Jane Edwards 
- IBM and Google Cloud have launched a practice to help government and regulated industry clients scale AI and modernize systems
- New practice combines IBM Consulting Advantage with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform
- The practice’s priority areas include AI-powered workflows and cybersecurity modernization
IBM and Google Cloud have launched a new Google Cloud Practice to help government agencies and organizations in regulated industries scale artificial intelligence into production, modernize legacy systems and manage technology across hybrid environments.
What Will the New IBM-Google Cloud Practice Do?
In a joint release published Thursday, the new practice combines IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM’s AI-powered delivery platform, with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, data and cybersecurity capabilities.
The initiative will leverage thousands of Google Cloud-certified consultants and engineers to support AI deployment, modernization efforts and technology management across complex enterprise environments.
IBM is developing a portfolio of industry-specific AI agents built on IBM Consulting Advantage. The agents are optimized for Gemini Enterprise and are designed to support use cases across government, energy, banking, retail, telecommunications, insurance, security and life sciences.
The companies said IBM consultants will be able to design, build and govern enterprise AI agents on Google Cloud using reusable agents, prebuilt assets and transformation methodologies combined with Google Cloud’s agent runtime, safety features and governance controls.
What Are the Priority Areas of the New Practice?
According to IBM and Google Cloud, the practice will focus on several areas:
- Production-ready AI and data by combining IBM’s industry expertise and AI assets with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and BigQuery.
- Industry-specific solutions for sectors including government, aerospace, financial services, healthcare and telecommunications, supported by Confluent’s real-time data streaming and governance capabilities.
- Cybersecurity modernization through AI-driven defense and security capabilities intended to improve readiness and response.
- Hybrid cloud modernization across on-premises and cloud environments, including support for highly regulated industries. Red Hat OpenShift is now available through the Google Cloud Console.
- AI-powered workflows by integrating Gemini with watsonx Orchestrate and watsonx.data to support automation, agent intelligence and data-driven insights.
- Operational resilience and governance using IBM automation technologies, supported by Apptio and HashiCorp, alongside Google Cloud AI for compliance, monitoring and performance management.
What Did IBM & Google Cloud Officials Say About the Partnership?
Mohamad Ali, senior vice president and head of IBM Consulting, said organizations are navigating a complex modernization cycle and that the expanded relationship with Google Cloud is intended to provide clients with a path to scale AI by combining industry expertise, hybrid cloud modernization capabilities and an AI-first delivery platform.
Kevin Ichhpurani, president of global partner ecosystem at Google Cloud, said the partnership expands the number of Google Cloud consultants available to address growing demand for AI technologies. He added that combining Google Cloud’s agentic infrastructure with IBM’s industry expertise and delivery frameworks could help customers deploy and govern production-grade AI agents across cloud environments.
How Does the New Practice Build on IBM & Google Cloud’s AI Efforts?
The new practice builds on recent AI initiatives from IBM and Google Cloud focused on accelerating enterprise and government adoption of agentic AI technologies.
SAIC expanded its work with Google Public Sector to support AI adoption across federal agencies, while Deloitte launched a Google Cloud-focused agentic AI practice to help organizations deploy AI agents.
IBM has also introduced Sovereign Core, an AI software platform designed for regulated environments, and secured Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program authorization for AI-powered automation capabilities intended to support government customers.
