To avoid bankruptcy, TDC must urgently overhaul its strategy. One more year of apathy and delays, and the lights will go out for good.
It's easy to agree on one thing: AI has launched Data Management & Analytics into an interstellar orbit, where only a few can successfully navigate. On one hand, TDC will never transform into a startup—it's too old, too formal, too heavy, and too rigid. On the other hand, directly competing in AI against the likes of Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google is simply out of reach.
But all hope is not lost. There is a safe harbor. From its inception to its decline eight years ago, TDC has always excelled as a niche player. Focusing and thriving in a specialized market is in the company's DNA. The challenge now is to quickly chart a course to the Promised Land. Where to go? Perhaps focusing on a single tech capability critical to AI, targeted at a select set of industries within limited geographies, offering a unique, hard-to-copy bundle of high-value services.
One thing is certain: returning to the niche won’t be easy. It will require cutting ties with some "beloved" areas, discontinuing products, and even letting people go. Locations will need to be closed. This is the price of survival. But the time to act is now. Difficult decisions must be made immediatly.