The Next Decade of Global Capability Centres From Cost Efficiency to Enterprise Value Creation
Global Capability Centres have outgrown their cost-arbitrage origins. India now hosts 2,117 GCCs generating USD 98.4 billion in revenue and employing 2.36 million professionals yet only 5% operate as true AI-led transformation hubs.
This working paper examines why: the strategic role of GCCs has changed faster than the enterprise operating models around them. Drawing on FY2026 industry data from Nasscom–Zinnov, Everest Group, Deloitte, EY, Gartner, and the WEF, I analyze six trends reshaping the model generative and agentic AI, automation, decision intelligence, product engineering, cybersecurity, and talent transformation and argue that leadership depth and governance, not technology or talent, are now the binding constraints on value creation. The paper closes with role-specific recommendations for CEOs, COOs, CIOs, CHROs, and GCC leaders for 2026–2031.