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Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have evolved from being mere back offices to becoming the “emergency rooms” of multinational enterprises, playing a critical role in ensuring business continuity during crises, according to a Nasscom blog post.

“GCCs are the modern enterprise’s emergency room… The GCC has evolved from a cost-saving utility into the Intelligent Stabilizer: the only part of the multinational enterprise capable of keeping the lights on when the Bridge goes dark,” the blog stated.

The shift is driven by the density of talent in hubs like Bengaluru or Hyderabad, which have reached a critical mass where these centres possess “shadow leadership capabilities”, enabling them to take over critical functions during crises.

“We are witnessing the rise of operational sovereignty. Historically, a crisis at HQ in New York or London paralyzed global branches. Today, the density of talent in hubs like Bengaluru or Hyderabad has reached a critical mass where these centers possess shadow leadership capabilities. When a poly-crisis hits, be it a localized conflict or a regulatory lockdown in the West, the GCC no longer waits for instructions,” the blog stated.

Examples of GCCs playing a crucial role include a US bank’s India-based GCC restoring systems after a ransomware attack, GCCs in the Middle East and SE Asia taking over clinical data management and AI-driven drug discovery during trade disruptions, and GCC-led Control Towers using autonomous AI to reroute global inventory during shipping disruptions.

“The old corporate map where the west did the thinking and the east did the work has been torn up. By originally chasing lower costs, global firms accidentally exported their own resilience. Today, the GCC is the silent fail-safe that prevents a global crisis from becoming a total collapse,” the blog noted.