India crucial to Celonis’ expansion plans? Manik Sharma lauds it for…

Celonis, a world leader in Process Intelligence, has opened its annual flagship conference Celosphere 2025 with a strong focus on the evolving relationship between Artificial Intelligence and business optimisation. The event, themed ‘There is no AI without PI’, highlights how enterprises can only realise the true value of AI once their processes are clearly defined and refined.

Speaking exclusively to Zee Business, Manik Sharma, Head of Supply Chain GTM AI at Celonis, explained how the company is building the science behind Enterprise AI. “Over the past few years, almost 90 per cent of companies have struggled to derive meaningful outcomes from AI,” he said. “The reason lies in the distinct ways each business operates. Unless the context of these processes is built into AI models, their performance remains limited. Celosphere 2025 focuses on how we can bring process science into AI to achieve real transformation.”

Here are excerpts from the interview:

India emerging as key pillar in global strategy

Sharma reaffirmed that India is now at the heart of Celonis’ long-term growth plans. He said the country’s depth of technology expertise and strong talent pool make it an indispensable base for the company’s expansion.

“AI is not a chatbot or a simple plug-and-play tool,” Sharma said. “Enterprise AI requires significant effort, dedicated resources, and deep understanding. India has one of the highest concentrations of qualified professionals who can support this journey. As we scale our enterprise products, our customers will need guidance to make them enterprise-ready, and India will be central to that effort.”

He added that Celonis is expanding its presence in India not only to tap into talent but also to strengthen partnerships and customer support in the region. “India’s role is no longer peripheral – it is strategic,” he said.

Asked how Celonis differentiates itself in an increasingly crowded AI market, Sharma explained that the company’s edge lies in combining process mining expertise with its proprietary Intelligence Graph.

“Every software company today claims to be an AI company,” he said. “But our foundation is different. We build what we call the Intelligence Graph – a dynamic model that maps how an organisation truly operates, from supply chains to customer satisfaction. Once we build this graph, we integrate AI layers and process mining insights to make it contextually intelligent.”

According to Sharma, this approach allows Celonis to offer tailor-made AI solutions that align precisely with how each enterprise functions, ensuring measurable impact across operations.

Discussing the role of AI in understanding consumer patterns, Sharma said it is one of the most powerful and practical applications in business today.

“In retail, customers interact through several channels – some shop online, some visit stores, and others use platforms like Amazon,” he said. “AI helps bring these different interactions together to build a clear picture of who the customer really is.” He added that businesses can combine data from various sources, such as purchase histories and payment records, to design sharper, more targeted marketing campaigns.

“If you’re in the restaurant industry, for instance, AI can help identify buying patterns and design offers that truly appeal to individual customers. This is not just data analysis – it’s creating a 360-degree view of the customer.”

Sharma believes the coming years will redefine how businesses think about AI and efficiency. “True enterprise AI is not about replacing people – it’s about enabling them with insight,” he said. “At Celonis, our mission is to bring precision, transparency, and intelligence to every business process. India will continue to play a decisive role in achieving that vision.” “The journey of AI in business isn’t just about automation – it’s about intelligence grounded in process understanding,” he said. “India, with its depth of talent and innovation, will play a decisive role in shaping that future.”