Accenture adopted GitHub Copilot to deliver value for employees and clients but experienced barriers to adoption such as regional location and misconceptions about AI.
Working closely with Microsoft, the company launched an ambitious global training and engagement plan.
Using gamification and diverse training styles, the company has rolled out thousands of licenses worldwide, with certification driving engagement and greater adoption.
As technology evolves at an unprecedented pace, few organizations are as uniquely positioned to lead the charge as Accenture–a global powerhouse in tech-based consulting and professional services.
To stay ahead, the company is embracing GitHub Copilot, equipping thousands of its developers with cutting-edge AI, enhancing innovation and delivering value faster for clients.
This ambitious adoption is being backed by a focus on training and upskilling, cultivating a culture of continuous learning that enhances productivity, code quality, and employee satisfaction across a globally dispersed team.
“AI is now. The people who thrive in this new era will be the ones who learn how to use these tools effectively,” says Alexandra Ancy, Change Management Lead for GitHub Copilot at Accenture.
A Fortune Global 500 company operating across 120 countries, Accenture is a leader in digital transformation, driving change for its customers through technology and business strategy, consulting, and operational services.
Innovation is intrinsic to Accenture’s mission, and to keep pace with change, the company is embracing AI, reshaping internal operations and customer experience, and drawing on its own experiences to guide adoption for clients.
A key enabler of this is GitHub Copilot: the AI coding assistant helping developers write code faster, with more accuracy.
Leaning on its long-standing partnership with Microsoft, Accenture initially rolled out a small pilot of GitHub Copilot licenses but faced blockers such as dispersed teams and apprehension around AI. Now, this number has soared to thousands, thanks to the success of its global training and enablement program.
“GitHub Copilot is a powerful tool, but its strength lies in how people use it. Hands-on experience is crucial–without this, progress stalls,” says Kristine Steinman, Global IT GitHub Copilot Adoption Lead at Accenture.
With over 700,000 employees worldwide, Accenture knows the importance of fostering community, breaking down logistical and communication barriers to deploy new technologies and drive value.
“The energy and connection from face-to-face training is invaluable, energizing participants and deepening engagement.”
Kristine Steinman, Global IT GitHub Copilot Adoption Lead, Accenture
Seeking to boost engagement and increase adoption of GitHub Copilot, the company is working closely with Microsoft and GitHub to rollout training, prioritizing in-person sessions at developer hubs such as Bangalore, where hundreds of employees have been trained.
This is driving fantastic results, as illustrated by Kristine Steinman, “The energy and connection from face-to-face training is invaluable, energizing participants and deepening engagement.”
To scale training globally, Accenture has also launched self-paced training on Microsoft Learn, enabling beginners and more experienced users to gain GitHub Copilot skills, regardless of location. After completing training, users can pursue official GitHub Copilot certification.
Over 1,000 developers are currently using this training, driving skills and engagement worldwide, and Accenture currently has the highest number of GitHub Copilot-certified employees in the world.
“Our GitHub Copilot Galaxy Passport program offers a gamified journey–from training and certification to joining our Aviators Network, hackathons, and events,” says Alexandra Ancy.
Building on the success of its training strategy, Accenture launched a gamified GitHub Copilot Galaxy Passport program, taking users on a journey from training and certification to becoming a champion for the solution.
Hilary Winiarz, Product Area Lead for GitHub Copilot Adoption at Accenture, says, “By introducing gamification, we are driving a culture of engagement, instead of getting people certified just to tick a box.”
After certification, users are invited to join the GitHub Copilot Aviators Network, a global community of champions who inspire excitement, showcasing the solution’s real-world value, and fueling ongoing engagement – especially in regional hubs like the Philippines, where there is a preference for gamified training and champion networks.
“That gamification, that excitement people get when their name is on a leaderboard, is huge,” enthuses Hilary Winiarz.
“That gamification, that excitement people get when their name is on a leaderboard, is huge.”
Hilary Winiarz, Product Area Lead for GitHub Copilot Adoption, Accenture
“We want to understand our people and how to communicate with them. Gaining feedback is crucial, helping us better define user experience,” says Alexandra Ancy.
To shape adoption around real user needs, Accenture is compiling in-depth persona research, interviewing roles from developers and testers to scrum masters and product owners. This deeper understanding is helping the company shift mindsets and dismantle misconceptions about AI, identifying how GitHub Copilot can add value in each role.
“It's about providing examples and hitting them where they live,” says Kristine Steinman. “We ask them what they dislike about their job and explain how GitHub Copilot can help them focus on more exciting and fulfilling work–instead of having to write test scripts eight hours a day, five days a week.”
Hilary Winiarz explains further, “Knowing what drives people helps us separate myths from facts. Some developers believe AI will diminish their value, but with communication and feedback, we’re dispelling the notion that AI is the enemy.”
“One big theme I'm seeing is increased efficiency. Developers can spend more time on strategic coding rather than boilerplate tasks, helping them better meet client needs,” illustrates Alexandra Ancy.
Thanks to its successful adoption of GitHub Copilot, Accenture is reaping the benefits of AI, enhancing productivity and enabling developers to deliver faster, more accurate client services.
With this cutting-edge AI tool, developers can leverage auto-complete code suggestions and chat directly within the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), with pull request summaries, workspaces for feedback integration, and agents for intelligent coding.
In addition, Accenture’s training program is shaping how developers use GitHub Copilot, helping people to refine their prompts so they can get an effective answer faster, whilst also making AI more sustainable and less energy intensive: a core element of the company’s mission.
“We’re teaching people to engineer their prompts correctly, so they get the right answer the first time, instead of having to iterate," says Kristine Steinman. “People also love the slash explain commands. With these, they can input code and add slash explain, tell me what this does. They then get a quick, human language explanation.”
“One big theme I'm seeing is increased efficiency. Developers can spend more time on strategic coding rather than boilerplate tasks, helping them better meet client needs.”
Alexandra Ancy, Change Management Lead for GitHub Copilot, Accenture
“Together with Microsoft, we’ve bridged the gap between enablement and evangelism,” says Kristine Steinman.
As AI reshapes the world of software development, Accenture is proving what’s possible when innovation meets purpose. By empowering its team with GitHub Copilot and establishing a culture of learning, the company is not only boosting productivity, but also future proofing its workforce and enabling its clients to thrive in an ever-changing world.
“Together with Microsoft, we’ve bridged the gap between enablement and evangelism.”
Kristine Steinman, Global IT GitHub Copilot Adoption Lead, Accenture
“Our next goal is to offer instructor-led virtual training, providing more interactivity to fit the needs of our employees,” highlights Kristine Steinman. “Another idea we're exploring is engaging bench talent by offering them a one-month license to complete training, adding another skill to their toolkit.”
Emboldened by the success of its training program, Accenture will continue its partnership with Microsoft, driving further value with virtual training and short-term licenses for freelancers. This continuous journey of innovation and enablement confirms Accenture’s place as a market leader, going beyond adoption and defining a template for AI adoption at scale.
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