For much of the past two decades, India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem has been associated with scale. Large campuses, growing headcount, and cost efficiency were the dominant markers of success. That model still plays an important role, but it no longer defines how many global companies approach India. A different kind of GCC is quietly gaining ground.
Instead of building large delivery centres, companies are setting up small, focused teams designed to solve specific problems or build specialised capabilities. Often employing between five and one hundred people, these nano GCCs represent a structural shift rather than a tactical adjustment.
India currently hosts more than 1,900 GCCs, generating close to $65 billion in annual revenue. While large enterprise centres continue to account for much of this volume, the fastest expansion is coming from smaller centres with clearly defined mandates.
What is a Nano GCC?
A nano GCC is not simply a trimmed-down version of a traditional centre. Its design and objectives are different from the outset. These centres focus on depth rather than breadth, employing experienced specialists rather than large teams executing standardised processes.
Their mandates are typically narrow but critical. Some work on advanced analytics or AI models tied to core products. Others focus on engineering research, digital platforms, or regulatory-heavy domains such as healthcare and financial services. What unites them is intent.
Nano GCCs exist to create capability and insight, not to replicate scale-based operations.
Lower barriers, wider participation
Until recently, the GCC model largely favoured large multinational firms with the capital, patience, and organisational scale needed to build centres from scratch. Mid-sized companies, private equity-backed firms, and younger global businesses often found the model hard to justify. Nano GCCs change that equation.
By reducing upfront investment and shortening setup timelines, they allow a wider range of companies to access India’s talent base. A specialised team of fifty engineers or analysts can now operate effectively without the financial or operational overhead associated with traditional centres.
This shift is broadening India’s GCC ecosystem, bringing in participants who value precision and speed over physical scale.
From cost savings to capability building
The rise of nano GCCs also reflects a change in why companies come to India. Cost reduction is no longer the primary driver. Instead, organisations are looking to develop skills and knowledge that are difficult to build elsewhere.
In smaller teams, work is less about execution and more about decision-making, experimentation, and ownership. Research and development, product design, and intellectual property creation account for a larger share of activity than in conventional GCCs.
Speed is a defining advantage of the nano model. Large GCCs often require a year or more to become fully operational due to regulatory setup, hiring at scale, and infrastructure planning. Nano GCCs can be launched in a matter of weeks.
This allows companies to test ideas in real-world conditions before committing to expansion. If the approach works, the centre can grow. If priorities change, companies can adjust without being locked into long-term structures. This flexibility mirrors how organisations approach innovation in other parts of the business.
Expanding the scope of work done in India
Nano GCCs are bringing new types of work into the country. Healthcare firms are using compact teams for drug research and data-led clinical studies. Manufacturing companies are building engineering hubs focused on digital modelling and automation. Media, gaming, and streaming platforms are developing core technology with small, tightly managed teams. These centres are often entrusted with sensitive, high-impact work because their size allows for closer oversight and clearer accountability.
The growth of nano GCCs adds depth and resilience to India’s technology ecosystem. A landscape made up of many employers of varying sizes is less vulnerable to concentrated risk than one dominated by a few large players.
For professionals, smaller teams can offer faster learning, greater responsibility, and clearer exposure to global decision-making. For companies, they provide a way to access India’s expertise without committing to scale before it is warranted. Nano GCCs are not a replacement for large centres. They are a complementary model, suited to a different set of strategic needs.
As global organisations rethink how they distribute work and innovation, small teams in India are playing a larger role than their size suggests. The future of GCCs may still involve scale. But it is increasingly being shaped by focus.
The author is founder-CEO of Zyoin Group and a talent adviser to GCCs and GICs.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.