HCLSoftware Unica+ enabling partners to have better opportunities in APAC

“Our platforms, including HCL Unica+, are built on modular, API-driven frameworks that allow for seamless integration with existing systems. This means our partners can efficiently connect HCL solutions with a customer’s existing MarTech stack, CRM, or other business applications without a costly, rip-and-replace project,” says Rajesh Iyer, Executive Vice President and Portfolio General Manager for Business and Industry Solutions at HCLSoftware.

HCLSoftware has a robust and growing presence across the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region. According to Rajesh Iyer, Executive Vice President and Portfolio General Manager for Business and Industry Solutions at HCLSoftware, the APJ market remains a critical growth engine for the business.

With core offices and extended presences in multiple countries, including Australia, China, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan, this network allows HCLSoftware to provide localized support and to deeply understand the unique challenges and opportunities in each market.

In May this year, HCLSoftware launched HCL Unica+, the MarTech platform for the Intelligence Economy. For HCLSoftware, the intelligence economy will use AI to deliver on three key elements insight, engagement, and experience.

In an email interview with CRN Asia, Iyer shares more about the plans for the region as well as how HCL Unica+ making a difference to partners in the region.

Can you tell us more about HCLSoftware's presence in the region? What are the key industries being targeted, and what are the plans for growth in the region?

Our strategy is to serve as a partner for digital transformation in the region's most dynamic industries. We are actively targeting a wide range of sectors, including the financial services industry (FSI), telecom, retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG), public services and high-tech and media.

In FSI, we are helping banks and financial institutions modernize their customer engagement platforms, ensure data security, and deliver personalized experiences in a highly competitive market. For telecom, we are supporting telecom operators in managing massive volumes of data, automating complex network operations with solutions like our Augmented Network Automation (HCL ANA), and delivering personalized content and services on a scale to enhance customer experience.

For CPR, we are empowering brands to build direct-to-consumer relationships, deliver hyper-personalized campaigns, and create seamless, omnichannel shopping experiences. We also provide secure, sovereign collaboration and data management solutions to government agencies and regulated organizations in public services while we are also supporting industries in high-tech and media with solutions for application security, data governance, and customer experience management.

Our plans for growth in the region are multi-faceted and reflect our commitment to a partner-first approach. We are expanding our strategic partnerships with key distributors and system integrators to extend our reach and provide local expertise. This model, which sees HCLSoftware transition to a distributor-led approach globally, allows us to accelerate the adoption of our enterprise-grade solutions across key industries. We are also continuously investing in our product portfolio, with a focus on integrating responsible and practical AI that addresses the specific data and market realities of APJ.

Our goal is to build a strong ecosystem that helps our customers and partners turn the region's unique challenges into a competitive advantage.

How will HCL Unica+ enable channel partners in the region to have better access to customers and prospects?

HCL Unica+ is central to our commitment to empowering our channel partners in the Asia-Pacific and Japan region. We understand that our partners need more than just access; they need to deliver tangible value to their customers and prospects. With HCL Unica+, we are helping them solve complex, real-world problems and create seamless customer experiences in three keyways.

First, it helps them solve complex, real-world problems for their clients. The APJ market is highly diverse, with challenges like fragmented data, a need for localized personalization, and misaligned sales and marketing efforts. The biggest issue, however, is often disjointed customer experiences. HCL Unica+ directly addresses these issues by offering a comprehensive platform that unifies data from disparate sources, uses advanced AI for hyper-personalization, and provides a shared view of customer journeys for both marketing and sales teams. Most importantly, its journey orchestration capabilities enable our partners to deliver seamless, valuable customer experiences. This gives our partners a powerful story to tell and a tangible solution to sell that goes far beyond a generic marketing automation tool.

Second, HCL Unica+ is built with a composable, open architecture. This is a huge advantage for partners who need to integrate with a customer’s existing, often fragmented, technology stack. Our API-driven frameworks and modular microservices allow partners to seamlessly connect HCL Unica+ with other marketing tools, data sources, and business applications. This flexibility makes it easier for partners to onboard new clients, prove the platform's value, and build custom, tailored solutions without the rigidity of monolithic platforms.

Finally, we provide our partners with the enablement and support to be experts in the platform. As we move to a distributor-led model in the region, we are building a robust partner ecosystem with local presales and technical enablement, comprehensive training, and marketing resources. Through co-marketing programs and joint demand-generation campaigns, we help our partners increase visibility, engage new prospects, and accelerate customer acquisition. This holistic support ensures our partners can confidently demonstrate the platform's capabilities, deliver rapid deployment, and provide the ongoing support that customers in the region expect.

What are the common pain points solution providers are facing and how is HCLSoftware addressing these?

Solution providers in the Asia-Pacific and Japan region face a number of unique pain points. One of the biggest is the challenge of navigating fragmented and siloed technology landscapes, where legacy systems and disparate data sources make it difficult to deliver truly unified solutions. This data fragmentation is a significant hurdle, as many organizations have initiatives to leverage AI but find their data is not in a good state to be used for it. They also contend with a market where customers have a growing skepticism around AI and demand to see real, measurable ROI from their technology investments. This can make it difficult for partners to move beyond generic, ‘one-size-fits-all’ pitches and secure long-term, high-value engagements.

HCLSoftware addresses these challenges in several ways. First, we provide composable architecture. Our platforms, including HCL Unica+, are built on modular, API-driven frameworks that allow for seamless integration with existing systems. This means our partners can efficiently connect HCL solutions with a customer’s existing MarTech stack, CRM, or other business applications without a costly, rip-and-replace project. This flexibility significantly reduces implementation time and risk, which is a key value proposition for solution providers.

To address the issue of fragmented data, we offer a robust Customer Data Platform (CDP) that creates a single, actionable view of the customer. This unified view not only powers hyper-personalization but also provides the high-quality, organized data necessary for effective AI. This allows our partners to help their clients overcome data silos and leverage AI for better insights and outcomes.

Finally, we are focused on providing AI that delivers real impact, not just hype. We embed responsible AI and machine learning algorithms directly into our platforms to solve practical business problems, from predicting customer needs to optimizing content delivery. This allows our partners to demonstrate tangible business results for their clients, such as increased conversions, improved customer lifetime value, and a clear return on investment. This focus on outcomes, rather than just features, helps our partners build trust and intentional, long-term relationships with their customers.

How is agentic AI driving customer demand in the region? What is HCLSoftware doing about this?

In the Asia-Pacific and Japan region, customer demand for agentic AI is being driven by a critical need to overcome operational inefficiencies and the slow, manual processes that often plague longer sales cycles. Customers want to move beyond simple automation and embrace a future where AI can autonomously coordinate complex tasks and deliver more seamless, personalized experiences. They are looking for technology that can bridge the traditional gap between marketing ROI and sales expectations by making teams smarter and more agile.

HCLSoftware is at the forefront of this shift with its 'Agentic AI Orchestration' capabilities within HCL Unica+. This platform uses autonomous AI agents and automated workflow engines to coordinate tasks across the entire customer journey. For example, an agent might handle segmentation, content generation, and channel optimization, ensuring that a personalized message is delivered at the right time and through the right channel. This level of orchestration ensures seamless, hyper-personalized experiences at scale.

Crucially, our AI tools are designed as ‘human-in-the-loop’ systems. This approach combines the efficiency of autonomous systems with essential human oversight, allowing our customers to maintain control and ensure quality and nuance. This responsible, pragmatic approach to agentic AI is what builds trust and positions our partners to deliver real business impact.

Lastly, how can channel partners in the region navigate economic uncertainty as well as the increasing demand for sovereign AI and data privacy?

Channel partners in Asia-Pacific and Japan face a dual challenge: navigating economic uncertainty while also meeting the increasing demand for data privacy and sovereign AI. We believe that HCLSoftware's portfolio and partner-first model are uniquely positioned to help them succeed in this complex environment.

To address economic uncertainty, partners need to focus on selling solutions that deliver clear, measurable ROI. HCL Unica+ is designed for this very purpose. By enabling hyper-personalization, unifying fragmented data, and connecting sales and marketing, our platform helps clients optimize their marketing spend and drive tangible business outcomes. This allows our partners to move conversations away from cost and toward value, which is critical when budgets are tight. Additionally, our composable architecture allows for phased, modular deployments, giving clients the flexibility to start small and scale their investment as they see a return.

To navigate the demand for sovereign AI and data privacy, partners must be able to offer solutions that meet stringent local regulations and build customer trust. The key messages provided highlight HCLSoftware’s commitment to this. Our platforms are built with robust consent management systems, data privacy frameworks, and AI frameworks like the EU AI Act, ensuring that customer data is handled ethically and respectfully.

Furthermore, HCLSoftware has made significant investments in what we call ‘Sovereign AI’, which allows clients, especially those in the public sector or regulated industries, to maintain full control over their data by keeping AI processing and data flows within their own IT infrastructure. This capability is a massive differentiator for our partners, as it allows them to provide clients with a secure, compliant, and trustworthy alternative to foreign cloud-based AI services, thereby turning a major regional challenge into a competitive advantage.