Titan of tech consulting HCLTech and tech giant Microsoft have announced an expansion of their strategic partnership which will bring generative AI and cloud-based solutions to contact centres.
“HCLTech is making a bold move to lead AI-driven innovation in the rapidly growing CCaaS market,”
HCLTech Americas Chief Growth Officer Anil Ganjoo said on the announcement.
Not only does it brings Microsoft’s Copilot CCaaS solutions to a wider base of customers, but it expands HCL’s technology offering and makes it the exclusive professional services partner for existing customer contracts of the Nuance Enterprise Professional Services.
The Partnership at a Glance
The core of this expanded partnership revolves around Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center, which HCLTech will use to empower its clients to activate.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center is a cloud-based customer service platform designed to enhance customer interactions across multiple channels.
It integrates various tools, including AI-powered chatbots, automated workflows, and real-time analytics, to help businesses provide personalise and efficient customer support.
These technologies enable sophisticated pre-integrated Copilots for digital and voice channels, driving context-aware, personalised conversations.
The solution is customisable, offers integration with other Microsoft tools and services like Teams, and combines communication channels such as voice, email, chat, and social media, Dynamics 365 Contact Centre enables seamless, omnichannel engagement.
HCLTech will make Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center its preferred contact centre solution as part of the partnership, integrating professional services, customer self-service applications and Microsoft Copilot capabilities into its existing suite of experience-centre technology services.
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with HCLTech, who shares our vision of leveraging AI to transform the CCaaS market,”
Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Business Industry Copilot Charles Lamanna said.
Microsoft customers will also gain access to HCLTech’s AI-led digital transformation services in an expansion of joint offerings, including consulting, implementation, upgrades and support services.
Arriving at Expansion
This expanded partnership between the companies spurs from HCLTech’s January 2025 takeover of Nuance Enterprise Professional Services business.
Nuance is a Microsoft-owned company. Nuance, known for its specialised AI-driven solutions in the healthcare sector, was acquired in 2022 for $16 billion.
The move brought Nuance’s conversational AI and ambient intelligence into Microsoft’s cloud computing capabilities.
Nuance’s Enterprise Professional Services business employs 550 team members and – since 1989 – has worked with global enterprises to help them design, develop, and deploy customer contact solutions.
Now, all its team and customer contracts will be transfered to the global IT services provider as part of the deal, significantly bolstering HCLTech’s capabilities in the contact centre space.
Furthermore, HCLTech will operate a Nuance Migration Factory to efficiently transition existing Nuance solutions to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center at scale.
This initiative aims to expand the CCaaS business for both HCLTech and Microsoft, while ensuring a smooth transition for current Nuance customers.
Impact on the CCaaS Market
This strategic partnership is set to have a significant impact on the CCaaS market.
HCLTech has over 10,000 clients who use its software and products.
Microsoft’s expanded partnership with the IT integrator therefore not only gives it opportunity to expand its customers base, but bring its advanced AI and cloud technologies to a wider base and transform contact centre solutions globally.
Moreover, the acquisition of Nuance’s Enterprise Professional Services business by HCLTech, including its conversational AI experts, significantly enhances HCLTech’s capabilities in AI-driven contact centre transformation.
This move positions HCLTech as a key player in the rapidly expanding CCaaS market.
ICT news publisher ARN reported the global agreement will extend to HCLTech in Australia and New Zealand.
Laying the Ground for CCaaS Entry
HCLTech has a history of working in various areas of the UC space.
In 2023, it introduced Meeting-Rooms-as-a-Service (MRaaS) in collaboration with Cisco Webex, which allows globally distributed workforces to collaborate effectively.
Its history acting as an integrator for Microsoft products and in particular CCaaS solutions extend back to 2022, where it was selected as an intergrator of the new Microsoft Digital Contact Centre Platform.
