In a market racing toward AI-first transformation, Shailesh Singla, Vice President, Cloud Applications, Oracle India, shares how Oracle’s AI Agent Studio is redefining enterprise workflows turning AI from an add-on into a core business driver. With 50+ industry-ready agents, embedded governance, and the ability to create custom AI, Singla outlines why India’s $7.8B ERP market is primed for secure, scalable, and sector-specific AI adoption.
CIO&Leader: With AI Agent Studio empowering custom and embedded AI agents in Fusion Cloud, how is it accelerating AI adoption in India and when should enterprises opt to build versus use built-in agents?
Shailesh Singla: AI Agent Studio is a comprehensive platform for creating, extending, deploying, and managing AI agents and agent teams across the enterprise. It empowers organizations to take AI adoption from experimentation to execution. It also enables companies to embed AI agents within workflows, driving automation, insight, and responsiveness. Built-in agents deliver instant business value across functions like finance and HR and are ideal for rapid deployment. Custom agents, on the other hand, help enterprises address unique industry challenges or specialized processes. The decision to build versus use hinges on organizational readiness, process complexity, and ROI expectations. What’s critical is that AI becomes native to the enterprise—not an add-on—and Agent Studio helps accelerate this journey for businesses of all sizes in India.
CIO&Leader: The global AI-in-ERP market is projected to grow from $4.5 billion today to $46.5 billion by 2033 (26.3% CAGR). What implications does this rapid growth hold for Oracle India and its enterprise customers?
Shailesh Singla: The projected surge in the AI-in-ERP market globally reflects what we already see in India: enterprises embracing AI-first ERP as the foundation for competitive agility. For Oracle India, it validates our continued investment in generative AI solutions across the Fusion Cloud Applications Suite. CFOs, finance professionals, and decision-makers must orchestrate modern finance teams to drive profitability without limiting growth—using AI to close books faster, improve forecast accuracy, and eliminate inefficiencies. The implication is clear: AI will no longer be limited to select use cases but deeply integrated into daily business processes. As this shift accelerates, we are helping customers transform ERP from a system of record into a system of intelligence. As custodians of vital data, their central role in resource allocation can enhance profitability while fostering growth.
CIO&Leader: The India ERP software market stood at approximately USD 2.8 billion in 2023 and is forecast to grow to around USD 7.8 billion by 2030, reflecting a strong CAGR of ~15.8%. Which sectors in India are exploding ahead in embedded AI usage?
Shailesh Singla: India’s ERP software market is entering a high-growth phase, and embedded AI is a key catalyst. Industries like Manufacturing, BFSI, and Healthcare are leading the charge—leveraging AI for predictive supply chains, autonomous finance, and real-time decision-making. These sectors have a strong appetite for innovation and are using ERP as a strategic solution to automate manual processes, enable real-time analytics, and ensure continuous updates to stay ahead of the competition. Embedded AI agents are enabling them to unlock efficiencies, reduce risk, and personalize experiences at scale. As the market grows to $7.8 billion by 2030, we believe AI-infused Fusion Cloud ERP solutions will become central to how enterprises operate, adapt, and innovate.
CIO&Leader: Oracle’s recent Fusion updates include AI-powered cash forecasting, narrative financial reporting, and sustainability analytics. How is this shifting finance teams from reporting to prescriptive decision-making using Fin Robot?
Shailesh Singla: With the latest updates and the introduction of Oracle AI Agent Studio, we are empowering finance teams to go beyond traditional reporting into a more prescriptive, insight-driven decision-making model. AI agents like Fin Robot are designed not only to analyze financial data but also to anticipate trends, detect anomalies, and recommend actionable strategies—all in real time. By leveraging embedded AI capabilities such as cash forecasting and sustainability analytics, finance leaders can simulate outcomes, assess risk, and proactively shape business performance. And with Oracle AI Agent Studio, customers can now customize and deploy their own finance-specific AI agents to automate complex, multi-step processes with built-in validation and security.
Ultimately, this shift enables finance teams to operate less as historians and more as strategists, driving agility, accuracy, and accountability across the enterprise.
CIO&Leader: Oracle now offers over 50 role-based AI agents across applications portfolio automating routine tasks and boosting productivity. Can you quantify the typical time or cost savings customers are experiencing?
Shailesh Singla: With over 50 generative AI agents embedded in Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, we are seeing customers reimagine how work gets done across finance, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. Available at no additional cost, Oracle AI Agent Studio delivers easy-to-use tools—including advanced testing, robust validation, and built-in security—that help Oracle Fusion Applications customers and partners create and manage AI agents. These agents collaborate with third-party systems to complete complex, multi-step processes, automate repetitive tasks, offer real-time recommendations, and free employees to focus on high-value decisions
CIO&Leader: How can Oracle empower digital natives to accelerate growth and agility with AI-powered cloud ERP?
Shailesh Singla: In India’s fast-paced digital economy, Cloud ERP solutions enable digital natives to move with agility by embedding AI, automation, and real-time analytics into core financial and operational processes. By streamlining close cycles, improving forecast accuracy, and reducing manual interventions, organizations can shift focus from transactions to strategy. The system’s pre-integrated, cloud-native architecture ensures that finance, procurement, HR, and supply chain functions work seamlessly, helping enterprises accelerate growth while maintaining compliance and resilience.
We’re already seeing this transformation in India. For example, Credila, India’s first dedicated education loan company, adopted Oracle Cloud ERP to improve operational efficiency and visibility. As a result, they have been able to close books 25% faster while delivering more personalized loan products powered by data insights. With regular AI updates included at no additional cost and seamless integration with OCI, Oracle’s Cloud ERP provides India’s new-age enterprises with a robust foundation to scale efficiently, reduce costs, and continuously innovate in a dynamic business environment.
CIO&Leader: With AI agents processing sensitive business data, how does Oracle ensure trust, compliance, and governance, particularly for Indian companies bound by emerging data regulations?
Shailesh Singla: At Oracle, trust and compliance are foundational to our AI-powered applications. All AI capabilities embedded within Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications operate within enterprise-grade security frameworks adhering to robust role-based access controls, audit trails, and data segregation policies. This ensures that sensitive business data is accessed only by authorized users and that every AI-driven interaction is transparent and traceable.
For Indian organizations navigating emerging data protection mandates, Oracle’s approach provides governance by design. Our AI models function strictly within the boundaries of customer data controls, without exposing business data to third-party models or cross-tenant learning. This not only supports compliance but also gives customers confidence that their AI adoption aligns with both global and domestic regulations.