By Tony Saldanha | May 2026
The GBS industry shifts emerging from SSOW Estoril 2026 mark a genuine turning point for our profession. It is very clear that we are in the midst of a fundamental shift in the GBS industry. SSOW Estoril 2026 was something of a watershed moment. The tone of conversations at the conference reflected what was already happening elsewhere. The big shift is from “how to do GBS” into “how to do GBS better.”
Given this, here are the critical changes that GBS leaders need to stay ahead of:
Artificial Intelligence: From Hype to Implementation Reality
Not surprisingly, the biggest topic was artificial intelligence. What was different this time was the shift in emphasis, from the hype of AI into a more nuanced and pragmatic conversation about implementing it in GBS. A 2026 enterprise AI survey found that 79% of organizations report challenges in adopting AI, up sharply from the year before, with only 1 in 9 enterprises actually running AI agents in production at scale. GBS leaders at Estoril felt this reality acutely, and there were clear signs that we, as an industry, need to play a more important role on this topic.
The fact is that GBS is the natural home for agentic AI. When you think about the orchestration capability of AI and link it to the fact that we are in the business of process-orchestration, our role becomes a foregone conclusion. We in GBS span multiple functions, processes, and data sources. We need to step up and claim that agenda. The other important AI conversation at Estoril was about use cases: reimagining the way work processes deliver business outcomes is perhaps the most powerful application of AI in business operations.
Taken all together, the key question becomes one of readiness. Not technology readiness, not even implementation readiness, but AI leadership readiness. Are we seen inside our companies as thought leaders on AI? Or are we still just implementing it, or worse, coping with top-down AI mandates?
Location Strategy: A Fundamentally Different Conversation
The second topic, which was surprisingly different in tone from prior years, was location strategy. Now, this has been among the top five GBS conversation topics for years. But what is different now is why it is being discussed. The short answer is a combination of the need for more GBS value creation and geopolitical risk mitigation. Seventy-five percent of GBS leaders are currently refining their location strategies. That’s huge. The GCC branding is also working. It is helping GBS leaders in existing Shared Service Centers make the case for higher value creation roles, while giving offshore countries a genuine pitch for moving non-traditional core work, in areas like R&D and Design, to leverage local talent. This is not just a continuation of previous years’ location strategy conversations. There is a fundamentally different emphasis. It is an opportunity for GBS to play the role of transformation engine of the enterprise, shaping where work gets done and why.
So, if you have offshore centers, we need to ask ourselves whether we are truly influencing HQ on these evolving topics. What is our real influence at the board level? And if it falls short of that, how long can we survive in the old efficiency delivery model as an order-taking outpost?
Service Management: From SLA Delivery to Value Creation
In the same vein of efficiency delivery versus transformation, there was significant emphasis at Estoril on Service Management. This brought a satisfied smile to my face. Service Management, which is essentially the concept of applying Product Manager or Brand Manager type structures to GBS services, was pioneered by Procter and Gamble GBS led by Filippo Passerini, about 25 years ago. The idea is simple: if GBS services are to evolve from mandated or order-taking roles into high-value services that are genuinely demanded and pulled by business partners, then each GBS service must be run like a product/service. At SSOW Estoril, speakers consistently emphasized that GBS service management is moving from SLA-driven to value-creation-driven, from cost center to business partner to transformation engine. This is another seismic shift.
The provocative question each of us must ask is this: are we currently running a GBS product and service business that delivers ever-increasing value to our business partners? Or are we still in the business of delivering more SLAs at lower costs through standardization, automation, and offshoring?
Leapfrogging GBS Maturity Through Standard Models
The fourth shift I noted was around the need to leapfrog GBS maturity by reapplying standard GBS models. Several GBS industry pioneers spoke to this, and with good reason. The GBS industry is four decades old. In the early years, successful GBS leaders were individual craftsmen who had to figure out implementations largely on their own. Those days are over. It is time for GBS as an industry to converge on the most effective approaches, models, and shared language. The panel I led on Wednesday surfaced some pointed advice from those pioneers:
“GBS must be human led, AI powered, value obsessed, and learn from others.” — Dr. Sumit Mitra
“Don’t improve the past. Define the future and instill a mindset of evolution. Then step up to address problems even before you’re asked.” — Ana Martins
“Elevate the discussion about GBS to value creation. Shift the conversation from cost savings to driving business. This will move adversaries into allies.” — Shane Abeyratne
All of this is possible. And the GBS industry is realizing that the fastest path forward is to search and reapply proven standard models rather than reinvent from scratch. The APEX GBS Standards and Inixia’s Professional GBS Certification exist precisely to accelerate that process. For those navigating the AI dimension of these shifts, the GBS Expert Series on Agentic AI offers a practical entry point.
A Small World With a Clear Message
In closing, this was a different conference in many ways. More sober, more pragmatic, and more focused on business value. An unmistakable watershed moment, with a clarion call for a different set of actions. A shift from “how to do GBS” into “how to do GBS better.” And the best thing is that this is not just desirable, it is within our reach.
SSOW Estoril reminded us that although GBS is a $145 billion industry, it remains a very small world. A small group of leaders who know, rely on, and help each other. The same names echo around the industry year after year. That is a wonderfully collaborative ecosystem.
For each of you, the message is clear: the best opportunity to create value and advance your career is to heed the seismic shift, reapply standard ways to exploit it, and to tap into the collective knowledge by engaging fully in this industry while it is still a small world.
Browse the Inixia Insights library for more perspectives on where GBS is headed.