From cost centre to innovation engine: How TELUS Digital is reimagining its India GCC for the AI era

India’s Global Capability Centres have moved well past their back-office origins, and few examples illustrate that shift as clearly as TELUS Digital’s growing footprint in the country. What was once a cost-driven delivery hub is now being positioned as the innovation core of the company’s global strategy — spanning cloud transformation, AI-powered engineering, and enterprise data solutions for clients around the world.

In this conversation with Express Computer, Kapil Uniyal, Head of Google Cloud Services & Digital Solutions and Vice President – APACA at TELUS Digital, unpacks what’s driving this evolution. He discusses how India’s talent depth and hyperscaler partnerships are reshaping the company’s “GCC++” model, why AI is pushing delivery organisations to rethink structure and success metrics altogether, and where TELUS Digital is placing its biggest bets — from AI-led learning platforms to building globally aware, unbiased AI systems. Looking ahead to 2030, Uniyal also outlines the role he expects India to play as the “central nervous system” of TELUS Digital’s next phase of growth.

Some edited excerpts from an interview:

India is becoming an increasingly important part of TELUS Digital’s global strategy. What unique capabilities does the India operation bring to the company’s worldwide delivery and innovation network?
India is the epicentre of our digital and AI capabilities, bringing unmatched technical maturity with a massive, highly certified footprint across the country. Our expansive pan-India presence gives us unparalleled reach to top tech talent, allowing us to offer an end-to-end combination of capabilities from a single region. This diverse talent pool drives complex enterprise IT, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and cutting-edge AI data solutions, while delivering world-class omnichannel CX and Trust & Safety.

We operate within a robust partner ecosystem, collaborating globally with industry leaders like Adobe, Amazon, and Salesforce, alongside key hyperscalers such as Google, where we serve as a Premier Partner. Our India operations leverage this deep expertise to drive large-scale Data, Cloud, and AI transformations that modernise legacy tech systems for global organisations. Our India teams lead with a platform-first strategy. They build, integrate, and scale proprietary platforms to help global disruptive brands seamlessly transition from legacy systems to AI-first architectures.

Global Capability Centres are evolving rapidly. How is TELUS Digital leveraging its India centres differently today compared to five years ago, particularly in AI, engineering, and customer experience?
We have evolved from a traditional, cost-driven GCC into a true GCC++ model, a strategic engine within TELUS Digital’s Global Delivery Model. We do not just serve TELUS; we deliver innovative solutions for global customers, driving worldwide growth, revenue, and transformation.

We are an integral part of the Global Delivery Model. Demonstrating this maturity, a dedicated team of 600+ professionals in India currently supports one of the top three telecommunications providers in the United States. Our teams across India are actively architecting cloud-native platforms and driving AI-powered, test-driven software development for our global clients. Clean, governed data is the biggest barrier to enterprise AI. Our India operations lead the global charge in data annotation, structuring, and MLOps, making us an indispensable partner for AI deployment.

Many enterprises are rethinking their operating models around AI. How do you see AI changing the way global delivery organisations are structured, managed, and measured over the next three to five years?
Traditional delivery structures will evolve into scalable platforms built on strong data foundations, AI, and automation, shifting the focus from headcount to intelligent, reusable solutions. We will increasingly leverage our partner ecosystem, including hyperscalers, startups, and technology providers, to co-create AI-driven products tailored to customer needs.

Delivery roles will shift toward AI system builders who combine automation with human expertise to ensure governance, accuracy, and customer-centric outcomes. Further, success will be measured by business impact, such as AI adoption, model performance, and customer sentiment, rather than just traditional efficiency metrics.

As India strengthens its position in the global AI ecosystem, where do you see the biggest opportunities—in talent, research, engineering, or innovation? Which of these areas is TELUS Digital investing in most aggressively?

India’s greatest opportunity lies in its unparalleled pool of IT engineering talent capable of operationalising AI within secure, scalable enterprise environments. We are aggressively investing in building powerful, AI-led platforms. We are also developing an advanced AI Learning & Development (L&D) model that trains our consultants through immersive, AI-led conversations that mock real-time customer interactions. Additionally, the country’s immense linguistic and cultural diversity allows us to train, test, and deploy AI models that are globally aware, unbiased, and safe for worldwide deployment.

Looking ahead to 2030, how do you expect TELUS Digital to evolve, and what role do you see India playing in that journey?
By 2030, TELUS Digital will be a leading partner in blending advanced automation with human expertise, acting as the connective tissue between complex enterprise technologies and flawless digital customer experiences. India will serve as the central nervous system for this 2030 vision. Operating as one unified region, our hubs will act as key product development centers and the innovation engine powering our enterprise AI platforms. Our talent will drive critical co-development for leading SaaS product companies, defining the global standards for agile development, AI safety, and premium digital CX.