Encora, a digital engineering firm, is investing heavily in technological innovation, including data engineering, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity.

The company employs a global workforce of 10,000, with roughly 4,500 based in India, 4,000 in Latin America, and the remainder in the United States and Europe. About 9,400 of these employees are engineers with strong expertise on AI and advanced technologies.

According to Shyam Enjeti, Chief Delivery Officer, India is a vital market for Encora. With existing hubs in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Chennai, the company is planning to expand into Tier 2 Indian cities like Coimbatore, Vijayawada, Nagpur, and Indore within the next 12 to 18 months.

Encora also has a strong European presence with nearshore delivery centres in Romania and North Macedonia and has expanded into Argentina through acquisition. The company entered the Australian and New Zealand markets in late 2024 and plans further growth in that region this year, said Enjeti.

Enjeti notes that the convergence of cloud, data, and AI is transforming the business landscape, particularly for data engineering companies. The company is actively integrating AI across its business through initiatives such as developing an AI maturity assessment accelerator, establishing a generative AI technology practice, and forming partnerships for AI-driven automation. This strategy aims to boost efficiency, accelerate innovation, and enhance client service.

The company also collaborates with Wind River to deliver AI-driven automation solutions for mission-critical operations, including on-premise AI automation for secure environments. It also leverages NVIDIA AI Enterprise for enhanced computing and integrates with Studio Operator technologies for managing complex systems.

As a digital engineering service provider, the company competes with firms like Persistent, GlobalLogic, ThoughtWorks, Infosys, and Wipro. A February partnership with Protecto, a GenAI data protection firm, is considered a "significant step forward in securing the future of AI and LLM (Large Language Model) applications," protecting sensitive data and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Enjeti emphasises the company's tech-savvy workforce, excelling in product development, data engineering, and cloud technologies. Lacking a large legacy technology or support business provides a strong foundation and talent pool.

Delivery teams are globally organised by capability, structured around horizontal capabilities like AI, cloud, and data, fostering a community of practice focused on customer delivery. The company invests in engineering talent through training, certifications, and career progression management, emphasising upskilling to become AI-native.

According to Enjeti, the company recruits approximately 300 individuals globally each month and experiences rapid growth with a low attrition rate. Its global college program, SPARK, is onboarding around 300 graduates from engineering colleges in India and has a similar initiative in Latin America.

Beyond upskilling and integrating new talent, the company focuses on enhancing its capabilities and continuously evolving its systems to boost employee productivity and integration. It is exploring AI implementation to streamline processes in finance, HR, and procurement.

Enjeti noted that AI adoption can be costly, citing Google's basic models at $400 per user monthly. “To mitigate this, we developed Encora GPT, a ChatGPT-like platform for our engineers to explore AI in a sandbox environment. This proprietary AI engine, built with open-source tools, facilitates employee learning, which is a top priority.”

“We consider our workforce our greatest asset, and continuous learning, especially in AI adoption, is crucial for maintaining our technical expertise and empowering employees with new technologies,” he said.

Encora is also heavily invested in cybersecurity, allocating approximately 20% of its IT budget to enhancing infrastructure across on-premise, cloud, and third-party platforms. According to Ankit Agarwal, Head- IT Infrastructure & Governance, cybersecurity is integral to their business goals.

The shift to hybrid work during the pandemic led Encora to implement a Zero Trust framework, aligned with business goals and embedded in compliance standards like SOC2 and ISO.

Agarwal highlighted their cybersecurity team, led by the Chief Security Officer and based in India, operates globally with 24/7 monitoring and vulnerability management through governance and Security Operations Center (SOC) teams. Each of the 15 team members possesses at least five years of experience in cybersecurity, including auditing and incident response.

Encora uses Zscaler Private Access and Zscaler Internet Access to counter sophisticated threats, verify privileged transactions, and protect endpoints. Public-facing infrastructure is no longer exposed to non-employees, ensuring Microsoft 365 is accessible only from audited employee workstations. 

The company focuses on use case scenarios influenced by demographic shifts, evolving cyber threats, and client expectations, particularly regarding AI, and is collaborating with Microsoft Copilot and GitHub Copilot while developing its own generative AI systems for cloud environments.

Furthermore, Encora maintains a nearly decade-long partnership with backup provider Veeam for data protection and cyber-resilience. It has transitioned to cloud support, including backups for Kubernetes, Office 365, and Azure AD identity, and is exploring Azure hybrid and identity backup options to scale and innovate, informed Agarwal.

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