Setting up 2-5 GCCs every month: ANSR’s Vikram Ahuja

Global capability centre (GCC) consulting firm ANSR is establishing one to two GCCs monthly for its large enterprise clients, said co-founder Vikram Ahuja in an interaction with TechCircle. Overall, ANSR's scope extends across various sectors, including retail, healthcare, travel, banking, and financial services, with the firm setting up to five GCCs monthly for its clientele.

GCCs are offshore units set up by multinational companies to perform strategic functions. India has emerged as the most preferred destination for setting up GCCs. ANSR’s quarterly report on GCC trends in April showed that India commands 50% of the global GCC market, driven by factors like tech talent, robust start-up ecosystem, and regulatory support.

“This is a dynamic industry and now it is a very mainstream strategy for most top businesses globally to set up centres in India. So we have been seeing much larger interest and indications of companies coming in than ever before,” said Ahuja. He further adds that beyond India, destinations such as Eastern Europe, Mexico, and the Middle East are also fast emerging as preferred locations. 

As per ANSR’s data, Indian GCCs have over 5,000 leadership roles, which is an indication of how these establishments have evolved into strategic hotspots from mere back offices. The importance of leadership in GCC is headed to a point where Global Fortune 500 companies hiring chief information officers (CIOs) and similar leaders based in India, he said. 

GCC, what used to be previously centralised functions, are now decentralised which is the true idea of globalisation coming to the fore. “You could be a professional working today in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, or Gurugram and have an opportunity to work for some of the world's best companies and be an important part of their transformation process because the person who's leading the transformation might be working two offices away from you,” said Ahuja.

Beyond leadership roles, Indian GCCs also offer companies access to the massive talent pool in the country, especially in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, information security, and DevOps. As per staffing firm Careernet, 55% of the total tech talent base is at the GCCs. For employees too, working at GCCs offers advantages such as better growth opportunities, and the benefits of experiencing a global work culture. “Salary-wise too, GCC employees get paid 20-30% above the overall market,” said Ahuja.