India is becoming a key revenue market for Publicis Sapient: Sanjay Menon

Company currently has over 10,000 employees in the country, almost half of its global headcount

India has become a revenue-generating market for the French digital business transformation company Publicis Sapient, which works with global capability centres (GCCs) of multinationals looking to establish a presence in the country.

 

Publicis started operating in India at the turn of the century but it was mainly from a strategic talent base, catering to its clients such as Lufthansa, Nissan, and Carrefour. It currently has more than 10,000 employees in the country, almost half of its global headcount.

 

"GCCs are one of our high growth businesses and over the recent past, we are looking at India as a revenue-generating market which is above the talent market," Sanjay Menon, Publicis Sapient's India executive vice president and managing director told Business Standard. He declined to share details about the Indian business volume or its growth forecasts.

 

The number of GCCs from banks, retailers, aerospace companies, and other sectors is expected to touch more than 2,500 by 2029, up from about 1,800 in 2025, according to a report in 2024 by HfS Research. Headcount at those centres is likely to almost double to four million people in the same period.

 

Publicis Sapient works with Indian GCCs with its global distribution model (GDD) and helps them transform using DBT GPT, the company's GenAI tool. The tool streamlines user engagement by offering tailored responses.

 

"GCCs are thinking about changing tools and not thinking of scale. What they are saying is I (the organisation) want to be small but a strategic extension of the company. That means being a peer in shaping, driving, thinking, owning, and innovating from India. They want to be the north star of what the parent company will look like in the next four years," said Menon.

 

He added a lot of the GCCs in the country were still focused on reducing expenses but the narrative was steadily shifting towards an innovation-led approach. That makes new-age technologies such as AI and GenAI a must-have to make the business transformation a reality. Publicis Sapient engages with clients at different levels depending on their journey, helping them set up GCCs, scaling and making those operationally innovative, or even acquiring GCCs to create more strategic value over time.

 

Menon admits that the field is crowded with the presence of the big four consulting firms, consulting group ANSR, and IT services providers who all want a share of the growing market pie. When asked how Publicis Sapient is trying to create a differentiator, he says it all depends on who understands the client journey better.

 

"A large section of the service providers, especially the big four, is on the opex side. We are on the business transformation side. If it is about transforming the core systems, they are more likely to work with us but if it is about outsourcing HR and finance operations, then you need to go with the larger players. However, if you want to do that in a disruptive manner and a strategic agenda, we are there for you," he said.