Infosys seeing surge in traction among clients for India-based GCCs

Infosys, India's second largest IT services provider, launched its AI-first GCC model last month which accelerates the set up and transformation of GCCs into AI-powered hubs for innovation and growth

nfosys is seeing a surge in client interest for India-based global capability centres (GCCs), with many new engagements now beginning with proposals to set up these centres before expanding into broader technology partnerships, a senior executive said on Wednesday. The company is intensifying efforts to capture a lar­ger share of the growing GCC market. 

“We are now seeing patterns where transactions start with GCCs... We will set up a GCC that will eventually lead us to have a partnership model beyond the GCC. So, we become a critical part of the supply chain,” Satish H C, executive vice-president and chief delivery officer of Infosys, said in an interaction with Business Standard. 

Infosys, India’s second-largest information technology (IT) services provider, launched its artificial intelligence (AI)-first GCC model last month, which accelerates the setup and transformation of GCCs into AI-powered hubs for innovation and growth. This is expected to empower enterprises to reimagine their GCCs as strategic assets that drive innovation and competitive advantage in an AI-first world. Infosys believes the AI-first model is vastly different from the traditional capability centre model that evolved over the last two decades. The IT giant, however, declined to provide numbers on what percentage of its existing client base is eyeing this offering. The new model caters to the client’s need for reimagining the work done in these centres in the age of AI and AI agents, and also the workforce. That means focusing on both humans and agents working alongside. 

IT service providers such as Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra are aggressively pitching to clients in the US and Europe by offering custom-made solutions and platforms that will assist them to be AI-first GCCs and embark on their digital transformation journey at a more rapid pace. 

Asked what is driving the demand for AI-ready GCCs, Satish said that among the new clients that the company is in talks with, it is driven by the need for reimagining work, workforce, and capabilities. 

While the newer clients want to reimagine work with AI, for existing clients it is about reducing their dependency on tech partners. “One of our key clients wants to have their own GCC. The specific triggers have not been shared but they want to rebalance their relationship with GCCs. We are working with the client on a BoT basis,” Satish said. 

The urgency to transform a company’s tech stack or the operating model is more prominent than ever and that could be for multifarious reasons, he said. “I think it’s fit for purpose and overall, I can say, we’re seeing more GCC conversations than anything. But I would say that’s also because everybody feels they will need access to talent,” he added. 

Satish said there will be a role for generalists in every firm, who will have to be trained to learn to work with AI. “They can also help reimagine your business because they can sit and explore, and experiment with the specialists who will learn how to amplify AI. But there will also be an element where work will be eliminated. Now that work will be eliminated, that's a play for people to look at how do you retrain them, and reskill them for future growth,” he said.