Hyderabad, September 2025: Quess successfully hosted the 9th Edition of Quess presents ET Edge GCC Summit 2025 – Hyderabad, bringing together the brightest minds, boldest ideas, and most influential voices shaping the future of Global Capability Centers (GCCs). Building on a legacy of eight previous editions, this landmark summit has engaged more than 3,500 delegates, 350+ speakers, 80+ partners, 20+ roundtables, and televised conversations, extending its impact far beyond the walls of the venue.

GCCs: From Capacity to Capability to Core Strategy

India is currently home to over 1,700 GCCs, employing nearly 1.9 million professionals and generating $64.6 billion in revenue. Historically seen as cost-arbitrage centers, GCCs have now evolved into strategic, capability-rich business partners that play a critical role in enterprise growth.

The Hyderabad edition of the summit highlighted this transformation, focusing on how GCCs have shifted from capacity-driven support functions to strategic business enablers. Discussions emphasized GCCs’ role at the strategy table, enabling AI-first digital transformation, pioneering R&D, global product ownership, and building cross-border innovation ecosystems.

Jaideep Agarwal, India GBS Leader, Warner Bros. Discovery, highlighted this strategic shift: “We are delivering a wide range of corporate functions, and here in Hyderabad—now in just our second year of operations—we are already building strong momentum. From the very beginning, our approach to integrating with technology was intentional. Rather than focusing on quick wins or chasing low-hanging fruit, we set out to deliver larger, sustainable value. This meant prioritizing initiatives that would create long-term impact for the enterprise, embedding digital capabilities into core functions, and aligning with our broader transformation agenda.”

Today, GCCs are far from being back-office engines—they are driving boardroom-level decisions, enabling end-to-end business impact, and shaping the future of industries. With projections to scale beyond $105 billion by 2030, the GCC story is now about value, velocity, and visionary leadership, not just scale.

Hyderabad: The New Epicenter of GCC Momentum

Hyderabad has emerged as one of India’s fastest-growing capability ecosystems and provided the ideal stage for this next chapter. The city has become a magnet for global enterprises, offering world-class infrastructure, a thriving talent pool, and progressive policy support.

Mrinal Duggal, Head of Sanofi Global Hub, Hyderabad, highlighted the scalable transformation underway: “Most organizations today operate at different levels of maturity in their transformation journey. At Sanofi, we have adopted a unique centralized, top-down approach to better understand the overarching impact of change across the enterprise. Having invested the last few years in this model, we are beginning to see clear outcomes in terms of impact and value creation for the organization.”

Hyderabad now employs over 300,000 professionals in GCCs, accounting for nearly 15% of India’s total GCC talent base. In 2024 alone, the city recorded a record-breaking 13.1 million sq. ft. of office space leasing, with GCCs contributing 41% of that growth. With a 17% share of nationwide leasing and a 52% year-on-year growth, Hyderabad demonstrates unmatched momentum as a global GCC hub.

Pawan Sachdeva, Managing Director – Technology, Carelon Global Solutions India, explained the evolving GCC mindset driving this growth: “As GCCs evolve, the engineering mindset within them is transforming rapidly, moving from execution to innovation. This shift demands that the global operating model also evolve in parallel. Increasingly, GCCs are engaging directly with technology partners, no longer just supporting but actively shaping enterprise strategy.”

Hyderabad offers deep tech talent, strong academic collaboration, policy enablers, and a culture of innovation, making it the ideal nucleus for global business transformation. By 2030, India’s GCC workforce is projected to reach 2.8 million professionals, with Hyderabad expected to remain at the forefront, consolidating its position as a global hub for capability, creativity, and collaboration.

Talent and Transformation: Building the Future

Kapil Joshi, CEO, Quess IT Staffing, highlighted the growing talent challenge and opportunity: “The demand for AI/ML talent has surged by nearly 45%, while GenAI demand has skyrocketed by 145%, reflecting the speed at which enterprises are embracing next-generation technologies. Alongside this, the overall demand for skilled talent continues to rise sharply. What we have observed is that most GCCs are still heavily dependent on lateral hiring to fill these needs.”

Subba Perepa, MD and India CTO, JPMC, reflected on the strategic technology evolution needed ahead: “In the last 30 years, these have arguably been the most exciting times for global enterprises and their GCCs in India. Every industry has grown—both organically, through capability building, and inorganically, through mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships.”

Moderator Jaikumar Subramanian, Partner, Deloitte India, summarized the summit’s vision: “The vision is to transform multinational enterprises into truly global enterprises—and GCCs are central to this journey. With regional technology ecosystems maturing, enterprises are harnessing vast amounts of data. When combined with advanced analytics and AI, this data brings intelligence and sharper decision-making. Across GCCs, we are witnessing multiple transformations—shifting from cost centers to innovation hubs, from transactional support to strategic value creation—helping global firms scale smarter, faster, and more resiliently.”

Sessions That Defined the Day

The summit featured diverse sessions ranging from the Opening Keynote on AI-First GCCs to dynamic panels such as The Tech Mandate 2030, The Life Sciences Lab Next Door, and Beyond Headcount: Building AI-Ready Teams. Key highlights included: recognition of the Impactful GCCs of India for redefining capability with inclusion, intent, and innovation; solution showcases spotlighting real-time AI applications, compliance, and infrastructure; and icebreaking sessions that transformed connections into collaborations.

Beyond the Stage: A Blueprint for the Future

The Hyderabad edition was not merely a summit—it served as a blueprint for the next decade of global business services. With discussions amplified through ET Edge Insights, media, and digital platforms, its influence extended across India’s corporate ecosystem and beyond.

As India solidifies its position as the world’s GCC powerhouse, the 10th Edition of the ET Edge GCC Summit is scheduled to take place in Delhi in December 2025 under the theme Capital Meets Capital: Delhi & The GCC Powerhouse, setting the compass for the next wave of growth.