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Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have transitioned well beyond their origin as offshore support hubs. India is home to more than 1,580 GCCs employing over 1.66 million professionals - these centres have become powerful drivers of enterprise transformation. While enterprises adopt platform-focused and intelligence-driven models, GCCs are increasingly being integrated into the core of global innovation strategies.
From mere execution to evolution, the role of GCCs has changed significantly. With artificial intelligence (AI) as the foundation, GCCs are developing new capabilities, scaling product innovation, and adapting operations to dynamic market conditions. This shift reflects a deeper structural change where these centres are not peripheral service extensions but strategic enablers of business reinvention.
Traditionally, GCCs were developed to support back-end functions. Various sectors, including finance, IT operations, and HR, were granted support to reduce costs. Although GCCs continue to promote cost efficiency, the new generation of GCCs, often referred to as GCC 2.0, is assuming enterprise-critical responsibilities.
The mandate is clear: build advanced digital capabilities, create differentiated customer experiences, and promote growth-focused innovation. These goals are being met through a shift in mindset. This approach includes a change from service delivery to solution ownership. GCCs are now embedded in business transformation roadmaps, not just as enablers but as originators of innovation.
Over the past few years, AI has become increasingly central to how businesses operate, including those in the GCCs. From financial forecasting to risk mitigation, together with customer intelligence, the adoption of AI has significantly expanded the role of GCCs in strategic planning.
Following this, various centres have established their dedicated AI and generative AI labs. These labs not only drive automation but also offer personalised service delivery and data modelling. Additionally, these labs facilitate the translation of enterprise data into actionable insights, enabling real-time decision-making, intelligent product design, and predictive analytics across various business functions.
One of the defining traits of advanced GCCs is their increasing ownership of end-to-end product engineering. These centres are no longer auxiliary coding arms. Instead, they now handle the full development lifecycle. The scope encompasses ideation and UX research, as well as testing, iteration, and go-live.
Additionally, GCCs are playing a crucial role in developing digital platforms tailored to specific industries. Whether in retail, manufacturing, financial services, or healthcare, these platforms integrate AI, automation, and cloud infrastructure, offering agility and adaptability at scale. By implanting this engineering excellence into their core, GCCs are not only accelerating innovation cycles but also developing technology ecosystems that respond directly to business needs.
Many GCCs are moving beyond internal resources and building partnerships with technology consultants, startups, and domain specialists. These partnerships enable them to enhance product quality, speed up development, and bring specialised expertise into their operations.
Furthermore, these collaborative models foster flexibility in team structure. It even makes it easier to scale innovation efforts based on demand, location, or customer requirements.
As demand for specialised digital capabilities increases, GCCs are customising their operations to specific verticals. Centres are becoming more industry-aligned, developing solutions that address domain challenges with precision.
For instance, in manufacturing, GCCs are using data to build predictive maintenance systems. In retail, intelligent automation is improving inventory planning. In healthcare, AI-driven tools support clinical analytics. In banking, models are being developed to detect fraud and monitor compliance in real-time.
This vertical depth enables enterprises to achieve faster go-to-market, better regulatory alignment, and higher end-user relevance, ensuring GCCs remain mission-critical to core operations.
Over the past 24 years, GCCs have undergone extreme transformations. What once focused on back-office operations now concentrates on strategic innovations. Various such transformations are anticipated in the next decade.
Firstly, the regulatory compliance environment presents enormous opportunities. As data protection laws turn increasingly complex, GCCs with robust governance frameworks will become indispensable to parent organisations.
Secondly, as organisations continue to adopt multi-location strategies, the complexity of cybersecurity and data management across diverse operational environments will create opportunities for centres that can provide innovative, integrated solutions in the years to come.
Finally, across the majority of sectors, including financial services, retail, QSR, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals, GCCs will become the primary vehicle for global companies to access India's innovation ecosystem. GCCs that thrive will be those that welcome this transformation proactively, viewing themselves as innovation drivers rather than cost centres.
The GCCs in India are no longer defined by their geography or labour costs. Instead, they are determined by the strategic value they create. With AI capabilities, domain specialisation, and ecosystem collaboration at their core, these centres are ushering in a new era of enterprise innovation.
By evolving beyond delivery into design and support into strategy, GCCs are becoming the blueprint for globally distributed innovation. Organisations that empower their GCCs to lead, not follow, will unlock future-ready growth that's intelligent, scalable, and resilient.
[Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and Analytics Insight does not necessarily subscribe to it. Analytics Insight shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly.]
