Global Capability Centres (GCCs) now anchor enterprise-scale transformation, and their role keeps expanding as companies pursue faster innovation and operational efficiency. The S&S Insider Report projects the capability centres market will reach $402.14 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 13.51%. This rapid growth brings opportunity, but scaling without a robust GCC business continuity plan can expose avoidable risks. Leaders need to balance ambition with resilience and start building resilient GCCs that stand firm in a volatile global environment.
why building resilient GCCs matters
A resilient GCC adapts quickly, absorbs shocks, and maintains operational stability across geographies and service lines. It combines strong operating models with a forward-looking approach to risk and organisational agility. Business continuity helps these centres protect value and retain leadership confidence.
Here’s why building resilient GCCs matters:
- Enterprises minimise downtime and keep operations running during disruptions.
- Organisations protect revenue by maintaining continuity across critical service lines.
- Leadership preserves reputation by demonstrating preparedness and operational strength.
- Teams enhance resilience by responding faster and recovering stronger from challenges.
common GCC strategy mistakes to avoid
Hasty decisions and design gaps often weaken GCC business continuity, especially when scaling decisions outpace strategic and governance planning. Leaders can avoid unnecessary vulnerabilities by recognising the pitfalls that regularly undermine stability and long-term GCC value.
Major strategic mistakes enterprise leaders must avoid include:
- Choosing locations too quickly and ignoring long-term risk scenarios.
- Relying solely on remote or hybrid work models instead of building a defined GCC business continuity plan.
- Treating the GCC as a cost lever rather than positioning it as a capability engine.
- Scaling headcount faster than governance maturity and operational structure.
- Ignoring concentration risk instead of confronting it with data-driven planning.
building an effective GCC business continuity strategy
Navigating these pitfalls and building an effective GCC business continuity strategy begins with thorough risk assessment, business impact analysis, structured planning, a clear communication model, and regular testing. Strong GCC risk management creates the foundation for sustainable scale and prepares organisations for future disruptions.
The following steps help enterprises build a resilient centre of excellence with clear governance and people-centric design:
strengthening continuity frameworks
Enterprises need a dynamic and regularly updated GCC business continuity plan that reflects current risks, market realities, and operational priorities. This includes ownership structures, scenario playbooks, escalation paths, and measurable performance thresholds.
enhancing risk visibility
Ongoing risk monitoring allows leaders to detect operational vulnerabilities before they become disruptions. Teams should track geopolitical shifts, talent-market changes, cybersecurity trends, and service-line dependencies to inform stronger GCC risk management decisions.
pressure-testing operations
Regular drills, simulations, and resilience audits expose weaknesses early. These tests confirm whether the centre can maintain stability during network failures, workforce disruptions, infrastructure outages, vendor-side risks, or geopolitical disruptions.
expanding talent and location resilience
A resilient talent strategy looks beyond metros and over-concentrated markets. Tier-2 cities and alternate geographies provide relief from saturation, reduce concentration risk, and improve continuity during regional disruptions. A structured location-strategy roadmap brings clarity to expansion and future contingency options.
driving people-centred resilience
People remain the backbone of building resilient GCCs. Investing in wellbeing, leadership depth, and multi-skilling builds a stronger response capability. A people-first environment improves retention, strengthens institutional knowledge, and accelerates recovery after disruptions.
enabling a culture of innovation
Embedding technology adoption, governance discipline, and ESG principles helps GCCs evolve from execution hubs to innovation partners. Automation, analytics, digital workflows, and strong oversight enhance speed and operational predictability across service lines.
integrating global governance
Resilient GCCs operate as part of a unified global delivery ecosystem. Integration with enterprise governance ensures smoother decision-making, cross-functional transparency, and consistent continuity standards across regions.
advancing cyber and data resilience
Data and cybersecurity sit at the heart of modern GCC business continuity efforts. GCCs must strengthen access controls, incident response frameworks, digital forensics, and recovery workflows to protect sensitive operations from rising global cyber threats.
aligning resilience to hybrid work
Hybrid work requires flexible policies, secure digital access, and clear accountability. GCCs must support distributed teams with robust digital tools, consistent monitoring, and clarity around roles during disruptions.
moving from planning to performance
Continuity frameworks must convert from documentation to disciplined execution. Regular reviews, leadership involvement, and organisation-wide buy-in ensure the GCC business continuity plan stays relevant and operational.
Technology accelerates enterprise resilience in distributed operating models. Infosys BPM supports organisations with design-build-transform models and end-to-end GCC services that strengthen GCC business continuity, modernise governance, and drive scalable global operations across service lines.
conclusion
GCCs now sit at the centre of enterprise transformation, but the pace of change demands stronger continuity and sharper operating discipline. Leaders who prioritise GCC business continuity and resilience can protect operations, strengthen value, and steer confidently through an increasingly unpredictable environment. A forward-looking approach to continuity, talent, governance, and innovation keeps GCCs aligned with long-term business ambition. Resilient centres do more than withstand disruption; they create a strategic advantage in the next-normal.
Frequently asked questions
- How can GCC leaders evaluate whether their current operating model is resilient enough for next normal risks?
- What early warning indicators can help GCCs detect continuity risks before they impact operations?
- How can GCCs balance cost optimisation with the need for strong business continuity frameworks?
- What governance structures support effective execution of a GCC business continuity plan across global and local teams?
- How can GCCs embed resilience into hybrid work without compromising security or productivity?
Leaders can review decision speed, cross regional coordination, dependency concentration, talent flexibility, and the maturity of continuity workflows. A diagnostic assessment helps reveal vulnerabilities that may not surface during stable periods.
Indicators include sudden talent attrition in critical teams, geopolitical shifts in concentrated regions, vendor performance instability, rising cyber alerts, and increased dependency on single service lines. Tracking these signals allows earlier intervention and stronger preparedness.
GCCs can use a value based approach where resilience investments are directed toward high impact processes, critical roles, and essential locations. Well designed continuity plans reduce long term cost by preventing disruption driven losses and recovery delays.
Clear ownership, defined escalation paths, cross functional councils, and aligned communication protocols help teams act quickly during disruptions. Integration with enterprise governance ensures that risk decisions and continuity actions stay consistent across regions.
GCCs can adopt flexible work policies supported by secure access, strong monitoring tools, and clear accountability frameworks. Training, digital readiness assessments, and structured collaboration practices help hybrid teams stay aligned and responsive during disruption scenarios.
