Managed services and more: AHEAD’s India bets big with new MD Sumedh Marwaha

AHEAD has been present in India for a while, primarily serving its global clients from delivery centres here. But until recently, the company had not actively pursued the local market. That is now changing.

India’s managed services landscape is crowded. Traditional IT service giants, global system integrators and a growing tier of local providers compete for market share. Yet, most large players are focused on exports, leaving a gap in the domestic market for differentiated offerings.

It is into this dynamic environment that Sumedh Marwaha, MD, India, AHEAD, has stepped in. And he believes AHEAD can stand out.

A leader with three decades of IT experience

Marwaha brings over 30 years of experience in IT services and consulting. From Tata Unisys to EDS, Dell Services, NTT Data and most recently as MD of Unisys India, his career has spanned acquisitions, scale-ups and transformation.

“When I looked at AHEAD, what struck me was the positive feedback I got from people and the kind of work being done here,” he said. “The culture, the partnerships, the journey, it felt like the right time to learn something new. The foundry business, in particular, was exciting. That’s what brought me here.”

Making India a complete delivery hub

Marwaha is focused on broadening AHEAD’s portfolio in India.

“The first priority is to bring everything AHEAD does globally into India. We already do a lot, but not everything,” he explained. “We’re planning to launch the foundry business in India next year. We’ve also started directly selling into the Indian market, which is a big shift for us.”

His approach is phased:

• Consolidate India as an end-to-end delivery centre.

• Localise services to suit Indian enterprises.

• Expand direct engagement with Indian customers.

Competing with a unique proposition

On the surface, managed services in India may look saturated. But Marwaha sees gaps AHEAD can fill.

“If you look at our portfolio, at the top, we have consulting, which competes with the Big Four. Then we design and build solutions, whether digital transformation, networking, Cloud migration or data centre modernisation. And finally, we manage what we build. That end-to-end model is something very few bring to the table,” he said.

He is particularly bullish on datacentres. “India is at a stage where AI and GenAI are driving huge investment in physical infrastructure. The foundry gives us a strong entry point. Setting up a foundry in India opens a massive opportunity.”, Sumedh stated.

Alliances, sales and the channel community

For AHEAD, alliances are crucial. The company partners with Dell, Nvidia, Palo Alto and others to deliver integrated solutions.

Keith Odom, SVP, Managed Services, India Operations, emphasised the next steps. “Until now, we were focused on US global clients who had a presence here. The future is different, we plan to hire local sales and pre-sales teams, partner managers, and build the same structure we have in the US,” he said.

This also means building tighter ties with channel partners in Cloud, cybersecurity and data services. “The idea is simple,” Odom added. “Replicate our successful global playbook locally, with strong alliances and local execution.”

Growth plans and talent expansion

AHEAD is in hyper-growth. India plays a central role in that journey.

“We’re almost 600 people in India today, with over 100 open positions. By year-end, we should be closer to 800,” Odom revealed. “We’re hiring around 40 people a month. It’s about as fast as we can hire without diluting quality.”

Marwaha sees talent as a differentiator. “This team has already proven its value globally. Now it’s about expanding, adding new skills, and scaling capabilities. We are just scratching the surface.”

Riding India’s digital wave

India’s digital transformation journey is another area of opportunity.

“With AI, edge computing and data centre growth, India needs enormous processing power,” Marwaha noted. “I foresee high-density datacentres driving investment. That’s where AHEAD can contribute, not only through foundry services, but also with digital transformation services layered on top.”

He also pointed to the mid-market. “AHEAD has a mid-market strategy globally. Once we study it deeper, we’ll see how to adapt it to Indian SMBs.”

Conclusion: AHEAD's growth story around India

For India’s channel ecosystem, AHEAD’s plans bring fresh opportunity. As it expands alliances and strengthens managed services with local sales and delivery, system integrators, resellers and managed service providers can all plug into AHEAD’s growth story.

Odom summed it up: “We wanted someone who’s been there, done that, who can teach us, not the other way around. Sumedh’s experience with scaling large organisations will keep us from repeating mistakes.”

And Marwaha closed with a personal mantra: “Wherever you are, make it better than how you found it. That’s what I intend to do here.”

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