Beyond 2023: The Surging Landscape Of Indian GCCs
The humanity’s continuous dependence on technology for personal and professional needs in the digital era poses a significant challenge in the face of growing cybercrimes. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) amplifies these security concerns, highlighting a critical demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals.
As the need for a safer technological ecosystem becomes fundamental, Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are taking a lead in improving governance, embedding safer and secure measures across industries in a cost-effective manner. In India, the number of GCCs have reached 1,580 as of 2023 and it is expected to cross 1,900 by 2025 and 2,400 by 2030. Depending on the nation’s capabilities, the maximum number of GCCs could even exceed 2,550, according to a IBEF report. Delving into this notable development as this year is set to end, let’s take a look back at the Indian GCCs landscape and their emerging trends.
Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are large facilities handling operations and IT support for global businesses.
Popular GCC Destination
Primarily established to support offshore back-office processes, GCCs today handle complex lines across different organisations functioning digitally. Cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai successfully shine as popular GCC destinations, offering a conducive environment in India. These centres have robust infrastructure to access talent supporting the tech ecosystem.
Image Source: JLL Research
According to JLL research, US-headquartered firms account for the majority of the operational GCC footprint in the top six cities of India, followed by European firms (35 per cent). K S Viswanathan, Vice President (Industry Initiatives), Nasscom shares, “The increasing awareness of the model and the focus on global leadership roles and equity emerging from the GCC model are increasingly becoming integrated with globalisation. And countries such as Romania, Costa Rica, the Philippines and other continents are expanding their GCC networks with hubs from India.”
Market Size
Fuelled by a number of factors such as software exports, tech workforce, tier-2 cities expansion, government assistance and improved infrastructure, India's GCC market is expanding and creating its dominance globally.
By 2030, the GCC market is estimated to exceed USD 100 billion, with 2500 GCCs across the country employing over 4.5 million people, as per a IBEF report.
Image Source: IBEF Report
GCC Workforce
The aforementioned report further suggested that the GCC workforce headcount around September 2023 stood at 1.80 million and was likely to reach 1.90 million by the end of the year. But Munira Loliwala, AVP- Strategy and Growth, TeamLease Digital shared that currently 1.68 million people are employed in the Indian GCC market which is presently valued at about USD 46 billion and is expected to rise to USD 80 billion by 2028, employing nearly 3.3 million workforces.
Image Source: IBEF Report
Furthermore, Loliwala stressed that the GCC leaders are identified at the global level, as they play a vital role in establishing dedicated CoEs for cyber security, cloud, AI/ML, NLP, data engineering and product management focused on knowledge-intensive work.
2024: The Road Ahead
While 2023 proved to be a bright spot for GCCs in India, Ankur Aggarwal, MD and Lead - Sales & GCCs, Accenture, India underlines that the accelerated development was manifested by increased investments, enabling GCCs to handle business operations, product R&D and drive growth and profitability.
The Indian government is also actively promoting the establishment of additional Global Capability Centres (GCCs), offering various incentives and undertaking initiatives to attract foreign investment. It has implemented policies to develop the landscape and has also introduced special economic zones (SEZs) for companies to set up their GCCs to access various tax incentives and other benefits.
Image Source: IBEF Report
In a positive prognosis, if we look at 2024, it is estimated to be an important year for GCC expansion in the country. According to an industry report, India is likely to host around 320 new global capacity centres by the end of the fiscal year 2025.
