Captive Centre
Also known as: Captive, Captive unit
A captive centre is a wholly owned offshore unit through which a company delivers work using its own employees and infrastructure. The term “captive” signals that the operation is retained within the company — its capacity serves only the parent, in contrast to a vendor that sells its services to many clients.
Captive was the earliest label for this model and predates both GIC and GCC. The three terms describe the same fundamental structure: a company chooses to build rather than buy, keeping control of talent, process, and intellectual property offshore. The vocabulary has shifted over time towards GCC as these units took on more strategic, capability-led work, but “captive” remains common shorthand, especially in comparisons between the build (captive) route and the buy (outsourcing) route.
In India, the captive model is the foundation of the GCC ecosystem. A company weighing whether to set up a captive centre is usually comparing it against outsourcing or a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement, in which a partner stands up the centre and later transfers it to become a captive. The captive route demands more upfront investment in entity set-up, leadership, and hiring, but gives the company direct ownership of its people and roadmap — which is precisely why the first leadership and specialist hires carry so much weight.
Frequently asked questions
What is a captive centre?
A captive centre is an offshore unit a company owns and staffs with its own employees to do work in-house, instead of paying an outside vendor. It serves only the parent company, not external clients.
Is a captive centre the same as a GCC?
Yes. Captive centre is the original name for the model now usually called a Global Capability Centre (GCC) or Global In-house Centre (GIC). All three describe a company-owned offshore operation.
What is the difference between a captive and outsourcing?
A captive is owned by the company and staffed with its own employees, so the company controls talent and intellectual property. Outsourcing hands the work to a separate vendor that employs the staff and delivers under a contract.
How does Build-Operate-Transfer relate to a captive centre?
Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) is a route to a captive: a partner builds and runs the centre for a defined period, then transfers ownership and staff to the company, which then operates it as a captive.