For over a decade, Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have been the silent enablers of enterprise agility—quietly powering efficiencies, optimizing costs, and ensuring business continuity from their offshore and nearshore hubs. In recent years, the rules of the game are changing. And so is the playing field.
During our frequent conversations with leaders and enablers across India’s thriving GCC ecosystem—whether in BFSI, pharma, retail, or high-tech—one theme consistently emerges: transformation is underway, but it’s uneven. Pilots are plenty, but scale is elusive. Automation is widespread, but orchestration is rare. These candid conversations make it clear that while intent is high, execution is often slowed down by legacy architectures, fragmented tools, and unclear mandates.
A new research report titled “Beyond Incremental Gains: Unlocking Full Enterprise Value with AI-First GBS” by SSON and EdgeVerve arrives at a time when GCCs are evolving from transactional engines to transformation hubs. And yet, the question persists: Are we changing fast enough—and deep enough—to matter in the age of autonomous intelligence?
This isn’t just about new tools. It’s about rethinking the role of GBS in shaping enterprise outcomes, from compliance to competitiveness.
Beyond Pilots: From Projects to Platforms
The report surfaces a sobering insight: 65% of GBS organizations haven’t completed a generative AI project. And those that have, often implement AI narrowly—within customer support, process automation, or content creation.
This, by itself, isn’t surprising. What’s more concerning is the pervasive trap of tactical wins. GBS functions are stuck celebrating short-term gains—hours saved, tickets closed—while failing to build long-term transformation muscle.
“Incremental gains rarely scale. GBS leaders are missing the power of delivering improvements end-to-end across their business processes,” says Manzur Ali, AVP & Head of GBS Solutions at EdgeVerve. This fragmentation leads to what we call the “Integration Tax”—technical debt, redundancy, and disjointed user experiences.
What’s needed is not more AI pilots. What’s needed is a unified and scalable platform-based approach.
Perspective: GBS Has a ‘Visibility Deficit’
At GCC Pulse, we’ve observed a recurring issue across our coverage of India-based GCCs and shared services: visibility—or rather, the lack of it.
Too many enterprise leaders still see their teams as process custodians rather than value orchestrators. And one reason for that is that GBS teams haven’t claimed the central role in enterprise transformation. Without horizontal visibility across the front, mid, and back offices, GCC remains invisible in the boardroom, no matter how efficient it becomes.
This is where unified AI platforms can make a difference—not just in automation, but in building the “central office” model that turns insight into foresight, and operations into orchestration.
Key Frictions Slowing GBS Evolution
Here are four challenges identified in the report that remain stubbornly persistent:
- 51% of organizations still rely on function-specific AI tools, limiting scale and creating duplication
- 80% of AI initiative effort is still spent on data tasks—cleaning, normalizing, and integrating
- 42% of AI projects are abandoned due to a lack of maturity, up from 17% just a year ago
- Data governance and ROI modeling remain underdeveloped in many AI adoption roadmaps
All of these reflect a deeper cultural issue: treating AI as an IT initiative, not a strategic shift in how work is done and value is created.
The Rise of Agentic AI—But Is the Foundation Ready?
The most noticeable trend in the report is the emergence of Agentic AI—autonomous systems that don’t just execute, but think, plan, and act independently.
68% of GBS leaders want to explore Agentic AI; 12% already have.
But the question is not “can we use Agentic AI?”—the real question is “should we, and if so, how?”
Like any powerful system, Agentic AI amplifies both strengths and weaknesses. Poor data? It accelerates flawed decisions. Weak governance? It escalates risks. That’s why platforms—not point tools—are the way forward. You need AI with a conscience, not just AI with compute.
Vladimiro Ferreria, Head of Automation CoE at SEG Automotive and SSON thought-leader, warns: “Agentic AI is indeed a game-changer—when it is rolled out on a solid foundation […] deploying Agentic AI without quality data is like building your house on quicksand.”
Our Take: Three Dimensions GCC Leaders Must Rethink
To build a future-ready, AI-powered GBS function, leaders must go beyond traditional playbooks and pilots. They must rethink:
- Operating Philosophy
Shift from efficiency-first to value-first. The goal isn’t just to do more with less—it’s to do different with intelligence. - Transformation Ownership
AI is no longer the CIO’s job alone. Transformation must be co-owned by GBS, business, and technology leaders. GBS must design for decisions, not just transactions. - Talent Strategy
Forget upskilling for tasks. It’s time to reskill for agency. Build roles around decision support, AI oversight, and data stewardship—not just process execution.
The Time for Courageous Change
We’re at a moment of unprecedented opportunity. GBS and GCCs can either continue refining the edges or step into the center of enterprise value creation. Not through gimmicks. But through architecture, autonomy, and accountability.
Although the platform-led, AI-first model isn’t the final destination, it’s surely the runway to accelerate transformation.. However, the real lift-off happens when GBS functions start influencing strategic priorities—market expansion, customer experience, M&A readiness.
For that, we need a new charter for GCCs.
If you’re navigating this shift—or planning to—Beyond Incremental Gains: Unlocking Full Enterprise Value with AI-First GBS Report should be your compass to an AI-first GBS.
