Amit has held various leadership roles in sales and marketing, business strategy and execution, and people management in multinational organizations, including Dell Technologies, Sun Microsystems, and HCL.

His role encompasses sales, strategic alliances, product, and go-to-market management for India and the SAARC Region. Amit Luthra also specialises in data centre technologies such as cloud, converged infrastructure, hyper-convergence, virtualization, storage, computing, and networking platforms. 

INDIAai interviewed Amit Luthra to get his perspective on AI.

As Managing Director of Lenovo ISG, how do you see AI transforming the future of data centre solutions, particularly in areas like cloud computing, hyper-convergence, and edge computing?

AI is fundamentally reshaping how we think about data centre architecture. With the rapid advancement of 5G and AI-driven applications, there is an increasing demand for infrastructure that is not only robust but also scalable, resilient, and cost-effective.

Organizations are now tasked with processing vast amounts of data across highly distributed environments, often in real time. AI transforms automation, operational efficiency, and predictive insights. AI-driven infrastructure with machine learning can optimize workloads from cloud to edge, improving data management and performance optimization.

In particular, AI workloads, which rely heavily on GPUs for model training and inferencing, have historically posed challenges in terms of cost and accessibility. Innovative solutions like GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS), which we offer through Lenovo TruScale, address these challenges by providing on-demand access to high-performance computing resources, allowing organizations to scale AI and HPC capabilities without upfront capital investment. This democratization of AI technology is crucial as industries look to leverage AI at scale without the traditional barriers of complexity and cost.

Ultimately, the future of data centre solutions will revolve around the convergence of AI, edge, and cloud technologies, working together to provide a flexible, smarter infrastructure capable of driving digital transformation across industries.

Lenovo’s end-to-end offerings from edge to cloud are gaining traction. Could you share your perspective on how AI enhances the integration of these solutions and strengthens customer confidence in ISG’s data centre infrastructure?

AI is pivotal in transforming the data centre landscape, particularly when creating seamless, integrated solutions from the edge to the cloud. As AI adoption accelerates—primarily driven by cloud service providers running complex, multi-billion parameter models—businesses are increasingly looking for infrastructure that can handle these advanced workloads efficiently and sustainably.

AI’s influence is also expanding beyond traditional data centres. We’re seeing significant growth in edge AI use cases across industries such as retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and smart cities, where real-time data processing is critical. Lenovo’s 80+ AI-optimized platforms cater to a wide range of AI workloads, from edge devices to large-scale generative models, ensuring performance across different environments.

One of the critical challenges facing AI data centres today is power consumption, particularly as workloads become more complex. Innovations like Lenovo’s Neptune™ system cooling technology, now in its sixth generation, help address this by reducing the need for traditional air conditioning. This results in up to 40% savings in energy costs—an important factor as the industry focuses on sustainability and operational efficiency.

Across our portfolio of 165+ AI Innovator Solutions, we are helping businesses across industries—from healthcare to finance to smart cities—quickly deploy validated, purpose-built AI solutions. These solutions enhance productivity and offer customers tailored AI-powered outcomes, increasing confidence in the infrastructure’s ability to deliver long-term value.

By integrating AI capabilities across the edge and cloud, businesses are equipped with scalable, future-ready solutions that meet their unique needs, allowing them to harness AI's transformative power.

Given your experience in cloud and virtualization technologies, how is AI shaping cloud infrastructure, and what emerging trends do you foresee in converging AI with traditional data centre technologies?

AI significantly transforms cloud infrastructure, mainly as organizations deal with massive data. The ability to quickly analyze and extract actionable insights from this data has become a key differentiator. AI’s integration into cloud infrastructure enhances data processing, enabling businesses to accelerate decision-making and operational efficiency. As we move forward, the role of AI in managing and optimizing workloads across cloud and traditional data centres will only grow.

For instance, Lenovo’s Hybrid Cloud solutions are helping organizations gain faster insights and streamline their operations by combining technology innovation, cloud agility, sustainability, and enhanced security. These capabilities allow businesses to modernize their infrastructure while maintaining scalability and cost-effectiveness. AI’s role is particularly significant in driving this modernization, offering the ability to manage complex workloads and ensure seamless data exchange while improving energy efficiency through smarter solutions like Lenovo’s Neptune™ cooling system.

One emerging trend is the shift towards hybrid AI solutions, where businesses leverage cloud and edge computing to run AI models more efficiently. This convergence drives the need for a scalable infrastructure that balances performance with sustainability, primarily as organizations pursue their ESG goals. Additionally, security remains paramount, with AI playing a critical role in safeguarding data sovereignty, particularly as cyber threats evolve alongside technology.

As AI and cloud evolve, we’ll likely see further advancements in workload mobility, integrated platform management, and sustainable energy solutions—all designed to meet the increasing demands of modern enterprises.

How has AI influenced your approach to forming strategic alliances and developing go-to-market strategies for ISG in India and the SAARC region?

AI has been a transformative force in shaping our strategic alliances and go-to-market strategies. In today’s fast-evolving landscape, businesses seek to unlock AI's full potential to drive smarter operations, which demands collaboration with industry-leading technology partners. At Lenovo ISG, we’ve formed deep alliances with companies like Microsoft, Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD to help organizations deploy AI-driven solutions more effectively, combining cutting-edge hardware, software, and services.

Our AI Innovators program, for instance, is designed to maximize the synergy between hardware engineering and AI software design. It allows our customers to accelerate AI deployment, particularly in high-performance computing, edge AI, and data-intensive applications. Providing AI-optimized platforms that easily handle complex workloads enables businesses to scale faster and more confidently.

From a broader industry perspective, AI drives enterprises to rethink infrastructure, focusing on the need for flexible, scalable solutions that seamlessly integrate AI workloads into their existing environments. The convergence of AI and cloud and AI-optimized hardware platforms is transforming sectors like telecommunications, healthcare, and financial services. This shift forces organizations to invest in technologies that can adapt to future AI-driven demands while addressing challenges like energy consumption and operational costs.

How does AI drive operational efficiency in data centres, especially with technologies like AI-based workload management, predictive analytics, and autonomous operations?

AI fundamentally transforms data centre operations by enhancing efficiency, reliability, and scalability. AI-based workload management and predictive analytics reduce manual intervention and drive real-time optimization. In industries such as financial services and healthcare, where massive data sets and extreme I/O bandwidth are crucial, AI-powered solutions ensure that critical data is managed efficiently.

AI-driven workload management optimizes resource allocation, ensuring compute-intensive tasks are handled faster and more precisely across various environments. Predictive analytics, integrated into platforms like Lenovo XClarity One, enable faster detection of system failures, allowing IT teams to address issues proactively and minimizing downtime and operational risks. This shift from reactive to predictive maintenance helps data centres operate more smoothly, reducing unnecessary costs from system failures or incorrect part replacements.

AI is creating a new era of autonomous data centres where operational processes are increasingly self-optimizing, freeing human resources to focus on higher-value tasks. As these technologies evolve, businesses increasingly rely on AI to manage complex infrastructure, ensuring faster, more scalable, and sustainable operations. This trend will continue to drive digital transformation across industries, fostering greater innovation and productivity.

From your experience across various multinational organizations, what are some key challenges and opportunities in accelerating AI adoption within data centre technologies in India?

Challenges:

One of the biggest hurdles is the energy-intensive nature of AI workloads, especially in India, where power costs are high. This demand for energy-efficient infrastructure and the need for advanced cooling solutions can strain budgets. Additionally, the talent gap in AI, machine learning, and modern data centre management could slow implementation. With the right expertise, scaling AI-driven solutions across sectors will be easier, especially for businesses leveraging AI at scale.

Opportunities:

However, the potential is vast. Lenovo ISG is already addressing these needs with energy-efficient and AI-optimized systems, driving a hybrid approach that helps industries like financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing manage large datasets and derive actionable insights. AI-based workload management, such as Lenovo's XClarity One platform, provides predictive analytics and smarter support, enhancing reliability and streamlining operations. Lenovo ISG’s solutions offer businesses the tools to optimize resources, reduce downtime, and enhance operational efficiency.

While challenges remain, Lenovo ISG is committed to empowering enterprises to navigate AI adoption with tailored, scalable, and sustainable infrastructure solutions that overcome these obstacles and fuel innovation in India's digital economy.

Looking ahead, how do you envision the future of AI-powered data centres?

The future of AI-powered data centres is not just an evolution; it represents a revolution in managing and utilising data to drive business outcomes. At Lenovo ISG, we envision a landscape where AI seamlessly integrates with our infrastructure to enhance efficiency, scalability, and resilience.

As AI technologies advance, data centres will increasingly leverage intelligent automation and predictive analytics. This shift will empower organizations to optimize resource allocation, enhance operational efficiency, and reduce costs. With AI at the helm, data centres will become more adaptive, allowing real-time adjustments to meet fluctuating demands and ensuring high availability and performance.

Lenovo is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. Our commitment to innovation is reflected in our cutting-edge infrastructure solutions, designed to harness the power of AI effectively. We are focused on developing AI-driven systems that accelerate processing capabilities and provide deep insights through advanced data analytics. By doing so, we enable our customers to unlock the full potential of their data, driving smarter decision-making and fostering innovation.

Moreover, as we move toward a more sustainable future, AI-powered data centres will play a pivotal role in achieving energy efficiency. Lenovo is dedicated to promoting sustainability in our operations and offerings, ensuring we prioritise environmental responsibility as we harness AI’s power. We are excited to be at the forefront of this transformation, empowering our customers to thrive in an increasingly data-driven world.

What advice would you provide to someone who wishes to join your team?

To those aspiring to join our team, my advice is simple yet profound: embrace the journey of growth. We always seek young talent and fresh perspectives, as diverse ideas drive innovation.

First, never be afraid of failure. Success in today's fast-paced industry often emerges from lessons learned through setbacks. Each failure is an opportunity to refine your approach and develop resilience.

Second, commit to lifelong learning. The rapid advancement of AI and technology necessitates a continuous effort to upskill. As roles evolve, there is a growing demand for professionals with AI expertise. Staying ahead of the curve will enhance your value and contribute to shaping the industry's future.

Be bold, curious, and adaptable. These qualities will equip you to thrive in an ever-changing landscape and make a meaningful impact on our team and the broader tech community.