Ground impact: GCCs go enterprise, India becomes the epicentre of change
Arindam Sen, partner and GCC sector leader - technology, media & entertainment and telecommunications in EY India, said most global firms are adopting a wait-and-watch approach, keeping a close eye on how these trade dynamics evolve and whether they affect broader cost structures or investment flows. "For now, the India GCC play remains strong. The value proposition continues to be driven by talent depth, innovation capability, and operational maturity.
That said, this environment does reinforce the need for GCCs to stay agile: to build optionality into their delivery models, deepen tech-led efficiencies, and remain tightly aligned to business priorities globally," Sen added.
The rise of India as a dominant force in the GCC landscape is evident, with projections exceeding $100 billion by 2030, according to the EY India GCC Pulse Survey 2024. Additionally, these centres are poised to create over 2.5 million jobs across the country.
Phil Fersht, CEO of HfS Research, said, "I do not believe these tariffs will impact purchases of professional services, and it may actually encourage more investment in GCCs from US corporations to avoid any cross-boundary issues.
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An HfS Research and KPMG report said that enterprises are no longer evaluating service providers based on traditional metrics. "Size, reputation, and cost competitiveness—the holy trinity of vendor selection—are giving way to a new priority: manoeuvrability.
In a world where trade winds shift overnight, the real test for vendors isn't meeting today's specs—it's whether they've got the agility to pivot when tomorrow flips the script.
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Everest Group founder and chairman Peter Bendor-Samuel said, "We have studied this extensively and we see no significant impact from these tariffs on the tech services industry. These tariffs are not on services which are very hard to tariff.
There may be a smaller impact if India chooses to retaliate by increasing taxes on services delivered from India. The more you tax something, the less you get off it."
The HfS and KPMG report said enterprises are prioritising automation and AI-enabled delivery for speed, resilience, and control. Half of the respondents said they're turning to automation to accelerate service delivery without increasing headcount. The report said this is not about chasing cheaper labour markets anymore. Enterprises are doubling down on delivery models where geography and headcount no longer dictate outcomes.
"As a CTO of a Fortune 500 firm put it: 'We are not chasing the next low-cost country. We are chasing a model that doesn't care where the cost sits,'" the CTO was quoted in the report.
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