GCC leaders agree on what they deliver but are split on what they own

The HFS Data Viewpoint “GCC leaders agree on what they deliver but are split on what they own” is for enterprise CIOs, GCC heads, and global operations leaders assessing how much authority their India capability centers actually hold.

HFS Research, in collaboration with ANSR, asked 47 GCC leaders in India to agree or disagree with nine statements about their own centers for the inaugural HFS Generative GCC Index 2026.

On what their centers deliver, the leaders’ responses are close to unanimous. On what their centers own and decide, they disagree almost as often as they agree. Most companies assess their GCCs based on information provided by the center, yet two leaders managing similar operations can give very descriptions, with the greatest difference being in what the center owns.

Here are the top six takeaways from the above chart:

1. Agreement is high on impact and low on authority: Among the three statements that received the highest scores, all had more than 70% agreement, with 83% stating that their center produces measurable results. All statements related to authority attracted considerable disagreement. Confidence dips as soon as the question shifts from one about delivery to one about control.
2. Only half say their center owns something global: Fifty-one percent believe they own global platforms or products, and 36% do not. The distinction based on ownership splits this market more than any other characteristic.
3. Integration has outpaced influence: While 72% say their leadership is integrated with enterprise leadership, 55% say they have an impact on enterprise strategy. Simply being invited to the table has not resulted in having a say in the agenda.
4. The claim about innovation exceeds the evidence: Seventy percent say they drive innovation beyond just delivery, but only around one in ten report filing for intellectual property protection or working with a startup.
5. Ecosystem value is the most contested belief: Agreement and disagreement are almost evenly split at 43% and 38%. A third of these centers have no ecosystem partner, and much of the skepticism comes from leaders who never had the opportunity to have one.
6. Talent confidence is at odds with talent reality: Seventy percent say they attract and retain scarce AI talent, even though talent availability is the most-cited challenge. The confidence appears to be about retaining AI talent rather than acquiring it.

The Bottom Line: When leaders disagree widely about what their own centers own, self-assessment stops being a reliable basis for enterprise decisions. An enterprise reviewing its GCC on what the center reports about itself is reading the leader’s frame of reference more than the operating reality.