What’s in the report?
As AI reshapes industries and geopolitical tensions redefine markets, one constant remains: the unrelenting need for skilled engineering and digital talent. This talent has become the cornerstone of enterprise resilience, enabling global organizations to innovate at scale and adapt with agility in an unpredictable world.
Engineering hubs that once focused on delivery are now driving transformation. They bring together scale, speed, and capability, helping companies accelerate product development, strengthen digital operations, and manage cost without compromising quality.
Across the globe, new Centers of Excellence (CoEs) are emerging as strategic anchors of this evolution. India’s deep engineering base, China’s technology scale, and the fast-growing ecosystems of Vietnam, Mexico, and Romania are redefining where innovation happens and how enterprises build for the future.
The talent landscape itself is undergoing a rapid shift. AI and ML engineering talent grew 20% faster than software engineering roles in 2024, signaling a decisive turn toward data-driven and intelligent systems. National programs in Czechia and the Philippines are further expanding AI capabilities, investments, and workforce readiness, widening the map of global innovation.
The CoE Hotspots of the World 2025 report evaluates 25 countries shaping this next phase of global engineering. Each market has been analyzed across several key dimensions like Talent Availability, Software Engineering Maturity, Quality of Life, Diversity & Inclusion and more. The findings give leaders a clear, data-backed view of where to build and how to scale.
In this dynamic environment, success depends on precision, identifying the right locations, accessing the right talent, and aligning capabilities with business ambition. This study maps the world’s most competitive CoE destinations, equipping leaders with the insights to build high-performing global engineering hubs that deliver scale, speed, and sustained impact.
Global Software Engineering Talent availability and cost
Why download this report?
- Identify the world’s most attractive destinations for building scalable, high-performing CoEs.
- Benchmark your globalization strategy using Zinnov’s proprietary Z1000 dataset.
- Understand regional strengths and ecosystem maturity to make data-driven location decisions.
- Gain insights into talent dynamics, cost competitiveness, and innovation readiness for 2025 and beyond.
Evaluation Parameters:
- Talent Availability
- Software Engineering Ecosystem Maturity
- Cost Competitiveness
- Ease of Doing Business
- Quality of Life
- Cultural Affinity
- Diversity & Inclusion
Each parameter captures a key dimension of what makes a location attractive for building and scaling CoEs. Together, they provide a holistic view of the global engineering landscape, where scale, cost, talent depth, and innovation readiness intersect.
To get access to the full report, please drop us a note at info@zinnov.com
Country Ranking based on their potential to house fully scalable Software Engineering teams
With 23+ years of experience across the globe in setting up and transforming 200+ Centers of Excellence (CoEs), Zinnov helps enterprises build scalable, high-performing global hubs. We enable organizations to unlock talent, optimize costs, and accelerate innovation through future-ready CoE models.
For more details about working with us, drop us a note at info@zinnov.com and we will get in touch with you.
Report Authors and Contributors
Nilesh Thakker
Namita Adavi
S Doraiswamy Bharath
Pradeepbabu Kalaikamban
Suveenthar G
Reshma Sekar
FAQs
FREQUENTLYASKED QUESTIONS
A Center of Excellence (CoE) is defined as a body in an organization that has leading-edge knowledge and competency in a particular area and is comprised of highly skilled individuals and experts.
Zinnov evaluated 25 countries across North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia Pacific to narrow down the COE hotspots of the world. The identified locations were benchmarked against developed countries like the US, the UK, and Japan.
The insights and analyses from this comprehensive study will benefit key stakeholders and decision makers such as CXOs, Strategy, Operations, and HR leaders from global MNCs; Operating Partners at Private Equity firms.
We have selected the 25 countries because of their high potential to house full software engineering teams. Zinnov’s extensive experience of working with global technology organizations, PE firms, and Technology Service Providers, uniquely positions us to evaluate key aspects such as the presence of significant talent pools, ecosystem maturity, affordable costs, and ease of doing business in terms of geopolitical stability, English proficiency, and IP and Data Privacy – that make certain countries global talent hotspots.
Organizations set up global COEs or GCCs to –
- De-risk business
- Initiate transformative change in the organization in a scalable and sustainable manner
- Provide visibility, focus, and establish commitment to innovation
- Provide flexibility to innovate fast and fail fast
An organization can measure the success of its COE by measuring –
- The expertise showcased by a COE – Relevant, Deep, and Unique (IP worthy, POC generated).
- The ability to impact the organization by shaping its business vision and technology roadmap and/or by helping the organization fill the skill gap/market gap to achieve the outlined broader organizational vision.
- The ability to generate economic value for HQ and drive product ownership and technology leadership.
Here are the top key levers to build successful Centers of Excellence –
- A well-defined vision with strong executive sponsorship
- The selection of the right location with a strong external ecosystem
- Skill availability at scale
- Creating an organizational structure that empowers the COE to take up ownership and hence sets it up for success
- Building a strong talent strategy
- Well-defined governance and operating model
- Prioritizing the right use cases and problems to solve for
- Fostering meaningful partnerships with start-ups, academia, and other companies in the ecosystem.
An effective COE must have the following attributes in order to drive high-impact value and ROI –
- High engineering maturity
- Clearly defined center persona
- Top-notch talent attraction and retention strategy
- Strong partnerships with the external ecosystem
- Visionary leader to drive innovation
