CGI Named Major Contender as India's GCCs Drive Global Innovation

BENGALURU, India – January 08, 2026 – Global IT and business consulting firm CGI has been named a Major Contender in two key Everest Group PEAK Matrix® Assessments for 2025, recognizing its capabilities in setting up and transforming Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India. The acknowledgment arrives as India solidifies its position not merely as a hub for cost-effective operations, but as a strategic nerve center driving global innovation, AI integration, and digital transformation for multinational corporations.

CGI's recognition highlights its end-to-end support for clients looking to leverage India's dynamic ecosystem. The firm's ability to help establish, scale, and modernize GCCs into agile, innovation-focused hubs was central to the assessment. This validation from a respected industry analyst like Everest Group underscores a broader market shift where GCCs are becoming indispensable assets for enterprises navigating a complex global landscape.

Beyond Cost Savings: India's GCCs as Innovation Engines

The era of viewing India's Global Capability Centers primarily through the lens of cost arbitrage is definitively over. Today, the country hosts a thriving ecosystem of over 1,800 GCCs employing more than 1.6 million professionals, and its role has evolved into one of strategic partnership and value creation. The market, which generated an estimated USD 64.6 billion in revenue in FY2024, is on a steep upward trajectory, with projections suggesting it could surpass USD 100 billion by 2030.

This explosive growth is fueled by a confluence of factors. India's vast talent pool, which produces over 1.5 million engineering graduates annually, provides the skilled workforce necessary to tackle complex challenges in AI, machine learning, cloud computing, and data engineering. This human capital is the bedrock upon which these advanced centers are built. Furthermore, supportive government policies and a mature digital infrastructure have created a fertile ground for investment, with approximately 80% of new GCCs in the Asia-Pacific region choosing India.

More importantly, the very mission of these centers has been redefined. They are no longer back-office support units but are increasingly becoming the engines of research and development, product engineering, and enterprise-wide digital transformation. Over 40% of GCCs in India are actively leveraging AI and data analytics to reinvent operations and create new value streams, functioning as intelligence-driven hubs that enhance global agility.

CGI's Strategic Positioning in a Competitive Field

In this dynamic and competitive landscape, CGI's designation as a Major Contender by Everest Group is significant. The PEAK Matrix® framework evaluates service providers on their market impact and their vision and capability, offering a trusted benchmark for enterprises. While the field includes established 'Leaders' such as PwC and HCLTech, CGI's position validates its robust, full-lifecycle approach to GCC services.

"In India, we are uniquely positioned to help clients unlock the full potential of their GCCs—from operational excellence to large-scale transformation," said Rakesh Aerath, President of Asia Pacific Global Delivery Centers of Excellence at CGI. "This recognition by Everest Group reflects our skilled talent and world-class delivery capabilities in India, helping organizations accelerate digital transformation, scale AI-powered operations and strengthen resilience at scale."

CGI's offerings span the entire GCC journey, from initial pre-build advisory and strategy design to the build-and-setup phase, ongoing operations, and strategic transformation. The firm emphasizes flexible frameworks and proprietary tools like its 'Strategic Playbooks' and 'CGI DigiOps' platform to accelerate time-to-value. This comprehensive model allows clients to treat the GCC as a true extension of their enterprise, aligned with core business priorities from day one.

Amar Aswatha, Senior Vice-President of Global Business Engineering at CGI, noted the company's long-term commitment. "This recognition highlights CGI's two decades of helping clients build outcome-driven, AI-enabled GCCs," he stated. "By combining our proximity model with managed services, we help clients treat the GCC as an extension of their enterprise, aligned to business priorities and delivering measurable outcomes from the outset."

Solving the Enterprise 'Dual Agenda'

CGI's success is deeply intertwined with its ability to help clients address the 'dual agenda' that defines modern business: the simultaneous pursuit of innovation and growth on one hand, and efficiency and cost control on the other. Insights from CGI's own global research confirm that enterprises are actively seeking to balance these often-competing priorities, making the strategic value of a well-executed GCC more critical than ever.

Modern GCCs in India are a direct answer to this challenge. They provide a mechanism to achieve significant operational efficiencies and cost savings—often 30-50% compared to Western markets—while simultaneously serving as a hotbed for innovation. By centralizing processes, standardizing operations, and leveraging a deep talent pool, companies can optimize resources and streamline workflows.

At the same time, these centers are becoming the launchpads for next-generation technology adoption. A compelling case is that of a large North American telecommunications firm that partnered with CGI to establish its GCC in India. Leveraging CGI's domain knowledge and operational expertise, the center was established in a record 90 days. The client achieved its primary objectives of gaining greater control over its technology landscape, consolidating vendor systems, and realizing significant cost savings, all while accessing a rich pool of core IT talent to drive its strategic initiatives forward.

The Future Trajectory: AI, New Geographies, and Strategic Value

The evolution of India's GCC market is far from complete. The next wave of growth is already taking shape, characterized by several key trends. Artificial intelligence is no longer an add-on but a foundational element, with new GCCs being built with AI at their core to power predictive analytics, automation, and intelligent operations.

Geographically, the expansion is moving beyond traditional strongholds like Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Emerging hubs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities such as Pune, Coimbatore, and Kochi are attracting significant investment, offering access to untapped talent pools and further optimizing costs.

Most profoundly, the strategic value of GCCs continues to climb. They are increasingly responsible for creating proprietary intellectual property and developing new product lines, directly contributing to their parent company's top-line growth. As this trend accelerates, the nature of partnerships between enterprises and service providers like CGI will also deepen, moving towards collaborative models focused on co-innovation and shared outcomes. This strategic alignment ensures that GCCs will remain a cornerstone of global business strategy for years to come.