Strategic location planning for your GCC expansion

^Introduction

What nobody tells you about picking a GCC location. Companies spend months analyzing spreadsheets, comparing costs, reading market reports. Then they choose a city. Six months later? They're stuck. Hiring drags on forever. Costs blow past projections. The talent they need doesn't exist where they thought it would.

Location isn't just about finding office space. It determines who you can hire, how fast you scale, and whether this center becomes valuable or just another expense you regret.

^{Why GCC Strategic Choices Matter?}

We’ve watched companies pick cities because "that's where everyone goes." Bengaluru, for example.

One company we know rushed into a Tier-1 city without thinking through their specific needs. Three months in, they realized thetalent pool for their niche was small. Everyone wanted the same people. Salaries got bid up. Attrition hit hard because candidates had five other offers.

When you're planning your GCC strategic setup, ask different questions. Not "where's cheapest?" but "where can we actually build what we need?" Can you find the right people? Not just any engineers, the specific skills your operations require. Will you fight 50 other companies for every hire, or can you build something sustainable?

^{What Matters When Picking a City?}

The right location decision comes down to four critical factors that most companies overlook until it's too late. You need talent availability, infrastructure that works, cost structures that make sense, and an ecosystem that accelerates your setup instead of slowing it down.

^{1. Get the talent question right first}

India produces about 1.5 million engineers every year. Sounds like alot. But they're clustered. Bengaluru and Hyderabad? Deep tech pools. Mumbai has finance and banking talent. Chennai works for manufacturing and engineering roles.

^{2. Infrastructure determines daily reality}

Reliable power. Internet that doesn't crash. Office space that fits how you work. Commutes that don't eat three hours of your team's day. Tier-1 cities sorted this out years ago. You pay premium rates, but stuff works. Tier-2 cities like Coimbatore and Jaipur offer solid infrastructure at 30-50% less. The trade-off? You do more groundwork upfront.

^{3. Cost structures vary wildly between cities}

Commercial office space in Bengaluru runs ₹80-95 per square foot monthly right now. Move to a Tier-2 city, and you're looking at 30-50% savings. Sounds great. But can you staff your center there? Lower costs don't help if positions stay empty for months.

^{4. Ecosystem maturity changes your speed}

Established hubs have recruitment networks that function. Training partners who understand GCC needs. Other centers you can talk to and learn from. Newer cities mean building more yourself. The upside? Better government incentives. Less competition for talent. First-mover advantages in emerging markets.

^{GCC in India: City Comparisons}

Tier-1 cities dominate because they have built ecosystems over the years. Bengaluru hosts 880+ GCC centers. Hyderabad has 355+. Across major cities, roughly 1.9million people work in GCCs. Everything you need exists there already.

Bengaluru leads for tech, AI, innovation work. Expensive? Absolutely. But the tech talent pool runs deep. Hyderabad offers similar capabilities with costs running 20-30% lower.

Watch Tier-2 cities though. They did share of GCC rose from 5% in 2019 to 7% of GCC in 2024. That's significant growth. You get lower attrition rates.

^{Quick City Comparison}

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^{GCC as a Service: Why It Makes Sense}

Traditional GCC setup takes 6-8 months. Entity registration. Finding office space. Building recruitment processes from scratch. It's slow.

GCC as a service models compress this to 60-90 days. How? Providers handle the compliance maze while you focus on defining what your center actually does. They set up facilities, start recruiting, navigate local regulations.

This works particularly well for first-time India entries. Or when you're expanding to cities where you lack local knowledge.

^{Building Your GCC Center of Excellence}

A GCC center of excellence doesn't happen by accident. You make specific choices about location, talent strategy, and operational design.

• Start with functions. What will your center handle? Tech and product development need different locations than finance operations or customer support. Complex tech work probably needs a Tier-1 city with proven tech talent. Operations benefiting from cost efficiency? Tier-2 cities make more sense.
• Think five years out. Not just immediate needs. Choose locations that support growth as your business evolves. Look at expanding talent pools.
• For larger operations, consider hub-and-spoke. Put your primary center in a Tier-1 city for critical functions and senior talent. Add satellite locations in Tier-2 cities for operations where cost efficiency matters.

^{Making This Decision Right}

Don't rush. Companies that invest time analyzing options upfront seebetter outcomes. Fewer expensive course corrections later.

Evaluate multiple cities against your specific criteria. Actually visit them. Meet local talent. See ground reality beyond what reports show. Talk to companies with centers there. Understand practical challenges.

Partner with people who know the landscape. Whether you choose GCC as a service or build independently, local expertise accelerates setup. Helps you navigate regulatory requirements. Talent acquisition. Operational scaling.

Your GCC strategic location decision shapes everything afterward. The right choice builds a center that drives value. Attracts solid talent. Evolves as your needs change.

^{Plan Your GCC the Right Way}

Turning a GCC strategy into a fully operational center requires more than location selection. It involves entity formation, talent strategy, regulatory alignment, and the right technology and operating model. If you are assessing your GCC strategic location in India or preparing to scale an existing setup, Bacancy GCC supports each phase with practical guidance and on-ground expertise.

Schedule a consultation call to discuss your objectives and receive astructured roadmap for building your GCC.