Successful GCCs Come Into India to Build Capabilities, Innovate, and Establish a Strong Culture, Not Just to Save Costs: Srinivas Reddy, EPAM

Zema Global sets up its first India GCC in Mumbai, leveraging EPAM’s expertise to drive AI-led innovation and harness domain-specific talent in financial services and energy.

Zema Global is making its mark in India with its first Global Capability Center (GCC) in Mumbai. In an engaging joint interaction with Andrea Remyn Stone, CEO, Zema Global, and Srinivas Reddy, Managing Director, EPAM, they talk about why Zema chose Mumbai over traditional tech hubs like Bengaluru and how the company plans to harness local talent in financial services and energy.

The interaction also highlights EPAM’s critical role in setting up Zema’s India operations using the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. With AI and innovation at the forefront, both leaders emphasize the importance of real-time data and AI-driven decision-making as Zema continues its global expansion.

Is this Zema Global’s first GCC in India?

Andrea Remyn Stone: Yes, this is Zemo’s first GCC in India. The team we acquired from Morningstar had been working together for over 15 years and was very close-knit. We were highly impressed with the talent here and decided to retain it as a foundation to build upon.

So, if I may ask, considering that the majority of the global companies plan to set up their GCCs in a tech hub like Bengaluru, what compelled you to move to Mumbai or Pune for this?

Andrea Remyn Stone: Since we’re a data and analytics company, we found that Mumbai offers a depth of expertise in financial services and energy that you don’t typically find in Bengaluru or other places. Commodity data is quite unique and inconsistent, and it requires a specific skill set. So, having a talented team in Mumbai that understands this data, along with a partner like EPAM, which has expertise in these areas, made Mumbai the ideal choice for us.

How does your India site fit into your global operation structure? 

Andrea Remyn Stone: Our India site is critically important and functions as a center of excellence. It plays a key role in supporting our global 24/7 operations. The team in India handles core business functions and supports our teams in Europe, the UK, the US, and Canada. It’s really the linchpin in ensuring we deliver high-quality data to our customers consistently every day.

EPAM has been instrumental in establishing and scaling GCCs over the years. Can you share how the BOT model is uniquely benefiting Zema’s operations?

Srinivas Reddy: About half of our clients today are GCCs, and we take a tailored approach for each one. In Zema’s case, it was essential to seed the operation with high-quality talent to help them enter the Indian market effectively. With our recruitment, HR, and operations engines, we were able to accelerate this process for Zema. While they could have built it on their own, it would have taken more time.

Using the BOT model, we quickly established the foundation, and we’re still partnering with them as we operate. The relationship doesn’t end with the transfer. For example, many of my GCC clients continue to rely on us for capacity and engineering talent even years after the initial setup.

In Zema’s case, there were clear synergies, especially in the talent they needed and the data space they operate in. So, it made sense for us to collaborate. As Andrea mentioned, it’s been a successful partnership so far.

With EPAM’s AI-driven approach and proprietary platforms like EPAM DIAL, EPAM EliteA, and EPAM AI/RUN, how are you ensuring seamless integration of AI capabilities into Zema’s operations?

Srinivas Reddy: We’ve implemented AI-driven solutions for many clients, and we’re now beginning to integrate them into Zema Global as well. Over the past year, we’ve conducted several experiments and POCs with clients, and in the last six to eight months, we’ve moved into full production. EPAM Dial, our enterprise orchestration layer, is already being used by numerous clients in India. EPAM EliteA serves as our agentic framework across the entire SDLC. Zema will benefit from this, along with our AI-enabled workforce. Around 90% of my engineers in India have undergone training, POCs, and hands-on work with AI, positioning us well to support Zema’s AI journey.

Andrea, I’ll come back to you. India is a talent pool, which is why more than 1,500 GCCs have set up in the country. What is your strategy to nurture, develop, and retain this talent? Could you elaborate on that as well?

Andrea Remyn Stone: We’ve been very impressed by the talent in India, particularly those with expertise in data, analytics, commodities, and energy. Our plan is to double our team this year, and with EPAM’s support, we’re hiring people with technical skills and training them on our business expertise. It’s crucial that our team understands the culture and customers we serve, as different commodity companies have proprietary aspects. They trust us to provide high-quality data for key operational, trading, and risk decisions.

Our team here has an average tenure of 7 to 15 years, bringing maturity and well-established processes that help us scale. This strong foundation, combined with leadership and industry expertise, made us excited to build our center of excellence here. We also value the young talent in AI coming from Pune and Mumbai, which complements our industry-specific content.

Working with EPAM has been especially beneficial because their experience with multiple clients accelerates our innovation. In the last nine months, EPAM’s team has helped cross-train our engineers in Canada, who lack some of the modern skills available in Pune and Mumbai. I’m excited about how we’ll continue to grow and develop these skills in the coming year.

In how many countries Zema is currently operational?

Andrea Remyn Stone: Zema is currently operational in six countries: Singapore, Mumbai (India), Spain, the UK, the US, and Canada. Our customer base is very global, with over 200 customers across almost every country you can think of.

I’ll go back to Srinivas. You deal with many GCC customers. What common challenges do they face when entering the Indian market?

Srinivas Reddy: I’ve seen successful GCCs enter India, like Zema, which is off to a strong start. When companies approach it as merely a cost-saving exercise by hiring hundreds or thousands of people, it typically doesn’t work out. The key is to come into India with the intent to build capabilities, innovate, deliver quality, and establish a strong culture. This takes time and requires consistent interactions, as demonstrated by Zema’s leadership, who frequently engage with the team here, including visits from senior people from the UK, Canada, and the US.

One critical factor is ensuring the local team understands the domain, purpose, and customer needs, especially in mission-critical work like Zema’s. It’s about long-term investment and rewarding the local workforce. Successful GCCs have a clear vision, mission, and values that they communicate effectively. While cost is a factor, it shouldn’t be the only focus—it has to be about more than just saving money.

As technology and digital transformation accelerate, how do you foresee this partnership evolving in the next five years, and what new innovations can we expect from Zema’s India GCC?

Andrea Remyn Stone: I expect our partnership with EPAM to continue evolving, particularly on the innovation front. Energy companies rely on us for the quality, breadth, and depth of their data, which is often influenced by factors like weather, political events, and supply chain disruptions. In the future, we’ll focus on applying AI advancements from EPAM to our industry, enabling faster and smarter decision-making for our clients. AI will play a crucial role in building high-quality data pipelines that traders, schedulers, and risk managers can trust.

Additionally, as the volume and variety of energy data grow—whether it’s wind, solar, or commodities like wheat—real-time data will become increasingly essential. We’ll focus on providing data faster and more efficiently, ensuring companies can navigate the complexities and volatility of their supply chains. This innovation will be driven from our Mumbai office, leveraging our collaboration with EPAM to meet the rising demands of real-time data in the energy sector.

Srinivas, any final comments?

Srinivas Reddy: I couldn’t agree more. I think that’s a great note to end on. EPAM will be a strong partner as Zema embarks on this journey. We’re heavily investing in AI, building platforms, and focusing on education, and I’m confident Zema will find plenty of opportunities to benefit from what EPAM offers.

Original article published here.

Learn more about how EPAM is fostering growth in GCCs through modern engineering and scalability here.