HCLTech and AWS launch nano GCC model to move enterprise AI beyond pilots

The offering combines HCLTech’s GCC advisory and implementation capabilities with AWS cloud and agentic AI services, using an India-based delivery organisation and a Lucknow Centre of Excellence.

HCLTech and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have launched an AI-powered nano Global Capability Centre (GCC) offering designed to help enterprises move AI initiatives from experimentation to production without committing to a traditional, large-scale GCC setup upfront.

The offering combines HCLTech’s GCC advisory and implementation capabilities with AWS cloud infrastructure and agentic AI services. It forms part of HCLTech’s GCC 360 solution suite and uses the company’s AI platforms, including AI Force.

The model is designed around compact, product-centric teams, AI-enabled workflows and a phased expansion approach. Enterprises can start with a targeted scope, demonstrate business value, and expand as requirements evolve.

HCLTech will lead the operating model design and implementation, while AWS will provide joint go-to-market support and access to services including Amazon Bedrock, Kiro and AWS Transform.

The companies are targeting two groups of enterprises: organisations that already operate GCCs but want to introduce AI-led transformation into conventional operations, and mid-market businesses without an existing presence in a new geography that want a lower-risk way to establish AI capabilities.

Traditional GCCs often require organisations to establish operations with a broad scope and scale.

HCLTech’s nano GCC model takes a more focused approach, allowing enterprises to begin with smaller teams and expand as their needs develop.

The offering covers AI-native engineering, autonomous IT operations, advanced data and analytics, and intelligent business operations. Responsible AI governance is built into the model.

For enterprises with existing GCCs, HCLTech proposes a hub-and-spoke approach anchored at its Lucknow campus. The model will help these organisations introduce AI-led transformation without disrupting their existing operations.

For mid-market enterprises that do not have a local presence, the offering provides a way to begin operations in a new geography with a targeted scope rather than establishing a larger GCC from the outset.

HCLTech says the approach will help reduce setup cycles, establish AI-native operating models and enable organisations to scale progressively. The company has not disclosed specific setup timelines, team sizes, pricing or quantified cost savings compared with traditional GCC models.

Kiran Cherukuri, executive vice president and global GCC practice leader at HCLTech, said GCCs are evolving beyond their traditional role as cost and talent centres to become a means of building enterprise AI capabilities.

“The question for most organisations is no longer whether to build AI-native operations, but how to do it without the drag of legacy setup models,” Cherukuri said. He described the nano GCC as HCLTech’s answer to that challenge.

HCLTech and AWS combine services and AI capabilities

The partnership brings together HCLTech’s experience in GCC advisory, operating model design and implementation with AWS infrastructure and AI services.

AWS will support the offering through joint go-to-market activities and access to Amazon Bedrock, Kiro and AWS Transform. The release also identifies cloud infrastructure, agentic AI services and DevOps capabilities as components supporting the model.

Prabhakar Appana, senior vice president and global head of the AWS Ecosystem Business Unit at HCLTech, said the combination of HCLTech’s GCC expertise and AI capabilities with AWS’s cloud and agentic AI services would give enterprises a way to build AI-native operations with a more focused initial scope.

The approach is intended to help organisations demonstrate value through targeted use cases before expanding their operations as business needs change.

Amit Anshu, head of GSI and IT business at AWS India and South Asia, said enterprises across Asia Pacific want to build AI-native operations with greater speed and confidence. He said AWS infrastructure, agentic AI services and DevOps capabilities would support the offering as customers move from pilots to production.

The release does not detail how the companies will divide sales responsibilities, structure commercial agreements or share revenue from the offering. It also does not identify customer deployments, specific industry use cases or measurable outcomes achieved through the model.

India delivery base supports APAC rollout

Asia Pacific will be the first phase of HCLTech’s broader global rollout of the nano GCC offering.

Delivery will be supported by HCLTech’s India-based organisation and a Centre of Excellence at its Lucknow campus, giving the model access to India’s technology and engineering talent pool.

The Lucknow campus will also anchor the proposed hub-and-spoke approach for enterprises seeking to introduce AI capabilities into their existing GCC operations.

The announcement does not specify which APAC markets will be covered first or provide a rollout schedule. HCLTech has also not named any customers that have adopted the offering.

The model brings GCC advisory, implementation and AI capabilities together with AWS technology and go-to-market support for the services and cloud ecosystem. However, the companies have not disclosed whether the offering will involve other systems integrators, managed service providers or channel partners.

The launch adds an AI-focused model to HCLTech’s GCC 360 portfolio, with an emphasis on helping enterprises begin with defined use cases and expand their AI operations over time. Customer adoption and the offering's commercial impact remain to be seen.