Why System Integrators Are Key to AI Success – with Pallab Deb of Google

Enterprises across industries are facing mounting pressure to modernize their infrastructure as AI becomes central to operational strategy. Yet most organizations still struggle to move beyond experimentation toward scalable deployment.

Pallab Deb, Managing Director for SI & Industry GTM Partnerships at Google and frequent guest of Emerj’s ‘AI in Business’ podcast, observes that many firms remain stuck in what he calls the “proof-of-concept” stage — launching pilots that demonstrate technical capability but fail to generate measurable business value.

In line with Pallab Deb’s perspective, many enterprises themselves find AI adoption stymied not by technical hurdles but by organizational challenges. Among these, data infrastructure deficiencies represent a major bottleneck — 83% of senior executives in a 2023 Ernst & Young survey said AI deployment would accelerate if their data foundations were stronger.

Governance concerns also loom large. A 2024 study from the National Association of Corporate Directors found nearly all companies (95%) are investing in AI, yet only 34% have instituted formal AI governance frameworks, exposing significant oversight gaps.

Legacy systems designed for transactional workloads cannot meet the demands of multimodal AI applications that require massive data throughput, real-time orchestration, and embedded governance.

Guidance from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Risk Management Framework (or NIST’s AI RMF 1.0) reinforces the same point: sustainable enterprise transformation requires strong governance and leadership alignment, not just technological capability.

Deb tells the Emerj podcast audience that organizations that can adapt quickly — modernizing infrastructure, embedding governance, and cultivating executive AI fluency — will be best positioned to convert experimentation into enterprise-scale transformation.

Building on these themes, the following article examines two critical insights from Deb and Emerj CEO and Head of Research, Daniel Faggella’s conversation on Emerj’s new ‘Vision-to-Value in Enterprise AI’ video podcast for AI adoption leaders across industries reevaluating their positions on enterprise infrastructure:

• AI infrastructure as a strategic platform: Modern AI infrastructure extends beyond hardware to include compute, storage, data governance, and multi-model orchestration, forming the foundation for scalable enterprise transformation.
• Executive vision drives AI maturity: Organizations that view AI as a strategic differentiator, not a series of isolated experiments, are the ones building lasting momentum and converting early adoption into measurable business value.

Watch the full episode below:

Guest: Pallab Deb, Managing Director for SI & Industry GTM Partnerships, Google

Expertise: Ecosystem and Partnership Strategy, AI Transformation, P&L Business Leadership

Brief Recognition: Pallab Deb brings 20+ years of P&L and go-to-market leadership across data, analytics, and AI. He pioneered Google Cloud’s Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) framework, accelerating joint growth and differentiation with global system integrators, and previously led Wipro’s Data, Analytics & AI and Digital Business service lines. Pallab’s recent focus on agentic AI, secure data platforms, and industry value networks reflects his broader impact on shaping hyperscaler ecosystems and partner-led industry solutions.

AI Infrastructure as a Strategic Platform

For many enterprises, the term infrastructure still conjures racks of servers, storage units, and other physical assets. But as Pallab Deb explains, that definition no longer applies to the age of intelligent systems.

He explains to the Emerj podcast audience that, fundamentally, AI infrastructure shares the same core components as any other — compute, storage, and network performance. However, when it comes to training models or running inferences, the demands placed on that infrastructure become substantially greater.

That demand, Deb emphasizes, extends far beyond hardware capacity. AI infrastructure now spans layers of compute, data, governance, and orchestration that together determine how intelligence scales.

He notes that the power and scalability of AI infrastructure are most evident at the user-facing layer, such as agents, chatbots, or overall user experiences. Given his background at Google, he references Gemini Live as a concrete example to illustrate how that potential can be fully realized in practice.

These layers create what Deb calls a “stratified” view of infrastructure; a framework that merges the physical and digital foundations of intelligence. He argues that this shift represents a paradigm change in how enterprises should think about value creation.

“You’re probably going to use Gemini for something; you’re probably going to use Mistral for something else. And each of those models will need to be grounded, will need to be operating within guardrails. So the entirety of being able to serve a business need with an infrastructure component that includes models, data layer, infrastructure layer, literally constitutes what is infrastructure.”

– Pallab Deb, Managing Director for SI & Industry GTM Partnerships at Google

For executives, the implication is clear: AI strategy and infrastructure strategy are no longer separate domains. Modern infrastructure must integrate compute, storage, governance, and multimodal interfaces as one continuum. In Deb’s words, enterprises that treat infrastructure as “a platform story” — not an operational cost center — are the ones best positioned to turn intelligence into advantage.

Executive Vision Drives AI Maturity

Deb emphasizes that while infrastructure forms the foundation of AI transformation, it’s executive leadership that propels it forward. Success, he argues, hinges on commitment from the very top: leaders must not only understand AI’s potential but also foster a culture where teams feel secure exploring and deploying it.

Reflecting on the early days of enterprise AI, he notes that many initiatives were limited to isolated pilot projects. While these use-case experiments had merit — especially in building initial familiarity — he believes the moment has passed, and organizations must now shift toward integrated, strategic deployment at scale.

That evolution signals a new maturity curve for enterprise leaders: one that moves from proof of concept to proof of value. The difference lies in design — in starting projects with governance, explainability, and production readiness in mind rather than bolting them on later.

“Customers are moving beyond science projects, hobby projects, to saying, ‘Okay, I’m going to try this out, but it’s got to be built in such a way that we can move it to production right from the get-go.’ So production is not an afterthought.”

– Pallab Deb, Managing Director for SI & Industry GTM Partnerships at Google

In turn, Emerj CEO and Head of Research Daniel Faggella underscores that navigating the next phase of AI adoption requires a new level of executive fluency. Leaders must not only grasp what AI can realistically achieve but also understand its strategic value; how it aligns with core processes, drives customer impact, and sustains market competitiveness.

Such fluency, he argues, is what distinguishes forward-looking organizations from those at risk of falling behind. Deb echoes the point, stressing that every company, regardless of sector, will increasingly need to operate like a product or technology company. For service-based firms, disruption is imminent, but those with vision are already seizing the opportunity.

Executives who understand AI as a strategic differentiator — rather than a cost-saving experiment — are already reengineering their organizations around that principle.

The NIST AI Risk Management Framework recommends the same approach: embedding governance, transparency, and leadership accountability into every stage of AI deployment.

Deb’s perspective mirrors the framework’s emphasis on leadership and accountability. He believes that meaningful AI adoption is often driven by individuals with a builder’s mindset — those who not only champion innovation within their teams but also have the influence to shape executive priorities and foster organizational momentum.

For decision-makers, the actionable takeaway is that leadership alignment and executive fluency are now as critical as technical readiness. Companies that fail to develop both may build AI systems — but not AI businesses.

Tune into Emerj’s new YouTube video channel and series, ‘Vision to Value in Enterprise AI’, to see Dan and Pallab’s conversation.