86% GCCs keeping service expansion as top priority over the next 1 year: EY

Eighty-six per cent of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India are looking at service expansion as their top priority over the next 12 months, a report released by consultancy EY said on Wednesday. It added that 56 per cent of GCCs are developing customer-facing products.

In its "GCC Pulse Survey 2023", based on findings from 87 GCC leaders, EY said that the GCCs are looking to go beyond the traditional services of IT, Customer Interaction Services, Finance, HR and Supply Chain. They are now aiming to foray into Marketing, Legal, ESG, Advanced Analytics and Data Science amid the rising adoption of technology and growth of leadership skills.

"Compared to our 2021 survey, we have seen a 36 per cent increase in focus on enhancing capabilities and extending functional scope," EY said.

It added that the leading agenda of these GCCs continues to drive enterprise-wide digital transformation. Fifty-five per cent of participants in the survey have established a mature data and analytics practice as part of their digital strategy.

"This is closely followed by cyber security and robotic process automation, which support the digital transformation journey of GCCs and help drive value across business functions," it added.

Seventy-nine per cent of participants stated that their centres are acting as a global hub for digital skills and delivery, which is the backbone of their digital transformation journey. The adoption of blockchain technology and metaverse has been slower than other technologies.

The survey also showed a higher interest in developing consumer-facing products. At 56 per cent, it is 28 per cent higher than EY's survey in 2021.

The report added that 77 per cent of the GCCs believe that the mode of work is expected to stay "hybrid" for the next 12 months. However, most of these believe that less than 25 per cent of their workforce will continue to work remotely.

The average attrition rate in GCCs has been recorded at 12.5 per cent, with 60 per cent of them recording a rate between 5 to 15 per cent. "Most of the survey participants felt that 'war for talent' still holds a significant risk for their business," it said.