2025 year in review

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THE BEST OF

2025

For the GCC sector, 2025 was disruptive in all the right ways. AI-driven innovation, the rise of India’s GCC leaders on the global stage, and a fundamental reimagining of enterprise operating models have redefined the role and impact of Global Capability Centers.

As we close the year, we bring together ANSR’s most influential thinking – insights that have shaped executive conversations, guided strategic decisions, and illuminated the evolving trajectory of the GCC model. This collection provides a sharp, forward-looking perspective on the forces that defined 2025 and the opportunities that will shape the next frontier of GCC growth in 2026 and beyond.

ANSR Quote Section — FINAL FIXED VERSION
“The GCCs that are truly driving enterprise transformation aren’t chasing hype; instead, they’re anchoring on what matters: being business-native. This means being tightly aligned with enterprise goals, trusted for delivery excellence, and empowered to innovate with purpose. Your GCC doesn’t need to be ‘AI Native’. It needs to be business-native.”
Lalit Ahuja, Founder and CEO, ANSR
Dive deeper into Lalit’s take on how modern-day GCCs must strive to ‘business-native’ instead of being ‘AI-native’.
Read More
  • If GCCs are to be truly business-native, then how we measure
  • their success must evolve. Today’s GCCs are driving global
  • mandates, delivering high-impact outcomes, and operating as
  • extensions of the enterprise itself. Outdated metrics can’t
  • capture this shift; a new success framework must.

Explore how leaders within every industry are gradually moving away from traditional, efficiency and arbitrage-driven metrics and adopting dynamic, business-outcome-driven KPIs.

To know how, read Beyond Operational Metrics: Redefining Success for GCCs.

GCC Success Metrics – Maturity Quadrant (Mobile Left Align)
GCC Success Metrics: Maturity Quadrant

Capability Enablers

  • Capability maturity
  • Skill growth
  • Cultural alignment
  • Internal mobility

Strategic Value Creators

  • Business outcomes
  • Revenue impact
  • Innovation index
  • Global mandate ownership

Cost Centers

  • Headcount
  • SLA adherence
  • Attrition
  • Utilization

Efficient Operators

  • Productivity
  • Automation ROI
  • Process optimization

Successful GCCs need a strategic approach to sourcing that balances both internal and external capabilities.

This is where best-sourcing comes in, a model that blends the strengths of in-house GCC talent with the scale and specialization of managed service partners. Instead of choosing between insourcing and outsourcing, leading organizations are combining the two to accelerate innovation, access niche skills, and drive non-linear growth while retaining control of strategic priorities.

Explore these insights in Mastering Best-Sourcing: A Strategic Guide for GCC Leaders.

ANSR Section Replica

How GCCs Navigate Global Talent & Resource Management

Fully in-house through GCCs
19%
Primarily outsourced to service providers
2%
A mix of GCC and outsourcing (best-sourcing model)
69%
Still developing our global strategy
10%
A recent ANSR
survey of GCC leaders
revealed that
69%
of organizations
with GCCs are
adopting the best-
sourcing approach.

At the heart of every successful GCC is one defining factor: exceptional leadership.

India’s GCC leaders are taking over the global business landscape – and this is no coincidence. The country’s GCC leadership base stands at around 6,500 today and is projected to surge to 30,000 by 2030. More than 150 global CXOs already operate out of India GCCs, driving enterprise-wide mandates, and 60% of current GCC leaders are expected to take on expanded global responsibilities within the next five years.

But GCC leadership comes with its own set of challenges. So we asked leaders across the ecosystem to tell us: What’s the toughest part of your leadership journey?
Here’s what they said:

So what defines a great GCC leader?

The mindsets, skills, and structural enablers that not only shape next-generation leaders but also influence the trajectory of the GCC model itself.

Forward-thinking GCC leaders recognize the importance of the human element in capability building. Explore how leaders across different GCCs are converting purpose into performance, people into champions, and operational excellence into sustainable enterprise advantage.

Focusing on the role of leaders in building purpose-led and people-centered GCCs, our eBook, ‘Purpose, People and Performance’ explores how GCC leaders can
Create cultural cohesion and a shared sense of purpose across multiple geographies
Build reward strategies that are tailored to the needs of the local workforce
Leverage culture to position the GCC as an equal partner with the HQ, and much more.

Every GCC, regardless of its size or industry, needs a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) tailored to its goals. 

A strong UVP helps attract the right talent, foster alignment with headquarters, and create an identity that goes beyond being a back office. When done right, your UVP becomes the reason talent joins, stays, and grows with your organization. 

UVP

Brand

Build a strong global connection showing opportunity, impact and innovation

Culture

Bridge global-local cultural gaps to build a one unified culture

Policies

India-specific policies that can compete with the global market

Workplace

Culturally aligned, flexible, and infused with elements of the HQ

Rewards

Tailored to the local talent and above market standards

LTI

Strategic retention tool in a high-attrition talent pool

From Hype to Impact:
How GCCs Are Adopting AI With Purpose

These insights explore how AI is becoming a people-enabled, business-first capability across India’s strongest GCCs. 

Rethinking Business Operations with Agentic AI
ANSR’s new logo shines light on the future
Report: AI Trends in India’s GCCs
ANSR’s new logo shines light on the future
AI or people’ vs ‘AI for people’: A CFO’s view
ANSR’s new logo shines light on the future

Tapping the Pulse of India’s GCC Talent

Enterprise-wide AI ambition means little without the talent capable of adopting and scaling it. So now, we shift our lens to the people who make this transformation possible. In our recent survey of 3,000+ GCC professionals, we analysed how talent adopts AI, experiments with it, and integrates it into daily workflows.  

63% professionals feel that AI has given them a clear productivity boost
63% professionals feel that AI has given them a clear productivity boost
37%
Dramatically
improved
26%
Significantly
improved
24%
Moderately
improved
76% of the workforce fears being replaced by AI
76% of the workforce fears being replaced by AI
46%
May be replaced
in 5 years
30%
Fear AI-driven
downsizing
24%
Younger colleagues
advancing

And That’s a Wrap on 2025

What a year for the GCC ecosystem! Bold shifts, new opportunities, and momentum that shows no signs of slowing. 2026 is set to raise the bar even higher, with accelerated innovation, sharper leadership, and a new wave of enterprise transformation led from India.

Stay tuned as ANSR’s insights and forward-thinking perspectives continue to shape the future of GCCs and the enterprises they power.

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