Top 5 GCC Trends That Will Define 2025: What Leaders Must Prioritize Now

In 2022, Pure Storage placed a bold bet on Bengaluru’s deep tech talent, setting up its GCC in the city. Just a few years later, its India team isn’t merely supporting global operations—it’s building key product features for the world and leading a global product line from Bengaluru.

Once seen as mere operational hubs, India’s GCCs have evolved into high-impact centers of innovation, R&D, and leadership.

This isn’t an isolated success story, though. It mirrors a larger transformation—India’s thriving GCC ecosystem, with Bengaluru serving as a microcosm. What started with a bullock cart carrying technology to Sona Towers in 1985 has evolved into a powerhouse that now houses nearly 50% of all US-headquartered GCCs in India.

And the momentum isn’t slowing. With 1,700+ GCCs, 1.9 Mn professionals, and a 9.8% CAGR in revenue growth over the last five years, India’s GCC playbook is scaling at an unprecedented pace.

So, what’s next? We asked the experts to decode the top 5 GCC trends shaping this billion-dollar growth story. Here’s what they had to say.

Trend 1: The Talent Game Gets a Rewrite

The transition from aggressive hiring to sustainable upskilling isn’t just a shift in strategy—it’s reshaping the entire talent equation for GCCs. The implications? By 2025, the winners won’t be those hiring the most but those developing talent the fastest.

• Upskilling Will Become a Competitive Differentiator: Companies like Applied Materials, TIAA, ZF, and Continental are shifting their focus to structured Learning & Development (L&D) programs. AI-driven learning pathways, university tie-ups, and internal mobility programs are replacing the old “hire-fast” approach—a move that will define long-term workforce sustainability in 2025.
  
  With hiring stabilizing, GCCs will no longer win talent battles by offering higher salaries alone. Instead, the ability to upskill and redeploy existing employees will separate innovation hubs from high-churn workplaces. Employees will prioritize environments that foster continuous learning, and organizations that fail to create structured L&D frameworks will face an exodus of skilled professionals.
  
  
• Personalized Growth Paths Will Define Employee Loyalty: Over 80% of GCCs now dedicate specific budgets to continuous talent development. The next wave will go beyond hiring for skills—it will focus on evolving them. What expect that in 2025, the one-size-fits-all career path will be obsolete. Employees will expect highly personalized career journeys, with lateral movements across functions, AI-driven career progression insights, and internal gig opportunities. 
  
  
• Leadership Pipelines Will Face a Defining Moment: Mid-to-senior leadership roles are increasingly being filled by internal talent and lateral hires from product companies and consulting firms. Programs like Continental’s Women@Work and WE-LEAD are actively reshaping leadership pipelines, with 25% of these positions expected to be held by women by 2025. However, a leadership pipeline is only as strong as its scale and execution. GCCs in 2025 must ensure that leadership development is not just a program but a strategic, organization-wide priority.
  
  
• AI & Digital Talent Will Remain Expensive—Forcing Smarter Talent Allocation: While mass hiring is stabilizing, AI and digital roles remain expensive, with salary hikes ranging from 35-55% as companies compete for top talent. AI-driven talent costs won’t normalize anytime soon. Instead of hiring AI talent reactively, GCCs in 2025 will need to be smarter in their talent deployment—automating lower-value tasks and ensuring that high-cost digital experts are working on transformative, high-impact projects.

Trend 2: Generative AI Moves from Hype to Action

2024 was about AI implementation – experiments, pilots, and proof-of-concept projects. 2025 will be about AI ecosystems. The difference? AI will no longer be a side initiative—it’s becoming deeply embedded into enterprise DNA, transforming how GCCs operate at scale.

• From AI Islands to AI Continents: The real winners in 2025 won’t just deploy AI in isolated use cases—they’ll build Enterprise-wide integrated AI ecosystems where multiple AI-driven functions work together, amplifying each other’s impact.
  
  
• AI-Driven Acceleration – Speed will Define AI Leadership: Flexera’s AI Center of Excellence (COE) recently launched an AI-driven Cloud Cost Optimization feature in just three months—highlighting how GCCs are using AI to solve real-world business challenges at scale. This is a great example of what to expect in 2025—it won’t just be about AI adoption but how fast GCCs can operationalize it. The ability to test, deploy, and scale AI solutions rapidly will separate AI leaders from those struggling to keep pace. 
  
  
• Enterprise-Wide AI Integration – The Bar for AI Maturity is Rising: Across industries, AI is moving from isolated implementations to deeply integrated ecosystems. European industrial GCCs are scaling AI-powered platforms to unify data, drive real-time decision-making, and enable sustainability at scale. Meanwhile, US-based Fintech GCCs are embedding AI into full-scale enterprise projects, setting new industry benchmarks.
  
  The shift is already happening—but what separates AI adopters from true AI-driven enterprises? The difference lies in how seamlessly AI is embedded into daily workflows, decision-making frameworks, and operational processes. AI is no longer a tool for select functions—it’s fast becoming the foundation of how organizations operate. And this is where 2025 will draw a clear dividing line. AI will no longer be measured by its feasibility alone—companies won’t just ask “Can we implement AI?” but rather “How deeply is AI integrated into the way we run our business?”

Trend 3: Policies Power the Next Phase of India’s GCC Growth

Policy will be the silent force accelerating GCC expansion beyond metro cities.

• Expanding Beyond Metros: To ease talent supply pressure, companies in 2025 will expand hiring to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, tapping into new, cost-effective talent pools while reducing dependence on major urban centers.
  
  
• State-Level Incentives: Tamil Nadu has introduced lucrative SOPs with tax benefits for high-paying skilled jobs, while Karnataka has pioneered a GCC-specific policy offering incentives over five years (2024–2029). This is a great example of what we can foresee as a trend, with more states recognising the economic impact of GCCs and therefore the competition to attract these multinational companies will be intensified in 2025.
  
  For GCCs in 2025, the location decisions then will be driven as much by state policies as by talent availability. We expect an intensification of policy-led incentives—ranging from tax breaks and infrastructure subsidies to direct grants for high-end R&D and AI-driven innovation centers.
  
  
• National-Level Strategy: The National Guidance Framework will outline measures to enhance talent availability, develop infrastructure, and promote GCCs in emerging Tier-II cities. In 2025, GCCs leaders won’t just need to understand policy trends—they’ll need to actively integrate them into their workforce strategies. 
  
  With government-driven initiatives aimed at developing AI talent, green jobs, and digital infrastructure, organizations will have an opportunity to collaborate with policymakers to shape the workforce of the future. 

Trend 4: From Traditional Metrics to Value-Driven Impact

GCCs are moving beyond traditional efficiency metrics and redefining how success is measured.

• Impact Over Efficiency: Instead of cost-saving metrics, GCCs are shifting towards value-driven impact—tracking how their work fuels global business growth and innovation. In 2025, GCCs will be expected to demonstrate direct revenue impact. Efficiency alone won’t be enough—organizations will measure how GCCs contribute to global market expansion, product differentiation, and strategic innovation.
  
  
• Outcome-Focused Metrics: New evaluation frameworks will measure product localization, customer experience, and engineering contributions to business expansion. In 2025, success will be defined by business outcomes, not just execution speed. Companies will track customer retention, localized innovation, and AI-driven efficiencies to gauge how GCCs enhance enterprise agility and competitiveness.
  
  
• Strategic Recognition: With 90% of GCCs now operating as multifunctional hubs, they are increasingly being recognized as global innovation centers rather than just cost centers. In 2025, the most successful GCCs will be embedded in boardroom strategy. Organizations that position their GCCs as strategic growth drivers—not just operational support units—will gain stronger influence over global decision-making.

Trend 5: The GCC Model Is Getting a Makeover

The traditional GCC model is evolving. Hybrid approaches will reshape how companies design and scale their GCCs.

• Industry Diversification: New sectors—including Semiconductors, IOT-focused centers, and Energy companies—are rapidly embracing the GCC model. We expect that In 2025, non-tech industries will account for a significant share of new GCCs. As AI, Automation, and Digital Engineering become essential across sectors, expect Pharma, Manufacturing, and Automotive to scale up GCC operations, accelerating digital transformation beyond traditional IT and Software hubs.
  
  
• Faster Setup Cycles: GCC Accelerator/As-a-Service models are enabling companies to establish centers faster and more flexibly than ever before. In 2025, the GCC setup timeline is expected to shrink from years to months. Pre-built infrastructure, plug-and-play operating models, and AI-powered workforce planning will allow companies to go from strategy to execution at unprecedented speeds.
  
  
• Mid-Market Growth: Companies in the USD 400 Mn – USD 1 Bn revenue range are driving GCC expansion, no longer treating it as a strategy exclusive to Fortune 500 firms. We expect that in 2025, mid-market firms is expected to dominate the next wave of GCC growth. Scalable, cost-efficient models will enable smaller firms to leverage GCCs for innovation, talent access, and AI adoption—turning them into growth accelerators, not just operational hubs.
  
  
• AI-Driven, Cross-Functional Models: In 2025, AI-first GCCs will set the new industry standard. The most successful centers will be deeply embedded in Enterprise-wide AI strategy, leveraging real-time data, automation, and AI-driven decision-making to enhance business agility.
  

By 2025, the most successful GCCs won’t be defined by size but by their agility and ability to drive global innovation.

The Road Ahead for GCC Leaders

India’s GCCs are no longer just back-office operations—they are at the center of global transformation. What’s fueling this momentum? India’s Trust Dividend—a powerful mix of world-class talent, relentless innovation, and strong government backing.

The mandate for GCC leaders is clear:

✔ Future-ready talent that can drive AI-led transformation
✔ Measurable outcomes from AI investments
✔ Integrated operating models that create synergy across functions
✔ Deep domain expertise in critical sectors like pharma and retail
✔ Private equity-backed agility, reshaping how GCCs accelerate value

This isn’t just about incremental change—it’s about GCCs influencing boardroom decisions and delivering global impact.

With two decades of expertise and working with 190+ organizations, Zinnov has helped global leaders to design, build, and scale high-impact GCCs.