What Global Businesses Still Get Wrong About Market Entry Into GCCs — Through a 2030 Lens

By Ramma Shiv Kumar| GCC Strategy & Transformation Leader

Introduction

As we move toward 2030, Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are undergoing a profound transformation. What once began as cost-focused delivery hubs have now become core engines powering global innovation — from AI adoption and digital engineering to cybersecurity, product development, and enterprise modernization.

India, currently home to 1,900+ GCCs, is expected to exceed 2,500 centres by 2030, contributing nearly USD 100 billion to the economy and employing over 4.5 million skilled professionals. GCCs are now seen as value-creation ecosystems, not offshore administrative units.

Yet despite this evolution, several myths continue to misguide global enterprises on their GCC journey.

This paper breaks down the misconceptions still holding companies back — and what the 2030-ready GCC playbook truly looks like.

Myth 1: “A GCC is primarily for cost advantage.”

Cost will continue to be important — but value is the new enterprise currency.

By 2030, GCCs are expected to serve as strategic engines that:

• Build and operationalize AI and analytics capability

• Accelerate digital products and platform engineering

• Strengthen global cyber resilience

• Anchor ESG and sustainability initiatives

• Lead transformation across global business units

  
  

Companies that see GCCs only as “cheaper talent pools” will fail to unlock their long-term strategic potential.The future belongs to organisations that treat their GCCs as innovation engines, not cost centres.

Myth 2: “India’s talent pool is huge — scaling a GCC will be effortless.”

India has scale — but 2030-ready talent is specialised and must be intentionally developed.

The next decade demands talent with depth in:

• AI / ML

• Cloud and data engineering

• Cybersecurity

• Product management

• Robotics and automation

• Domain-led digital innovation

Winning organisations will:

• Build strong early leadership pipelines

• Invest in learning academies and competency centres

• Accelerate AI and digital skilling

• Provide autonomy, not execution-only roles

• Create high-accountability, outcome-driven cultures

Talent is not an input. Talent is the differentiator.

Myth 3: “We should replicate HQ processes for consistency.”

Replication is the enemy of innovation.

2030-ready GCCs are expected to:

• Co-create solutions with business and technology teams

• Redesign workflows and challenge outdated processes

• Drive enterprise-wide continuous improvement

• Leverage India’s innovation ecosystem for global value

Enterprises that empower their GCCs to question, innovate, and reimagine — will unlock disproportionate value.

Myth 4: “GCC maturity will naturally evolve with time.”

Time does not create maturity — vision does.

By 2030, GCCs will mature across three critical layers:

1. Enterprise Enablement

Embedding automation, AI, digital accelerators, and analytics into core operations.

2. Capability Leadership

Becoming global centres of excellence for AI, engineering, cybersecurity, sustainability, and emerging technologies.

3. Strategic Co-Creation

Owning global platforms, products, and transformation charters.

Many GCCs plateau because their parent organisation has not defined a 2030 charter:A clear articulation of what the centre must become within the decade.

Without a defined future state, GCCs become maintenance units — not transformation partners.

The 2030 Imperative: A Mindset Shift

By 2030, GCCs will be measured not by the work they execute, but by:

• The capabilities they build

• The enterprise leverage they create

• The strategic influence they hold

Leadership must now ask:

• What unique value will our GCC deliver by 2030?

• Which enterprise capabilities must be anchored here?

• How will our GCC power long-term competitiveness?

The future favours organisations that design GCCs as strategic engines of innovation and resilience, not extensions of the past.

A Call to Action: Designing GCCs for the Enterprise of 2030

The next decade belongs to enterprises that intentionally architect their GCCs to deliver transformational value.

Your 2030 GCC vision must answer:

• Which capabilities should sit here?

• What outcomes must this centre own?

• How will our GCC strengthen our competitive advantage?

This is not the time for incremental thinking.It is the time to architect future-ready value — building GCCs that shape the enterprise’s global trajectory for the next decade.