NTT DATA and Google Cloud have expanded their partnership to deploy enterprise AI systems built with Gemini Enterprise, aiming to help companies move AI projects from pilot programmes into production.
A key part of the expansion is a dedicated Gemini Enterprise practice within NTT DATA. It aims to certify 5,000 experts and work with Google Cloud on a roadmap for up to 500 AI agents for use across industries and corporate functions.
The arrangement combines Google Cloud's AI and cloud tools with NTT DATA's consulting, implementation and managed services. Integrated engineering teams will help move customer projects from the prototype stage into broader deployment.
The programme is intended to create a more repeatable operating model for enterprise AI adoption. That includes reusable architectures, joint engineering resources and a catalogue of prebuilt agents designed for specific sectors and workflows.
The companies are focusing on what they describe as agentic AI, in which software agents perform tasks or support workflows with greater autonomy. Planned use cases span banking, insurance, manufacturing and retail, as well as internal functions such as procurement, finance, marketing, software development and cloud migration.
Scaling challenge
The expansion comes as large companies continue to face practical barriers to broader AI deployment. While many organisations have run proofs of concept or limited pilots, fewer have embedded AI into core systems and day-to-day operations.
NTT DATA cited survey findings that highlight the pressure on cloud spending. According to the company, 99% of enterprises said AI is increasing demand for cloud investment, while 88% said current investment levels are putting AI, cloud-native and modernisation programmes at risk.
This gap between interest and execution has become a central issue for service providers and cloud vendors. Buyers are looking beyond access to models and tools and asking how systems will be governed, integrated with existing technology and operated in regulated environments.
The partnership is intended to address those concerns through support for data sovereignty, security and compliance requirements. NTT DATA plans to draw on its global data centre and managed services footprint alongside Google Cloud's infrastructure and AI services.
Joint teams
Another part of the plan involves engineers embedded directly with customers. NTT DATA specialists and Google Cloud engineers will work side by side with client teams on development, deployment and troubleshooting.
NTT DATA said this is meant to reduce delays between experimentation and live use. It added that reusable components developed through the programme should make it easier to replicate successful projects across business units and sectors.
For Google Cloud, the tie-up adds another large systems integrator to its enterprise Gemini push. Cloud providers have increasingly relied on consulting and outsourcing groups to help customers implement AI tools in complex operational settings.
NTT DATA, which describes itself as a USD $30 billion business and technology services group, serves a large multinational client base and operates in more than 70 countries. Its scale gives Google Cloud a broad delivery channel for AI-related work across regulated and multinational industries.
Abhijit Dubey, Chief Executive Officer and Chief AI Officer at NTT DATA, said the effort is designed to address a common market problem. "Enterprises need a practical way to scale AI adoption, strengthen governance, enable their workforce and create measurable business value," he said.
He added: "This expanded partnership with Google Cloud and NTT DATA is helping clients move beyond pilots and embed AI into the way their organizations operate, creating a faster and lower-risk path to enterprise-wide transformation."
Google Cloud framed the agreement around demand for AI systems that can support business processes at scale. "We are seeing massive demand for AI agents that can fundamentally transform core business workflows," said Matt Renner, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Google Cloud.
He added: "This expanded partnership combines Google Cloud's leading AI platform with NTT DATA's delivery strength. By developing hundreds of agents and training thousands of experts, NTT DATA is ensuring our joint customers have the specialized resources required to deploy sophisticated AI solutions at a global scale."