India’s metaverse opportunity, The rise and rise of GCCs, and more
Welcome to the twelfth issue of the Tech Wrap India, a fortnightly newsletter bringing you the hottest conversations shaping the world of tech right now, brought to you by Isha Chitnis, tech and innovation editor at LinkedIn News India.
This week, we explore:
💻 The metaverse and what it means for businesses and tech professionals.
💻 The rise of global capacity centres in India, and the skills they’re looking for.
💻 How professionals in India are approaching upskilling in AI.
💻 Top trending conversations among tech and startup professionals.
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“Metaverse isn’t a niche anymore, it’s the next digital frontier,” says Yuvraj Krishan Sharma, Co-Founder and CPO at KOMPANIONS, which develops products on augmented, virtual, and mixed reality for educational institutes. According to Sharma, the metaverse isn’t just for gaming or social media anymore, and sectors like retail, real estate, education, healthcare, and entertainment are being transformed with the technology.
There’s also a significant economic opportunity at play — $900 billion strong by 2030 , according to Bain & Company — although it may remain in the seed stage for at least another five to 10 years. The report adds that companies that engage in the metaverse’s early stages of development over the next five to 10 years are more likely to become market winners. In India, the metaverse and Web3 opportunity stands at $200 billion by 2035, according to a report by Arthur D. Little.
Use cases across sectors look like virtual retail stores, virtual campuses and interactive 3D lessons in the education sector, virtual medical consultations, interactive movies, concerts, product launches, and fashion shows, and virtual property tours, adds Sharma.
➡️ See Yuvraj Krishan Sharma’s post on metaverse adoption across sectors
From an insurance giant launching a 3D virtual lounge to tech companies using the metaverse for client and employee engagement and from gaming platforms rethinking user experience to the education sector embracing its potential — India seems to be gradually stepping into the metaverse world. Almost 70% of business executives in India plan to integrate the metaverse into the organisational activities, according to a PwC India report.
“Starting with immersion and total engagement, metaverse helps go beyond the limitations of the physical world,” says Krishna Mahesh Poddar, Head of Community at AjnaLens, a company working on augmented, virtual, and mixed reality solutions.
She adds that multi-user access helps people be present in the same environment at the same time without having to travel physically, making practical use cases for design or learning easier.
The metaverse adoption wave isn’t without its challenges. Concerns around cybersecurity and data privacy, ethical dilemmas around digital identities, making the technology accessible, and the disconnection from the real world remain, says Sharma. “A major challenge is developing such experiences in a manner that they are as realistic as the real world,” adds Poddar.
➡️ See Krishna Mahesh Poddar’s post on the metaverse potential
💬 Do you think metaverse adoption will pick up in India? What are the possible applications in your sector? Share your thoughts using #TechWrapIndia.
Working with and on the metaverse
UI/UX design is one of the most important jobs to surge with the metaverse, says Krishna Mahesh Poddar, adding that the need for artists and designers will also rise in the upcoming years due to the focus on user experience in the metaverse. According to Sharma, jobs like metaverse architects, VR content creators, virtual event managers, VR Therapists, digital real estate brokers, and virtual era marketeers are also on the horizon.
"To embark on these exciting career paths, individuals will need to develop a blend of technical and creative skills," says Pallav Bajjuri (bajjuri6.nft), Founder at IPVerse, sharing that these include user-centered design, collaborative teamwork, technical proficiency, and adaptability.
➡️ See Pallav Bajuri’s article about the metaverse
In-house units of global firms in India in sectors like banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), pharmaceuticals, retail, energy, automotive, and telecom are set to hire half a million people this fiscal year, according to Xpheno data from July.
“It’s clear that GCCs are here to stay and grow. For tech professionals, it offers a stable and learning environment to stay and grow and also offers wealth creating opportunities,” says Krishna Gopal, Global Head - Sales Enablement at Tech Mahindra.
Global capability centres (GCCs) hired more people than IT companies in India for the first time in three years in the April-June quarter, reports The Economic Times.
And they show no signs of slowing down.
The centres have a requirement of 50,000-75,000 employees, and a part of this talent pool hired into GCCs could come from IT service companies, Kamal Karanth, Co-founder of Xpheno Specialist Staffing, told Economic Times.
➡️ See Kamal Karanth’s post on the GCC hiring trends
Around 15 more GCCs will be set up this year in addition to the 22 already established, and 100 of them are actively looking to increase their headcount in India. Why India, you ask? The availability of skilled talent, especially in tech, digital, analytics, and AI and the favourable cost environment make the country a go-to destination, according to executives in this report.
“The GCC code has been cracked by the global corporations and the success playbook is available as executives from one firm move to the other,” says Gopal. The availability of talent willing to work with GCCs, the opening up of the Indian financial systems, allowing trading in global stocks, and GCCs offering stock options to employees have also contributed to GCC growth, he adds.
What are the skills GCCs are looking for? AI and machine learning, data analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, and opportunities for roles like CIO, CTO, CISO, and CHRO will also see an uptick, according to a report by NLB Services.
➡️ See Krishna Gopal’s article on India’s GCC story
The GCC market expansion opportunity — which is estimated to reach $110 billion by 2030, according to EY — highlights a wealth of opportunities and a major shift the industry and professionals should brace for, says AmitKumar Shrivastava, Head of AI at Fujitsu Consulting India. He adds that the anticipated expansion could spark more visibility and funding, enabling more research and development, digital transformation, and innovation, and spotlight India’s tech industry on a global stage, attracting more foreign investment.
With the GCC growth comes responsibility, adds Shrivastava — to nurture a culture of innovation, make contributions to communities they serve, and reshape traditional work norms to be more inclusive, balanced, and rewarding.
➡️ See AmitKumar’s post on the opportunities GCC expansion presents
More than 40% of professionals in India have started to see AI’s role in the workplace increase, and 60% agree that AI skills will help with their career progression, shows LinkedIn data. A third of them are also interested in learning AI or ML skills like prompt engineering this year.
Breaking down the skill, Navveen Balani, Managing Director and Chief Technologist - Technology Sustainability Innovation at Accenture says that prompt engineering is the art of crafting inputs in natural language to obtain precise and desired outputs from AI models.
“Think of this as guiding your AI with words, much like using keyword searches on Google — instead of seeking existing information, you're instructing an AI to create content based on your prompts,” he shares.
Tech roles are evolving with the advent of Generative AI, he writes in an article. For instance, software developers should now have a grasp of AI and machine learning frameworks, a data engineer’s role will expand to include creating data pipelines for AI model training, and Quality Assurance Engineers will have to adapt traditional testing methods for AI, learning how to validate and test AI models.
➡️ See Navveen Balani’s article on upskilling for the Generative AI age
Along with IT and tech companies, non-tech companies like Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, and Mondelez are also eyeing AI talent as they adopt the technology to stay ahead of the curve, reports The Economic Times.
To keep up with the developments in the space, Vaibhav Goyal, Co-founder of Predixion AI recommends reading latest research papers and work by universities in the field of AI, participating in competitions and hackathons, and experimenting with a variety of Foundation/ Large Language Models (LLMs).
➡️ See Vaibhav Goyal’s article on how to ace the AI race
Even with AI set to play a bigger role in our day-to-day work, there is also increased awareness among professionals that investing in soft skills will be key and allow them to showcase their human edge. Almost 70% of Indian professionals agree that soft skills like creativity, and problem solving are more important than ever, shows LinkedIn data.
Keep up with and join in to the top conversations about tech and innovation:
💬 CEO of Cogno AI Aman Goel shares how technology startups can approach feature requests from customers:
👩💻 How can Observability help Engineering, DevSecOps and SRE teams? Vice President and Head of Quality Engineering and Testing at Wipro Digital Rituparna Ghosh shares her take.
✅ Co-Founder, Chief Technology and Learning Officer Girish Ramakrishnan shares what system engineers should be aware of before a product launch:
Reported by Isha Chitnis
Creator Manager: Raunak Ramteke
44614 Comments
Experienced Growth Marketer • MBA • Specializing in SEO, PPC, Social Media, Content Marketing, Branding
1d🌟 Exciting times ahead for India Inc! The metaverse is poised to revolutionize how we work and connect. Kudos to Tech Wrap India for diving into these crucial conversations and shedding light on the potential job roles it brings. Embracing emerging tech and its impact on various sectors is the way forward. 🚀🌐 LinkedIn News India #Metaverse #TechTrends #FutureOfWork
Building a search engine of Graphs - The platform that offers unparalleled trends, data, insights and graphs.
1dThe new internet is here, Metaverse and Web 3.0 to change the way we do business. Metaverse and Web 3.0 will shape business and lifestyle choices with future generations likely spending more time in the virtual world than the physical realm. The growing number of users participating in the Metaverse and using crypto and decentralized technologies demonstrates that these trends are becoming more popular. The axis is the move towards immersive experiences, which is the metaverse at the moment mostly Roblox, and if you see companies that are making significant investments. Even in India, there are examples such as flippers and the recent Bangalore T two airport, which was converted into a Metaverse experience by Polygon Labs, where you can see a lot of immersive experiences. On the other end of the spectrum, there's the entire decentralized internet, which is web 3.2, where you're starting to see players like Coinbase offering crypto solutions, but more importantly, a wide range of use cases. LinkedIn News India #TechWrapIndia
IT BDM, assisting business leaders to conquer and drive tangible growth and ROI by elevating their brands, turning digital footprints into lasting impacts and transforming challenges into strategic wins.
3dAbsolutely! Observing the meteoric rise and potential of the metaverse, I genuinely believe that India Inc. stands at the brink of a revolutionary transformation. As the digital realm continues to blend seamlessly with our physical world, a myriad of opportunities are unfolding before us. It's evident that we'll see a surge in demand for job roles that might have seemed unconventional a few years ago. VR/AR designers and developers will be at the forefront of creating this next-gen digital ecosystem. Moreover, managerial roles dedicated solely to navigating the challenges and maximizing the potential of the metaverse will become indispensable. Exciting times ahead in the world of tech! #TechWrapIndia | LinkedIn News India
Student at University Of North Bengal
3dGreat opportunity
Engineering & Technology Leader | Edupreneur | Techpreneur | Co-Founder, Chief Technology & Learning Officer - TECKLAB (Vingyan)
4dThanks LinkedIn News India for sharing my thoughts!