New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Nearly 500 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India are apparently not realising their full potential and have begun to plateau, warranting a strategic reset that prioritises enterprise value, leadership and AI capability over cost savings, a report said on Friday.

The GCC model in India has reached an inflection point and the centres that define the next phase, will be the ones that get the foundational choices governance model, talent strategy, technology backbone right early, according to the report from UnearthIQ and Embark.

Around 30 per cent of GCCs established after 2020 have already plateaued, representing nearly 140–150 centres, and when combined with an estimated 360–370 centres set up before 2020, the total approaches a count of 500–520.

The report added that India’s GCC sector continues to witness strong momentum and the country is expected to host about 2,500 plus GCCs by 2030.

The surge in GCC count is driven by strong global demand, policy tailwinds, and the rapid rise of next-gen nano GCCs anchored in AI, digital, and innovation-led functions.

However, as enterprise expectations shift from cost efficiency to business impact, ownership, and innovation, not all GCCs are evolving and maturing at the same pace, the report added.

“The plateau is not a sign of failure; it is a sign that the GCC model in India has reached an inflection point. Most GCCs are built to scale delivery. Few are designed to sustain relevance. The difference lies in design strength and execution discipline,” said Gaurav Vasu and Shail Maniar, Co-founders of UnearthIQ.

The plateauing is often driven by structural factors rather than operational performance alone, the report noted.

Execution-focused mandates, limited leadership autonomy, weak alignment with evolving enterprise priorities, underinvestment in AI and platform capabilities, and fragmented technology and data foundations are preventing some GCCs from moving to higher-value roles within the enterprise.

“The centres that define this next phase, will be the ones that get the foundational choices right early, from the right governance model, the right talent strategy, and the right technology backbone to scale on”, said Aravind Maiya, Co-founder and CEO at Embark.

—IANS

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