India’s global capability centres (GCCs) are moving beyond technology delivery to building and commercialising products and intellectual property. Providence Health & Services, a US-based healthcare organisation with 51 hospitals and more than 1,000 clinics across seven western US states, is among those embracing this shift through its Hyderabad-based global technology centre. With more than 1,800 professionals, the centre focuses on AI, product development, data, cybersecurity and enterprise transformation, and is now taking solutions developed for Providence to other health systems. Murali Krishna, chief global officer & country head, Providence India, speaks to Sudhir Chowdhary about the commercialisation opportunity for GCCs. Excerpts:
What prompted Providence to commercialise its solutions?
One of the biggest lessons from our transformation journey was that the problems we solved at Providence weren’t unique to us. Health systems everywhere face the same pressures: rising costs, talent shortages and AI reshaping workflows.
Over the past four years, Providence India has helped accelerate nearly a decade of transformation – from cloud and ERP modernisation to one of the largest Epic EHR migrations in healthcare. Along the way, we built platforms, products and AI capabilities that improved efficiency, reduced administrative burden and strengthened financial performance.
When we set up Providence India in 2020, the vision was always bigger than a delivery centre. We wanted a global innovation hub that could co-build and co-own products, platforms, cybersecurity and emerging technologies.
As these capabilities matured, we realised that solutions proven at scale at Providence could address similar challenges across other health systems. Commercialising them was therefore a natural next step – taking what we had built and helping others accelerate their own transformation.
How are customers using these solutions in practice?
When we build something, we start with a simple question: does it solve a real healthcare problem? It must benefit patients, caregivers or administrators and deliver measurable results. Our AI-enabled unified data registry, for example, combines AI-assisted data extraction with human oversight and has cut abstraction time by about 60% across more than 38 hospitals, freeing clinical teams to focus on patient care.
We are also using AI to improve patient safety and clinical decision-making. Our CLABSI risk model can identify infection risk up to 48 hours earlier with about 85% accuracy, while our Agentic Molecular Tumour Board brings genomic, pathology and clinical data together to help teams assess complex cancer cases more efficiently. Ambient scribing is also helping reduce physicians’ administrative burden, potentially saving 1.5 to 4.5 hours a day.
Beyond clinical care, our solutions are helping customers strengthen cybersecurity, modernise cloud and infrastructure, and automate enterprise workflows. Our AI-powered Cyber Health Platform, for instance, gives a real-time view of cyber risk and its impact on clinical and operational continuity.
The common thread is simple: use technology and AI to remove friction from healthcare while keeping human expertise and judgement at the centre.
How is Providence India different from a traditional GCC model?
The earlier GCC model was built around efficiency; the next generation will be built around invention. Providence India represents that evolution, creating enterprise-wide impact through innovation, intellectual property and commercialisation. While aligned with Providence’s mission, its capabilities are increasingly extending beyond enterprise delivery to drive product and platform innovation for the broader US healthcare industry.
Today, Providence India contributes across the full lifecycle – from identifying opportunities and developing solutions to engaging customers, driving adoption and delivering measurable outcomes. It is playing an increasingly important role not just in how Providence operates today, but in shaping its future.
What role did the Hyderabad team play in developing these technologies?
Providence India has been foundational to building the capabilities we’re now taking to market. More than 1,800 professionals work across AI, product development, data, cybersecurity and enterprise transformation, helping design, build and scale these solutions.
The bigger shift has been in mindset – from asking “What can we build?” to “What problem should healthcare solve next?” That has helped our teams think like product owners and create more than 30 accelerators, 10-plus custom products and a growing portfolio of enterprise platforms.
Our key differentiator is the combination of healthcare and technology expertise. Through our in-house healthcare certification programme, physicians, clinicians and engineers work together to ensure our teams understand both the technology and the realities of care delivery. That domain expertise is a major advantage in the AI era.
Will more GCCs commercialise what they build?
For decades, GCCs were measured by headcount. Increasingly, they will be measured by the innovation they lead, products they build and business outcomes they deliver. India is already seeing this shift, with GCCs taking ownership of product development, AI, cybersecurity, platforms and enterprise transformation. As they build deeper domain expertise, the move from execution to creation – and eventually commercialisation – is becoming a natural next step.
India is well positioned for this evolution, with GCCs contributing to R&D, product innovation, AI, cybersecurity and strategic decision-making. Healthcare is particularly compelling because its challenges are complex, regulated and mission-critical, creating opportunities to take proven solutions to other health systems. At Providence India, we value people who can keep learning as technology evolves and apply that knowledge to real problems. Ultimately, the strongest GCCs will be defined not by their size, but by the value they create.