When enterprises talk about becoming “AI-first,” much of the conversation stays theoretical—lofty boardroom talk about transformation someday arriving. Infosys is trying to convert that someday into a repeatable blueprint now.
The company has unveiled its AI-First GCC Model, an end-to-end offering designed to help enterprises build or evolve their Global Capability Centers (GCCs) into AI-powered engines that deliver actual business impact instead of just offshore execution capacity. The pitch: GCCs should no longer be back-office cost arbitrage machines but frontline innovation hubs that blend AI agents, unified platforms, scalable engineering talent, and production-grade AI infrastructure.
In other words, Infosys is attempting to redraw the GCC playbook for the GenAI era—and it’s making a familiar argument: if companies want to operationalize AI at scale, the GCC has to stop being a satellite and start becoming the brain.
This isn’t a hypothetical exercise. Infosys claims experience in over 100 GCC-focused engagements across industries, with well-known examples from Lufthansa Systems, zooplus, and Danske Bank. The new model aims to codify what has until now been a series of bespoke relationships.
Why GCCs Need Reinvention—Again
GCCs have quietly powered global tech and operations for two decades, but their mission has repeatedly shifted. The first generation focused on efficiency. The second shifted to digital transformation and analytics. The third leaned heavily into cybersecurity and product engineering.
But AI is forcing a fourth reset.
GenAI demands tighter integration between enterprise data, engineering pipelines, compliance layers, and domain experts. And because most enterprises can’t build AI-native capabilities fast enough—especially outside headquarters—GCCs are now expected to fill the gap.
The challenge? Legacy GCC structures aren’t built for that level of agility or technical sophistication. Infosys believes it can provide the missing scaffolding.
Inside Infosys’ AI-First GCC Model
Infosys’ new approach blends three of its flagship AI platforms with its talent and operations organization:
1. Infosys Agentic Foundry
A platform for building and scaling production-grade AI agents. Not prototypes, not one-off demos—systems that can handle regulated, secure, auditable workloads.
2. EdgeVerve AI Next
A unified platform layer for applied and agentic AI at enterprise scale. Think of it as the operating fabric that ties together workflows, data, models, and agents.
3. Infosys Topaz™
Infosys’ umbrella suite for AI-first services, used to embed AI across the GCC lifecycle. This includes generative AI solutions, copilots, automated delivery, and domain-specific models.
Together, these platforms aim to give companies a turnkey environment: the tech stack, the operating model, the governance layer, and the talent engineering pipeline.
Infosys is essentially packaging the bones of its own delivery engine and offering it to enterprises as a GCC-in-a-box—albeit one built for an AI-driven world.
Building a GCC: The End-to-End Pitch
Infosys’ AI-First GCC Model covers the full lifecycle, from choosing the location to running the operation. Key areas include:
- Strategy & Site Selection: Where to set up, and why.
- Entity Setup: Legal, operational, and compliance scaffolding.
- Recruitment & Talent Ramp: Leveraging the company’s Springboard digital learning ecosystem and what it calls the world’s largest corporate university.
- Operational Launch: Getting the GCC fully functional.
- Ongoing Transformation: Continuously injecting AI across workflows.
This isn’t new territory for Infosys—but what’s new is the positioning: AI isn’t an add-on to a GCC; it’s the organizing principle.
Clients Already Leaning In
Lufthansa Systems: Building an AI-Driven Aviation Tech Hub
Infosys helped Lufthansa Systems stand up a dedicated GCC focused on aviation IT, safety, customer experience, and operational efficiency, with GenAI through Topaz used to accelerate development of sustainable solutions.
As Stefanie Neumann, CEO of Lufthansa Systems, put it:
“We are building a future-ready innovation hub that enables our customers to enhance aviation safety and efficiency. This partnership accelerates our vision for sustainable and intelligent aviation.”
Danske Bank: GCC as the Core of an AI-First Bank
After two years of collaboration, the bank’s GCC is now central to its software delivery and AI programs, with AI embedded through GitHub Copilot, reusable GenAI platforms, and customer-facing use cases across compliance, risk, and operations.
COO Frans Woelders notes that Infosys played “a pivotal role” in moving the bank toward a true AI-first operating model.
The GCC Market Context: Why This Matters Now
The GCC market has exploded in the last five years, particularly in India, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. There are now over 1,900+ GCCs in India alone, representing some of the world’s biggest companies—from Fortune 100 banks to hyperscalers and pharma giants.
But the future direction is increasingly clear:
- GCCs are evolving into AI engineering centers, not just IT or operations hubs.
- Leadership wants faster innovation cycles and measurable value.
- Talent scarcity in home markets is pushing R&D and AI roles into GCC geographies.
- Companies need AI governance, not just experimentation.
Infosys is betting that enterprises don’t just need help building GCCs—they need help modernizing, expanding, and AI-infusing them at scale. And the company wants to own that playbook ahead of rivals like TCS, Accenture, and Wipro, all of which are pursuing some flavor of the same opportunity.
Analyst View: A “Unified Approach” Could Be the Differentiator
Hrishi Raj Agarwalla, VP – GCC Research at Everest Group, notes that Infosys’ bundling of AI labs, platform partners, infrastructure, and talent models could appeal to enterprises facing GCC overload—too many vendors, too many pilots, not enough integration.
This move consolidates AI strategy, architecture, and operationalization into a single lane, making the GCC both the testing ground and the production environment for AI.
The Business Angle: Why Infosys Needs This
Infosys has been vocal about becoming an “AI-first services company,” but the market is moving fast—and competitors have already executed bold AI repositionings.
GCCs give Infosys a way to:
- Deepen long-term enterprise contracts
- Move upstream to strategy and architecture
- Anchor its AI platforms inside client ecosystems
- Win multi-year transformation deals rather than one-off AI pilots
- Play in the $50B+ and rapidly growing global GCC market
In short: GCCs offer stickiness. AI offers acceleration. Combining them creates a durable revenue moat.
Speed, Scale, and AI Talent: The Three Anxiety Points
Satish H.C., EVP and Chief Delivery Officer at Infosys, summarized the company’s positioning succinctly:
“As enterprises transform GCCs into strategic hubs, Infosys is ready to accelerate their journey.”
The anxiety from enterprises is real, and it spans three fronts:
1. Speed
AI transformation timelines are shrinking from years to months. GCCs need a fast start, not multi-year setup cycles.
2. Scale
Running 5–10 AI pilots is easy. Running 500 is an operational feat. GCCs are becoming the operational layer.
3. Talent
With AI talent shortages everywhere, GCCs are increasingly becoming the global talent reservoir, not just an execution shop.
Infosys is positioning itself as the partner that fills all three gaps simultaneously.
Implications: What This Means for Enterprises
If Infosys succeeds, a typical GCC of the next decade could look radically different:
- AI agents running routine engineering and support workflows
- Human teams focusing on design, architecture, and domain decisions
- Unified AI governance, model lifecycle, and data pipelines
- Continuous delivery pipelines embedded with GenAI copilots
- R&D teams using GCCs as innovation factories, not cost centers
- Faster product iteration cycles driven by AI-native processes
This is no incremental shift. It’s an attempt to reposition GCCs as the nerve center of enterprise AI—an operating construct rather than an offshore location.
The Competition Narrative
Accenture positions itself as the transformation-and-AI partner for global enterprises.
TCS emphasizes its industry solutions and AI-led modernization frameworks.
Cognizant is leaning heavily on AI-native delivery for cost takeout and agility.
Infosys’ differentiation attempt is clear:
Make GCCs the cockpit of enterprise AI—and own the architecture behind it.
Whether enterprises adopt the AI-first GCC blueprint wholesale remains to be seen, but the early signals from Lufthansa Systems and Danske Bank suggest real traction.
The Bottom Line
Infosys’ AI-First GCC Model attempts to define what the next decade of global capability centers should look like: AI-driven, platform-powered, innovation-heavy, talent-deep, and designed for speed.
It’s both a strategic evolution for Infosys and a response to what enterprises have been quietly demanding:
“Help us operationalize AI at scale—and do it without tearing the organization apart.”
Infosys believes the GCC is the place where that future gets built.
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