Ferrovial has teamed up with US technology consultancy DXC Technology to co-develop the platform, known as Quercus, to accelerate and scale the adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the infrastructure company’s business and assets. DXC will oversee the maintenance, development and marketing of Quercus, which is based on the Ferrovial Generative AI project. Microsoft will provide the technology base to expand the platform.
Quercus consists of a set of technology components and business logic that will serve as the foundation for scaling the use of AI and building robust, fast and efficient solutions for all types of companies and industries. It includes the necessary technical components to ensure data security and privacy, the ability to integrate with other systems and coordination between different models of generating artificial intelligence.
Due to its development capacity, Quercus will allow companies to reduce the time involved in creating new solutions adapted to their needs.
The first version of the platform has already enabled Ferrovial to offer a marketplace of Generative AI solutions, including an assistant for general tasks that can be used by any employee or by HR and cybersecurity professionals.
“The journey has just begun. In cooperation with DXC and with Microsoft technology, Ferrovial expects to implement this technology in dozens of cases. Quercus will be very useful in optimizing processes, generating projects, simplifying applications for worker health and safety and generally improving operations,” said Dimitris Bountolos, CIIO of Ferrovial, at the signing of the agreement in Madrid. The event was also attended by the CEO of DXC Technology, Raúl Fernández, the President of DXC Technology Europe, Juan Parra, and the President of Microsoft Spain, Alberto Granados.
From its Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, DXC will manage the evolution, maintenance and commercialization of the third-party platform powered by Microsoft technology.
“The agreement with Ferrovial marks a milestone in the advancement of AI-enabled business services. This unique collaboration promises to revolutionize the way technology solutions are developed and implemented in the field of Generative AI. DXC is confident in the value that the Quercus platform will provide to our customers, enabling them to accelerate innovation and improve the profitability and efficiency of their business, giving them a significant competitive advantage in the market,” said Juan Parra, Market Leader of DXC Europe.
Microsoft’s support will allow the platform to expand and gain flexibility, which will benefit other companies that decide to use it.
“Microsoft has a strategic relationship with both Ferrovial and DXC, and we are very pleased to work with both companies on this initiative based on our responsible artificial intelligence technology. To ensure that technology is integrated into our society both effectively and ethically, we believe that AI solutions must be designed and deployed with critical aspects such as security, privacy, reliability, fairness, inclusion, accountability and transparency,” said Alberto Granados, president of Microsoft Spain.
Ferrovial’s experience using Quercus to develop and deploy Generative AI solutions will serve to improve the platform’s performance and identify best practices that can be applied by other companies across a range of industries.
