As Global Capability Centers (GCCs) become strategic enterprise assets, the ability to Globalize Work with Confidence™ is emerging as the defining capability for the next decade.
NEW YORK, July 15, 2026 -- Over the past decade, Global Capability Centers (GCCs) have undergone a fundamental transformation, evolving from cost arbitrage centers into innovation hubs, technology accelerators, and strategic business partners. The market reflects this momentum: India alone now hosts 2,117 GCCs employing 2.36 professionals and generating nearly USD 98.4 billion in annual revenue, with more than 506 Forbes Global 2000 companies operating centers in the country (Nasscom).
Yet as ambitions have grown, so has the complexity of execution. Enterprise leaders today are navigating larger portfolios, more demanding stakeholders, and higher expectations for measurable business outcomes. The decision is made. The direction is set. What separates leaders from the rest is what happens next.
More than 72% of new GCC builds experience material delays or cost overruns within the first 24 months. That is not a talent problem or a location problem. It is a system problem, and it is the problem Aokah was built to solve.
"GCCs have made significant strides over the past decade, moving from back-office support to genuine innovation and transformation hubs. What separates the leaders from the rest today is not ambition. It is the wisdom to plan well, the expertise to execute consistently, and the system to sustain it. That is what Globalizing Work with Confidence™ means in practice."
— Atul Vashistha
Chairman and CEO, Aokah
Five Trends Shaping Global Capability Transformation
1. AI-First Operating Models Move from Pilot to Enterprise Scale
GCCs are no longer experimenting with AI. They are embedding it across software engineering, finance, HR, analytics, and customer operations. The pressure is now on leadership to move from point solutions to enterprise-wide adoption with measurable value.
The data confirms that the shift is structural, not incremental. 83% of GCCs are already investing in Generative AI, and 58% are currently investing in Agentic AI, with another 29% planning to scale within the next year. Globally, close to three-quarters of enterprises plan to deploy Agentic AI within two years. Organizations that treat AI as a strategic capability rather than a departmental tool will set the pace for the next phase of GCC evolution.
83% of GCCs are currently investing in GenAI. 58% are investing in Agentic AI today, with another 29% planning to scale within the year. — EY India GCC Pulse Survey, 2025
~75% of enterprises globally plan to deploy Agentic AI within two years. — Deloitte State of AI in the Enterprise, January 2026 (3,235 leaders, 24 countries)
"83% of GCCs are already investing in GenAI, yet only 21% have a mature governance model in place to manage it responsibly. That gap is where the next decade of value, and risk, will be decided. As an investor, that's exactly the kind of structural shift we want exposure to, and it's exactly why our confidence in Aokah keeps growing. They are not chasing the AI wave. They are building the system that enterprises need to ride it well."
— Veda Iyer
Global Chief Marketing Officer, and Head Hyperscalers & Strategic Partnerships, Head Sales– APAC, Mphasis
2. Outcome-Based Governance Replaces Activity Reporting
Traditional governance models built around status updates and milestone tracking are giving way to frameworks centered on business impact and value realization. Enterprise leaders are demanding visibility into what is working and real-time insights into whether transformation initiatives are delivering the value promised to the business.
The governance gap is real and widening. Only 21% of organizations have a mature governance model in place for agentic AI, even as deployment scales at speed. Nearly half of organizations (48%) say they have introduced AI without redesigning the workflows or roles it sits within, and just 12% report redesign at scale with a new operating model behind it. This shift requires new metrics, new conversations, and a fundamentally different relationship between GCC leadership and the enterprise.
Only 21% of organizations have a mature governance model for autonomous AI agents, even as adoption accelerates. — Deloitte State of AI in the Enterprise, 2026
48% of organizations have introduced AI without redesigning the workflows or roles it sits within. Only 12% report redesign at scale. — Deloitte AI Institute Pulse Check, 2026 (3,700 professionals)
3. Global Capability Centers Evolve into Enterprise Transformation Engines
The delivery center model is giving way to something far more strategic. GCCs are increasingly positioned as catalysts for enterprise-wide transformation, playing a central role in innovation, change management, and long-term capability building.
The evidence is now beyond anecdotal. More than half of India's Global Capability Centers (52%) hold shared accountability for global decisions, and 45% are driving global strategy leadership from India. Two-thirds of GCCs (67%) are creating dedicated innovation teams and incubation programs to generate, test, and globalize ideas. The most mature GCCs are no longer asked what they deliver. They are asked what they make possible.
52% of India GCC centers hold shared accountability for global decisions. 45% are driving global strategy leadership from India. — EY India GCC Pulse Survey, 2025
67% of GCCs are creating dedicated innovation teams and incubation programs to generate, test, and globalize ideas from India. — EY India GCC Pulse Survey, 2025
"What I see happening in the GBS industry now is that Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are becoming the AI accelerators for their enterprises, as they bring together a unique set of talent, data acumen, deep technology skills and business process operations at scale. This is making these GCCs ideally placed to be THE enterprise AI accelerator, with a real top- and bottom-line impact for their enterprise."
— Robert Weltevreden
Global Business Services Leader and Board Member of Aokah
4. Human-AI Collaboration Redefines Workforce Strategy
The GCC workforce today combines deep domain expertise with AI-enabled capabilities. Leading organizations are investing in reskilling, new operating models, and ways of working that amplify human judgment through technology rather than simply automating tasks. Talent strategy is no longer just about hiring the right people. It is about building the right human-AI teams.
The urgency is highlighted by a significant disconnect: 84% of companies have not redesigned jobs to accommodate AI, despite high automation expectations and increasing deployment. Enterprise leaders identify insufficient worker skills as the primary barrier to integrating AI into current workflows. The organizations that address this gap first will gain a clear talent and performance edge.
84% of companies have not redesigned jobs or the nature of work around AI capabilities, even as automation expectations are high. — Deloitte State of AI in the Enterprise, 2026
#1 Barrier: Insufficient worker skills are the biggest barrier to integrating AI into existing workflows, according to enterprise leaders surveyed. — Deloitte State of AI in the Enterprise, 2026
5. Confidence in Outcomes Becomes the Ultimate Competitive Differentiator
As transformation programs grow in scale and complexity, the organizations that will lead are those capable of executing consistently while maintaining visibility into risks, dependencies, and outcomes at every stage of the process. The rapid pace of change is creating systemic exposure: 78% of technology leaders say AI adoption is surpassing their organization's ability to manage the business effectively.
Aokah's analysis of over 300 globalization programs revealed that more than 72% of new GCC projects face significant delays or cost overruns within the first 24 months. These are not exceptions; they are the standard when there is no structured execution intelligence. Globalizing Work with Confidence™ is no longer just a goal. It is a necessary operational requirement that distinguishes organizations that grow effectively from those that get stuck.
78% of technology leaders say AI adoption is outpacing their organization's ability to effectively manage the business. — EY Technology Pulse Poll, February 2026 (500 US business leaders)
More than 72% of new GCC builds experience material delays or cost overruns within the first 24 months. — Aokah analysis of 300+ GCC programs
A New Standard for Enterprise Globalization
Aokah's Five Wisdoms℠ framework, developed from over twenty years of experience across 300+ globalization programs, provides enterprise leaders with a structured, proven method to navigate each stage of the globalization process. From exploration and setup to optimization and sustained performance, Aokah combines proprietary insights with expert guidance to help organizations move faster, avoid costly mistakes, and build GCCs that fulfill their strategic goals.
"The question enterprises are asking has shifted. It is no longer whether to globalize work. It is how to do it in a way that generates real confidence, for the board, for the business, and for the teams executing on the ground. That is the standard we hold ourselves to, and the standard we help our clients achieve."
— Atul Vashistha
Chairman and CEO, Aokah
About Aokah
Aokah gives enterprises the System, Expertise, and Wisdom to Globalize Work with Confidence™. Built on the Five Wisdoms℠ framework and grounded in over 300 globalization programs, Aokah helps enterprise leaders explore, build, and optimize GCCs that deliver measurable, sustainable business outcomes.
Learn more at www.aokah.com
Sources
- Nasscom-Zinnov GCC Value Orbit Report, FY2026
- EY India GCC Pulse Survey 2025 (published November 2025)
- Deloitte State of AI in the Enterprise, January 2026 (3,235 business and IT leaders, 24 countries)
- Deloitte AI Institute Pulse Check Series, 2026 (3,700 professionals)
- EY Technology Pulse Poll, February 2026 (500 US business leaders)
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