Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I have about 25 years of industry experience. For about 2 decades, I have been part of various forms of GCCs (SAP, SONY, Cargill) and played different roles to build the GCC, as product developer, consultant, project manager, team / people manager, and other leadership roles.

Over the last 5 years, as a partner at wNy, our focus has been on building GCCs - from strategy to operational. We have stood GCCs for Professional services (Accounting), built R&D centers, and tech centers as well. We have also supported organizations in outsourcing to GCCs, as well as in assessing partner vendors to convert them into GCCs. 

Q2. Are you seeing a trend of 'Captive Backlash,' where firms are moving away from SIs back to GCCs? What is the primary financial trigger for this?

Many existing GCCs are tech centers, and hence, there is an imminent comparison between GCCs and SIs. The reality is that many new GCCs are not focusing solely on the tech side; they are building holistic capability centers in India. In our case, the focus has been on client-facing accounting and digital capabilities. 

In terms of financials as well, earlier GCCs, the driver was primarily cost. While cost is an outcome, the goals and objectives of a GCC are more focused on talent and innovation capabilities that are directly associated with overall organizational growth strategies.

In our experience and in our advocacy to our clients, we help them differentiate the tactics for working with a GCC and SI partner. GCC is focused on creating value, while SI provides an opportunity to scale and optimize cost. In all my GCCs, we have active contributions from local and global SIs.
In fact, we also advocate for partnering with startups, universities, etc.

In summary, the objective of a GCC is to leverage the entire ecosystem offered in India.

Q3. In your experience, what is the single most common operational bottleneck that prevents a GCC from moving from a 'cost center' to a 'value-add/innovation center’?

Moving from a cost center to a value center is not an operational aspect but a strategic shift. The most common is a lack of long-term vision and mission for GCCs. 

Q4. Beyond the Tier-1 cities, are Tier-2 cities actually viable for mission-critical financial apps, or is the infrastructure risk too high for the 15-20% cost saving?

Yes. The infrastructure risks are very high in Tier-2 cities. They can only offer an option of being satellite offices for a well-established GCC. We have helped our customers discover the capabilities of Tier-2 cities such as Kochi and Mangalore, but the conclusion has been that the risks outweigh the cost advantage.

Q5. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management?

As an investor, the 3 key things I want to understand about any company are:

• Purpose of the company
• Their plan is to build all the relevant capabilities 
• The senior management’s commitment to the company