Latest news with #GCCs
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
From desktops to delivery: Enabling secure developer access from anywhere in Global captives
The global shift towards hybrid work has transformed Global Captive Centres (GCCs). Once seen primarily as offshore cost centres, they've evolved into critical engines of innovation and agile delivery. In today's landscape, agility, speed, and uncompromising security are no longer optional. GCCs that power software development, especially in India—a global hub for technology captives—are completely reimagining their delivery models. Their goal? To ensure developers can work securely from anywhere, without sacrificing regulatory compliance or a seamless developer experience. From legacy systems to agile delivery In the past, development teams in captives operated within office campuses, safeguarded by layers of network firewalls and physical security. However, the hybrid-first model has upended this traditional setup. The challenge now lies in creating a virtual equivalent of a secure, high-performance developer environment. This must be flexible enough for unreliable home networks or BYOD devices, without compromising control or compliance. The answer lies in adopting workspace virtualisation, zero trust access controls, and identity-centric security. Forward-looking GCCs are moving away from fragmented, multi-vendor stacks and legacy VPN-based remote access, replacing these with integrated solutions built for agility and precise control. The new norm: Secure developer access from anywhere Modern captives must now support distributed developers accessing cloud-native platforms, code repositories, sandbox environments, and production APIs. Crucially, they must ensure data never leaves secure boundaries. Here's how leading GCCs are making this a reality: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) for Development Sandboxes: VDI is at the heart of secure developer environments. It provides cloud- or on-premise-hosted desktops, offering isolated, high-performance environments preloaded with development tools, SDKs, and IDEs, ensuring code stays within the organisation's control. All data processing occurs within the secure virtual session—nothing is saved or downloaded Trust Network Access (ZTNA) Instead of VPNs: With ZTNA, organisations eliminate broad VPN tunnels that expose the corporate network. Developers gain application-specific access based on user role, device posture, and contextual risk scores. The principle of least privilege is strictly enforced, and granular, session-level controls (like blocking clipboard or USB access) help contain risks Identity and Access Management (IAM): At the core of secure remote access is strong identity verification. Comprehensive IAM solutions ensure that only authenticated and authorised developers gain access, regardless of their location or device. This includes multi-factor authentication (MFA), including biometric-based authentication, and seamless integration with existing identity providers, ensuring a secure yet streamlined login experience across all resources. Developer productivity without compromising compliance Developer agility cannot come at the expense of compliance. In regulated industries such as BFSI, healthcare, and government, GCCs must enforce strict audit trails, prevent data leaks, and meet frameworks like RBI's Cybersecurity guidelines, DPDP Act, or GDPR. Robust multi-factor authentication and biometric logins, integrated with both legacy and modern applications, are essential. Real-time monitoring, session watermarking, contextual access control, and comprehensive audit logs empower captives to meet both internal policies and external compliance mandates. Hybrid delivery models: Supporting agile teams Hybrid delivery extends beyond working from home—it's about geographically distributed agile teams collaborating effectively. Secure on-premise remote support and collaboration tools are vital, while session recording and reporting ensure visibility into productivity and security events. Leading GCCs are also implementing hybrid development models combining remote VDI-based workstations with on-site development sprints. This blended approach balances agility with focused collaboration, improving delivery timelines while ensuring sprint reviews and quality assurance remain securely contained. Business benefits and sustainability Adopting these advanced digital workspace solutions delivers profound strategic and operational advantages: Cost Optimisation & Reduced TCO: Moving away from traditional physical workstations to virtual desktops dramatically cuts endpoint hardware costs, often by up to 60%. This extends hardware life by 3-5 years and reduces Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through centralised management, streamlining patch cycles, and lowering IT support Operational Resilience: These solutions provide inherent business continuity. Developers can seamlessly transition to remote work during disruptions, ensuring uninterrupted delivery. This resilience is critical for GCCs operating on tight global IT & ESG Alignment: A significant yet often overlooked benefit is the environmental impact. Thin clients and virtualised environments consume considerably less power than traditional desktops, helping organisations meet crucial ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Onboarding & Workforce Agility, including BYOD: The ability to provision secure, fully configured development environments within hours is transformative. Solutions enabling secure use of personal devices (BYOD) via bootable operating systems allow for instant onboarding of contractors, interns, or short-term vendors. This dramatically reduces hardware investment and enables GCCs to scale their talent pool rapidly in response to project demands, enhancing Developer Experience: Developers experience uninterrupted, high-performance work sessions over standard broadband or 4G connections due to lightweight remote display protocols. This seamless experience translates directly into higher productivity, reduced frustration, and improved talent retention. Real-world examples In BFSI, advanced secure workspace solutions enable application developers to securely access User Acceptance Testing (UAT) environments for sensitive financial systems from anywhere via biometric-secured virtual sessions. This ensures compliance with stringent cybersecurity norms while enabling efficient development cycles for critical IT/ITES, large outsourcing providers are leveraging integrated secure access platforms to create client-specific virtual delivery environments, substantially reducing cost and complexity compared to traditional distributed IT government projects, agencies now empower developers to contribute to mission-critical national applications while rigorously meeting national cybersecurity and data residency mandates through Zero Trust Network Access and centralised access policies. The road ahead As captives continue their evolution into strategic development hubs, developer workspaces must be inherently secure, highly responsive, and fully compliant with regulatory guidelines. The shift from managing physical desktops to enabling agile, secure delivery is no longer just about hardware—it's about secure access, centralised control, and contextual agility. Organisations at the forefront are leading this transformation with solutions designed for the hybrid enterprise—empowering businesses to balance innovation with compliance, and speed with security. In the era of hybrid work, enabling your developers to work securely from anywhere is not merely a technical choice; it's a strategic imperative. And with the right integrated solutions, global captives are ready for this future.
Business Wire
7 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
ISG to Study Providers of Strategic Insurance Services
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm, has launched four research studies examining providers of services that address the complex needs of insurance enterprises. Insurance enterprises are navigating digital transformation, embracing advancements in AI and digital engineering. Providers foster these capabilities, ensuring that companies are equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing environment. Share The study results will be published in four ISG Provider Lens™ reports: Insurance Global Capability Centers (GCCs) by Service Providers, Insurance GenAI and Agentic AI Services, Insurance Services Specialists and Insurance Digital Engineering Services. The reports are scheduled to be released in November 2025. Enterprise buyers will be able to use information from the reports to evaluate their current vendor relationships, potential new engagements and available offerings, while ISG advisors use the information to recommend providers to the firm's buy-side clients. The insurance services ecosystem is evolving to address demands for streamlined processes, enhanced customer interactions and greater adaptability. Insurance companies increasingly use GCCs as essential hubs to boost operational efficiency. The integration of advanced AI technologies, such as generative AI and agentic AI, has become crucial for enhancing customer experience and operational resilience. Enterprises are seeking insurance services specialists to address skills gaps through tailored solutions. At the same time, digital engineering is transforming the industry by streamlining design-to-execution processes. 'Insurance enterprises are navigating a steep landscape of digital transformation, embracing advancements in AI and digital engineering,' said Iain Fisher, director at ISG. 'Providers play a crucial role in fostering these capabilities, ensuring that companies are equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.' ISG has distributed surveys to more than 100 providers for the four studies. Working in collaboration with ISG's global advisors, the research team will produce four reports, each with one or more quadrants representing the strategic services insurance enterprises are buying, based on ISG's experience working with its clients. The four reports are: Insurance Global Capability Centers (GCCs) by Service Providers: This report will cover providers offering services for GCC setup, optimization and transformation. It will include one quadrant: Insurance GCC CaaS: Setup-Run-Optimize-Transform-Transfe r, evaluating providers that use a capability-as-a-service (CaaS) approach to support GCC setup and operation from end to end. These providers enable streamlined GCC operations, offer frameworks for continuous improvement using Lean and Six Sigma methodologies and align GCC capabilities with industry trends and organizational goals. Insurance GenAI and Agentic AI Services: This report will explore GenAI and agentic AI development and deployment services. It will include two quadrants: GenAI — Development and Deployment Service s, assessing providers that deliver end-to-end solutions from proofs of concept to full-scale GenAI implementation, including continuous monitoring and management. Providers are evaluated on their ability to deliver tailored cloud infrastructure and optimize resources for efficient model training and deployment. Agentic AI — Development and Deployment Service s, covering providers that specialize in delivering autonomous AI solutions capable of planning, executing and refining tasks with minimal human input. They employ agentic AI, which autonomously orchestrates tasks and performs self-corrections, to optimize insurance workflows and processes. Insurance Services Specialists: The report will assess companies delivering specialized services for life and retirement (L&R) and property and casualty (P&C) insurance operations and insurance ITO. It will include three quadrants: Life and Retirement (L&R) Insurance Services Specialists, evaluating providers that offer L&R insurance operations outsourcing. These providers utilize intelligent automation, analytics and AI to enhance speed, cost efficiency and accuracy while supporting various operations across the L&R lifecycle. Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Services Specialists, assessing providers that specialize in P&C insurance operations outsourcing, including consulting and managed services. These providers enhance operations by delivering speed, cost savings and accuracy, focusing on modernizing services and improving customer management and technology enablement in each functional area. Insurance ITO Services Specialists, covering ITO providers that offer traditional and modern digital services. These providers are assessed based on their ongoing or implemented technology support and business transformation programs across the insurance value chain. Insurance Digital Engineering Services: This report will assess providers of digital engineering services to insurance companies. It will include one quadrant: Insurance Digital Engineering Services, evaluating providers that deliver integrated hardware and software for data-driven product development and feature augmentation services. These providers increasingly use industrial automation, GenAI and agentic AI to support insurance companies from product design to execution. The reports will cover the global strategic insurance services market and examine products and services available globally. ISG analysts Ashish Jhajharia and Sandhya Hari Navage will serve as authors of the reports. A list of identified providers and vendors and further details on the studies are available in this digital brochure. Companies not listed as strategic insurance services providers can contact ISG and ask to be included in the study. All 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ evaluations feature expanded customer experience (CX) data that measures actual enterprise experience with specific provider services and solutions, based on ISG's continuous CX research. Enterprise customers wishing to share their experience about a specific provider or vendor are encouraged to complete this online survey. Participants will receive a copy of this report in return for their feedback. About ISG Provider Lens™ Research The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage. About ISG ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
CII lays road map to enhance Karnataka's competitiveness in global market
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Karnataka, on Thursday unveiled its new road map to enhance the State's competitiveness on the global stage. As part of the road map, which is named 'Accelerating Karnataka's Competitiveness: Globalisation, Inclusivity, Sustainability, Trust', the CII would focus on AI-led transformation, sunrise sectors, and capacity building for MSMEs. Other priorities will include simplifying GST and taxation, easing regulatory compliance to strengthen 'Ease of Doing Business', and improving infrastructure and connectivity for balanced industrial development, the trade body said in a press conference. According to the office-bearers, the CII's 2025–26 agenda placed a strong focus on empowering MSMEs through digitisation, ESG adoption, and cluster-based support. Key priorities include emerging sectors like semiconductors, aerospace, and electric mobility, along with energy transition and alternative fuels and Industry 4.0 skills. To drive impact across sectors, the CII plans to strengthen collaborations with the academia, startups, the government and global partners to catalyse investment, foster deep-tech capabilities, and fast-track industrial transformation. Rabindra Srikantan, chairman of CII, 'As we move towards Viksit Bharat, the State has an opportunity to shape India's industrial future through innovation, technology leadership, and sustainability.'' The trade body's focus was to create a resilient and agile ecosystem that empowered industries to lead in strategic areas like semiconductors, design-led manufacturing, AI-powered production, and clean energy. A key pillar of this journey was the expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), which were rapidly evolving from support hubs to strategic innovation engines across sectors, he added. Guruprasad Mudlapur, vice-chairman of CII, said, 'We are committed to accelerating inclusive and future-ready growth by strengthening competitiveness, ease of doing business, and building trust to enable MSMEs across the State.' He said the CII's new roadmap was aligned to Viksit Bharat, and focused on infrastructure, policy simplification, and technology adoption to drive industrial resilience across the State.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
TCOAP ties up with ESC to strengthen IT firms in southern A.P.
The Technology Companies Association of Andhra Pradesh (TCOAP) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) for strengthening the IT ecosystem in southern Andhra Pradesh. TCOAP President Rayala Vamsikrishna exchanged copy of the MoU with ESC Vice Chairman Rajesh M. Revanker on Thursday (June 19). The collaboration aims to boost export potential and global market access for local MSMEs and start-ups. The ESC, a key trade promotion council supported by the Government of India, facilitates participation in international exhibitions, buyer-seller meets, B2B delegations and policy advocacy for technology exporters. This MoU marks a major milestone in promoting Andhra Pradesh as a preferred destination for technology investments and innovation. This initiative also marks a significant step forward in positioning Tirupati as a rising destination for technology-driven growth and innovation. The meet discussed the importance of developing an IT Park in Tirupati. The event brought together key industry stakeholders and a prominent real estate development firm from Karnataka to deliberate on critical aspects of the proposed project. The discussions focused on land allocation, establishment of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and the potential implementation of the project under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. The TCOAP members reiterated the importance of nurturing regional technology hubs to drive digital transformation, attract private investment and create significant employment opportunities for local talent. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has expressed its support for the initiative, committing to provide the necessary infrastructure and policy framework to facilitate its success.
Hans India
a day ago
- Business
- Hans India
QMentisAI by QualiZeal Slashes Software Testing Timelines by 60% with Innovative Generative AI
QualiZeal, a U.S.-based quality engineering (QE) firm with Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in Hyderabad, has recently launched QMentisAI, a Generative AI-powered QE platform that has garnered significant interest across the software testing community. Frost & Sullivan recently recognized QMentisAI with the 2025 Indian GenAI Quality Excellence Platform—Best Practices Award for Industry Excellence. The award-winning, enterprise-grade platform is designed to reduce software testing timelines by up to 60% across key functions—requirement refinement, test design, and test automation—while achieving nearly 95% accuracy, transforming how testing is conducted at scale. Equipped with 18 advanced capabilities—including user story refinement, test design, test automation scripting, and defect report enhancement—QMentisAI integrates GenAI throughout the testing lifecycle, significantly improving tester productivity. It addresses common QE challenges such as poorly written user stories, manual test script generation, inefficient defect documentation, collaboration gaps among distributed teams, and time constraints in Agile environments. The platform leverages advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs) within an agentic architecture, combined with QualiZeal's deep domain expertise, to overcome complex QE roadblocks. "QMentisAI embodies our vision of combining cutting-edge technology with human expertise to deliver superior results," said Madhu Murty, Co-Founder & Head of India Operations, at QualiZeal. 'By harnessing GenAI and a human-in-the-loop approach, we're enabling teams to reduce manual effort, accelerate delivery, and achieve unprecedented efficiency.' While GenAI powers core QE processes, its human-in-the-loop model ensures expert validation to refine outputs and uphold quality. QMentisAI is industry-agnostic, built for flexibility and scale, and includes future-ready features such as synthetic data creation, risk assessment, a prompt library, and performance and security testing. 'As software engineering evolves, QMentisAI is our answer to bridging the gap between technology and human ingenuity," said Pradeep Govindasamy, Co-Founder, President & CEO, of QualiZeal. 'Its ability to reduce manual effort, accelerate timelines, and foster seamless collaboration makes it a game-changer for teams striving for excellence.' The platform cuts up to 80% of manual effort in test case design and defect documentation, significantly shortens project timelines, and enhances communication among globally distributed teams. Heena Juneja, Industry Principal at Frost & Sullivan, commented on QMentisAI's transformative impact, 'Frost & Sullivan recognizes QualiZeal for redefining the QE landscape through its groundbreaking platforms, QMentisAI and QualiCentral. The company enables faster, more efficient, and highly reliable software deployments by integrating GenAI into QE workflows—delivering value across industries beyond just automation.' QualiZeal is continually enhancing QMentisAI with features like root cause analysis, security testing, accessibility support, and agentic AI capabilities—reaffirming its commitment to inclusive, future-proof QE solutions.
