| |October 20189CIOReviewThe journey from being a technology support centre to the next innovation hub is a long and complex one but the Pharma GCCs in India are truly on this exciting and enriching journey various reasons including weak IP laws as well as non-af-fordability of the latest drugs. This is fast changing with stronger patent regulations as well as a booming econo-my with patients willing to invest in the latest treatment options. This has opened the possibility of GCCs work-ing very closely with the local India business and devel-oping innovative solutions with the business.However, the road to the transformation has chal-lenges which need to be overcome by the GCC leader-ship. Some of them include1. Availability of quality Resource - High-quality re-sources in the niche technology areas are less and GCCs will need to compete with Global Tech Giants (Ama-zon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft etc) as well as new age start-ups for attracting talent in a highly competitive market. Having a strong graduates program and ensur-ing cross location opportunities are few weapons which the companies will need to leverage to be attractive.2. Changing Mindsets ­ The mindset that requires changing is two folds. The first is the potential for the GCC resources to do this high value-adding work. The second is the feasibility of doing such work from off-shore. Starting small with POCs to win over mindset is a great example of how to change and win minds.So what is in it for the business? How will GICs mov-ing up the value chain benefit the parent organization? 1. Solving the Supply Gap ­ While the willingness to adopt the newer technologies is high amongst Pharma Businesses, there are massive budget pressures. GCCs can solve this problem by being the engine room for providing high-quality resources to pilot and implement these new technologies.2. Perception of IT ­ With the move towards SAAS solutions, the role of IT in driving innovations is increas-ingly being challenged. Business is more comfortable in engaging with start-ups providing faster implementation cycles than being dependent on IT, who are sometimes perceived as acting as blockers. GCCs can become the innovation hub for organizations, working closely with onsite IT resources to churn out pilots and faster MVPs.3. Resource Retention ­ The new roles and oppor-tunities will solve one of the biggest issues that GCCs face today on career and growth paths for the in-house resources. Retaining the high performing resources will not only result in improvement of the quality of services and deliverables coming out of the GICs but will also result in GCCs becoming the hub for global talent in the overall org.All the above trends are resulting in a huge transfor-mation of Pharma GCCs in India. One of the measures for the same is the percentage of GCC staff in major transformation programs like Digital, Data & Analytics and the numbers are on the rise. The journey from being a technology support centre to the next innovation hub is a long and complex one but the Pharma GCCs in India are truly on this exciting and enriching journey, ultimately benefiting both our patients and stakeholders. Furhan Ahmed
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