India’s Global Capability Centres: A Growth Story Powered by Cloud, DevOps, and AI

Over the past two decades, India has transformed into the world’s largest hub for Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Once viewed as cost-saving captives, these centres have now evolved into strategic hubs of innovation, digital transformation, and R&D.

Today, over 1,900 GCCs operate in India, employing nearly two million professionals and contributing upwards of USD 75 billion to the economy. Projections suggest this sector could cross USD 100 billion by 2030.

But what explains this meteoric growth? And why are Cloud, DevOps, Data Science, and AI the hottest job categories within this ecosystem?

The Growth of GCCs in India

Evolution in Three Phases

1. Early 2000s – Cost Arbitrage: GCCs began as back-office or IT support units.
2. 2010s – Capability Expansion: Centres took ownership of analytics, digital transformation, and product engineering.
3. Now – Innovation Engines: Many GCCs in India lead AI, cloud, DevOps, data analytics, and cybersecurity initiatives for global headquarters.
    

Scale & Impact

• 1,900+ GCCs in India, across BFSI, tech, pharma, retail, and manufacturing.
   
• 11–14% CAGR growth expected in coming years.
   
• Tier-2/3 cities like Kochi, Indore, Jaipur, and Bhubaneswar joining the GCC map.
   
• USD 149 billion market potential by 2032.
   

Clearly, the GCC story is not just about saving costs—it’s about driving global digital innovation from India.

Why India? Key Growth Drivers

1. Deep Tech Talent Pool: Engineers and data scientists skilled in cloud, DevOps, AI/ML, and full-stack technologies.
    
2. Cost + Value Advantage: Still more economical than the West, but now delivering higher-end value, not just lower costs.
    
3. Infrastructure Maturity: The growth of data centres, cloud zones, and SEZ parks supports large-scale operations.
    
4. Government Policies: GCC-friendly incentives, digital infrastructure policies, and AI research initiatives.
    
5. Geographic Diversification: GCCs moving beyond Bengaluru and Hyderabad into Tier-2 cities to reduce attrition and expand talent reach.
    
6. Resilience: Post-pandemic, companies want distributed, risk-balanced global delivery models—and India fits perfectly.
    

Cloud & DevOps: The Beating Heart of Modern GCCs

Digital transformation globally depends on cloud-first strategies and DevOps culture. For GCCs, these are core competencies.

Key Responsibilities of Cloud & DevOps Teams in GCCs

• Managing multi-cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
   
• Building CI/CD pipelines for faster, safer releases.
   
• Site Reliability Engineering (SRE): Ensuring uptime, monitoring, and observability.
   
• Microservices & Kubernetes: Containerization, orchestration, and serverless deployments.
   
• DevSecOps: Embedding security into pipelines.
   
• Cloud Migration & Modernisation: Moving legacy workloads to cloud environments.
   

Job Roles & Salaries

• Cloud Engineer / DevOps Engineer: ₹6–12 LPA (entry-level)
   
• SRE / DevSecOps Specialist: ₹12–20 LPA (mid-level)
   
• Cloud Architect / Platform Lead: ₹25–35 LPA+

Cloud & DevOps careers in GCCs are expected to see 20%+ annual demand growth.

Beyond Cloud: The Rise of Data Science & AI in GCCs

While Cloud & DevOps are foundational, GCCs are now rapidly expanding into Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. As global firms digitize, they want analytics and AI innovation closer to talent—and India fits the bill.

Why Data & AI Are Central to GCCs

• Decision Support: GCCs build predictive models for global business units.
   
• AI-Powered Products: Many India-based GCCs lead R&D on ML algorithms, NLP solutions, and recommendation engines.
   
• Automation & GenAI: Integrating generative AI for chatbots, document intelligence, and coding assistants.
   
• Data Engineering: Creating pipelines, warehouses, and lakehouses to support global data needs.

Top Data Science & AI Roles in GCCs

Salary Trends (Indicative for India)

• Data Analysts / Engineers: ₹6–10 LPA
   
• ML Engineers / Data Scientists: ₹12–20 LPA
   
• AI Specialists / Research Leads: ₹25–40 LPA+
   

Growth Outlook

• India’s AI market is projected to reach USD 17 billion by 2027 with GCCs driving much of that adoption.
   
• Hiring in data science roles is growing at ~25% CAGR, especially in BFSI, healthcare, and retail GCCs.
   
• AI engineers are increasingly part of cross-functional squads with DevOps teams to deploy models at scale (MLOps).
   

Cloud & DevOps vs Data Science & AI Careers in GCCs

Challenges & The Road Ahead

• Skill Gaps: While talent is abundant, advanced AI/ML skills are scarce.
   
• Responsible AI: GCCs must align with ethical and regulatory frameworks.
   
• Integration: AI models must be operationalized in secure, scalable environments—bringing DevOps and Data Science together (MLOps).
   

This convergence is creating hybrid roles like Cloud AI Engineer and MLOps Specialist.

India’s Dual Strength in Cloud & AI

India’s GCCs are moving from support functions to innovation centres. Cloud & DevOps provide the foundation, while Data Science & AI add intelligence.

For professionals, this is the best time to build careers in:

• Cloud & DevOps – powering global platforms.
   
• Data Science & AI – shaping the future of products and decisions.

For organisations, India is no longer just a cost centre, it is the nerve centre of global digital transformation.