Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are a specific area of focus for Publicis Sapient in India, said Sanjay Menon, the company’s Managing Director. It is working with Indian GCCs with their Globally Distributed Delivery (GDD) model and helping them transform using DBT GPT, an AI-powered chatbot built to streamline user engagement by offering tailored responses related to Digital Business Transformation (DBT).
“Many clients have established captives in India because they see it as a strategic play. We’re working with global captives here to support their transformation journey in the context of their global objectives. The GCC space is thriving, especially with AI becoming a major focus,” said Menon.
The company uses the GDD model to integrate teams across the globe. “It’s how we work with clients in any context, allowing us to bring teams from different geographies, perspectives, and capabilities to work cohesively.”
Publicis Sapient’s DBT GPT tool leverages Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) models to deliver real-time, conversational experiences. It functions as an intelligent conversational search engine.
Menon said the company decided to expand beyond its markets and look at wherever the talent was. “In 2000, we turned our attention to India, which was not a market we were looking at for revenue, but a place with a concentration of English-speaking, technology-oriented talent. That’s how our journey started.”
He added the company decided to perceive India not only as a talent pool, but as an inherent extension of itself. A significant number of people were moved from Publicis Sapient’s North American and European offices to India.
Strategic base
“India is a strategic talent base; it’s how we build, lead, and help transform the rest of the company. It’s a market where we look at our clients’ footprints and figure out how to support their transformation journeys. All capabilities here are the same as in other offices globally. We see India as a place to bring the Strategy, Product, Engineering, Experience, Data, and AI (SPEED) strategy into one cohesive unit.”
Menon explained that Publicis Sapient’s India operations, as a Global Delivery and Development (GDD) hub, exceed traditional GCC roles, integrating capabilities across SPEED.
Indian team members often engage directly with clients, he noted. “All configurations are possible—front-end, back-end, or full involvement. The capability to do all exists, and we tap into the teams based on the context.” The company has offices in Gurgaon, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Noida.
India is exhibiting change, with companies showing global ambitions, Menon observed. “We’re seeing a strong desire to adapt, adopt, and drive new-age thinking and technologies. If we look at what’s happening in India, with the UPI, the robust digital infrastructure, and the global ambitions of Indian banks, the financial sector here is more progressive than in other markets; the retail sector is also booming. We want to explore the meaningful role we can play in helping companies here transform.”