Google Cloud races to catch up in the AI deployment wars with Accenture deal

Google Cloud 与埃森哲达成合作，在 AI 部署竞赛中奋起直追

Google Cloud and Accenture are working together on a joint unit dedicated to sending engineers into enterprises to help them better adopt Google’s AI tools and services. The new unit, dubbed Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group, is Google’s latest foray into the increasingly competitive world of “forward-deployed engineers,” or FDEs. Google Cloud 与埃森哲（Accenture）正在合作成立一个联合部门，专门派遣工程师深入企业，帮助他们更好地采用 Google 的 AI 工具和服务。这个名为“埃森哲 Gemini 企业业务组”（Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group）的新部门，是 Google 在日益激烈的“前线部署工程师”（FDE）领域进行的最新尝试。

Rivals in the AI race, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Amazon, have all recently launched separate business units in a bet that implementing AI models can become its own trillion-dollar business. It’s the kind of bet AI companies and hyperscalers increasingly need to make. Hyperscalers are committing hundreds of billions of dollars a year to GPUs, data centers, and power capacity even as the revenue directly attributable to AI remains a fraction of that investment. 包括 OpenAI、Anthropic、微软和亚马逊在内的 AI 竞赛竞争对手，近期都纷纷成立了独立的业务部门，押注 AI 模型实施本身能成为一个万亿美元规模的产业。这是 AI 公司和超大规模云服务商越来越需要做出的赌注。尽管 AI 直接带来的收入仅占投资的一小部分，但这些云服务商每年仍在 GPU、数据中心和电力容量上投入数千亿美元。

Google Cloud generated $24.8 billion in the second quarter, a big chunk of which was driven by enterprise AI. But the commitments behind that growth are enormous. Google Cloud’s parent company Alphabet reportedly accumulated $811 billion in purchase commitments and contractual obligations as of June 30. This return on investment is not yet materializing in the way companies and investors need it to, so everything hinges on whether or not AI companies can create enough demand for their services. Google Cloud 第二季度营收为 248 亿美元，其中很大一部分由企业级 AI 驱动。但支撑这一增长的投入是巨大的。据报道，截至 6 月 30 日，Google Cloud 的母公司 Alphabet 累计了 8110 亿美元的采购承诺和合同义务。这种投资回报尚未以公司和投资者所期望的方式实现，因此一切都取决于 AI 公司能否为其服务创造足够的市场需求。

But that demand is not guaranteed, as enterprises themselves are struggling to see a true return on investment on their AI spending. It’s conventionally held that enterprises have simply lacked the expertise to intelligently integrate AI tools and services into their workflows in a way that not only saves them money, but helps them make more of it in the long run. That’s where the FDEs come in as a steady, guiding hand that, ideally, possesses the perfect mental cocktail of business acumen and agentic AI prowess needed to change everything. 但这种需求并非有保障，因为企业自身也在努力从 AI 支出中看到真正的投资回报。传统观点认为，企业缺乏将 AI 工具和服务智能集成到工作流程中的专业知识，无法实现既能省钱又能长期盈利的目标。这就是 FDE 发挥作用的地方——他们作为稳健的引导者，理想情况下，应具备商业敏锐度和智能体 AI 能力的完美结合，从而带来变革。

As part of its deal with Accenture, Google will train up to 1,000 of the consultancy firm’s FDEs to work with enterprises and build custom AI applications on the Gemini Enterprise platform. The organization will live under Accenture, according to a Google spokesperson. 作为与埃森哲协议的一部分，Google 将培训多达 1,000 名该咨询公司的 FDE，让他们与企业合作，并在 Gemini Enterprise 平台上构建定制的 AI 应用。据 Google 发言人称，该组织将隶属于埃森哲。

According to August data from Ramp, Google accounts for roughly 6% of enterprise AI spending among Ramp’s U.S. customers, compared to Anthropic’s 43.5% and OpenAI’s 39.7%. (A Google spokesperson pointed out that many of Ramp’s customers exclude the types of major enterprises that are signing large, strategic AI deals with Google Cloud, which go beyond just model API usage — like Oracle, Meta, Anthropic, and ServiceNow.) 根据 Ramp 8 月份的数据，在 Ramp 的美国客户中，Google 约占企业 AI 支出的 6%，而 Anthropic 为 43.5%，OpenAI 为 39.7%。（Google 发言人指出，Ramp 的许多客户并不包括那些与 Google Cloud 签署大型战略 AI 协议的主要企业，这些协议不仅仅涉及模型 API 的使用，还包括 Oracle、Meta、Anthropic 和 ServiceNow 等公司。）

Google’s new unit with Accenture, which The Wall Street Journal first reported, is the latest of its aggressive expansions of its FDE model this year as it attempts to resolve enterprise deployment bottlenecks and catch up to rivals. Earlier this year, Google Cloud launched a $750 million partner ecosystem commitment that embedded Google’s own FDEs across multiple consultancies, including Capgemini, Cognizant, and Deloitte. The tech giant also struck a multi-year partnership with CVC Capital Partners to deploy FDEs directly into the investment firm’s portfolio companies. Google 与埃森哲成立的新部门（《华尔街日报》率先报道）是其今年积极扩展 FDE 模式的最新举措，旨在解决企业部署瓶颈并追赶竞争对手。今年早些时候，Google Cloud 发起了一项 7.5 亿美元的合作伙伴生态系统承诺，将 Google 自己的 FDE 嵌入到包括凯捷（Capgemini）、高知特（Cognizant）和德勤（Deloitte）在内的多家咨询公司中。这家科技巨头还与 CVC Capital Partners 达成了多年合作伙伴关系，将 FDE 直接部署到该投资公司的投资组合企业中。

Google isn’t the only giant at risk of being outpaced by newer firms. Companies that are dedicated specifically to embedding engineers into businesses to build bespoke AI workflows — like Ode with Anthropic, or OpenAI’s The Deployment Co. — threaten big consultancy firms like Accenture as well. For the professional services giant, the Google tie-up adds to its own wave of FDE programs this year, which include a similar Microsoft FDE practice in March, an FDE initiative with ServiceNow in May, and a joint program with SAP in June. Google 并不是唯一面临被新兴公司超越风险的巨头。那些专门致力于将工程师嵌入企业以构建定制 AI 工作流的公司——例如与 Anthropic 合作的 Ode，或 OpenAI 的 The Deployment Co.——也对埃森哲这样的大型咨询公司构成了威胁。对于这家专业服务巨头而言，与 Google 的合作是其今年 FDE 项目浪潮的一部分，此前还包括 3 月份类似的微软 FDE 业务、5 月份与 ServiceNow 的 FDE 计划，以及 6 月份与 SAP 的联合项目。