‘GCC landscape will undergo a fundamental shift’

Piyush Kedia, the Co-Founder and CEO of InCommon, believes that Global Capacity Centres (GCC) have evolved rapidly from cost centers to delivery engines. In a conversation with ‘The Perfect Voice’ he predicts that India-based teams are owning a meaningful share of product, AI, and business outcomes in this next phase. Excerpts…

What are the biggest challenges companies face when setting up a Global Capacity Centre (GCC) in India, and how can they be mitigated?

One of the biggest challenges companies face when setting up a GCC in India isn’t finding talent, it’s bringing all the moving parts together. Most mid-market firms lack the internal infrastructure of a Fortune 500 company, which means they often juggle multiple vendors for entity setup, compliance, IT, payroll, and recruitment. This fragmentation slows down execution and makes costs unpredictable. Another major hurdle is leadership. Securing the right country head or site lead early on can make or break the setup. However, traditional hiring channels rarely reach leaders who have actually built and scaled centers before, the kind of hands-on experience that’s essential to establishing a strong foundation. Finally, culture and operating rhythm often get deprioritized in the early stages. Many firms treat their India GCC as an “execution arm” rather than a true extension of the business, only to realize later that speed and impact come from outcome ownership, not ticket-taking. The most successful GCCs today get the fundamentals, structure, leadership, and operating rhythm, right from day one.

How can mid-sized firms leverage GCCs to compete with larger enterprises?

Mid-sized firms don’t need to replicate the playbook of large enterprises, they can move differently. With a leaner footprint and flatter decision-making, they can stand up GCCs faster, embed product and data teams closer to the work, and iterate at a pace that bigger organisations, bound by long approval chains, often can’t match. This agility becomes a real competitive edge when the GCC is designed as a front-line product and innovation hub rather than a back-office support center. Moreover, India’s evolving state-level policies have made it even easier for such firms to scale. States like Karnataka and Maharashtra now offer single-window clearances and a host of incentives that significantly reduce both setup time and cost.

How will AI, automation, and hybrid work models shape the future of GCCs?

The next generation of GCCs won’t just adopt AI, they will be structured around it. Routine operational layers will shrink as intelligent and agentic workflows take over, allowing teams to move faster and make decisions closer to the ground. With AI accelerating feedback loops, iteration cycles will become tighter, and value delivery will happen in real time. Hybrid work models will remain, but they will evolve into smarter, more intentional structures, with core teams based in key hubs and distributed pods operating from elsewhere. Instead of tracking hours or activity, companies will measure actual shipped outcomes and business impact. The result is GCCs that are leaner, more technical, and built for speed, far ahead of the models that came before them.

What does the next phase of GCC maturity look like in India?

GCCs have evolved rapidly from cost centers to delivery engines, and now to outcome platforms. In this next phase, India-based teams aren’t just executing tasks; they’re owning a meaningful share of product, AI, and business outcomes. The shift is already underway. Leadership roles are being established in India much earlier in a company’s journey, and state governments are actively competing to attract GCCs, not only from Fortune 500s but increasingly from mid-market firms as well. With AI accelerating the need for agility and smarter structures, the next five years won’t be defined by scale alone, but by the depth of ownership and impact these centers deliver.

How does InCommon plan to deepen its presence across key Indian cities beyond traditional hubs like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune?

Tier-2 cities are emerging as attractive GCC destinations not just for their cost advantage, but because state policies are actively enabling growth. Karnataka’s ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ initiative and Maharashtra’s new GCC policy are strong examples of this momentum. Our approach is to anchor expansion where policy, infrastructure, and talent already align, rather than forcing it. By combining flexible EoR models, strong local leadership, and referral-driven hiring, we’re able to build faster, more seamlessly, and with far less friction.

What trends do you foresee in GCC setup and operations over the next 3–5 years?

Over the next three to five years, the GCC landscape will undergo a fundamental shift. Mid-market growth will outpace enterprise expansion, with more small and mid-sized companies setting up GCCs than ever before. State competition will heat up, with more states introducing GCC-friendly policies and incentive programs similar to Karnataka’s Beyond Bengaluru initiative and Maharashtra’s GCC policy. AI-first organizational design will become the new default, with centers built around automation, telemetry, and compact, high-ownership teams. Leadership gravity will continue to shift, as experienced site heads and domain experts play a bigger role in shaping how GCCs are structured and scaled. Most importantly, speed will emerge as the ultimate differentiator. Success will no longer be measured by headcount but by how quickly companies can move from idea to live product and deliver real outcomes.