How and where work gets done has been completely reimagined, even more so since the pandemic. What began as “offshoring,” a cost-saving move to relocate routine tasks overseas, has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar ecosystem of capability centres, digital hubs, and innovation labs.
Yet, as the global sourcing landscape has matured, it has also become cluttered with jargon and acronyms.
With shifting business priorities and talent dynamics, it’s only fair that the nature and nomenclature of outsourcing too evolve. But the problem arises when organisations get caught up with what their model is called, rather than the value it creates.
This blog traces how offshore centres have evolved over time, where they stand today, and – most importantly, what businesses should truly measure when evaluating them.
Understanding Offshore Centres, GICs, GCCs
The foundation of the global outsourcing ecosystem is the Offshore Centre. In the late 90s/early 2000s, with the advent of the internet and the boom experienced by the Silicon Valley, a number of MNCs across the western world began outsourcing backend processes like bookkeeping and IT support to countries like India and the Philippines where costs were lower yet talent was abundant. For example, many CPA firms in the U.S. built long-term relationships with Indian partners to handle after-hours tax reconciliations and data entry, ensuring next-day delivery for their clients.
As some of these companies gained confidence and sought more functions and control, they started setting up the GIC model or Global In-house Centre, which were offshore subsidiaries rather than vendor-led setups. These centres were focused on efficiency and compliance, handling internal processes like audit support or financial reporting within the company’s own governance framework.
The more recently popular GCC or Global Capability Centre is the matured and strategic version of a GIC and/or Offshore Centre. GCCs didn’t just execute, they started innovating and strategising. They leveraged analytics, AI and domain expertise to drive transformation rather than just cost savings. Walmart Global Tech in Bengaluru and Microsoft’s India Development Centers are prime examples of how modern GCCs handle end-to-end engineering, AI, and product development
Overview Of The Key Differences
| Model | Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Offshore Centre | Fast set-up, cost-effective, vendor flexibility | Limited control, variable quality |
| GIC | Full ownership, process control, IP protection | Slower to scale, higher setup cost |
| GCC | Strategic alignment, innovation-driven, high talent retention | Requires long-term investment, complex governance |
In other words, a GCC is neither a different type of offshore centre nor a variation of GIC. It is simply the humble foundational offshore centre moving up the value chain, to build more impact for businesses rather than only handling back-office operations.
Today, these units are hiring domain specialists of their own, automating several processes and more importantly – owning end-to-end functions in alignment with overall business strategy.
Several companies today confirm this graduation with companies like Deloitte, KPMG, and EY operating large GCCs in India that handle tax automation, risk analytics, and global finance delivery, often contributing directly to strategic decisions rather than just transactional support.
From Cost To Quality: The Shift In Focus
Historically, the success of an offshoring initiative has been measured by the cost it saves. But the ecosystem has now outgrown this playbook. Today, how capable is more valuable and differentiating a factor than how cheap.
And there is plenty of data to back this transition:
- India’s GCC market earned ~US$64.6 billion in FY2024 and is projected to grow to roughly US$99–105 billion by 2030 – a growth that cannot be fuelled or sustained by the cost-savings premise alone. It has to be driven by capability, value and innovation.
- Deloitte’s Global Shared Services and Outsourcing Survey (2023) has documented how global business services are becoming more aligned to C-suite priorities such as automation, analytics, and outcome KPIs, rather than headcount reduction.
- EY’s GCC Pulse Survey (2023) and KPMG’s GCC Outlook (2024) both show that digital adoption, talent strategy, and governance are now core success levers for finance and tax centres.
In a nutshell, cost-savings gets an offshore centre started; but quality, capability and governance determine whether the centre can create lasting business value.
How To Measure Quality And Value
So if a business must see through the naming games and ask the right questions, what should those be centred around? Here are five key pillars that can help a business decide if a centre is the one they need:
- Domain Expertise
High-performing units invest in specialists of their trade, who bring in-depth know-how rather than only sticking to task workers. - End-To-End Process Ownership
For any business, controlling fragments of a process across a board of vendors or units can be an unnecessary hassle. A centre that plans, details and executes a complete workflow that aligns with overarching project timelines will always outperform one that doesn’t. - Trackability
For a project to work through and through, especially when the team is an offshore one, having governance metrics that go beyond the superficial checkbox ones becomes crucial. Needless to say, strategic KPIs that actually show impact are non-negotiable. - Technology Integration
With the world moving as fast as it is, a centre that goes beyond the tools and trades that are commonly known, to incorporate automation wherever it can and reduce turnaround times adds an impeccable layer of trust. According to KPMG (2024), 70% of Indian GCCs have implemented RPA or automation in finance and operations. - Network
How well a centre is connected to its relevant local ecosystems and how quickly it can tap into it, gives a peek into their innate priorities. A centre that has a wide and active network will access better resources, foster new perspectives and grow faster.
Strategic Value Trumps All
For any sourcing model to justify its existence in today’s landscape, it must be and is measured in value based metrics.
Deloitte (2025) found that 62% of executives now rank process quality and governance above cost reduction as their key success factor in global delivery models.
EY (2023) highlights that top GCCs are now “innovation partners,” contributing directly to product strategy and customer experience rather than just operational delivery.
For many companies, the biggest quality gap arises when offshore centre goals fail to align with overall business strategy. The five pillars above provide a roadmap to fix that, ensuring consistency in process, purpose, and people.
Rethinking The Offshore Playbook
The maze of global sourcing and delivery may seem complex, but the underlying principle is simple: maximize efficiency, maximize innovation.
The future of navigating this maze of acronyms lies in stripping it away, and applying a value-based lens asking four simple questions:
- What business problem will this unit solve?
- Does it have the right people, skills and tools to solve it?
- Can it make rapid decisions and own the consequent outcomes?
- Will it evolve with business strategy?
If the answers are yes, then you have yourself a value-driving centre. In which case, rest assured, whether it’s called a GCC or anything else does not matter.
At Konnect, we believe in quality beyond cost advantage. Our delivery model is designed around capability, control, and measurable impact and not just headcount and cost. Because in the new global sourcing landscape, quality isn’t a differentiator – it’s the baseline.