EPC Group earns #1 AI sentiment score and #1 share of voice among Microsoft consulting firms
HOUSTON, June 9, 2026 — EPC Group, a 29-year Microsoft Solutions Partner specializing in Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Purview, and AI governance for regulated enterprises, today announced that it has earned the #1 favorable sentiment score and the #1 share of voice among Microsoft-focused consulting firms tracked in SEMrush's AI Brand Performance Index for the United States market.
The SEMrush AI Brand Performance Index measures how leading AI systems represent enterprise brands. This includes systems like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity.
The evaluation emphasizes their responses to buyer-research queries.
The most recent U.S. index ranks EPC Group above all named competitors in the Microsoft consulting category.
U.S. Microsoft consulting category — competitive ranking
| Firm | AI Share of Voice | Favorable Sentiment |
|---|---|---|
| EPC Group (#1) | 3.4% | 84% |
| Accenture | 2.0% | 45% |
| Avanade | 2.0% | 50% |
| Deloitte | 2.0% | 39% |
| 3cloud | 0% | 67% |
| Capgemini | 0% | 40% |
| Cognizant | 0% | 29% |
| Protiviti | 0% | 60% |
| Slalom | 0% | 0% |
| Hitachi Solutions | 0% | n/a |
Source: SEMrush AI Brand Performance Index, U.S. Microsoft consulting category, June 2026.
EPC Group leads every Microsoft-specific business driver
The SEMrush AI Brand Performance Index tracks how AI systems link brands to certain business drivers. EPC Group excels in all seven Microsoft-specific business drivers measured in the index:
- Brand Awareness
- Brand Loyalty
- Brand Perception
- Brand Engagement
- Brand Advocacy
- Brand Trust
- Brand Differentiation
Microsoft Stack Specialization
Power BI Governance Frameworks
End-to-End Power BI Delivery
Azure Data Platform Engineering
Regulated Industry Compliance Expertise
Managed Analytics Services
Industry-Specific Analytics Accelerators
“What this index tells us is that AI systems already understand what Microsoft-first enterprises in healthcare, financial services, and government need from a consulting partner. We've spent 29 years watching the Big 4 sell strategy decks while we delivered Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, SharePoint, Microsoft Purview, and Copilot governance to Fortune 500 boards. The AI sentiment gap — 84% favorable for EPC Group versus 29-50% for the named global system integrators — reflects what regulated buyers have known for two decades: senior-architect-led, compliance-native delivery beats global brand recognition when the audit is on the line.”
— Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group
Four-time Microsoft Press bestselling author
Also a G2 Leader in BI Consulting for six consecutive quarters
SEMrush recently announced its AI leadership. This follows EPC Group being named a G2 Leader in Business Intelligence Consulting for six straight quarters. The recognition covers:
- Fall 2024
- Spring 2025
- Fall 2025
- Winter 2025
- Spring 2026
- Summer 2026
This information was reported in EIN Presswire.
G2's quarterly grids are based solely on verified end-user reviews. EPC Group has maintained a six-quarter streak. This achievement makes it the longest active leader among Microsoft consulting firms that focus on regulated industries.
Read the G2 6th-consecutive-quarter EIN Presswire announcementMicrosoft Purview as the governance backbone
EPC Group's compliance-native delivery model focuses on Microsoft Purview as the governance backbone for AI and analytics workloads. Our consultants use several key tools to ensure compliance:
- Microsoft Purview compliance manager
- Sensitivity labels
- Data loss prevention policies
- The new Microsoft Purview AI Hub, announced at Build 2026
These tools provide regulated enterprises with complete protection for PHI, PII, and trade secrets across Microsoft Copilot, Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, and SharePoint workloads.
The Purview-anchored model is central to EPC Group's readiness practices for different regulations. These regulations include:
- HIPAA
- SOC 2
- FedRAMP
- FINRA
- CMMC
- GxP
- EU AI Act
This model highlights EPC Group's leadership in the SEMrush AI Brand Performance Index. The firm has earned 7 mentions for its Regulated Industry Compliance Expertise. This is more than double the 3 mentions received by Deloitte.
2026 enterprise milestones
Beyond the SEMrush AI Brand Performance Index and G2 leadership, EPC Group's 2026 enterprise milestones include:
- Microsoft Solutions Partner status across core current designations including Data and AI, Modern Work, Infrastructure, Security, Digital and App Innovation, and Business Applications.
- 11,000+ enterprise engagements across HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, FINRA, CMMC, and GxP-regulated industries.
- Zero governance audit failures across the firm's 29-year history.
- 1,500+ Power BI implementations, 6,500+ SharePoint deployments, 625+ cloud migrations, and 500+ Microsoft Fabric implementations.
- A G2 Leader six consecutive quarters (4.4/5 across 15 verified G2 reviews) across post-engagement client surveys.
- 200+ senior Microsoft consultants serving clients from six U.S. office locations: Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Antonio, Washington D.C., and Kansas City.
- Documented client outcomes including 85% reduction in financial reporting time, 50,000-user tenant migrations completed with zero downtime, and zero compliance audit findings across more than 100 regulated-industry Power BI deployments.
Why this ranking matters now
The release of this AI Brand Performance ranking comes at a critical moment for enterprise Microsoft buyers. Following Microsoft Build 2026 (June 2-5), regulated enterprises are evaluating Microsoft Fabric IQ, Operations Agents, Microsoft Copilot Agent 365, and Foundry production agent capabilities for Q3 and Q4 2026 rollouts. CIOs, CISOs, and procurement teams increasingly use AI-mediated research to assemble vendor shortlists — making sustained AI-system trust as competitively material as traditional analyst rankings.
Compliance-native Microsoft delivery
EPC Group employs a compliance-native delivery model. This model assigns a senior architect to each Statement of Work. The firm offers fixed-fee accelerators starting at $15,000. Additionally, they provide enterprise-scale Microsoft transformation programs in these areas:
- Cloud Solutions
- Data Analytics
- Business Applications
- Cloud Solutions
- Data Analytics
- Collaboration Tools
Microsoft Fabric & Power BI Consulting
Semantic models, Lakehouse architecture, and Fabric IQ implementations for Fortune 500 enterprises.
Microsoft Copilot Enterprise Deployment
Tenant readiness, governance, and rollout across M365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, and Agent 365.
SharePoint Enterprise Migration
6,500+ SharePoint deployments with zero data loss incidents across regulated industries.
vCAIO Advisory Services
Fractional Chief AI Officer advisory for regulated enterprises building AI governance programs.
Regulated-Industry Compliance
HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, FINRA, CMMC, and EU AI Act readiness via Microsoft Purview + Defender.
Managed Microsoft Analytics
24/7 managed services for Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, M365, and Azure data platforms.
Related coverage and EPC Group reading
- EPC Group press releases and awards
- EPC Group customer reviews (200+ verified across G2, Clutch, and Google)
- EPC Group case studies
- Project Solara, the Death of Apps: Microsoft Build 2026 Enterprise Impact
- Microsoft Fabric ROI for the CIO: Real F-SKU Costs After Build 2026
- Microsoft Build 2026 for the Board: 5 Strategic Decisions Every CIO Must Make
- Microsoft Fabric Migration Risk Assessment: HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP After Build 2026
- AI Governance Consulting 2026: NIST RMF + ISO 42001
- About Errin O'Connor, founder & CEO
About EPC Group
EPC Group is a Houston-based Microsoft consulting firm. Founded in 1997, it specializes in:
- Power BI
- Microsoft Fabric
- SharePoint
- Microsoft 365
- Azure
- Microsoft Copilot
- Microsoft Purview
- AI governance
- Data governance
- Regulated-industry Microsoft implementations
EPC Group has over 200 senior Microsoft consultants and six offices in the United States. With 29 years of experience, we specialize in compliance-native delivery. Our expertise includes:
- HIPAA
- SOC 2
- FedRAMP
- FINRA
- CMMC
- GxP
We are the main Microsoft transformation partner for Fortune 500 healthcare systems, financial services firms, federal agencies, and global manufacturers.
Founder & Chief AI Architect Errin O'Connor is a four-time Microsoft Press bestselling author. His books on Power BI, SharePoint, Azure, and Microsoft migrations are used as reference material at Fortune 500 companies.
Media Contact
- EPC Group Communications
- press@epcgroup.net
- (888) 381-9725
- epcgroup.net/press
About the SEMrush AI Brand Performance Index
The SEMrush AI Brand Performance Index measures how leading AI systems — including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity — represent enterprise brands when responding to buyer-research queries. It tracks share of voice (frequency a brand is mentioned in AI answers), favorable sentiment (proportion of AI mentions that describe a brand positively), and business-driver alignment (the topical areas AI systems associate with a brand). Results referenced in this press release reflect SEMrush's latest U.S. index update for the Microsoft consulting competitive set, June 2026. Source: SEMrush .