Entelgy's survey of 300 Spanish C-suite executives found that 31.7% of large enterprises have taken zero steps toward EU AI Act compliance [1], generating coverage across 20+ media outlets [1] and elevating AI governance to a boardroom priority. The finding lands as 86.7% of channel partners who sell AI consulting expect it to drive growth in 2026 [2], making compliance-led consulting one of the most contested service categories in the market. Entelgy's integrated AI Governance offering positions the firm to capture demand as enforcement milestones approach and partners race to differentiate.
What is Covered in this Article
- EU AI Act compliance gap among large Spanish enterprises [1]
- AI consulting as the top growth driver for channel partners [2]
- Channel Ecosystems market growth trajectory [3]
- Entelgy's integrated AI Governance service model [1]
The News: Entelgy surveyed 300 Spanish directors and CEOs and found that 31.7% of large companies had implemented no measures to adapt to the EU AI Act [1]. Among those that had begun preparing, 70.7% adopted professional training as the most widespread initiative, followed by creation of an AI Governance committee or responsible officer at 47.3%, and establishment of internal usage policies at 33.7% [1]. The study drew coverage from more than 20 outlets including Europa Press, elEconomista's print edition, Computing, IT User, Byte TI, and The Objective [1]. Alfredo Zurdo, Director of Digital Change at Entelgy, framed the challenge plainly: compliance with the AI Act cannot be solved simply by purchasing software with secure licenses, it is an organizational challenge requiring clear policies and immediate action from management committees [1].
AI Governance Gaps Open a Channel Consulting Opportunity
Analyst Take: Entelgy's study does more than document a compliance gap, it establishes the firm as a credible voice on AI governance at a moment when channel partners globally are racing to build out exactly this practice. With 86.7% of partners who sell AI consulting expecting it to drive growth in 2026 [2], the competitive window is open but narrowing fast. Firms that combine regulatory depth with organizational change capability, as Entelgy's offering attempts to do [1], will be better positioned than those selling point-in-time compliance audits.
A Compliance Gap That Demands Organizational Change
The headline number from Entelgy's survey is stark: nearly one-third of large Spanish enterprises have implemented zero measures to comply with the EU AI Act [1]. But the distribution of preparedness among those who have started is equally telling. Professional training leads at 70.7%, yet governance committee formation sits at just 47.3% and internal usage policies at only 33.7% [1]. This pattern suggests many companies are treating compliance as a training exercise rather than a structural transformation. Alfredo Zurdo's widely-cited observation captures the risk: purchasing software with secure licenses does not resolve an organization's own compliance obligations [1]. The EU AI Act assigns responsibility based on context and purpose of use, not just the tool deployed. That framing shifts the consulting conversation from procurement to governance design, a higher-value, longer-engagement service category.
Channel Partners Are Betting on AI Consulting
The timing of Entelgy's media moment aligns with a clear channel-wide conviction. In the Futurum Ecosystems, Channels and Marketplaces Decision Maker Survey, 2H 2026, 86.7% of partners who sell AI consulting services (n=225) expect it to drive growth in 2026, the highest-rated service category surveyed [2]. More than half of all 400 surveyed partners already offer AI consulting in their portfolio [2]. That conviction is not new: the 1H 2026 wave recorded 83.9% of AI consulting sellers (n=248) citing it as a top growth driver [4], confirming sustained commitment rather than a short-term spike. Over half of channel partners report being extremely confident in their ability to succeed in an AI-transformed market [2]. That confidence level signals a crowded field, Entelgy must differentiate on regulatory specificity and organizational depth, not just AI fluency.
Market Scale and the Compliance-Led Consulting Opportunity
The Channel Ecosystems market is projected to reach $25.7B in 2026 under the base scenario, growing at a 36% CAGR from 2022 through 2029 [3]. Within that expanding market, compliance-led AI consulting represents a defensible niche: it is anchored to regulatory deadlines, requires cross-functional expertise spanning legal, risk, HR, data, and technology, and generates recurring engagement as enforcement milestones evolve. Entelgy's offering covers the full lifecycle, regulatory diagnosis, AI use case inventory and risk classification, governance model design, policy definition, vendor evaluation, team training, and a continuous improvement roadmap [1]. That breadth maps directly to the organizational transformation Zurdo describes [1], and positions the firm to capture enterprise demand that point-solution vendors cannot address. The media reach of the study across 20+ outlets [1], including elEconomista's print edition, signals that the governance conversation has moved from IT departments to boardrooms, exactly the audience Entelgy's consulting model targets.
What to Watch
- Enterprise conversion rate: how many of the 31.7% non-compliant large Spanish companies engage external consultants versus attempt in-house remediation over Q4 2026 [1]
- Competitive crowding: whether the 56.3% of channel partners already offering AI consulting [2] begin packaging EU AI Act compliance as a named service line in Q4 2026
- Enforcement catalyst: EU AI Act regulatory milestones in late 2026 and early 2027 that could accelerate demand for governance engagements
- Offering differentiation: whether Entelgy expands its AI Governance model [1] beyond Spain to other EU markets where similar compliance gaps likely exist
Sources
1. El Gobierno de la IA entra en la agenda empresarial: el análisis de Entelgy alcanza una amplia repercusión mediática, Entelgy, September 2026
2. 2H 2026 Ecosystems, Channels & Marketplaces Global Enterprise Decision Maker Survey Report, Futurum Research, August 2026
3. 2H 2025 Hyperscaler Marketplace Market Sizing & Five-Year Forecast, Futurum Research, December 2025
4. 1H 2026 Ecosystems, Channels & Marketplaces Global Enterprise Decision Maker Survey Report, Futurum Research, March 2026
Disclosure: Futurum is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
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