The Rising Impact of GCCs on India’s Coworking Ecosystem

The Rising Impact of GCCs on India’s Coworking Ecosystem
Jun 26 2025

As India cements its position as a global business powerhouse, one major driver of this growth is the explosive rise of Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Attracted by India’s skilled talent pool and competitive costs, multinational corporations are setting up these strategic hubs to handle everything from IT and finance to R&D and customer support.

But behind the scenes of this growth lies a silent revolution — the rapid transformation of coworking spaces. These flexible work environments have emerged as essential infrastructure, enabling GCCs to scale fast, remain agile, and foster innovation.

In this article, we’ll explore how the expansion of GCCs is reshaping India’s coworking landscape, the challenges ahead, and what the future holds for both.

What Are GCCs, and Why Is India a Magnet?

GCCs are offshore units set up by global enterprises to perform specialized functions. Think of them as global backbones—supporting IT operations, data analytics, product development, and more, often more efficiently than in their home countries.

India’s edge?

  • Cost-efficiency
  • A deep and diverse talent pool
  • Tech-enabled infrastructure
  • Supportive government policies

With over 1,600+ GCCs currently operating in India and more in the pipeline, the trend shows no signs of slowing down. The country is no longer just a support hub—it’s becoming a strategic center for innovation and decision-making.

The Coworking Boom: Built for GCCs

As GCCs expand, their real estate needs are changing dramatically. Traditional office leases simply don’t make the cut anymore. The new focus is on flexibility, scalability, and collaboration—the exact strengths of coworking spaces.

Flexibility Without Compromise

Coworking spaces provide plug-and-play setups that allow GCCs to scale teams up or down based on real-time demand. There’s no need for multi-year lease commitments or heavy capital expenditure.

Fostering Innovation Through Community

These shared workspaces bring together professionals from varied sectors. This mix sparks cross-pollination of ideas, accelerates learning, and drives innovation—critical for GCCs looking to build future-ready solutions.

Hybrid-Ready Infrastructure

Post-COVID, hybrid work is here to stay. Coworking spaces offer the perfect balance of structure and flexibility, allowing GCCs to provide employees with adaptable work setups across cities and tiers.

The Roadblocks Ahead

While the synergy between coworking and GCCs is strong, there are hurdles to overcome:

  • Security and Privacy: Shared environments raise concerns around data and infrastructure security.
  • Cultural Integration: Managing diverse teams across geographies and coworking setups requires intentional culture-building.
  • Operational Consistency: Maintaining brand and operational consistency across multiple coworking locations can be tricky.

However, many coworking operators are adapting quickly, offering customized, secure, and enterprise-grade solutions to address these issues.

A Look into the Future

According to Coworking Insights (2025), flexible workspaces will account for 20–21% of India’s office market by end-2025. Leasing activity is booming, especially in Tier-1 and emerging Tier-2/3 cities, driven by:

  • A shift toward managed offices
  • Demand for sustainability and smart infrastructure
  • Rise in tech-enabled, custom workspaces
  • Preference for asset-light, scalable models

The future is hybrid, dynamic, and digital-first—ideally suited for coworking models.

Rethinking Workspace Strategy for GCCs

If you’re running or planning a GCC in India, your choice of workplace can make or break your operational efficiency and team experience.

That’s where Onfra.io steps in.

Onfra is a cutting-edge workplace and tenant experience platform—designed to empower enterprises, coworking operators, and facility managers to orchestrate seamless operations across multiple locations.

With Onfra, you can:

  • Discover and manage coworking spaces across cities with ease
  • Ensure consistent user experiences across teams and sites
  • Streamline visitor, asset, and space management in real-time
  • Leverage actionable insights to optimize space utilization and costs

Whether you’re scaling a GCC from 50 to 500 people or navigating hybrid work models, Onfra.io helps you stay agile, compliant, and collaborative—from a single, intelligent platform.

🚀 Ready to power your GCC’s growth with smarter workspaces?

Explore Onfra.io today and take the first step toward future-ready workplace transformation.