We’re explorers, pioneers... not caretakers

“We’re explorers, pioneers... not caretakers,” declares Cooper, the lead character of the movie Interstellar, as he challenges humanity’s stagnation and attempts to reach for the stars.

These words resonate and cross nicely to the Global Capability Centres (GCCs) universe, (see what I did there?). More importantly, the scene captures the essence of re-invention and ambition. In the late 90s and early 00s, companies flocked to offshore delivery locations mostly for labour arbitrage purposes. GCCs were able to solve specific pain points, free up tons of cash and the hundreds of thousands of highly skilled workers coherently followed work instructions. This was a big enough differentiator back then, but GCCs also laid the foundations for companies to invest in technological and operational best practices like process mapping, program management and portfolio delivery. Capabilities that are important in helping to transform the organisation.

But... if I had a dollar for every time GCCs were written off as a point solution that would diminish in value or cease to exist because there was a new technology or trend on the horizon – I would have become a very rich man.

Agile, Cloud, Analytics, NLP, Automation. It feels like each time there is a new technology that brings an inkling of efficiency, pundits have been quick to write off the GCCs. However, in reality, it appears that GCCs have absorbed the challenge and evolved to deliver new services, allowing them to become the innovation delivery powerhouses behind established brands and new startups. While the concept of a GCC may not appeal to everyone, the value propositions they offer have certainly increased and a larger global market is capitalising on this. In other words, GCCs simply refuse to remain caretakers of the routine and ordinary.

Here is our December edition of Global Capability Centres(GCC) Trends and Insights 2024