Accenture simply reported $1.5 billion in generative AI bookings for Q3FY25, and Indian IT needs to be paying very shut consideration—in the event that they aren’t nonetheless busy “AI washing” their earnings calls.
The worldwide consulting big beat Wall Road expectations with $17.7 billion in income—an 8% YoY rise—regardless of a weak bookings quarter. The reason being shoppers are paying actual cash for actual AI. The agency noticed $1.5 billion price of bookings for generative AI-led transformation.
This makes it $4.1 billion in whole AI bookings during the last three quarters. Accenture’s message is loud and clear: AI just isn’t a dialog. It’s a enterprise.
Accenture CEO Julie Candy stated that she may be very proud of the Q3 outcomes and with an elevated deal with AI, together with 30 shoppers, with quarterly reserving higher than $100 million. “Firms want resilience and outcomes, and we’re laser-focused on delivering measurable worth for our shoppers, which is fueling our development and making a distinction for us available in the market,” Candy added.
Accenture Is Not Simply “Experimenting”
Whereas Indian IT majors are nonetheless speaking about pilots, workshops, and “infusing AI into each answer,” Accenture has begun restructuring its whole companies mannequin round AI. It combines its consulting, expertise, operations, and even artistic arms underneath one unit referred to as “reinvention companies,” led by Manish Sharma.
In distinction, Indian IT continues to trot out generic “AI-first” speaking factors on earnings calls with out providing a single quantity to again it up. TCS, Infosys, and Wipro repeatedly stated AI is a part of each deal, but refused to share how a lot income was generated from it. That’s not a technique.
Extra is anticipated from Indian IT within the subsequent quarter outcomes beginning to roll out from subsequent week.
The place Are the AI Bookings, Indian IT?
TCS claimed a $1.5 billion GenAI pipeline in Q1 FY25. Now, three quarters in, we’re but to see how a lot of that has transformed into billable income. Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech—everybody says they’re engaged on a whole bunch of AI tasks. However none of them are placing a greenback determine subsequent to these efforts.
In the meantime, Accenture booked $1.4 billion in GenAI final quarter, and $1.5 billion this one. That’s the extent of transparency the market desires. That’s the bar Indian IT refuses to fulfill.
Even HCLTech, essentially the most open amongst them, talked about 500 GenAI engagements and 12 offers—however once more, no income impression was disclosed. Tech Mahindra’s “AI Delivered Proper” branding could be catchy, but it surely means little when development is flat. For Wipro all 17 offers final quarter had AI in them, however the firm remains to be forecasting a decline in Q1 FY26.
Accenture has but once more sparked nervousness for Indian IT in one other quarter.
Accenture is already cashing in. Indian IT remains to be speaking about PoCs
Accenture grew its income 8% YoY and widened its working margin to 16.8%. It elevated its full-year steerage—for the second time. And most significantly, it’s including 1000’s to its knowledge and AI workforce, aiming for 80,000 AI-skilled workers by end-FY26.
Indian IT, alternatively, is shrinking. Infosys posted a 4.2% sequential drop in income. Wipro is taking a look at as much as 3.5% decline subsequent quarter. HCLTech is flat. Even TCS, the most important of all of them, reported simply 0.8% sequential development.
Within the supposed “AI increase,” the companies most loudly championing AI in India are struggling to develop.
Accenture has proven that shoppers are prepared to pay for AI, however solely once they see worth—not obscure intent. They don’t need frameworks and foresight decks. They need automation, agentic AI, and sooner improvement cycles—issues Accenture is already deploying.
HCLTech CEO C Vijayakumar not too long ago admitted it could be time to rethink the trade’s 30-year-old enterprise mannequin. Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu was extra blunt, calling the complete This autumn efficiency of Indian IT a “whole washout.” And he’s proper.
The window is narrowing. AI gained’t anticipate Indian IT to catch up. Purchasers actually gained’t. If Indian IT doesn’t catch up now, it could not get one other probability.
In the meantime, Indian IT expects AI income to be nonetheless years away. Vijayakumar couldn’t have summed it up higher over the last earnings name: “Don’t fear concerning the investments now. Have a look at the ROIs we are able to get on the again of it.”
Translation: AI income remains to be within the pipeline.
Learn: ServiceNow’s $1 Billion AI Lesson for Indian IT
Midcaps Transfer Quicker—However Nonetheless Cautious
Sonata Software program, for example, stated AI is now a part of all shopper conversations—however they’re solely anticipating a 20% income contribution from AI over the subsequent three years. That’s a very long time in a market that’s already shifting quick.
Throughout This autumn earnings, Sonata reported a $34 million AI pipeline throughout 100+ shoppers, but in addition admitted it hasn’t influenced core choices but. The “subsequent 6–12 months” will present the shift, stated CEO Samir Dhir. We’ve heard that one earlier than.
Smaller companies are actually displaying extra transparency. Happiest Minds disclosed that 2.1% of their income now comes from their GenAI Enterprise Unit—one thing bigger friends haven’t dared to disclose. It’s not rather a lot, but it surely’s sincere.
Persistent Techniques is betting huge on agentic AI and aiming for $2 billion in income by FY27. LTIMindtree, after its greatest quarterly development in a sluggish trade, stated it desires each single greenback of income to incorporate a generative AI element finally. But, it’s all positioned as “finally.”
LTIMindtree not too long ago created a brand new AI enterprise unit with over 300 AI brokers.
Coforge inked an enormous $1.5 billion deal targeted on AI with Sabre, which may lastly put some actual numbers behind the hype. Mphasis stated 59% of its This autumn deal wins had been AI-led. EXL was refreshingly daring: 53% of its income in Q1 FY25 got here from knowledge and AI-led companies—rising at 16% YoY.
These companies are beginning to present indicators of traction, however even then, it’s extra future-facing than present-day impression. For the bigger IT companies, it’s simply one other yr of heartbreak.
The submit Accenture’s $1.5 Billion AI Wake-Up Name for Indian IT appeared first on Analytics India Journal.
