsored endurance running races in major cities across the world, and billions watch these events in broadcast across the world and through the mobile apps built by TCS.
Artificial Intelligence: TCS’ AI strategy is built on strengthening capabilities across its value chains and helping customers realize its transformative potential. Over 150,000 employees have already been trained in basic GenAI competencies. To empower its employees in AI skillsets further, TCS launched an AI Experience Zone for its workforce. Leveraging its marathon platform, TCS partnered with champion marathoner Des Linden ahead of the TCS New York City Marathon to create a digital twin of her heart. This twin can offer a new method for health measurement and transform the training experience, thereby opening possibilities for real-time, personalized healthcare, by leveraging digital twins, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Sustainability: TCS has charted a clear path to attain Net Zero Emissions goals of reducing its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Aligning its marketing efforts to this objective, TCS also collaborated with the Council for Responsible Sport, to build the ReScore app – a first-of-its-kind digital application that helps sports organizations worldwide to measure and certify their sustainability performance. The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon and the TCS London Marathon have already achieved Evergreen and Gold standards on this platform. TCS also supports the world’s first all-electric racing series, Formula E, through the Jaguar TCS Racing team. This partnership catalyzes electrification, advancing efforts towards reduced carbon emissions and fostering sustainable mobility.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
