Amid GCC boom, Big Four in India are boosting hiring of 'tech architects'

Deloitte India has over 500 of these architects and says there is a growing demand for them across the consultancy's clients

Amid rise in the number of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), the Big Four consultancies in India are increasing the hiring of technology architects, who design and manage the tech infrastructure supporting the GCCs.

With over 1,600 GCCs currently, India has become a top destination for foreign companies to establish these centres. With a fast-growing economy and relatively cheaper human resource availability, this number is expected to touch 2,400 by 2030, according to EY.

They (tech architects) translate business requirements into technical blueprints and ensure solutions align with business goals, emphasising scalability, security and efficiency,” said Deepti Sagar, chief people and experience officer, Deloitte India.

These architects may not be techies in the truest sense, but play a big role in combining the digital needs of companies with other requirements like finance, and research and development.

Deloitte India has over 500 such architects and the company says there is a growing demand for them across the consultancy's clients.

“With the overall demand for architects across our clients growing at 20-25 per cent, Deloitte India has robust hiring plans in place to meet these growing demands,” Sagar said.

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Purushothaman KG, partner and head – Technology Transformation & Telecom, KPMG in India said that they have also increased the hiring of these architects. "Our hiring strategy has been domain specific and platform specific," he said.

He said that a tech architect must have certifications across ERP platforms (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft) and Cloud platforms (MS, Google, Low code SAAS platforms such as Salesforce, and ServiceNow).

Ranjan Biswas, EY India leader for Technology, Media and Entertainment, Telecom (TMT) and South region, said, “Our proposition for GCCs is a strong combination of business consultants and technology architects who work together to solve their business problems and, in many cases, lead their end-to-end transformation needs.”

EY India's team servicing GCCs, including tech architects, has grown almost three times to about 11,000 people in 2023-24 from 4,200 in 2020-21.

"PwC India is undergoing digital transformations to stay competitive. This involves integrating digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how they operate and deliver value to customers," said Shirin Sehgal, chief people officer, PwC India.

“Technology architects are crucial in leading these transformations, as they design the overall structure of IT systems to ensure they meet the company's strategic goals,” she added.

Apart from GCCs, the rise in cloud computing and increasing risks to cybersecurity have also led to a higher hiring of tech architects.

Sehgal added that the shift towards cloud computing requires a redesign of traditional IT architectures.

“Technology architects are needed to oversee the migration to the cloud, manage cloud services, and optimise cloud operations for cost, performance, and security,” she said.