We live in extraordinary yet rewarding times, and we all can agree on that, I guess. Because I've been in the business for more than two decades, I can't recall a period as rollercoaster as this.
The bizarre happenings I'm talking about are the nationwide frenzy for IT expertise that virtually every firm's pandemic-driven digital transformation plans have sparked. It has pushed businesses and their HR directors to smile and suffer it while highly competent IT people decline job offers with, in some cases, 40-50% compensation increases and multiple other offers waiting in the wings.
I guess not quite. It turns out there simply isn't another IT outsourcing market like India for businesses wishing to carry out large-scale projects, much alone the Bay Area. The rationale 4.5 million English-speaking talent pool, cost advantage, and high-skill capabilities developed over 25 years make up a potent trifecta. India has led the Global Services Location Index since management consulting firm Kearney started tracking the desirability of nations for IT offshore in 2004 and through its most recent assessment in 2021.
It doesn't mean there aren't any other choices, though. While India continues to be a top choice for sourcing, other nations are quickly rising to prominence. Eastern European countries, particularly Ukraine, Poland, and Romania, are frequently mentioned in conversations about the production of high-end software. Despite all this, India stands strong.
MNCs opted for India in the 1990s as the best spot to establish what was then known as offshore captive centers. They were established as cost-saving hubs to provide IT and business process services to corporations with headquarters mostly in the west as an alternative to outsourcing.
A new phenomenon, Global Capabilities Centers (GCCs) have increased their productivity and value proposition recently, notably with the development of digital technologies. India is the "global GCC capital," accounting for 50% of the worldwide market, according to 2021 research co-authored by Deloitte and NASSCOM. The GCC business is predicted to increase to USD 85 billion in yearly sales over the next six years, according to the analysis.
In addition to their tremendous expansion, GCCs are becoming increasingly vital when it comes to budget innovation. The day when GCCs could only be used for back-office tasks is long past. MNCs are developing new Centers of Excellence and expanding their present sites (CoEs).
Currently, India is home to over 1,500 firms' GCCs, which total to roughly 2,700. 19 additional organizations have been added to the list in the most recent quarter alone, bringing the total to around 70 new businesses added annually.
As the GCCs develop even further, the government will help them by fostering rapid entrepreneurship and innovation, skilling, enacting robust data-related legislation, and enhancing the ease of doing business.
The tone for India's decade is established by strengthening the shared goal for inclusive development, sustainability, infrastructure, and skilling. A testament to India's technological prowess and the capacity of the Indian technology industry to provide a major boost to sectors across is the government's sharp focus on technology-enabled development and aligned investments in key sectors like education, healthcare, infrastructure, fintech, start-ups, R&D, agriculture, and manufacturing.
However, I think that the GCCs' rapid expansion should continue to focus on the future while collaborating with the regime to guarantee that the road map for a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2026 is strengthened.
Thank you for reading.
About the Author
Arun Rajiah is a serial entrepreneur, a start-up guy, with multiple industry experiences and building business from scratch. With over 18+ years of experience in IT, Retail, Finance, and Venture Capital, Arun is currently leading a group of companies ventured into 4 countries and grooming next-generation leaders in his organization and focusing on helping at least 10k start-ups in his career.