Remote Office by Hourglass IT

Build your India office in 60 days

The GCC model, reimagined for growing companies

Dedicated teams. Enterprise governance. Zero entity setup. A Build-Operate(-Transfer) model that gives growing companies the control of a captive Global Capability Center — sized right, priced right, live in weeks.

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Prepared for prospective partners in the UK & US · Hourglass IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd. · Chennai, India

Interested?

The Context

Global Capability Centers changed how companies scale talent

Fortune 500s no longer outsource — they build their own offshore engineering, finance, and operations hubs in India to get senior talent at a fraction of onshore cost, while keeping full control.

1,700+

GCCs already operating in India

60–70%

Typical cost saving vs onshore hiring

Amount most mid-market companies actually deploy

Why? Because building a captive center — legal entity, HR bench, compliance, real estate, IT — only pays back once you need 80–100+ people. Below that scale, the model that built an in-house delivery arm for a Fortune 500 simply isn't accessible.

The Problem

GCCs were built for giants — not for a 15-person delivery team

No local entity, no local expertise

Setting up an Indian subsidiary takes months and needs ongoing legal, tax, and statutory management most companies never wanted to own.

Compliance exposure

Labour law, payroll statutory compliance, data protection, and contractor classification all carry real penalty risk if mismanaged.

Hiring risk without an HR bench

Sourcing, vetting, and retaining India-based talent from the UK or US is slow, and attrition risk sits entirely with you.

Capex before you've proven the model

Office space, IT infrastructure, and admin overhead are sunk costs — paid whether or not the team performs.

The Solution

A GCC-style remote office, right-sized for you

Hourglass IT sets up, staffs, and runs a dedicated remote office in Chennai that operates as your company's offshore capability — starting at 5–10 people, not 100.

Dedicated team, working exclusively for you — not shared across client accounts
One monthly fee covers people, space, IT, HR & compliance
You direct the work; we run the operation

Launch in 6–8 weeks Start with only 5 employees Save up to 60% on operating costs No legal entity required

"Your GCC — built and run for you, until (or unless) you want to run it yourself."

The Model

Build. Operate. Transfer — if and when you want it

Two ways to run the engagement — flexible from day one, and you can move between them without disruption.

Build — Weeks 1–6

We define roles, recruit and vet talent, set up workspace & IT, and stand up HR, payroll, and compliance under Hourglass's Indian entity.

Operate — Ongoing

Your team works exclusively on your priorities, managed day-to-day by Hourglass for HR, admin, quality, and continuity — you direct the work.

Transfer — Month 24+ (optional)

If you choose to set up your own entity later, we hand over the team, workspace, and knowledge — no lock-in, no re-hiring risk.

Most clients start on pure Build-Operate and stay there indefinitely — Transfer is available, never required.

What's Included

One monthly fee. Everything an offshore office needs

Talent acquisition

Role definition, sourcing, technical vetting, and onboarding of dedicated staff.

HR, payroll & compliance

Statutory compliance, payroll, benefits administration, and local labour law management.

IT & infrastructure

Workstations, secure network, licensed software, and data security controls.

Workspace

Professional office space in Chennai — or fully remote, your choice.

Quality & governance

Performance reporting, delivery reviews, and continuity planning (backfill on attrition).

Time-zone bridge

Overlap hours structured against UK/US business hours for daily collaboration.

Engagement Tiers

One growth path, from first hire to full-scale GCC

The team grows with you — each tier adds governance and structure as headcount scales, with no need to switch models or providers.

Launch · 5–10 people

Startups & early-stage teams

Recruitment & vetting
HR, payroll & compliance
Workspace & IT setup
Initial governance

Scale · 10–30 people

Scaling SMEs

Everything in Launch
Delivery management & PMO
Performance reporting
Security processes

Enterprise · 30–100 people

Established mid-market

Everything in Scale
Department leadership
Finance operations
Governance & exec dashboards

Transfer Ready · 50–100+ people

Whenever you're ready

Employees transferred
Office & contracts transferred
Knowledge transferred
Advisory support continues

Why Hourglass IT

An enterprise delivery track record, sized for you

Since 2011

15 years delivering application automation and enterprise software from Chennai — not a pandemic-era staffing shop.

UK presence already in place

An established West Sussex, UK office means contracting, communication, and time-zone overlap are already solved — not promised.

Enterprise-grade delivery

Our engineering teams already build and support mission-critical systems for large infrastructure and construction enterprises.

Built for regulated, high-stakes work

Our delivery discipline comes from enterprise clients where financial and operational accuracy is non-negotiable.

How the Models Compare

The control of a GCC, the accessibility of outsourcing

	Traditional GCC	Outsourcing / BPO	Hourglass Remote Office
Minimum viable size	80–100+ people	None, but low control	5–10 people
Time to launch	9–18 months	2–4 weeks	4–6 weeks
Dedicated team?	Yes	Rarely — shared pool	Yes, exclusive to you
Upfront capex	High (entity, office, IT)	None	None
Management burden	High — you run HR & ops	Low, but so is visibility	Low — we run it, you direct it
Path to own entity	N/A — already yours	Not applicable	Optional, anytime

Engagement Model

Simple, transparent, scalable pricing

Per-FTE monthly fee

A single all-inclusive rate per role

Covers salary, benefits, admin, HR, IT, and workspace. No hidden line items.

Scale up or down

Add roles as needs grow

Or reduce team size with agreed notice — no long-term headcount commitment beyond your contract term.

No capex, no entity setup

Pay for output and capability

Not for infrastructure or legal setup — those costs are ours to carry.

Illustrative only — final pricing depends on roles, seniority mix, and scope, confirmed during discovery. A typical starter pod (5 people, mixed seniority) runs at a fraction of the fully-loaded cost of the same team hired directly onshore in the UK or US — while remaining exclusively yours.

Proven Delivery — Enterprise Customer Success

Enterprise discipline, already tested at scale

A leading infrastructure & construction conglomerate

Hourglass IT has designed and delivered six enterprise applications for this client's group operations — spanning treasury management, inventory automation, inter-group financial automation, GST/tax automation, and logistics management.

This is the same delivery discipline — accuracy, documentation, and accountability — that carries into every Remote Office engagement.

2011Founded

15+ yrsEnterprise delivery

UKEstablished office presence

Getting Started

From first call to a fully operational team

Weeks 1–3

Discovery & design

Define roles, scope, and success metrics together.

Weeks 4–8

Build the team

Sourcing, technical vetting, and offer stage for your roles.

Weeks 9–12

Onboard & set up

Workspace, IT, access, and process handover.

Month 3+

Operate & review

Team is live; monthly governance reviews begin.

Month 24+

Scale or transfer

Expand the pod, hold steady, or optionally begin transfer planning.

Is This Right for You?

Built for companies that outgrew outsourcing, but aren't ready to build a GCC

Need 5–50 offshore roles — too small for a traditional GCC business case
Want a dedicated team, not a shared outsourcing pool
Prefer predictable monthly cost over upfront capex and legal setup
Value compliance and governance as much as cost savings
Want the option to build toward full independence later, without being locked in

Next Steps

Let's scope your first pod.

A 30-minute discovery call is enough to outline roles, timeline, and indicative pricing for your first 5–10 person Remote Office team

info@hourglassit.com