India's GCC 4.0 ambitions will primarily rely on emerging tech skills

Global Capability Centers (GCCs) have been synonymous with modern India Inc. for a while. Having gone through various generations, the latest, GCC 4.0, views GCCs as transformation hubs with more autonomy, moving away from their origins as cost-effective business solutions. Today, the country is home to nearly 1,600 GCCs (with an expected increase to 2,400 by 2030) and over 1.5 million professionals. This ecosystem is directly linked to innovation, helping global organizations achieve strategic success as technology becomes increasingly prevalent in the digital economy. 
 
We understand that GCC 4.0 will be transformative. Essentially, it means building collaborations with start-ups, industry stakeholders, and the academic world. It also means maturing through innovation and new technologies to develop sustainability and drive efficiency. To break it down further, the latest phase focuses on profit-making through monetization, relying on human-AI partnerships, and prioritizing customer-centric operations to drive growth. Tomorrow's GCCs will also play a key role in the "as-a-service" model. With all these considerations, engineering and tech talent with the necessary expertise will be crucial for success and progress. 
 
A significant portion of this expertise will mainly involve emerging technologies that will be at the core of our GCCs. Strategic investment in cultivating a well-qualified talent pool is crucial for accelerating organizational growth. Some emerging domains to watch out for include: 
 
Artificial intelligence: AI is not new to our GCCs, as it has been used in GCC analytics segments with small teams primarily for operational tasks. The development of dedicated Centers of Excellence (CoEs) is driving significant advancements. Think of big, financially strong tech projects adopting mature AI tools, models, and frameworks. Additionally, AI in CoEs is being used to transform parent organizations across the business continuum, research, and talent costs. It will also help GCCs build next-generation capabilities for their parent organizations and reimagine business models. GCCs are embracing various AI capability setups to gain a competitive edge and make the most of their AI investments. These could be centralized or decentralized models, or a combination of services (generalist/specialist/strategic services blended with contextualized governance standards). It's safe to say that NLP, computer vision, and image classification are just the beginning of an ever-growing field. 

Cybersecurity: GCCs still have small cybersecurity teams, but there has been a recent focus, especially on cybersecurity audits. As organizations invest more in their offshore resources, there is a lot at stake in GCC 4.0. The nature of the transition will bring more sensitive data into the ecosystem. Leveraging digital capabilities carries inherent risks and requires careful consideration. Indian GCCs are also seen as a way for European and Asian businesses to connect with the American market, which cannot be achieved without ensuring safety. It goes without saying that cybersecurity experts will play a crucial role in the development and oversight of this transformation. 
 
Cloud computing: Professionals need to familiarize themselves with the cloud as on-site applications gradually move to the cloud. The amount of business on the cloud will require engineers, developers, and product development teams to work on mixed clouds. They will facilitate ongoing migration and ensure smooth infrastructure operations. Organizations rely on the cloud to develop advanced digital platforms, while also modernizing apps and data to support growth, innovation, and efficiency. Additionally, the use of generative AI within organizations will lead to a greater reliance on cloud resources. Indian GCCs themselves are hubs for cloud development and engineering, contributing to the region's emergence as a significant cloud service provider market. The relationship between GCCs and the cloud is one to watch, and cloud computing skills will be highly valuable in this economy. 
 
Data analysis: Data analysis used to focus on MIS, data collection, and data representation. Now, it is centered on data-driven decision-making. Today's analytics removes intuition from organizational decision-making, influencing various roles more broadly. This allows organizations and GCCs to clearly define their objectives and channels to achieve them, while collecting, processing, and interpreting data to guide product development, employee relationships, sales, customer engagement, and more. As data continues to accumulate in GCCs, these facilities will need professionals who can navigate through the vast amount of information and ensure they are integral to organizational design and business objectives. 
 
The remarkable evolution of GCCs highlights a dynamic shift in the corporate landscape. Harnessing these new-age skills will undoubtedly help organizations accelerate their product development, add value to operations, and enter the market faster. By investing in equipping their workforce with the right skills, businesses can not only leverage the transformative potential of GCCs but also ensure sustainable growth in an ever-evolving global market. The future beckons, and with a rich talent pool, organizations can navigate the complexities of tomorrow with confidence and vitality. 

Ritesh Malhotra

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Ritesh Malhotra is Enterprise Head at Great Learning.