Ascendion positions itself as an AI-first engineering company, focusing on embedding AI across all aspects of software development. “We use AI to engineer software for all our clients,” explains Balasubramanian. The company has developed AVA+, their proprietary AI-based software engineering platform, which drives 40-50% productivity improvement out-of-the-box for developers.
In a recent conversation with CIO&Leader, Prakash Balasubramanian, Executive Vice President at Ascendion, shares insights on how enterprises are leveraging AI and emerging technologies to transform their engineering practices and the evolution of software engineering and AI implementation. Edited excerpts are below:
Ascendion
CIO&Leader: How does Ascendion position itself in the software engineering landscape, particularly regarding AI integration?
Prakash Balasubramanian: We’re an AI-first engineering company focused on using AI to engineer software for our clients. This means we actually say no to a lot of things. When we founded Ascendion, we asked ourselves: does the world need one more system integrator among the 600-700,000 that already exist? We decided to do something different by deeply embedding AI into everything we build. We work across healthcare, life sciences, banking and financial services, retail, and high-tech sectors, focusing on platform engineering, product engineering, and experience engineering.
CIO&Leader: Could you elaborate on how you’re implementing AI in software engineering?
Prakash Balasubramanian: We’ve developed AVA+, our AI-based software engineering platform that drives 40-50% productivity improvement out-of-the-box. Every developer uses this platform when building or testing code. We’re currently working with more than 50 clients who are embracing AI in their software engineering processes.
One significant application is in legacy modernization. We’re running 8-10 POCs and several projects modernizing legacy systems at scale, converting PL1-based applications and older versions of Java and Angular into modern platforms. Using our AI platform, we can automate 60-70% of the modernization process.
CIO&Leader: What are some concrete examples of AI implementation in business solutions?
Prakash Balasubramanian: For a major healthcare firm, we developed an AI-based system for their call center that processes customer inquiries about health plans. The system analyzes customer questions and provides agents with relevant responses within seconds, significantly reducing call handling time while improving accuracy.
We’re also seeing significant traction in knowledge management. For a global cruise line company, we implemented an AI-powered knowledge bot for employee onboarding. The mobile assistant helps new employees access information and training materials instantly.
In content generation, we’re going beyond basic marketing materials. For a leading soil testing company, we developed an AI platform that generates complex audit reports by analyzing thousands of soil sample data points, allowing auditors to complete 5-6 times more audits per month.
CIO&Leader: How are you approaching platform modernization with AI?
Prakash Balasubramanian: We’re seeing a significant trend where every platform needs AI integration, not just Microsoft or Google products. We’re currently building a wealth management platform that exemplifies this approach with “AI inside, AI outside, and built with AI.” This means the internal algorithms are AI-powered, the customer interface is AI-driven, and we’re using AI in the development process itself. This platform will be one of the world’s first completely AI-powered wealth management solutions when it launches.
CIO&Leader: How do you address security and privacy concerns, especially in regulated industries?
Prakash Balasubramanian: All our AI solutions undergo rigorous CISO audits. Healthcare is the most stringent, typically requiring 3-3.5 weeks of security review. We deploy solutions on clients’ private clouds, and encryption keys remain under client control. Banks are similarly demanding, while retailers focus primarily on GDPR compliance. High-tech firms, being AI creators themselves, typically have established guardrails and embrace AI solutions more readily.
CIO&Leader: What’s your approach to training engineers for AI integration?
Prakash Balasubramanian: We’ve developed a two-part solution. First, we provide persona-based training programs tailored to specific roles – developers, quality engineers, product managers, and designers all receive specialized AI training relevant to their work.
Second, we’ve changed our delivery model to embed AI naturally into workflows. When developers open their development environment, AI has already generated pre-designed user stories and initial code. This integrated approach ensures consistent AI utilization rather than leaving it as an optional tool.
CIO&Leader: How do you approach the economics of AI implementation?
Prakash Balasubramanian: We’re very strategic about model selection and cost. We don’t recommend massive language models when smaller, more efficient ones will suffice. We provide detailed total cost of ownership analysis and factor AI-driven efficiency gains into our initial pricing. For instance, when bidding on the wealth management platform project, our pricing already factored in 40-50% efficiency improvements from AI integration.
CIO&Leader: Looking ahead, what technologies do you see reshaping enterprises in the coming years?
Prakash Balasubramanian: While AI will remain dominant for the next 2-3 years, we’re seeing interesting combinations emerge. We’re working on integrating AI with AR/VR for gaming and training applications. Digital twins combined with AI are showing promise, particularly in manufacturing. For a pharmaceutical company, we’ve created an AI-based training platform using digital twins and VR, allowing new employees to train without physical travel to facilities.
CIO&Leader: What key lessons have you learned about AI implementation?
Prakash Balasubramanian: The biggest lesson is to focus on business problems rather than technology capabilities. Clients care less about the underlying technology and more about how it solves their problems or creates new opportunities. Cost consciousness is crucial – every company is budget-conscious, so solutions need to be reasonably priced with clear ROI. Finally, change management and training are essential. We believe in a co-engineering model where we train client engineers alongside our team to ensure sustainable solution adoption.