Hyderabad a talent hotspot for mid-market GCCs 

As high-impact innovation hubs, such facilities of enterprises with global revenues from $100 million to $1 billion annually are set to drive next phase of growth of GCC ecosystem in India: Nasscom-Zinnov report 

Hyderabad along with Bengaluru has emerged as leading talent hotspot for global capability centres (GCCs) of mid-sized enterprises or mid-market GCCs over the last five years, contributing 25% of talent growth, Nasscom-Zinnov said in a report.

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, National Capital Region (NCR) and Chennai remain leading destinations for mid-market GCCs attracting 74% of all new GCC units established. Mid-market GCCs are established by mid-sized enterprises or firms with annual global revenues typically ranging between $100 million to $1 billion. The focus of the facilities is on delivering high-value, specialised services while maintaining a leaner operational model compared to larger GCCs.

While Bengaluru is a natural choice as India’s largest tech workforce hub for scaling mid-market innovation centres, for Hyderabad Grade A infrastructure availability, proactive policies and lower attrition help attract the firms. “Proactive government support, affordable [quality] infrastructure and potential to scale have made Hyderabad a rising favourite among mid-market digital and engineering GCCs,” the findings of the report showed.

Chennai attracts a higher proportion of mid-market GCCs due to cost advantages, compared to other major cities, in addition to government incentives, improved infrastructure and rising talent availability.

Cities such as Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Thiruvanthapuram and Vadodara on the back of improved connectivity, relatively lower cost of living as well as cost effective tech talent and targeted incentives are attracting early stage mid-market GCCs teams, according to the findings. The report was unveiled on the opening day of a two-day Nasscom GCC Summit that got under way here.

The authors of the Nasscom-Zinnov report said GCCs continue to be a key growth sector for the tech industry in India, contributing nearly one-third of the industry’s total exports. Within this, mid-market GCCs are emerging as high-impact innovation hubs, driving agility, product excellence and enterprise transformation at scale.

India is home to more than 480 mid-market GCCs and 680 mid-market GCC units that employ 2.10 lakh professionals. They have been instrumental in shaping India’s GCC narrative — accounting for 27% of all GCCs and 22% of total GCC units in the country. Atleast 45 new mid-market GCCs have set up operations in India in the past two years alone, accounting for nearly 35% of total GCCs and 30% of total GCC units during this period, Nasscom said in a release.

“The next wave of global capability will not come from size, but from speed, specialisation and strategic influence,” Nasscom president Rajesh Nambiar said.

Talent attraction, operational scalability and ecosystem influence that can limit their growth opportunities and strategic potential are some of the challenges mid-market GCCs encounter. A lack of standardised operating procedures limits efficiency and cross functional collaboration.

“The most underrated transformation in India’s tech landscape is the rise of mid-market GCCs,” Zinnov CEO Pari Natarajan said.

With 1.30-1.50 lakh mid-market firms globally, India stands to attract an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 of them, especially from the U.S., U.K., Germany and Japan and verticals such as software and internet, BFSI and healthcare. For this, the country must focus on streamlining entry pathways, enabling cost-effective GCC-as-a-service models and building vibrant innovation clusters and proactively driving favourable policies.

Published - April 22, 2025 07:56 pm IST