Deploying AI agents successfully remains a complex task for enterprises, but insights from technology providers, partners, and customers offer practical guidance. At the recent Informatica World Tour event held at London’s Oval cricket ground, industry voices gathered to discuss how businesses can navigate the challenges of integrating AI agents and meet corporate expectations for return on investment (ROI).

Informatica, which has been developing commercial AI products since 2018, positions itself as a neutral integrator within the data ecosystem, offering 50,000 metadata connectors that support most mainstream enterprise software. Its platform covers master data management, data quality, and compliance, and is now moving into supporting AI-generated data to enable faster, more informed business decisions. The company is currently undergoing an acquisition by Salesforce, a deal valued at $8 billion and expected to close next year. Salesforce itself has highlighted AI agents as a pivotal element in enterprise digital transformation, underscoring their role in enhancing business agility, real-time decision-making, and customer engagement.

Several leaders at the event emphasised the importance of measurement and storytelling in AI deployments. Nick Millman, Accenture’s EMEA lead for data, stressed the need for comprehensive end-to-end measurement frameworks supported by the right infrastructure and compelling narratives tailored for boards to illustrate AI benefits and ROI. He noted, however, that many organisations struggle particularly with the communication aspect. His colleague Farhin Khan from AWS echoed this, adding that while the pace of AI and model evolution varies, recognising and celebrating early, smaller wins can help maintain momentum and manage expectations at executive levels. This sentiment was backed by Boris van der Saag from Rabobank, who highlighted management impatience and the pressures to measure success too early, cautioning about the timing of ROI assessments.

A recurring theme was the necessity for business involvement beyond data teams. Millman recommended that finance teams need not always be directly involved in generating ROI data; rather, he suggested that business users presenting a clear illustration of AI benefits often gains more executive buy-in. Khan further elaborated on the importance of strategic storytelling, focusing on how AI helps avoid specific business pitfalls such as inventory mismanagement and stressing the need to tailor communications to different executives and departments.

From a technical and strategic standpoint, Informatica’s chief architect for the EMEA-LA region, Sidd Rajagopal, described how the company is responding to market demands by enabling AI agents that can “talk the same language,” fostering more accurate and interconnected AI workflows across enterprises. Rajagopal stressed Informatica's commitment to knowledge-sharing, gathering insights from both major and less prominent customers to build a data-driven understanding of successes and mistakes in AI agent deployments, rather than focusing solely on the loudest or biggest voices. The company’s newly launched Agentic AI platform, introduced in mid-2025, exemplifies this approach by providing specialized AI agents for data quality, discovery, and lineage, delivered via an AI-powered cloud data management platform. This toolset supports businesses in managing data integration and quality more efficiently across diverse environments.

The broader AI agent market is shaped by various factors including stringent data compliance requirements, vertical industry needs, cross-vendor technology compatibility, efficient data lake management, cybersecurity, and financial operations (FinOps), according to Rajagopal. These drivers reflect the complex landscape enterprises must navigate when implementing AI agents.

Industry data and reports highlight that Accenture continues to innovate with platforms like AI Refinery™, which enables business users to build and customise AI agents without coding, accelerating AI adoption. Its Trusted Agent Huddle initiative promotes secure collaboration among AI agents developed by major technology partners, which underscores the growing trend of industry cooperation in the AI space. Similarly, Salesforce advocates the critical role of AI agents in digital transformation efforts, leveraging real-time scenario simulation for proactive decision-making and improved customer engagement, demonstrating why their acquisition of Informatica is strategically aligned.

Further insights into the AI sector reveal a competitive and rapidly evolving marketplace, featuring dozens of companies such as Accenture, AWS, Alibaba, and Apple, who are each advancing AI capabilities in different fields. Market analysis underscores how AI agents are not only automating business processes but also enhancing interactions with customers and leading to higher efficiency across enterprises. Additionally, emerging AI agent marketplaces are providing companies with ready-made, task-specific agents, signalling that adaptability in this ecosystem is becoming a strategic imperative.

In sum, the deployment of AI agents requires not only the right technology but also astute business leadership in measurement, communication, and realistic expectation-setting. The combined efforts of providers like Informatica, strategic partners including Salesforce and Accenture, and forward-thinking customers are shaping a future where AI agents are integral to enterprise data strategies and digital transformation.

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Source: Noah Wire Services