Overview

ANSR and HFS Research announced the findings of the inaugural HFS GCC Generative Enterprise Market Pulse study on July 23, 2026. The study introduces the HFS Generative GCC Index, which scores India’s Global Capability Center (GCC) ecosystem at 61.9, placing it at the entry point of the Transformation Partner stage in HFS’s maturity framework.

Study Scope and Methodology

The research draws on responses from 47 leading GCC leaders across India, primarily from ANSR’s enterprise network, and applies HFS Research’s independent methodology. The assessment covers dimensions such as role, work, ownership, AI, talent, operating models, innovation, and ecosystem engagement.

Core Findings

  • Mission‑critical importance: 83% of GCCs are considered mission‑critical to their parent enterprises.
  • Authority gap: Only 17% of GCCs have full decision‑making and budget authority, highlighting a major empowerment gap.
  • AI/ML growth: 55% of GCC leaders expanded AI/ML capabilities in the past 18 months, while 43% expanded data engineering and analytics capabilities.
  • AI initiatives: 95% of GCCs have AI initiatives underway, yet few have redesigned operating models around AI.
  • Outcome focus: 51% of leaders state that the value delivered by AI/automation is the primary measure of GCC business impact, ahead of productivity and cost efficiency.
  • Ownership impact: GCCs with end‑to‑end product ownership lift the index score by 56% compared with execution‑only centers.
  • Ecosystem engagement: With $45 bn of AI infrastructure investment being built in India, only 34% of GCCs collaborate with consulting/services providers, 26% engage hyperscalers, and 32% report no major ecosystem engagement. Collaboration with startups, universities, and research institutions remains relatively low.

Seven Insight Shifts Defining the Next Era

1. Shared services identity fading – Only 17% describe themselves primarily as Shared Services Centers; 38% are Digital Transformation and Engineering Hubs, and 34% are AI/Data/Automation Centers of Excellence.

2. AI/ML as fastest‑growing capability – Over half of GCCs expanded AI/ML capabilities, with a significant rise in data engineering and analytics.

3. Accountability for measurable outcomes – AI/automation value is now the top metric for GCC impact.

4. Operating model lag – Despite widespread AI initiatives, most GCCs have not fundamentally redesigned their operating models around AI.

5. End‑to‑end ownership as maturity multiplier – Product ownership drives a 56% higher index score.

6. Empowerment gap persists – Mission‑critical status (83%) is not matched by decision‑making authority (17%).

7. Ecosystem orchestration untapped – Limited collaboration with external innovators despite massive AI infrastructure spend.

Executive Quotes

  • Vikram Ahuja, Co‑Founder, ANSR and CEO, 1Wrk, emphasized that the next chapter for GCCs will be defined by the outcomes they own rather than headcount or locations, and called for greater decision rights to unlock AI‑driven innovation.
  • Achyuta Ghosh, Executive Research Leader, HFS Research, warned that AI adoption alone will not advance GCCs; AI at scale must be paired with ownership, decision authority, and ecosystem orchestration.

About the Firms

  • HFS Research is a global research and advisory firm helping Fortune 500 companies navigate IT and business transformation.
  • ANSR is a global leader in establishing and operating GCCs, having built over 225 GCCs for more than 100 Fortune 500 companies across India, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia, and pioneered the GCC‑as‑a‑Service (GaaS) model and the 1Wrk platform.

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