Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India are no longer simple back-office outposts. They function as high-value hubs for research, development, and product engineering. As these centers evolve, the demand for integrated infrastructure and talent solutions has reached a critical point. To meet this demand, Smartworks and People 360 recently launched a strategic alliance designed to provide a unified workplace experience for global enterprises.
This platform combines India’s largest managed office enterprise with advanced AI-driven human capital solutions. The platform provides a plug-and-play workplace infrastructure where global firms can build, scale and manage their India-based operations (and eventually, global locations) with minimal execution risk. By combining workplace space and human capital with technology, this platform tackles the substantive challenges of managing dependable operations in this age of volatility and uncertainty.
Breaking Down the GCC Growth Engine
The Indian GCC market is on an accelerated growth trajectory to exceed $60 billion by 2030. Companies are moving away from basic cost-saving models. They now focus on building long-term capability hubs that drive global innovation. This shift requires a departure from traditional, fragmented service models where real estate and recruitment operate in silos.
The new initiative operates under SmartVantage platform. This platform is a dedicated solution designed to enable scale optimally through large-scale campuses. It allows organizations to hire, house and manage high-performance teams across multiple locations simultaneously. This geographic flexibility is essential for firms looking to tap into diverse talent pools across multiple locations globally.
Insights from Leadership
The leadership behind this move views it as a necessary evolution for the enterprise workplace. Harsh Binani, Co-Founder of Smartworks, highlighted the changing expectations of global firms entering the Indian market.
“GCCs today are not evaluating India as a cost center; they are building long-term capability hubs here. What they need is speed, reliability, and execution depth. While talent, technology, and infrastructure have traditionally operated in silos, enterprises now expect both to come together seamlessly. Our partnership is built around that belief, supplemented by People360’s proven industry-leading, comprehensive AI-powered talent solutions specifically for GCCs. By combining large-format, ready-to-scale managed campuses with a strong talent acquisition engine, we are enabling global firms to move from decision to deployment in weeks, not months,” Binani stated.
This focus on speed is a core component of the partnership. Reducing the timeline from a business decision to a fully operational office helps enterprises stay ahead of market shifts.
Anil Chintapalli, Chairman of People 360, emphasized that accountability is often lacking in many enterprise workplace solutions.
“As GCCs are rapidly evolving into strategic innovation hubs for enterprise workplace, organizations require far more than standalone talent, standalone technology, and standalone workplace infrastructure support; they need an enterprise workplace solutions partner who can take accountability to deliver an integrated talent, technology, and workplace experience platform at scale powered by AI. This partnership between Smartworks and People 360 will ensure that the evolving needs of GCCs are adequately addressed by delivering integrated solutions that help them to drive business process automation so as to expand and operate seamlessly,” Anil Chintapalli said.
Solving Complexity in Scaling
Scaling a workforce across markets such as India involves navigating different regulatory environments, local talent markets, and infrastructure standards. Smartworks brings a track record of building large-format, campus-scale managed workplaces. Smartworks designs these spaces specifically to meet the high-security and high-performance requirements of global enterprises.
People 360 complements this with AI-powered human capital expertise and market leading technology. Their systems help identify, onboard and manage talent to fill these massive office spaces quickly. By combining these two strengths, the platform removes the friction points that usually slow down expansion.
Redefining Operational Velocity
There are currently over 2,000 GCCs operating in India. For these organizations, the ability to pivot and scale is a competitive advantage. The collaboration between Smartworks and People 360 redefines operational velocity. It allows firms to focus on their core business goals while the platform handles the complexities of growth.
The alliance ensures that enterprises achieve better business process outcomes. By leveraging a unified platform, global firms can find the agility they need to succeed in a volatile market. This move marks the dawn of a new era in the Indian business landscape, where infrastructure and talent function as a unified, cohesive service.