Google Leaps Ahead on AI for Enterprise Solutions: Implications for the European Telco Sector

This IDC Market Note examines Google Cloud's evolving strategy, as highlighted by the company at the May 2025 Google Cloud Summit in Madrid. Google has positioned itself both as an AI infrastructure provider and, increasingly, as a service enabler through packaged AI and GenAI solutions.A dual-track approach was emphasized at the summit: On one hand, providing robust tools to help organizations build custom AI capabilities; on the other, delivering pre-integrated, ready-to-deploy solutions for verticals such as customer service, marketing, and supply chain. Key announcements related to enhanced AI agents, expanded partnerships, responsible AI commitments, and infrastructure advances.The summit hinted at a broader transformation in hyperscaler identity, suggesting that Google may be entering a phase of structural evolution similar to the "infraco/servco" split seen in telecom operators. This potential shift has major implications for sectors like telecommunications, where Google's AI tools could help telcos streamline network operations, improve customer engagement, and simplify complex enterprise offerings. As AI accelerates the convergence of infrastructure and services, the summit underscored the urgency for telcos and adjacent industries to embrace modular, interoperable, and customer-centric AI strategies that move beyond experimentation to real operational impact.