Gartner predicts that by 2028, 70% of enterprises will walk away from AI agents built by vendor engineers

Gartner released the prediction on 29 September. By 2028, it expects 70% of enterprises to abandon agentic AI built by vendor forward-deployed engineering, or FDE, “trapped by soaring costs and unable to evolve it on their own”. That’s most of them.

FDE is a model where the vendor’s own engineers work directly with customers “to build and deploy solutions”. Gartner says it’s a pattern that’s familiar from enterprise software, and the new part is “the intensity of the hype”.

Gartner says FDE engagements often fail structurally before they fail technically. Customers may see faster early progress, it says, but they won’t necessarily build their own capability, and they can end up paying premium rates.

Once the scope’s clear, Gartner says, a traditional services or partner model could deliver that work more cost-effectively, with more predictable results.

Gartner’s Mukul Saha says many providers now use “forward deployed” as a label for implementation, professional services, solution engineering or AI consulting, “some thoughtfully, others because it sounds more strategic”. Some charge premium fees, he says, when they don’t have the delivery depth to justify them.

Gartner also predicts that through 2028, less than 20% of FDE engagements will turn recurring customer needs into capabilities in the vendor’s core product. It says that’s exposing a growing risk of FDE washing, where consulting services are marketed as FDE.

Gartner’s list has six items. Saha says the best-scoped FDE engagements have clear guidelines on governance, business value delivery, IP ownership, project co-ownership, knowledge transfer, and an exit strategy from day one.

Gartner’s advice to enterprises runs in three phases. Before signing, write deliverables, knowledge transfer, IP rights and exit into the contract. During the work, embed the vendor’s engineers with the customer’s own people. At the end, carry out the exit plan, rather than extending the engagement because the internal team isn’t ready.

I’d expect clients to start asking a sharper question. Will we own this when you leave?

Let’s say an enterprise wants a service desk AI agent, and it’s choosing between a vendor’s FDE team and a consultancy whose proposal spells out who’ll own the IP, how knowledge will transfer and when it’ll hand over. It’s already covering half of Gartner’s list.

Gartner’s checklist covers IP ownership, knowledge transfer and an exit strategy from day one. If that’s already how you work, it belongs at the top of your website.