GCCs Build AI and Cloud Teams with Experienced IT Talent
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India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are increasingly hiring experienced professionals from traditional IT services companies as they expand teams focused on artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity and other advanced technologies.
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According to The Economic Times, more than one-third of experienced professionals hired by India’s 150 largest GCCs over the past year came from IT services companies. The remaining talent was sourced from other GCCs, product companies, startups, consulting firms and other industries.
The trend shows how GCCs are changing from traditional support centres into larger technology and innovation hubs. Many centres now handle global engineering, product development, digital transformation, data and technology operations.
Why GCCs Are Hiring IT Services Professionals
Experienced professionals from IT services companies bring knowledge of enterprise technology environments, large-scale projects and different business domains. This makes them suitable for GCCs building specialised teams.
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Key areas driving demand include:
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Cloud computing and cloud architecture
- Data engineering and analytics
- Cybersecurity
- Platform and software engineering
- Digital and enterprise transformation
For GCCs, hiring experienced professionals can also reduce the time required to build teams for new technology programmes.
Growing Demand for AI and Data Talent
The hiring trend comes as companies face a shortage of specialised technology professionals. GCCs are competing for people who have experience in AI, data and other emerging technologies.
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A recent Quess Corp report cited by ETGCC found that AI, data and analytics accounted for 16.7% of GCC hiring demand in the first quarter of FY27. The report estimated a supply-demand gap of around 36–40% for specialised talent in these areas.
This shortage is encouraging GCCs to look beyond conventional hiring channels and consider professionals with transferable technology skills.
Reskilling Becomes Part of the Hiring Strategy
External recruitment is not the only solution. GCCs are also investing in reskilling and internal mobility to develop talent for emerging roles.
Professionals with adjacent technical skills can be trained rather than replaced. For example, backend developers can move into applied AI engineering, while data engineers can develop capabilities in AI platform engineering.
This approach allows GCCs to retain experienced employees while building capabilities in areas where external talent is limited.
Impact on IT Services Companies
The movement of experienced professionals from IT services companies to GCCs is also increasing competition for skilled employees.
GCCs can offer opportunities to work directly on global products, technology platforms and business transformation programmes. For experienced professionals, these roles can provide exposure to specialised technologies and global decision-making.
For IT services companies, retaining experienced employees may therefore require stronger career opportunities, reskilling programmes and exposure to emerging technologies.
GCCs Move Towards Higher-Value Work
The growing preference for experienced technology talent reflects the wider development of India’s GCC ecosystem. Centres that initially focused on IT support and business operations are increasingly taking responsibility for engineering, product development, analytics and innovation.
As their responsibilities grow, GCCs need professionals who combine technical expertise with business understanding. Experienced IT services professionals can meet this requirement because they have already worked across large projects, enterprise environments and multiple industries.
The current hiring pattern points to a broader change in India’s technology talent market. GCCs are building their workforce through a combination of experienced hiring, reskilling and internal mobility, while IT services companies face stronger competition for professionals with specialised and emerging technology skills.
With AI, cloud, cybersecurity and data becoming central to GCC operations, the demand for experienced technology talent is likely to remain strong as these centres expand their global responsibilities.