AI, Micro GCCs, And Outcome-Driven Engineering Are Reshaping India’s Tech Landscape
Across GCCs, we’re seeing both hiring freezes and expansion. From your perspective, is this a temporary correction or a deeper structural shift driven by AI?
If I really look at it, there is strong hiring happening in many pockets, but also some confusion around where it needs to be done. The larger question organizations should ask is what kind of reskilling or upskilling model they are following, because the world is very different compared to even a few months back. The whole process of software creation is going through a significant shift. What used to take months can now be done in weeks with code generation models. There is a strong infusion of AI into the software development lifecycle, and the time from backlog to delivery has come down drastically, sometimes by as much as 80%. So there is a clear productivity gain, and organizations are going through internal assessments, putting guardrails in place, fine-tuning processes, and in some cases reimagining them. That’s why you see a slight dip in hiring. But in the long run, we all want to build more features and create more outcomes for customers. Things will bounce back, new roles will be created, and there will be more opportunities. For India, this is going to be a huge opportunity.
In a highly regulated and trust-sensitive sector like insurance, what does enterprise-ready AI really mean beyond automation and copilots?
Insurance is a heavily regulated and sensitive industry. You cannot auto-decline a claim unless you are completely sure about the data you are looking at. But even beyond insurance, for any enterprise adopting AI, it is extremely important to build a layer of trust, transparency, and explainability in the stack. It is not just about adding a large language model into your software. My core belief is that organizations that can build trust, explainability, and transparency will be the key differentiators. From a development perspective, we use multiple code generation models, but from an intelligence perspective, we are very careful about where we use AI. We make sure there is always a human in the loop, and there is a strong audit trail so we can do course correction. Trust and guardrails are critical in enterprise AI adoption.
We’re seeing layoffs at junior levels while hiring is increasing for expert roles. How is this shift changing hiring expectations and methods at Guidewire?
I think the industry is going through some confusion in addressing this. We still hire across all levels, but earlier we hired at the entry level with the expectation that people would become productive in 6 to 12 months. That flexibility is slowly fading. Now, the expectation is that people should be productive from day one, especially with the tools available. This means we need a new set of skills even at the early talent level. For example, I look for system thinking, how systems interact, how they scale, and how to design fault-tolerant systems. The conversation has shifted from knowing a specific language to understanding how to build large, scalable systems. We are not hiring just for a specific competency anymore. We want people who can leverage the tools available and build systems for the future. At the same time, our hiring methods reflect this shift. Candidates spend time with teams, do pair programming, and work in real environments with tools like GitHub Copilot. We also look for people who have experience across multiple stacks, languages, and platforms, rather than depth in a single language alone. Earlier, the ecosystem hired early talent, trained them for long periods, and then deployed them. That model is getting deconstructed.
At Guidewire, how is AI changing roles, responsibilities, and developer productivity within your India teams?
I think most of our developers now have access to different code generation models. It has become the norm to use these tools to create software for our customers. At the same time, we make sure there are guardrails. When we check in code to production, it is reviewed by peers, and there is always a human in the loop. We have seen a significant improvement in delivery timelines, along with a strong infusion of generated code. Developer productivity has improved significantly with these tools. The conversation now is whether each of us can become a 10x or even 100x developer, and the answer is yes. With these tools, we can become far more powerful developers and ship more features and outcomes.
What has driven Guidewire India’s rapid growth, and how are you approaching upskilling in such a fast-changing environment?
We have been growing consistently. In 2024, we were around 150 people, and today we are close to 700. We did not expect to scale this fast. Upskilling and learning are extremely important. Earlier, technology would stay relevant for five to six years. Now it changes very fast. We need to build systems that can adapt, where parts of the stack can be added or removed easily. If systems cannot adapt, they become legacy. What differentiates organizations now is their ability to shift technology quickly, and that is only possible if learning is continuous. Learning can no longer be separate from work. It has to happen alongside development, with teams learning as they build. If I do not retrain my teams on what is coming next in weeks or months, I will miss that shift.
As Guidewire expands in India, how do you see the role of the India center evolving from a talent base to a strategic hub?
The talent conversation was something of the past. Today, India is perceived as a transformational location for global companies. We have built capabilities across cloud platforms, data platforms, and new features, with significant contributions coming from teams in India. From that perspective, there is strong accountability for the global portfolio of products we ship. This is enabled by the large talent base, but it goes beyond that. I have close to 15 product managers here who have end-to-end accountability for products. Things have completely changed compared to five or six years back, when India teams worked on smaller parts. Today, the work coming out of India is cutting edge and global decisions are increasingly being driven from here.
What are the largest roles at Guidewire today, and what kind of product and platform innovation is being driven from India?
We are product development heavy. Most of my team are engineers. We also have services teams and cloud operations teams. In India, we are focused on building the cloud platform and the data platform. We are building expertise in creating large-scale, scalable platforms out of India. While this is a global effort, a significant share, around 40 to 50%, of platform development is being driven from India.
Looking ahead, what will define the next phase of GCC evolution in India?
The way I see it, every individual can be a developer at scale now. So the conversation will not be about headcount. You will see the emergence of micro GCCs with teams of 50 to 60 people. There will be a flood of such setups, creating more opportunities in India. These GCCs will be built to create new products, capabilities, or transformations from scratch. You will see different models, some focused on process orchestration, others on innovation and product development. Earlier, domain expertise was critical. Now you need strong product managers and technical experts who can also understand the business. People who can build scalable systems will be the key differentiators.
In the near term, what does the roadmap look like and what excites you the most?
Each developer now has access to code generation models, and productivity has increased significantly. This is a gradual transformation. Developers today can be 10x or even 100x more productive. Features that earlier took years can now be delivered much faster. I am very bullish on the fact that language is not a barrier and tech is not a barrier. What really matters is whether what we build creates impact for the customer. Once that is clear, there are no limits to how fast we can deliver. That is what makes this a very exciting time ahead.
