Virtual Roundtable
From Autonomous Workflows to Trusted Ecosystems: Governing the Multi-Vendor Agent Fleet
Interconnected agents are already revolutionizing IT ops and industry workflows. To scale these real-world patterns securely, enterprises are adopting new operating models that embed observability, auditability, and human-in-the-loop governance, ensuring trust across complex systems while maintaining high-velocity innovation.
IDC projects G2000 agent use will increase tenfold by 2027, with agentic-driven AI spending reaching $1.3 trillion by 2029, and over 80% of organizations already view AI agents as the new enterprise apps. Yet the path from pilot to production is where value is won or lost. Savvy executives understand that governance, data integrity, and agent-to-agent interoperability are not constraints on AI ROI: they are the operating model that enables it.
In October, ServiceNow and Google Cloud expanded their partnership so teams can run ServiceNow workflows directly from Gemini Enterprise, using MCP and Agent2Agent connectivity, an early example of agent ecosystems moving from isolated tools toward connected, action-oriented workflows. IDC, Google Cloud, and ServiceNow will convene a curated group of senior technology leaders to address AI pilot-to-production realities, explore how Gemini, BigQuery, and ServiceNow Otto are interoperating across IT operations, customer experience, and industry-specific workflows, and discuss how to build the governance foundation that turns agentic AI from a per-tool feature into a trusted, cross-enterprise capability.
90%
of G2000 enterprises will require agent platforms to support open standards such as MCP and A2A by 2028, rejecting single-vendor lock-in
Organizations are betting on agentic AI to automate operations and bolster security. In IDC’s latest survey, IT task automation (21%) and business process automation (19%) topped the list of agentic AI use cases expected to deliver the greatest ROI over the next 24 months, followed closely by fraud detection and cybersecurity (18%). Creative and content-focused applications such as art/image generation and copywriting ranked lowest among respondents.
This focus on IT and business process automation is already visible in the market: ServiceNow and Google Cloud’s October partnership expansion connects ServiceNow workflows across IT operations, CRM and industry processes to Gemini Enterprise, aimed at turning AI conversations into completed work.
Source: AI Tech Buyer Survey Questionnaire Survey, IDC, June, 2025 (n = 2296)
Discussion Themes
Four Conversations Defining the Move from Agentic Pilots to Cross-Enterprise ROI
Making agentic AI actionable and measurable
How leaders are turning agentic AI from a per-tool feature into a measurable workflow capability, and the operating disciplines (data, governance, ROI tracking) that close the gap between pilot and production.
Breaking down silos with agent-to-agent interoperability
Why the future of work isn’t just AI but interconnected agents. Explore how the Agent-to-Agent protocol between Google’s Gemini and ServiceNow’s Otto is replacing fragmented automation with cross-enterprise workflow intelligence.
From IT operations to industry workflows
Where interconnected agents deliver first: autonomous IT operations, customer experience, supply chain, and industry-specific use cases. Real-world patterns and what’s actually working in production today. Early examples span retail store operations, telecom service, CRM and IT operations
Governance, trust, and the operating model for agent fleets
Agents acting across enterprise systems demand a new governance model. How leaders are building observability, audit, and human-in-the-loop into multi-vendor agent ecosystems without grinding velocity to a halt.
What To Expect
A live video meeting led by a skilled host/moderator
An intimate gathering of senior leaders from diverse industries, grappling with similar issues
A secure, private conversation open only to a carefully vetted group (no recording, no playback)
Your hosts
Stephen Elliot
Group Vice President, I&O, Cloud Operations, and DevOps
IDC
Read bio
Stephen Elliot
Stephen Elliot manages multiple programs spanning IT Operations, Enterprise Management, ITSM, Agile and DevOps, Application performance, Virtualization, Multi-Cloud Management and Automation, Log Analytics, Container Management, DaaS, and Software Defined Compute. Mr. Elliot advises Senior IT, Business, and Investment Executives globally in the creation of strategy and operational tactics that drive the execution of Digital Transformation and business growth.
BACKGROUND
Before his current role, Stephen helped build business for IDC’s IT Executive Program, where he advised enterprise IT organizations on DevOps best practices across people, process, and technology strategies and tactics. Prior to IDC, Stephen was Vice President of Strategy for CA Technologies’ Infrastructure Management and Data Center Automation business unit, providing direct strategic and tactical support to customers accelerating their path toward the cloud, software-defined datacenters, and Dev/Ops. He also led product management for CA’s VCE partnership, helping customers better understand the business value of converged fabric. Prior to his work at CA, Stephen was a noted software industry analyst at firms including IDC, Gartner, and Forrester, where he advised IT executives and the financial community on IT operations, virtualization, datacenter automation, and network and application management. He also served as a product marketing manager at Inteq, an early provider of SaaS-based network monitoring and service desk capabilities, helping customers understand the business value of the SaaS delivery model.
Partners
Sponsored By
Google Cloud
Google Cloud offers a powerful, optimized AI stack—including AI infrastructure, leading models like Gemini, data management capabilities, multicloud security solutions, developer tools and platform, as well as agents and applications—that enables organizations to transform their business for the Agentic Era. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.
ServiceNow
ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is the Super Intelligence Control Tower for business reinvention. The ServiceNow platform integrates with any model, any cloud, and any data source to orchestrate, govern, and secure work across the agentic enterprise. ServiceNow gives customers the enterprise context and control to build and scale confidently. With more than 100 billion workflows running on the platform each year, ServiceNow helps organizations turn fragmented operations into coordinated, autonomous work for IT, CRM, Security, Employee Experience, and more. Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people at www.servicenow.com.