Regional Brazilian providers are outpacing many larger global firms in adopting generative AI for application development and maintenance (ADM), according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen ADM Services report for Brazil finds when it comes to implementing generative AI, smaller, more nimble providers have a decided advantage over their larger rivals, who remain cautious in adopting generative AI across their portfolios, partly because of the natural difficulty of rolling out innovation across large teams. Service providers operating exclusively in Brazil employ less than 5,000 application experts in total, enabling them more control when experimenting with generative AI, the ISG report says.

“Many generative AI solutions are still new and immature,” said Shafqat Azim, ISG partner and Americas lead, Digital Transformation. “Even so, most service providers using them are exploring possibilities and anticipate a 40 to 70 percent productivity increase in some specific tasks.”

A key role for generative AI comes in testing automation, the ISG report says. According to the report, generative AI accelerates test case identification and scripting, enabling testing experts to select or approve scripts rather than spend time searching and writing. During automated test execution, GenAI can rapidly report scripting errors and apply corrections on the fly, eliminating stops during automated testing, the report says. Once tests are complete, generative AI can pinpoint parts of the application code that may require fixing and even increase a developer’s productivity by writing fixes, ISG says.

If appropriately introduced, generative AI can prove to be a decisive resource, the ISG report says. However, according to some providers, generative AI’s role in increasing productivity will not actually reduce application development costs. Instead, the major benefits of AI come in its expansion of testing coverage and reduction in the total time required for testing, the report says. Nonetheless, to successfully achieve these productivity gains, the companies that have rolled out generative AI programming tools have had to train and educate their programmers, ISG says.

“We’re not yet at a point where generative AI can replace human experts,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “However, GenAI does have the potential to noticeably increase their productivity.”

The report also examines how companies are changing from Agile development focused primarily on software to embracing a broader perspective of digital products that includes a variety of applications.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen ADM Services report for Brazil evaluates the capabilities of 61 providers across five quadrants: Agile Application Development Outsourcing, Agile Application Development Projects, Application Managed Services, Application Quality Assurance and Continuous Testing Specialists.

The report names Capgemini and Wipro as Leaders in three quadrants each, while Accenture, DXC Technology, Iteris, Softtek, Stefanini and Tech Mahindra are named as Leaders in two quadrants each. Base2, BRQ, CI&T, Compass UOL, e-Core, FCamera, GFT, Globant, Inmetrics, NTT DATA, Objective Group, Prime Control, Sempre IT, Sofist, TCS, Thoughtworks, TIVIT, T-Systems, Vericode and Yaman are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, GFT, Inmetrics, Spassu and SVLabs are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.

Customized versions of the report are available from Iteris, Objective, Orange Testing, Prime Control, Sofist, Spassu and Vericode.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen ADM Services report for Brazil is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.