Building Global Capability Centres the Right Way
Aravind Maiya | Co-Founder & CEO, Embark
Building Global Capability Centres the Right Way
30+ Years
300+ Clients
54M sq.ft. & 120K Desks
33K+ Workforce
Global enterprises are rethinking how and where critical capabilities are built. Speed and scale matter but what matters most is building future-ready enterprise capability.
Global Capability Centers have evolved far beyond cost arbitrage. Today, they operate as strategic enterprise platforms, driving innovation, resilience, and sustained growth.
As global enterprises rethink how and where core capabilities are created, the question is no longer whether to build in India but how to build with speed, intent, and long-term relevance. What differentiates leaders today is execution maturity: the ability to set up fast, operate with discipline, and scale without friction.
Embark exists at this inflection point
Backed by the Embassy Group’s three-decade legacy of infrastructure scale and enterprise credibility, Embark brings together strategy, infrastructure, talent, and operations into a single, accountable execution model.
We enable Global Capability Centers to deliver value from day one and evolve into platforms of strategic growth.
The Embark Advantage
GCCs designed as enterprise extensions, delivering impact from day one and scaling with intent
- Comprehensive GCC Strategy & Operations
- Practitioner-led team
- Seamless Infrastructure Solutions
- End-To-End Talent Solutions
- Flexible Engagement Models
- Established Trust and Partner Ecosystem
Trends & Insights
Date: 6 Nov 2025
Location: Bengaluru, India
Embark Newsroom
We simplify expansion for global companies in India
What We Do
Strategy & Design
Talent Solutions
Workspace
Managed Services
Operate
Transform
Establish the Strategic Foundation for Growth
Every successful GCC is defined long before the first hire is made or the first workspace is delivered. Early decisions around mandate, operating model, and governance determine whether scale becomes a competitive advantage or a structural constraint. Embark partners with enterprises to establish the strategic and structural foundations required for long-term GCC success.
Decision
- GCC Vision & Mission
- Operating Model
- Business Case
Location
- Location Assessment (City, County & Micro-markets)
Org Design
- Org Structure & Reporting
- Governance Framework
Change Management
- Comms & cultural enablement
Build Scalable, Enterprise-Grade Talent Engines
Talent is the primary driver of GCC value creation. Building the right workforce requires speed, quality, and systems that scale beyond initial hiring cycles. Embark enables enterprises to attract, build, and sustain high-performing teams aligned to the GCC mandate.
Talent Acquisition
- Domain-specific Sourcing
- Talent Market Intelligence
- End-to-end Recruitment Operations
- CXO and Leadership Hiring
Talent Development
- Learning & Upskilling
- Leadership Development
- Competency Mapping
- Performance Coaching
Talent Management
- Performance Management
- Employee Engagement
- Succession Planning
- Workforce Planning & Deployment
Employer Branding
- Branding Campaigns
- Digital & Social Storytelling
- Content Strategy
- Campus & Industry Outreach
Unlock Performance Through Enterprise-Ready Workspaces
Workspace is more than real estate. It is the physical and digital environment that enables productivity, security, collaboration, and continuity at scale. Embark delivers enterprise-grade, world-class workspace solutions by leveraging a deep and established ecosystem.
Managed Offices
- Incubation Solutions
- Customized Offices
- Co-working Spaces
IT Infra
- Network & Cabling
- Data Management System
- Digital Assets
- Security & Resilience
Facility Services
- Cafeteria
- Transportation
Complexity Simplified. Continuity Assured. Operational Overhead Solved.
As GCCs scale, operational complexity increases across compliance, finance, HR, and IT. Managed Services absorb this complexity and ensure predictable execution across core functions. Embark enables enterprises to operate with control while reducing management overhead.
Secretarial Compliances
- Secretarial standard maintenance
- Director Compliances
- Regulatory Filings and Compliances
- Board and Shareholders’ Meetings
Finance & Accounts
- Accounting & Book Closure
- Financial Planning & Analysis
- Treasury Management
- Statutory Compliances & Filings
HR Operations & Payroll
- Monthly Compliances
- Payroll Processing
- Travel & Expense Reimbursements
- Compliance with HR Policies
IT Support
- Asset Procurement
- IT Helpdesk
- IT Infrastructure & Network Management
- IT Security & Access Management
Operate for Success with Embedded Control, Compliance, and Accountability
Sustained performance requires disciplined execution, strong governance, and operational consistency as scale and complexity increase. Embark ensures GCCs run smoothly through structured operating models and performance oversight.
Business Operations
- Technology
- Industry specific operations
- Corporate & support functions
Evolve from Execution to Enterprise Impact
As GCCs mature, enterprise expectations evolve from efficiency to strategic impact. Transformation enables GCCs to move up the value curve and assume higher-order mandates. Embark supports this evolution through structured, outcome-driven transformation initiatives.
Transformation Advisory
- Subject Matter Experts
- Sectoral Insights
Future Ready Workforce
- University tie-ups
- Education platform tie-ups
Innovation Ecosystem
- Accelerator Labs
- Embark Sandbox
How We Engage
How it works
Embark supports the client in setting up and scaling the GCC by providing workspace, talent acquisition, and early-stage operational support. The legal entity and ownership remain with the client from day one, while Embark acts as an execution partner to de-risk setup and accelerate readiness.
Who it’s for
Organizations that want full ownership and control from inception, but prefer a partner to manage complexity around infrastructure, hiring, and early operations during the build phase.
Flexible Engagement Models To Match Your Strategy
Ability to mitigate risk and take control the way you want
How it works
Embark builds, owns, and operates the GCC end-to-end—including entity management and agreed business operations—before transferring both the entity and operations to the client at a defined point.
Who it’s for
Organizations looking for a fully outcome-led, low-risk entry, where a trusted partner builds and stabilizes the GCC before full transition.
Flexible Engagement Models To Match Your Strategy
Ability to mitigate risk and take control the way you want
How it works
Embark employs talent on its own payroll, manages HR, payroll, and compliance, and enables the client to run day-to-day business operations without setting up an India legal entity.
Who it’s for
Organizations testing the market, running pilots, or needing a rapid start before committing to a full GCC investment.
Flexible Engagement Models To Match Your Strategy
Ability to mitigate risk and take control the way you want
How it works
Embark supports the client in setting up and scaling the GCC by providing workspace, talent acquisition, and early-stage operational support. The legal entity and ownership remain with the client from day one, while Embark acts as an execution partner to de-risk setup and accelerate readiness.
Who it’s for
Organizations that want full ownership and control from inception, but prefer a partner to manage complexity around infrastructure, hiring, and early operations during the build phase.
Flexible Engagement Models To Match Your Strategy
Ability to mitigate risk and take control the way you want
How it works
Embark builds, owns, and operates the GCC end-to-end—including entity management and agreed business operations—before transferring both the entity and operations to the client at a defined point.
Who it’s for
Organizations looking for a fully outcome-led, low-risk entry, where a trusted partner builds and stabilizes the GCC before full transition.
Flexible Engagement Models To Match Your Strategy
Ability to mitigate risk and take control the way you want
How it works
Embark employs talent on its own payroll, manages HR, payroll, and compliance, and enables the client to run day-to-day business operations without setting up an India legal entity.
Who it’s for
Organizations testing the market, running pilots, or needing a rapid start before committing to a full GCC investment.
Flexible Engagement Models To Match Your Strategy
Ability to mitigate risk and take control the way you want
Ready to Accelerate Your GCC Journey ?
FAQs
Embark is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Embassy Group, a leading real estate and infrastructure platform with over three decades of experience supporting global enterprises. Embark leverages this strength to deliver end-to-end, differentiated services including advisory, setup, operational execution, and transformation for global enterprises establishing and scaling their Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India.
Embark accelerates delivery across legal entity setup, talent acquisition, infrastructure, and governance — reducing implementation risk and time-to-value.
Embark offers flexible engagement models such as
- Assisted Build: Advisory and execution support while the client retains full ownership
- Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT): Embark builds and operates the GCC for a defined period before a structured transfer of ownership
- Employer of Record (EOR): Facilitated entry with rapid team deployment without immediately establishing a local legal entity
For organizations entering India for the first time, we recommend:
- EOR for fastest deployment (weeks vs. months)
- BOT for structured capability building with planned transfer
These models align with enterprise priorities of balancing speed, compliance, and talent quality while preserving optionality for eventual captive ownership.
India has emerged as the GCC Capital of the World driven by talent scale, skill depth, cost efficiency, and innovation maturity. Beyond traditional cost advantages, India offers a strategic platform to build high-impact, future-ready capabilities speed and with long-term sustainability.
Time-to-operate varies from weeks to a few months depending on the selected engagement model and scope.
Embark accelerates delivery through parallel execution of entity formation, recruitment, infrastructure, and compliance, significantly compressing typical rollout cycles.
Embark partners with enterprise leadership to design GCCs not just for launch, but for sustained scale and long-term value creation. From the outset, operating models are architected to support progressive mandate expansion, leadership localization, and deeper integration with global business units.
Key levers include:
- Scalable teams and infrastructure alignment with enterprise growth plans and evolving demand
- Leadership and capability maturity frameworks to transition from execution to ownership
- Talent and succession planning to reduce dependency risk and improve retention
- Governance and performance management linked to enterprise outcomes, not just cost metrics
This approach enables GCCs to evolve from initial delivery centers into strategic capability hubs that drive productivity, innovation, and enterprise-wide transformation over time.
Modern GCCs in India deliver a broad and deep spectrum of capabilities across the enterprise value chain.
- Technology & Digital Capabilities: Application development and maintenance, infrastructure services, cloud engineering, and platform operations, data engineering, analytics, AI/ML, cybersecurity, risk, digital resilience, Enterprise architecture and IT transformation, and product engineering
- Enterprise & Corporate Functions: Finance & Accounting (FP&A, controllership, reporting), Human Resources (talent operations, HR analytics, COEs), procurement and supply chain analytics, legal operations, compliance, and risk management support, internal audit and governance services
- Business & Industry‑Aligned Functions: Product management and lifecycle support, Research & Development (R&D), customer experience, service design, marketing analytics and commercial intelligence, Industry‑specific operations (e.g., BFSI operations, healthcare analytics, manufacturing engineering)
Leading GCCs increasingly drive strategic transformation work, contributing to enterprise-wide digital transformation.
Embark follows a layered security approach and governance model designed to meet the expectations of global enterprises and regulated industries. Our approach is anchored in internationally recognized best practices and is being formalized through ISO-aligned Information Security Management System (ISMS) and Privacy Information Management System (PIMS) frameworks.
Key elements of our security and governance posture include:
- Rigorous access governance, incorporating role-based controls and multi-factor authentication to limit and monitor data access
- Comprehensive data protection mechanisms, including encryption, secure data handling, and controlled data flows
- Centralized monitoring and oversight, enabling proactive risk identification, incident response, and audit readiness
- Clearly defined data ownership constructs, aligned with client operating models, contractual obligations, and applicable regulatory requirements
Together, these measures provide enterprise sponsors with a high degree of assurance that data privacy, regulatory compliance, and intellectual property protection are embedded into GCC operations from inception and sustained as the center scales.
Unlike outsourcing or multi-vendor delivery models, Embark enables clients to build dedicated Capability Centers with long-term strategic value. Distinct advantages include:
- Strategic and cultural alignment with the enterprise
- Direct control of IP
- Long-term value-creation via labor arbitrage and scale
Our model transitions clients from execution dependency to capability ownership – a critical pivot for digital transformation and competitive differentiation.
A GCC is strategically appropriate if an organization is aiming to:
- Develop core capabilities internally vs. outsourcing commoditized work
- Increase control over IP and critical processes
- Drive global transformation programs from a dedicated capability layer
- Achieve sustainable cost and performance advantage
We support leadership with a formal GCC feasibility assessment including GCC vision and mission, ROI modeling, talent ecosystem analysis, location assessment, and peer benchmarks.
We support organizations across a wide range of industries, including but not limited to:
- Technology & Software
- Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI)
- Life Sciences & Healthcare
- Automotive & Mobility
- Manufacturing & Industrials
- Consumer & Retail
- Professional Services
Each solution is tailored for industry-specific regulations, talent dynamics, and strategic priorities.