As global fintech and SaaS firms increasingly turn to India to accelerate innovation and scale digital operations, Illumia is deepening its presence with a new Global Capability Center in Chennai. In this conversation with Fintech Business Asia, Illumia CEO Greg Brown shares how the company plans to leverage India’s growing technology ecosystem to strengthen product development, integrate payments and digital platforms, and build a globally connected innovation engine focused on education and healthcare technology solutions.

Q: Illumia’s new Global Capability Center in Chennai signals a deeper investment in India—what strategic role will this hub play in driving your global product and technology innovation roadmap?

A: The Chennai center strengthens the operating capacity behind Illumia’s product and technology roadmap. It gives us additional depth to modernize platforms, improve engineering throughput, strengthen customer support, and deliver new digital capabilities with more consistency. Our customers in education and healthcare need secure, resilient, integrated technology that can scale as their operating environments become more complex.

Q: With the GCC located at International Tech Park, how does proximity to India’s growing tech talent ecosystem influence your approach to hiring, R&D, and long-term scaling?

A: The location was a deliberate decision tied to talent, innovation, and long-term scale. Chennai gives us access to a deep technology market across engineering, cloud, data, cybersecurity, AI, and product development. That depth allows us to hire with more specialization, expand R&D capacity, and build teams that can support a global roadmap without sacrificing discipline, quality, or accountability.

Q: India has become a key destination for global capability centers—how does Illumia plan to differentiate its Chennai operations from other multinational GCCs in terms of innovation output and business impact?

A: Chennai will differentiate itself through the level of ownership it has in Illumia’s broader product and technology agenda. We are building the center to work closely with our global teams, stay connected to customer needs, and contribute directly to how we modernize our platforms. The measure of success will be practical: better products, faster execution, stronger customer experiences, and technology decisions that support long-term growth.

Q: As Illumia continues its transformation following its rebrand, how will the Chennai center support integration across payments, SaaS platforms, and digital solutions for sectors like education and healthcare?

A: Illumia’s transformation requires us to move from separate capabilities toward more connected, scalable platforms. The Chennai center will help advance that integration across payments, SaaS, engagement, compliance, and digital services. Education and healthcare both face rising expectations, budget pressure, fragmented systems, and higher demand for seamless digital experiences. Chennai’s role is to turn those realities into product architecture, execution discipline, and measurable customer value. 

Q: What role will emerging technologies such as AI, data analytics, and automation play within the Chennai GCC, particularly in enhancing product development and customer experience?

A: AI, analytics, and automation will play an important, practical role inside the Chennai center. We are focused on applying them where they improve product development, customer insight, service quality, risk management, and operational speed. In the sectors we serve, innovation has to come with trust. That means using emerging technologies in ways that strengthen accuracy, governance, reliability, and the overall customer experience.

Q: Looking ahead, do you see the Chennai hub evolving beyond a delivery center into a strategic innovation engine influencing product decisions at a global level?

A: Yes. The intent is for Chennai to contribute beyond delivery by adding perspective to product strategy, customer insight, engineering standards, and platform direction. It will work closely with teams in other markets to identify needs, test solutions, and accelerate development. The measure of success will be straightforward: better decisions, stronger products, and improved outcomes for customers globally.