Google Cloud and Accenture are working together in a joint unit focused on bringing engineers into businesses to help them better adopt Google’s AI tools and services.
The new division, named Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group, is Google’s latest foray into the increasingly competitive world of forward-deployed engineers (FDEs). Rivals in the AI race, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Amazon, have recently launched separate business units, betting that implementing AI models can become multitrillion-dollar businesses for them.
This is the kind of bet that AI companies and hyperscalers are increasingly making. Hyperscalers are spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually on GPUs, data centers, and power capacity, even though the revenue directly attributable to AI is only a small portion of that investment.
Google Cloud generated $24.8 billion in the second quarter, with the majority of that coming from enterprise AI. But the effort behind that growth is enormous. Alphabet, Google Cloud’s parent company, reportedly had $811 billion in purchase commitments and contractual obligations as of June 30.
This return on investment has yet to materialize, so it all depends on whether AI companies can create enough demand for their services. But that demand is far from guaranteed, as companies themselves struggle to understand the true return on investment for their AI spending.
Traditionally, it has been assumed that businesses simply lack the expertise to intelligently integrate AI tools and services into their workflows in a way that not only saves them money but also helps them reap more profits in the long run. That’s where FDE comes in as a stable guide. FDEs ideally have the perfect mind set of business acumen and agentic AI capabilities needed to change everything.
As part of the deal with Accenture, Google will train up to 1,000 people at the consulting firm FDE to work with enterprises to build custom AI applications on the Gemini Enterprise platform.
Google accounts for about 6% of U.S. companies’ enterprise AI spending, compared to Anthropic’s 43.5% and OpenAI’s 39.7%, according to Ramp’s August data. Google’s new division with Accenture, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is the latest in efforts to aggressively expand its FDE model this year, aiming to solve enterprise adoption bottlenecks and catch up with rivals.
Earlier this year, Google Cloud launched a $750 million partner ecosystem commitment that brings Google’s own FDE to multiple consultancies including Capgemini, Cognizant, and Deloitte. The tech giant also entered into a multi-year partnership with CVC Capital Partners to bring FDE directly to the investment firm’s portfolio companies.
Google isn’t the only major company at risk of being overtaken by startups. Companies like Ode with Anthropic and OpenAI’s The Deployment Co., which specialize in embedding engineers into businesses to build bespoke AI workflows, are also threatening large consulting firms like Accenture. For the professional services giant, the partnership with Google joins a wave of unique FDE programs this year. This includes a similar FDE practice with Microsoft in March, an FDE initiative with ServiceNow in May, and a joint program with SAP in June.
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