forward deployed engineers

IBM and Microsoft's Imagine Enterprise is an IBM Consulting engagement on Microsoft's agent stack, with no published price or GA date. Settle licences, agent ownership and exit terms before you sign.

Databricks plus a small internal team is the right Palantir AIP alternative for most buyers, Fabric IQ suits Microsoft shops, and C3 AI is the one to drop. What Foundry lets you take with you if you leave, and who should stay.

EXL has acquired Aimpoint Digital and about 250 AI and data specialists, with terms undisclosed. The release does not cover client contracts, staff retention or the brand, so clients should get those answers in writing.

Anthropic's new FDE residency is a build vs buy decision. A checklist for evaluating a nomination against hiring or an integrator, and the three terms to get in writing first.

AlixPartners announced its completed acquisition of agentic AI consultancy Artium on 4 August 2026. Your build partner now sits inside a restructuring firm that advises creditors, takes CRO seats, and files Rule 2014 connection disclosures naming its clients.

Microsoft just dropped $2.5 billion on a 6,000-person AI deployment army. AWS committed $1 billion two days earlier. OpenAI and Anthropic launched PE-backed deployment ventures in May. Google put $750 million into partner-led deployment. That's over $9 billion in 90 days, all aimed at the same problem: the enterprise AI deployment gap that kills 73-95% of pilots before they reach production.

Anthropic and OpenAI both launched PE-backed enterprise AI services firms on May 4. Combined: $11.5B. The Big Three consulting model has 18 months.