AI-powered Global Capability Centers (GCCs): the New Value Engine for Global Enterprises

Global Capability Centers (GCCs) have long served as reliable engines of cost efficiency, skilled talent, and scaled execution, delivering sustained value in an era defined by labor arbitrage and operational excellence. However, in an AI-first enterprise environment, this foundation is no longer sufficient. AI is fundamentally reshaping how work is done, redefining enterprise expectations, and creating an urgent need for GCCs to evolve from execution-focused delivery units into AI-powered value engines.

While ambition around AI adoption is high, execution remains uneven. Many GCCs continue to operate within legacy delivery models, with AI initiatives often limited to pilots and fragmented use cases. This gap between rising enterprise expectations and current GCC capabilities is emerging as a structural risk. Embedding AI requires more than incremental adoption; it calls for a fundamental shift in how work is designed, decisions are made, and outcomes are measured, alongside addressing persistent challenges across operating models, data foundations, talent readiness, and governance.

Consequently, ecosystem-led transformation is becoming essential. GCCs cannot build and scale AI capabilities in isolation, making partnerships with providers, hyperscalers, and specialists essential to accelerate adoption and de-risk execution. In this Viewpoint, we explore how GCCs can transition to AI-powered value engines, the barriers limiting AI at scale, the value AI can unlock, the role of human and AI collaboration, and the strategic imperatives required to drive the next wave of GCC-led enterprise transformation.