Over the last few years, we've seen a major shift in how global companies think about India. For decades, the conversation began and ended with cost. India was the place you sent work to get it done cheaper. That framing still exists — but it no longer describes what's actually happening.
Today, India is where companies are building strategic Global Capability Centers (GCCs) to drive their most important functions. Not the leftovers of the org chart — the engine room.
What's actually being built in India now
The work has changed. Modern GCCs in India are doing:
- Product engineering — full-stack ownership of products that ship to global customers
- AI and data science — model development, MLOps, applied research
- Cybersecurity — SOCs, threat intelligence, security engineering
- Finance and shared services — FP&A, controllership, treasury operations
- Customer experience and operations excellence — not just call centers, but design-led journey work
None of these are back-office. They're the functions that determine whether a company wins or loses in its market.
The most exciting part: it's not just the Fortune 500
For the longest time, only enterprise giants ran captive centers in India. The setup cost was high, the playbook was opaque, and the risk felt too concentrated for a smaller company to absorb.
That has cracked open. We're now seeing mid-sized firms in the US and Europe — companies with 200 to 2,000 employees globally — setting up focused India teams.
They start small. Ten to thirty people. A pilot that proves out talent quality, culture fit, and operating cadence. Then they scale steadily into full-fledged capability centers.
This is the part of the GCC market most analysts miss. The Fortune 500 stories make the headlines, but the volume is shifting toward the middle. And the playbook these mid-sized firms need is different from what worked for IBM or Microsoft in 2005.
Why we started Global Capability Partners
That's exactly the gap we built GCP India to fill. We work with global organizations to help them set up and scale their India operations end-to-end:
- GCC strategy and location planning
- Hiring and talent setup
- Entity setup and compliance support
- Operational readiness — HR, payroll, policies, vendor ecosystem
- Scaling roadmap and governance models
The mid-market doesn't need a 200-person consulting team to set up a 20-person center. It needs operators who have done this before, can move fast, and stay engaged through the messy first 18 months.
If you're a US or European company exploring India, the right setup model can make the difference between building a high-performing center — or struggling with execution for two years and quietly winding it down.
What's coming next on this blog
Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing insights on:
- GCC setup models — captive vs hybrid vs operator-led
- Common mistakes companies make in the first six months
- Hiring strategies that actually work in the Indian market
- Real-world scaling playbooks from centers we've built
If you're exploring a GCC, a small India team setup, or just trying to understand whether this model is right for your stage — we'd love to connect and exchange perspectives.
What's the biggest question companies should ask before setting up in India? Reach out at hello@globalcapabilitypartners.com — we read every email.