Few leaders sit at the intersection of product, engineering, and hyperscaler partnership the way Deepak Arora does.

As Global CTO for AWS Solutions and Head of Engineering for the MENA region at Publicis Sapient, Deepak brings a perspective that blends co-building with AWS, co-selling with field teams, and delivering AI-powered outcomes to customers on the ground.

This conversation took place live at AWS re:Invent.

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Who Publicis Sapient Is in the AWS Ecosystem

Deepak opens by grounding the discussion in the broader mission of Publicis Sapient.

“We are a products and consulting company focused on digital business transformation for our customers.”

Their partnership with AWS is deep and expanding.

“We are the premier partner for AWS… and we have around 15 solutions on AWS Marketplace, and majority of these are backed by AI and data.”

That positioning sets up the kind of co-development work his team leads globally.

Co-Build, Co-Market, Co-Sell - The Full Cycle

Deepak breaks partnering into a full lifecycle, starting with co-build.

“We work with AWS solution architects and leads, and think about what kind of technologies and solutions we need to take to our customers.”

Solutions begin as horizontal capabilities but quickly take on industry-specific expression. Publicis Sapient blends AWS native services, open-source technologies, and their own platforms such as Slingshot and Bothi.

Once a solution clears AWS vetting, the teams shift toward joint GTM motions.

“There is a heavy part of co build and then there is a co-market side of the things… and then obviously there is a co-sell part.”

The co-sell alignment is increasingly industry-driven, mirroring AWS’ organizational structure.

Why Delivery Experience Matters in a CTO Role

One of the most compelling aspects of Deepak’s perspective is that he doesn’t just build solutions - he oversees delivery across the MENA region.

“In that role, I get to learn what is working on production… and then feed that back into the solution thinking.”

This creates a rare feedback loop: real-world outcomes inform product strategy, which then feeds back into new offerings and accelerators.

Horizontal Platforms With Industry Depth

Two flagship platforms anchor Publicis Sapient’s AI product strategy:

Slingshot – AI SDLC and Modernization Platform

“Slingshot brings efficiencies of 50 to 60% in time to market and productivity across the SDLC.”

It supports everything from requirements to design, development, launch, and production operations. Slingshot integrates directly with AWS capabilities, including Bedrock, application modernization tooling, and the broader AI ecosystem.

Bothi – Enterprise Agentic Platform

“Bothi is an enterprise agentic platform that facilitates agent creation on AWS.”

It provides horizontal agentic capabilities, which Publicis Sapient molds into vertical use cases across travel, banking, retail, and more.

Dealer GPT and Other Industry Solutions

“We have a solution called Dealer GPT, which optimizes sales and operations for automotive clients.”

This blend of horizontal and vertical accelerators is shaping their push toward being a people plus product company.

Becoming a Product-Led SI

Deepak described a major shift underway.

“We are transitioning from just a consulting based organization to a people plus product organization.”

This evolution positions Publicis Sapient differently in the AWS ecosystem - not just implementing AI, but creating foundational platforms that enhance AWS’ own offerings.

Using AWS Announcements to Accelerate Customers

Deepak emphasizes AWS’ complementary capabilities rather than overlap.

“We work backwards from customer outcome… and come up with a complementary set of offerings.”

For example, Slingshot integrates with AWS’ Transform modernization program to create a holistic modernization + migration story.

Marketplace as the Front Door for Productization

Publicis Sapient has long used the AWS Marketplace for solution accelerators, but re:Invent 2024 marks a turning point.

“We are seeing a transition into more product and activation play… it should be bought, purchased, and provisioned from the Marketplace.”

This creates an end-to-end experience AWS field teams can champion.

“It makes it easy for our customers, makes it easy for AWS, and makes it easy for ourselves as well.”

This shift also unlocks transactable listings, quota retirement, and pre-commit drawdowns.

What’s Next for Publicis Sapient and AWS

A big focus now is enabling SaaS-like provisioning of PS products through Marketplace.

“If a customer is interested in a SaaS offering of our products, it should be bought, provisioned, and set up at a click of a button.”

From co-build to co-sell to co-deliver, Deepak’s team is building a model that scales globally while staying connected to real customer needs.

Closing Thoughts

This conversation highlights a truth about modern ecosystem partnerships: the most powerful alliances are built by teams that combine product mindset, engineering discipline, and shared accountability for customer outcomes.

Publicis Sapient and AWS are moving in that direction quickly - and Deepak Arora sits at the center of it.

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