The profit shift: Six trends redefining the Global Capability Center (GCC)

While the traditional appeal of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) focused on delivering cost arbitrage, their role is now undergoing a revolution. They are evolving beyond being mere cost units to become strategic engines driving profit, innovation, and resilience.

Atos is at the forefront of this transformation, powering the next generation of GCCs with a truly intelligent, outcome-focused digital core and the agility of a ready-for-change intuitive flex framework. It’s time to monetize GCCs and extract transformative value.

Here are the six mega-trends that are slated to shape the future of GCCs, and how Atos is helping accelerate this transformation:

1. The autonomous core: AI goes to work

Forget simple automation. The top trend is the convergence of AI and hyperautomation into an intelligent digital core. Enterprises are adopting autonomous AI agents — sophisticated systems that can plan, reason, and execute complex workflows without human hand-holding. This is the key to achieving step-change efficiency. In my experience, I have seen Atos’ proprietary Polaris AI™ Platform create an AI/automation native digital workforce that frees human talent from routine tasks. This allows them to focus on high-value innovation and strategic analysis, maximizing user experience and cutting operational costs.

2. Cloud-native and sovereign: Secure scale on demand

Agility and compliance are no longer separate goals — they’re one. Modern GCCs demand cloud-native infrastructure for speed and scale, but regulatory pressures (like GDPR) demand data sovereignty. Atos’ specialized Sovereign Cloud solutions and deep managed services for hyperscalers ensures rapid, secure cloud migration while guaranteeing that all data, applications, and operations remain compliant within required geographic boundaries — a must-have for high-compliance sectors in Europe and North America.

3. Performance is the price: Contracts are changing

The industry is rapidly normalizing performance-based contracting. Why pay for inputs (FTEs) when you can pay for outcomes? Clients now demand vendors share risk and reward, linking payment to measurable business results like reduced cost-per-transaction or accelerated time-to-market. With agentic AI tools like Polaris AI, our teams can provide the real-time, granular transparency needed to track these outcomes precisely. This makes performance-based, intuitive contracting commercially feasible, shifting our role from a task executor to a financially aligned, transformative partner.

4. Cyber autonomy: Fighting AI with AI

As AI-powered cyber threats escalate, reactive security is obsolete. GCCs are prime targets and must move toward cyber autonomy — security systems capable of predictive, self-managing defense. At Atos, we operate advanced AI-driven Security Operations Centers (SOCs) that integrate predictive threat intelligence. The goal is cyber autonomy, where systems manage and mitigate threats without constant human intervention, ensuring the continuous, secure operation of the digital core and maintaining the trust needed for critical sectors.

5. The strategic shift to monetization: Beyond arbitrage

The biggest mindset shift is seeing the GCC as a monetization engine, not just a cost center. Success is now measured by contribution to top-line revenue and competitive advantage. At Atos, we enable monetization by enforcing performance-based contracting and aggressively driving IP and product development, especially in our APAC innovation incubators. Our smart automation suite and Genesis strategic plan focus on creating reusable digital assets that are commercialized, turning the center into a strategic IP source.

6. Monetizing the green imperative: ESG as a profit driver

Sustainability and ESG compliance is no longer just a mandatory check — it’s a driver of profitable business growth. GCCs must be demonstrably carbon-efficient, and organizations need to harness this for a positive impact on their internal processes too. Atos actively embeds decarbonization targets and green-certified operations, offering solutions like FinOps and GreenOps. This integrates cost optimization with environmental performance. By providing measurable data on reduced energy consumption, we transform the GCC's sustainability promise into a competitive advantage and a new revenue stream.

>> Learn more about Atos’s Global Capability Centers and how they are modernizing the workforce: Global Capability Centers (GCC) - Atos
>> Looking to make your GCC a game-changer? Connect with me and let’s discuss.
>> If you are ready to transform your GCC from a cost center into an agile, profit-generating machine, connect with our Atos experts today: https://atos.net/en/contact-us

Posted: 10/12/25