ANSR and HFS Research Release Findings from the Inaugural HFS GCC Generative Enterprise Market Pulse Study; India's GCCs Emerge as Transformation Partners, but Ownership and AI-Native Operating Models Will Define the Next Leap

Inaugural Index scores India's GCC ecosystem at 61.9, revealing that 83% of GCCs are mission-critical to their enterprises, while only 17% have full decision-making and budget authority

BENGALURU, India, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of their strategic collaboration to advance the future of India's Global Capability Center (GCC) ecosystem, ANSR and HFS Research today announced the findings of the inaugural HFS GCC Generative Enterprise Market Pulse study, including the introduction of the HFS Generative GCC Index, a new benchmark for measuring GCC maturity and readiness for the Generative Enterprise era. Developed using HFS Research's independent research methodology and informed by insights from senior GCC leaders across ANSR's enterprise network, the study examines how India's Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are evolving from traditional delivery and shared services operations into enterprise transformation and innovation engines.

The inaugural HFS Generative GCC Index places India's GCC ecosystem at a score of 61.9, positioning the ecosystem at the entry point of the Transformation Partner stage in the HFS GCC maturity framework. The findings demonstrate how decisively GCCs have moved beyond their back-office and cost-arbitrage origins, while highlighting a critical challenge: their strategic importance is growing significantly faster than the authority and ownership being transferred to them.

Drawing on responses from 47 leading GCC leaders across India—primarily from ANSR's enterprise network—and applying HFS Research's independent research methodology, the HFS GCC Generative Enterprise Market Pulse study assesses GCC maturity across dimensions including role, work, ownership, AI, talent, operating models, innovation, and ecosystem engagement.

The research finds that 83% of GCCs are considered mission-critical to their enterprises, yet only 17% have full ownership of strategic decisions and budgets. This gap between accountability and authority represents one of the biggest barriers preventing GCCs from progressing from Transformation Partners to true Generative Enterprises.

"Partnering with HFS Research on the inaugural HFS GCC Generative Enterprise Market Pulse study reflects our shared commitment to bringing objective, data-driven insights to the evolution of India's GCC ecosystem," said Vikram Ahuja, Co-Founder, ANSR and CEO, 1Wrk. "India's GCCs have decisively moved beyond their origins as delivery and capability centers to become strategic engines of enterprise transformation, innovation and growth. The next chapter will be defined not by how many people GCCs employ or how many locations they operate, but by the outcomes they own. As AI reshapes the enterprise, GCCs have an unprecedented opportunity to take on greater ownership and shape how global businesses innovate and compete. Unlocking that opportunity requires enterprises to give GCC leaders greater decision rights and the mandate to orchestrate talent, technology and ecosystems at scale."

"India's GCCs should take the 61.9 score as a milestone and a warning at the same time," said Achyuta Ghosh, Executive Research Leader, HFS Research. "Two decades of transformation have earned some of them a seat at the enterprise table. Our data shows that AI adoption alone will not move them forward. AI at scale must be combined with ownership, decision authority, and ecosystem orchestration to define the Generative Enterprise era."

Seven insights defining the next era of India's GCCs

The HFS Generative GCC Index identifies seven shifts shaping the evolution of the sector:

1. The shared services identity is fading fast. Only 17% of GCCs describe themselves primarily as Shared Services Centers. Digital Transformation and Engineering Hubs (38%) and AI/Data/Automation Centers of Excellence (34%) are increasingly defining the modern GCC.
2. AI/ML is the fastest-growing GCC capability. More than half (55%) of GCC leaders expanded their AI/ML capabilities over the past 18 months, while 43% expanded data engineering and analytics capabilities, reflecting a broader shift toward intelligent decision-making and enterprise-wide transformation.
3. GCCs are increasingly accountable for measurable business outcomes. As GCC mandates shift from operational delivery to enterprise outcomes, 51% of leaders report that the value delivered by AI/automation is the largest measure of GCC business impact, ahead of productivity and cost efficiency.
4. AI adoption is accelerating, but operating models have yet to catch up. While 95% of GCCs have AI initiatives underway, few have fundamentally redesigned their operating models around AI. The greatest value today is being realized in software development productivity, business process automation and decision intelligence.
5. End-to-end ownership is the single biggest maturity multiplier. GCCs with end-to-end product ownership lift the index score by 56% than execution-only centers. The findings signal a shift from measuring GCC success through headcount and scale toward measuring the products, platforms, intellectual property, and business outcomes they own.
6. A significant empowerment gap persists. Despite being mission-critical to 83% of enterprises, only 17% of GCCs have full decision-making and budget authority. The study argues that enterprises must align authority with accountability if GCCs are expected to lead transformation and AI-driven innovation.
7. Ecosystem orchestration remains a major untapped opportunity. With more than $45 billion in AI infrastructure investment being built in India, GCC engagement with the wider innovation ecosystem remains limited. While 34% collaborate with consulting and services providers and 26% engage hyperscalers, 32% report no major ecosystem engagement. Collaboration with startups, universities and research institutions also remains relatively low.

Together, these findings point to a fundamental transition in the GCC model. India's GCCs have largely established themselves as enterprise transformation partners, but progressing toward the Generative Enterprise will require organizations to move beyond incremental AI adoption and focus on AI-native operating models, end-to-end ownership, leadership empowerment and deeper ecosystem orchestration.

The Index concludes that the next phase of GCC maturity will depend less on adding headcount and locations and more on fundamentally changing what GCCs are empowered to own. Enterprises that transfer meaningful decision rights, build AI-native operating models and enable their GCCs to orchestrate external innovation ecosystems will be best positioned to transform their centers from Transformation Partners into Generative Enterprise hubs.

The HFS GCC Generative Enterprise Market Pulse study combines HFS Research's independent market expertise with ANSR's deep engagement across India's Global Capability Center ecosystem.

About HFS Research

HFS Research is a leading global research and advisory firm helping Fortune 500 companies navigate IT and business transformation. With a focus on bold insights and practical strategies, HFS empowers enterprises to make confident decisions through deep research, demand-side data, and direct engagement with industry leaders. For more information, visit www.hfsresearch.com.

About ANSR

ANSR is the definitive global leader in establishing and operating Global Capability Centers. With over 225 GCCs established for more than 100 Fortune 500 companies across key innovation hubs in India, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia, ANSR combines unparalleled strategic insight, proven execution capabilities, and proprietary technology solutions to help enterprises build and grow their global teams. As pioneers of the GCC as a Service (GaaS) model and creators of the revolutionary 1Wrk platform, ANSR continues to redefine how enterprises achieve operational excellence and accelerate their digital transformation journeys. With over a decade of experience and a team of seasoned GCC experts, ANSR delivers predictable outcomes that enable enterprises to gain competitive advantage through their global capability centers. To know more www.ansr.com 

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