What Is a GCC?

Understanding What Is a GCC

Global capability centers (GCCs) are offshore centers that support a global parent company. A variety of business operations are handled there, such as tech and IT, customer service, finance, HR, and product development. In India, there are over 1,500 GCCs that employ 1.66 million people, and the number of GCCs is expected to increase 20% by 2025. 

Although GCCs in India were initially used to reduce labor and operational costs and tap into a large pool of talent, they’re now transforming into centers of digital transformation and innovation. 

Instead of solely providing operational support, GCCs have begun focusing on driving value. Ernst & Young’s Global Capability Center Pulse Survey 2023 states that GCCs “are actively contributing to product development, design thinking, and technological innovation.” 

With GCCs providing a huge supply of jobs, demand for their roles is increasing too. The perception that GCCs only focus on certain kinds of work is changing, and workers are starting to view GCCs as a longer-term, stable job option that provides the job security that startups lack. 

Setting Up a GCC

Given that GCC’s offer opportunities for business growth through access to high-quality talent, lower costs, and business growth, it’s clear that global companies need to consider setting up GCCs if they want to remain competitive. However, doing so comes with a number of challenges. 

As a newcomer to the country, you’ll be competing with other GCCs for talent, which have an established brand presence. There are also many steps to establishing a GCC. Companies need to navigate legal compliance, tax laws, India real estate, and talent acquisition.

Successfully setting up a technical team in a GCC requires understanding of the differences between Indian and U.S. work cultures. In fact, 60% of recruiting managers say that this is the foremost hurdle when hiring tech talent from India. 

Pros and Cons of GCCs

Pros

• Access to highly skilled global talent pool
• Cost efficiencies
• Can drive innovation and growth
• Increase brand reach and awareness

Cons

• Setup is complex & requires a lot of resources
• Cultural differences
• Competitive talent acquisition

The State of Engineer Hiring in India

Get a deeper look into India’s engineering talent market and the role of GCC’s in our 2024 report: The State of Software Engineer Hiring 2024. The report unpacks insights into India’s top talent hubs, the unique engineer hiring funnel in India, top challenges you can expect to face and how to solve them.