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As Global Capability Centres (GCCs) evolve into global engineering and innovation hubs, the real differentiator will be the ability to combine deep engineering expertise, domain knowledge and AI to solve complex industrial challenges. Few companies have witnessed this evolution as closely as Softdel, part of the UNIDEL Group, a global technology company with deep domain expertise in Industrial & Buildings Automation, WealthTech and CareerTech. Softdel has helped global industrial enterprises transform fragmented data from sensors, machines and control systems into actionable intelligence – from device to cloud – enabling faster, smarter decisions across buildings, industrial operations and energy systems. The company has worked with global customers, including leading American, Japanese and European enterprises, across embedded engineering, Industrial IoT, cloud and AI. Its deep engineering expertise places it among global leaders in industrial automation, building technologies and smart infrastructure, including ABB, Daikin and Delta Electronics, enabling AI-ready digital engineering at scale.

In an exclusive interview with The GCC Hub, Sachin Deshmukh, CEO & Managing Director, Softdel, shares his perspective on India’s evolving GCC landscape, the rise of engineering-led innovation, and the capabilities that will define the next generation of global engineering organisations.

Edited excerpts 

Deloitte says Japan is now the largest contributor to India’s GCC ecosystem in APAC. What is driving this shift, and why is India emerging as Japan’s preferred destination for engineering and innovation?

Having partnered with Japanese enterprises for nearly two decades, we’ve witnessed this evolution firsthand. Japan’s structural shortage of engineering talent, combined with the rapid digital transformation of manufacturing businesses into software-driven enterprises, is creating demand for capabilities across embedded engineering, AI, cloud and connected products. India offers both the scale and engineering depth to support this transition. More importantly, years of collaboration have built the trust needed for Indian teams to take on far more strategic engineering responsibilities. Today, India is increasingly viewed as a strategic innovation partner and an extension of Japan’s global engineering organisation, rather than simply an offshore delivery centre.

How are engineering-led GCCs fundamentally different from the traditional, delivery-focused GCCs India became known for?

India’s GCC ecosystem has evolved significantly, from supporting back-office operations and application development to becoming a hub for engineering-led innovation. Unlike traditional offshore centres focused on operational efficiency, engineering-led GCCs drive product development, core R&D, embedded engineering, and next-generation technologies. They increasingly own product roadmaps, intellectual property and innovation outcomes as an integral part of global engineering organisations.

Success is no longer measured solely by cost optimisation, but by engineering productivity and throughput, innovation, speed-to-market and business impact. This shift has also required deeper domain expertise, systems and design thinking and the ability to solve complex engineering and end customer challenges rather than simply augmenting capacity.

Softdel has spent over two decades working with global industrial enterprises, including Japanese customers. How has that experience shaped your view of what the next generation of GCCs will require?

Over the past 25 years, we’ve seen multiple technology shifts – from embedded systems and Industrial IoT to cloud and now AI. While technologies continue to evolve, one principle has remained constant: deep engineering and domain expertise are the foundation on which innovation is built. Working closely with Japanese and global customers has reinforced that successful engineering organisations combine technical capability with a deep understanding of industry, quality expectations, and business outcomes. The next generation of GCCs will need to move beyond scale to take greater ownership of innovation, product strategy, and long-term engineering roadmaps, functioning as an extension of the customer’s global engineering organisation.

Where does Softdel see itself fitting into this evolving GCC ecosystem? What capabilities are customers increasingly looking for?

We see Softdel as a trusted engineering and innovation partner that helps global enterprises establish, scale and mature high-value engineering capabilities in India. Over the years, we have supported several global customers in accelerating their engineering innovation centre and GCC journeys by helping them build capabilities that deliver long-term value.

Today, customers are looking beyond engineering capacity. They want partners who bring deep domain expertise, engineering excellence and the ability to accelerate innovation from day one. Demand continues to grow across embedded engineering, Industrial AI, Industrial IoT, cloud platforms, cybersecurity, and enterprise integration. Increasingly, organisations are also looking at how AI can improve engineering productivity, accelerate product development and shorten time-to-market.

Having worked across industrial automation, smart buildings, smart energy and connected products, we help customers bridge Operational Technology (OT), Information Technology (IT) and AI to build engineering organisations that are ready for the future.

How does Softdel’s experience in embedded engineering, Industrial IoT and enterprise technology give it a different perspective on building engineering capability centres?

Modern industrial products are no longer built in silos. They bring together hardware, firmware, connectivity, cloud platforms, enterprise applications and AI. Making all of these work together to drive end customer adoption requires strong engineering foundations. Softdel has built products and platforms across the complete engineering stack – from embedded firmware and industrial protocols to cloud, enterprise integration and AI-driven analytics. This experience enables us to help customers build multidisciplinary engineering capability centres.

With changing business dynamics, what talent gap are you seeing, and how ready is India’s engineering talent pool for this shift?

India has one of the world’s strongest engineering talent pools. The challenge today is less about talent availability and more about talent readiness. As AI reshapes engineering, organisations will increasingly need multidisciplinary talent that combines embedded engineering, AI, cloud, cybersecurity and deep domain expertise.

While AI will automate repetitive tasks, engineers will be expected to bring stronger systems thinking, architecture, problem-solving and innovation capabilities. India is well positioned to lead this next phase because of its engineering depth, adaptability and scale, provided we continue investing in continuous upskilling and closer collaboration between industry and academia.

The competitive advantage of the future will not come from having more engineers – it will come from having engineers who can combine AI with deep engineering and domain expertise.