Global capability centers (GCCs) are undergoing a profound transformation. Once primarily designed for cost arbitrage, they are now evolving into enterprise centers responsible for innovation, data-led decision-making and AI-enabled delivery. At the same time, GCCs face rising pressure from headquarters to reduce costs while accelerating innovation — a dual mandate that cannot be met by internal capacity alone.
This is where IT service providers become critical. ISG is observing a trend in which service providers are increasingly becoming strategic partners in GCC growth. ISG research shows that over 80% of India-based GCC leaders are open to engaging new service providers in the next two years — significantly higher than their corporate HQ peers. Moreover, 60% of GCCs plan to increase their use of IT services over the same period. In response, service providers are creating offerings specifically tailored to GCCs.
To thrive, GCCs should consider a co-creation operating model with their providers. By shifting to outcome-based commercial models, adopting a portfolio view of build vs. buy and embedding providers into AI and data programs, GCCs can unlock speed, scale and resilience – for both themselves and for the broader enterprise.
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About the author
Namratha Dharshan
Namratha brings over 21 years of market research experience, leading the ISG Provider Lens program focused on BPO and AI and Analytics. Namratha also leads the India Research team and is a speaker on ISG’s flagship platform, the ISG Index.
