International Business Machines Corp #NYSE:IBM Price, Chart, News & Insight

IBM and Scuderia Ferrari HP launched a redesigned mobile app to enhance the global Formula 1 fan experience. The app now includes AI-powered features developed using IBM watsonx, such as race recaps, data visualizations, and historic comparisons, all available in both English and Italian. New interactive features include fan messages, daily polls, and summaries of iconic races. The app aims to deepen year-round fan engagement by integrating real-time insights and generative AI. More features will be added throughout 2025, further connecting fans to Scuderia Ferrari HP’s racing world.

IBM Establishes Microsoft Practice to Boost Client Transformations

IBM announced the launch of a new Microsoft Practice within IBM Consulting to strengthen its partnership with Microsoft and deliver enhanced AI, cloud, and security solutions. The practice will leverage IBM's industry expertise and Microsoft’s technology, including Copilot, Azure OpenAI, and Fabric, aiming to simplify digital transformations for businesses. Supported by over 33,000 Microsoft-certified professionals, the initiative offers end-to-end services, strong security, and global scale. IBM plans to develop new solutions across industries like retail, government, and financial services, building on previous successful projects such as their collaboration with the State of Arizona.

IBM announced it will invest $150 billion in America over the next five years to strengthen its leadership in computing and support the economy. This includes more than $30 billion dedicated to research and development for advancing and manufacturing mainframe and quantum computers in the United States.

Arvind Krishna, IBM’s chairman, president, and CEO, emphasized the company's long-standing commitment to American jobs and innovation. IBM’s mainframes, which support over 70% of global transaction value, are manufactured in Poughkeepsie, New York. The company also operates the world’s largest fleet of quantum computers and will continue building them domestically.

IBM highlighted the potential of quantum computing to drive economic growth, job creation, and national security. Through its Quantum Network, IBM provides quantum system access to nearly 300 major organizations and over 600,000 users worldwide.

This investment reaffirms IBM’s dedication to advancing American innovation and boosting economic opportunities both in the United States and globally.

IBM introduced new agentic AI and automation capabilities aimed at enabling autonomous security operations and predictive threat intelligence for clients. The company launched the Autonomous Threat Operations Machine (ATOM), an AI system that autonomously handles threat triage, investigation, and remediation with minimal human involvement. IBM also announced the new X-Force Predictive Threat Intelligence (PTI) agent for ATOM, which uses industry-specific AI foundation models to forecast adversarial activities and reduce manual threat hunting.

ATOM integrates with IBM's Threat Detection and Response services and augments existing security analytics tools by automating enrichment, contextualization, risk analysis, and response planning, allowing human analysts to focus on high-priority threats. ATOM is vendor-agnostic and compatible with platforms like Google Cloud and Microsoft.

PTI combines AI and expert human analysis to predict emerging threats based on adversary behavior, pulling from over 100 sources including IBM’s X-Force Threat Intelligence. It delivers tailored intelligence reports and proactive threat hunt queries, aiming to detect threats before they escalate.

IBM showcased these new capabilities at the RSAC 2025 Conference in San Francisco.

IBM disclosed its Q1 2025 earnings materials through a Form 8-K filing, including prepared remarks and presentation slides by CEO Arvind Krishna and CFO Jim Kavanaugh. The company’s remarks and slides (Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2) detail its financial performance and strategic updates, along with reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to GAAP. These materials were presented to investors on April 23, 2025. IBM emphasized that the included information is furnished, not filed, meaning it’s not subject to certain liabilities under Section 18 of the Exchange Act.

IBM Beats Q1 Expectations with Strong Software Revenue and Margin Expansion

ARMONK, N.Y. — International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2025, driven by strong software growth, robust operating margins, and solid cash generation. Revenue for the quarter came in at $14.5 billion, representing a 1% increase year-over-year (2% at constant currency).

“Demand for generative AI remains strong, and we are seeing this translate into a pipeline now exceeding $6 billion, with over $1 billion added in Q1 alone,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM’s Chairman and CEO. “We are maintaining our full-year guidance as our momentum and fundamentals remain intact.”

Key Financial Highlights – Q1 2025
Revenue: $14.5 billion, up 1% (2% at constant currency)

Net Income (GAAP): $1.1 billion, or $1.12 per diluted share

Operating Net Income (Non-GAAP): $1.5 billion, or $1.60 per share

Gross Profit Margin:

GAAP: 55.2% (+170 bps)

Non-GAAP: 56.6% (+190 bps)

Free Cash Flow: $2.0 billion, up from $1.91 billion a year ago

Cash from Operating Activities: $4.4 billion

Cash on Hand: $17.6 billion (including restricted cash and marketable securities)

Total Debt: $63.3 billion (up $8.3 billion YTD due to acquisitions)

Segment Performance
Software: $6.3 billion in revenue (+7%, +9% constant currency)

Hybrid Cloud (Red Hat): +12%

Automation: +14%

Data & AI: +5%

Consulting: $5.1 billion in revenue (−2%, flat at constant currency)

Strategy & Technology: −3%

Intelligent Operations: −2%

Infrastructure: $2.9 billion in revenue (−6%)

IBM Z: −15%

Distributed Infrastructure: −5%

Infrastructure Support: −3%

Financing: $0.2 billion in revenue (−1%)

Profitability and Cash Flow
CFO James Kavanaugh emphasized that IBM’s performance reflected strong operational discipline:

“Our Software-driven revenue growth, combined with productivity initiatives, led to significant margin expansion and healthy free cash flow. We remain in a strong liquidity position, enabling us to invest in growth and return capital to shareholders.”

IBM returned $1.5 billion in dividends during Q1.

The company spent $7.1 billion on acquisitions, including HashiCorp.

2025 Outlook (Unchanged)
Revenue Growth: At least 5% in constant currency

Free Cash Flow: ~$13.5 billion

Q2 Revenue Forecast: Between $16.4 billion and $16.75 billion

FX expected to provide a 1 to 1.5 point tailwind for the full year

IBM Report Finds Credential Theft Surged in 2024 as Hackers Shift to Stealthier Tactics

IBM has released its 2025 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, revealing a significant pivot by cybercriminals toward stealthier methods, particularly large-scale credential theft. The report found that nearly half of all cyberattacks in 2024 resulted in stolen data or credentials, with phishing emails delivering infostealers rising 84% over the previous year.

Identity-based attacks outpaced ransomware in growth, with nearly one in three incidents involving credential theft. Cybercriminals increasingly targeted critical infrastructure, which accounted for 70% of IBM X-Force's incident responses, often exploiting vulnerabilities in legacy systems. Meanwhile, ransomware incidents declined overall, pressured by law enforcement crackdowns, prompting threat actors to explore lower-risk malware strategies and new botnets.

Asia Pacific experienced the highest volume of cyberattacks globally, making up 34% of cases, followed by North America at 24%. Manufacturing remained the most targeted industry for ransomware for the fourth year in a row due to its low tolerance for downtime.

The report also identified a rise in dark web markets trading compromised credentials, MFA bypass tools, and adversary-in-the-middle phishing kits. IBM X-Force warned of a growing threat landscape around AI, highlighting vulnerabilities in AI development frameworks and urging businesses to secure their AI pipelines from development to deployment.

Other findings showed that over half of Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments remained unpatched for at least one critical vulnerability, making them susceptible to Linux-based ransomware threats.

IBM will discuss the report's findings in a webinar on April 22 and encourages organizations to reassess their cybersecurity strategies with a focus on proactive identity protection and vulnerability management.

IBM announced the launch of its new mainframe system, IBM z17

The z17 is fully engineered for the AI age, integrating artificial intelligence capabilities directly into the system's hardware, software, and operations. It’s powered by the IBM Telum II processor and is capable of processing up to 450 billion AI inference operations per day — 50 percent more than its predecessor, the z16.

Key innovations in the IBM z17 include:

- On-chip AI acceleration via Telum II, enabling real-time AI scoring and inferencing with one-millisecond response times.
- The upcoming IBM Spyre Accelerator (expected in Q4 2025), designed to enhance generative AI workloads and run AI assistants and agents on-platform.
- Integrated AI tools such as IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z and watsonx Assistant for Z, now combined with Z Operations Unite for chat-based incident detection and resolution.

The system supports the forthcoming z/OS 3.2 (available Q3 2025), built to accommodate AI insights and modern data processing including NoSQL databases. IBM also introduced Z Operations Unite, a tool for unified IT operations using OpenTelemetry format to improve incident detection and response across hybrid environments.

Security and resiliency remain central to the platform, with additions such as IBM Vault for secrets management (via HashiCorp) and IBM Threat Detection for z/OS for AI-powered anomaly detection.

Storage is supported by the 10th generation IBM DS8000 system, designed to work seamlessly with z17 for optimized data performance and scalability.

IBM z17 will be generally available starting June 18, 2025.

**IBM Acquires Hakkoda to Enhance Data Capabilities for AI Transformation**

IBM announced the acquisition of Hakkoda Inc., a global data and AI consultancy, to strengthen its data transformation services and better support clients in preparing their data for AI-driven operations. Hakkoda brings expertise in data migration, modernization, and monetization, along with a strong partnership with Snowflake and AWS. Known for its industry-specific generative AI tools, Hakkoda enhances IBM Consulting's capacity to deliver efficient, multi-use case data solutions across sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and the public sector. The deal, finalized on April 2, 2025, is expected to help IBM meet rising global demand for enterprise intelligence services, a market projected to grow to over $243 billion by 2028. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IBM Enhances 2025 Masters Tournament Experience with AI-Powered Digital Features

IBM announced on April 4, 2025, that it is enhancing the digital fan experience for the 2025 Masters Tournament through its watsonx AI-powered features. These updates are part of a decades-long collaboration between IBM and the Masters Tournament aimed at delivering highly personalized and interactive experiences for golf fans worldwide.

Returning this year is Hole Insights 2.0, part of the Track Shots feature on Masters.com and the Masters app. Powered by IBM’s Granite large language model, this tool now provides even deeper analysis of each hole at Augusta National. It offers historical performance data, real-time and projected play patterns, and strategic shot evaluations based on over 180,000 shots and expert insights from past caddies.

The Masters app for Apple Vision Pro has also been upgraded, offering fans immersive 3D visualizations of the course, on-demand video, and the ability to watch multiple live streams at once. The app continues to feature AI Narration in both English and Spanish and now integrates the enhanced Hole Insights 2.0.

Jonathan Adashek, IBM’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, emphasized the collaboration as a live case study in how AI and data can be used to deliver rich, customized experiences—an approach IBM applies across industries through its hybrid cloud and AI solutions.

Fans can access the digital experience via Masters.com, the Masters app, and Apple Vision Pro starting with the 89th Masters Tournament from April 10–13, 2025.

Key analyst makes surprise call on IBM in AI software growth

This is what could happen next to IBM shares.

AI Accelerates Scientific Discovery with Autonomous Labs and Superintelligent Research

On March 24, 2025, IBM highlighted how artificial intelligence is reshaping scientific research, focusing on the rise of “scientific superintelligence” powered by companies like Lila Sciences. These new systems combine generative AI and robotics in autonomous labs, capable of generating hypotheses, running thousands of experiments simultaneously, and analyzing results with minimal human involvement. This model promises to compress decades of scientific progress into just a few years.

Lila Sciences, backed by $200 million in funding, has already demonstrated success, such as discovering novel catalysts for green hydrogen production within months—work that traditionally would take a decade. The company sees scaling experimentation as key to AI’s advantage, not just developing larger models.

While AI's rapid advancements raise hopes for breakthroughs in medicine, materials, and energy, they also spark debate about the future role of human scientists. Some, like IBM's Payel Das, believe AI will augment human creativity. Others, like Hugging Face’s Thomas Wolf, warn that true breakthroughs require human intuition that AI might not replicate.

The technology’s power also brings ethical concerns. Experts caution that without strong oversight, AI could generate harmful outcomes like bioweapons or toxic materials. IBM and Lila emphasize the need for governance and rigorous validation before applying AI-generated discoveries.

Ultimately, the future of science may depend on how society balances AI's capabilities with human insight, safety, and ethics.

IBM Launches Transformation Suite to Accelerate SAP Cloud Migration

On March 24, 2025, IBM announced the general availability of its Transformation Suite for SAP Applications, a new offering aimed at simplifying and speeding up the migration to SAP S/4HANA and RISE with SAP. The suite addresses common migration challenges such as long timelines, high costs, and integration complexities by automating key tasks including technical assessments, data and code migration, and testing.

The suite builds on IBM’s previous collaboration with SAP in launching RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server, which enables on-premises to cloud migration within 90 days. By bundling software and services from IBM and partners like SNP, the Transformation Suite offers a streamlined, cost-efficient migration process and ongoing support.

Key benefits for clients include accelerated and flexible ERP transformation, minimized downtime, and lower migration costs. For partners, it simplifies procurement, reduces administrative burdens, and expands business opportunities. Core tools include SNP Kyano Foundation for data landscape assessment and SNP Kyano Move for restructuring and integration.

IBM’s suite aims to support both businesses and their partners in navigating complex SAP migrations with greater ease and efficiency.

IBM to slash nearly 9,000 jobs in US

The layoffs will impact several divisions, including the company’s Cloud Classic unit.

Why Grid Modernization Matters for Electrification

As industries electrify, modernizing the energy grid is essential for reliability, efficiency, and resilience. It supports renewable energy integration, reduces outages, and enables faster recovery from disruptions.

IBM research shows utilities are investing nearly 10% of revenue in grid upgrades, but progress varies. Four utility types emerged: pioneering integrators (most advanced), energy optimizers, power connectors, and moderate achievers.

To modernize, utilities should:

1. **Boost resilience** through automation, real-time monitoring, and demand response.
2. **Enable clean energy** with better integration of renewables and DERs.
3. **Improve operations** using predictive analytics, IoT, and AI.

Modern control rooms, advanced skills, and AI adoption are key enablers. A three-step plan—resilience, flexibility, and future-readiness—can help build a secure, adaptable grid for tomorrow’s energy needs.

IBM has announced the general availability of IBM Vault Self-Managed for Z and LinuxONE and IBM Nomad Self-Managed for Z and LinuxONE, following its acquisition of HashiCorp. These offerings are designed to enhance hybrid cloud operations with secure secrets management and simplified workload orchestration on IBM Z and LinuxONE systems.

IBM Vault Self-Managed for Z and LinuxONE provides centralized and encrypted storage for secrets like API keys and passwords. It supports role-based access control, automated credential rotation, and encryption-as-a-service, while enabling secure management of secrets across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, including Kubernetes.

IBM Nomad Self-Managed for Z and LinuxONE offers lightweight container orchestration for both containerized and certain non-containerized applications. It includes features for high-performance computing scheduling, hybrid and multi-cloud workload deployment, and efficient infrastructure resource allocation.

Together, these tools aim to help organizations reduce deployment delays caused by security concerns, improve automation, and ensure regulatory compliance for mission-critical workloads.

IBM will further explore these solutions during IBM Z Day on April 8, 2025, a free virtual event featuring updates on AI, hybrid cloud, and cryptography innovations.

IBM introduced content-aware capabilities for Storage Scale, enhancing AI accuracy by improving how unstructured data is processed. Using NLP techniques and NVIDIA’s AI-Q, it enables AI models to extract semantic meaning beyond keyword matching. This improves AI assistants, streamlines data pipelines, and ensures up-to-date insights by automatically updating vector databases as data changes.

The new features reduce latency by integrating compute and AI pipelines within the storage system, optimizing data retrieval for AI-driven applications. Available March 27, 2025, these capabilities support NVIDIA’s AI Data Platform to enhance AI-driven decision-making. IBM will host a webinar on April 8 to discuss its impact on enterprise storage.

IBM is contributing 3 open-source projects—Docling, Data Prep Kit and BeeAI—to the Linux Foundation. This move signals not only the potential growth of these projects but also IBM’s ongoing commitment to open-source AI.

“We're continuing our long history of contributing open-source projects to ensure that they're easy to consume and that it's easy for others—not just us—to contribute,” says Brad Topol, IBM Distinguished Engineer and Director of Open Technologies, in an interview. Topol also chairs the Governing Board of the LF AI & Data Foundation, a group hosted under the Linux Foundation focused on advancing open-source innovation across artificial intelligence and data technologies.

Each project is focused on an essential part of the AI development stack. As the industry matures, innovation driven by the broader developer community in these areas is key to making AI enterprise ready.
IBM

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Teams With NVIDIA To Enhance Generative AI And Cloud Solutions

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) recently announced a strategic collaboration with NVIDIA to enhance enterprise generative AI workloads through integrated solutions, which may have been a catalyst for the company's share price increasing by 12% in the last quarter. This initiative is part of IBM's broader focus on AI advancements, complemented by the upcoming launch of content-aware storage capabilities to strengthen hybrid cloud infrastructure. Furthermore, IBM's solid dividend...

Finastra and IBM announced a collaboration on March 19, 2025, to enhance Finastra’s cloud-based lending managed services. The new Lending Cloud Service (LCS), supported by IBM Consulting, will provide corporate lending solutions such as Loan IQ, Trade Innovation, and Corporate Channels for Finastra clients in North America and Europe.

IBM is leveraging watsonx, its generative AI platform, to optimize the new service, offering automation, resilience, and AI-powered insights to corporate banking clients. The service is built on Microsoft Azure and aims to improve efficiency, compliance, and cloud transformation through IBM’s deep expertise in infrastructure management.

Key benefits of the Lending Cloud Service include:
- Faster deployment with pre-configured services
- Automation and standardization of business processes
- Cost savings through cloud-based efficiencies
- Industry compliance with financial services standards
- Scalability and resilience from IBM’s infrastructure expertise

IBM’s Shanker Ramamurthy, Global Managing Partner for Banking & Financial Markets, emphasized the growing need for AI, hybrid cloud, and robust ecosystems in banking. Finastra’s Steve Moe, Head of Technology for Lending, highlighted how this partnership enables faster implementation of digital lending solutions.

For more details, visit Finastra.com or IBM.com.

IBM is contributing three open-source AI projects—Docling, Data Prep Kit, and BeeAI—to the Linux Foundation to expand their development and adoption. Docling helps transform unstructured documents into machine-readable formats, Data Prep Kit streamlines data processing for AI models, and BeeAI enables AI agent discovery and interoperability across frameworks.

These projects aim to enhance AI readiness by improving data ingestion, preparation, and agent integration. IBM sees open governance as key to driving widespread adoption, similar to Kubernetes. More details will be shared at the IBM TechXchange Conference in October 2025.

IBM Sterling Order Management is revolutionizing retail operations by leveraging AI to enhance efficiency in inventory management, order fulfillment, and customer service. As retailers face evolving consumer demands and supply chain disruptions, IBM’s solutions provide real-time visibility into inventory, streamline omnichannel order fulfillment, and empower customer service representatives with AI-driven automation.

Advance Auto Parts improved its order fulfillment by integrating IBM and OneRail’s technology, leading to a 98% on-time delivery rate, a 12% reduction in transportation costs, and a 27% sales increase in its 30-minute delivery segment. Mexican retailer Tiendas Del Sol - Woolworth used IBM Sterling Order Management to reduce order cancellations due to stockouts from 10% to less than 1%, enhancing customer satisfaction.

IBM has also introduced the Sterling Next Generation Call Center solution, incorporating IBM watsonx.ai to automate manual customer service tasks. This AI-driven approach improves response times, enhances customer interactions, and reduces operational costs.

As retailers continue to adapt to changing market conditions, IBM Sterling remains committed to driving digital transformation in the industry. For more details, visit IBM's website.

Arab National Bank deploys IBM platform to combat fraud

The AI-driven system enhances fraud detection with custom decision models, reducing reliance on vendors and data scientists.

IBM and the Basque Government will install Europe's first IBM Quantum System Two at the IBM-Euskadi Quantum Computational Center in Spain by late 2025. Upgraded from the originally planned Quantum System One, it will feature IBM’s 156-qubit Quantum Heron processor, advancing research in physics, materials science, and sustainability under the IKUR 2030 initiative.

The center aims to position the Basque Country as a quantum computing leader, fostering workforce development and innovation. IBM Vice President Jay Gambetta highlighted the system’s role in driving quantum advantage, while Basque President Imanol Pradales emphasized its impact on scientific and economic growth.

The search landscape is evolving rapidly with the rise of AI-powered search engines. Google recently introduced AI Mode, powered by Gemini 2.0, which provides AI-generated responses alongside curated links. While Google remains dominant with over 81 billion monthly visits, AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity are gaining traction, though they still lag behind in traffic.

Industry experts see AI search tools as transformative but also recognize their challenges. AI agents synthesize information from multiple sources, reducing referral traffic to original content creators. A study by TollBit found that AI-driven search engines send 96% less referral traffic than traditional search engines, raising concerns about monetization for publishers.

To address these challenges, some companies are brokering deals between AI firms and content providers. Josh Stone of TollBit notes that AI search tools aggregate content from multiple sources, limiting direct engagement with publisher websites. Olivia Joslin, TollBit’s co-founder, points out that large-scale web scraping is costly, leading many AI companies to seek partnerships rather than risk legal disputes.

The future of AI search may involve more formalized agreements between AI providers and content owners. Ahmed Malik, CEO of ScalePost, predicts an increase in partnerships to ensure reliable access to high-quality data. As AI continues to reshape search, businesses are exploring ways to integrate their content into AI-generated responses while maintaining revenue streams.

Looking ahead, AI-driven browsing could become a standard tool for research and automation. Companies like Perplexity are developing AI-powered browsers that handle tasks and research on behalf of users, potentially further reducing human interaction with traditional search results. Chris Hay of IBM suggests that businesses will need to find ways to ensure their content remains accessible and valuable in an AI-dominated search environment.

The ongoing shift toward AI-powered search and browsing raises questions about the future of online content monetization, access to reliable information, and the evolving role of search engines in the digital ecosystem.
IBM

IBM Announces Changes to Reported Revenue Categories for 2025
ARMONK, NY – March 12, 2025 – International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) has announced updates to its reported revenue categories within its Software and Consulting segments, effective Q1 2025. The changes aim to better align with evolving market opportunities and IBM’s strategic focus.

IBM emphasized that the updates will not impact its Consolidated Financial Statements or reportable segments but are designed to provide greater transparency and clarity in its financial reporting.

To assist investors in understanding the new structure, IBM has published recast historical segment financials for 2024 and 2023 on its Investor Relations website (www.ibm.com/investor). Additionally, IBM has provided reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to ensure clarity and consistency in reporting.

IBM has introduced a tutorial on building an AI research agent for image analysis using Granite 3.2 Reasoning and Vision models. The agent leverages agentic AI workflows and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to extract insights from images, supporting use cases like analyzing architecture diagrams, business dashboards, and historical photos.

The system operates locally using Open WebUI and Ollama for privacy and efficiency. It first identifies key research topics from an image, then runs parallel research agents to gather insights from web sources and user documents, ultimately generating a comprehensive report.

The tutorial provides code examples and setup instructions, allowing developers to implement their own AI-powered image research agent. More details are available on IBM’s GitHub repository and the Granite Playground.

Mitsubishi Motors Canada has introduced "The Intelligent Companion," an AI-powered tool designed to enhance the customer experience for the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander. Developed in collaboration with WongDoody and IBM, this interactive 3D visual guide uses IBM watsonx AI to provide personalized insights into the vehicle's features. The tool adapts to individual users, offering a dynamic and engaging alternative to traditional vehicle brochures and chatbots.

Built using IBM watsonx Orchestrate and watsonx.ai, "The Intelligent Companion" allows customers to explore the Outlander in a Mitsubishi-branded virtual environment, answering detailed questions and providing real-time assistance. Trained on Outlander-specific data and tested with Canadian audiences, the AI tool ensures relevant and natural interactions.

The project moved swiftly from concept to launch, taking just twelve weeks, highlighting the efficiency of WongDoody and IBM's collaboration. Mitsubishi Motors Canada sees this innovation as a major step in improving customer engagement and aligning with its commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology in the automotive industry.

5 questions to help government agencies implement AI

As artificial intelligence becomes a crucial tool for public sector innovation, government agencies must carefully consider their approach to AI implementation. Here are five key questions agencies should address to ensure effective and responsible AI deployment:

1. What are the agency's specific AI objectives?
Identifying clear goals—whether improving operational efficiency, enhancing citizen services, or bolstering cybersecurity—ensures AI investments align with mission priorities.

2. How will AI integrate with existing systems?
Agencies must assess how AI solutions will work alongside legacy infrastructure and ensure interoperability without causing disruptions.

3. What ethical and regulatory considerations apply?
Governments must navigate complex compliance requirements, data privacy regulations, and ethical concerns, such as bias and transparency, to build public trust.

4. How can agencies ensure AI scalability and cost efficiency?
Understanding AI computing costs and adopting a strategic approach to scaling can optimize resources while maximizing impact.

5. What skills and training are needed for AI adoption?
Agencies should invest in workforce upskilling to equip employees with the knowledge required to manage, interpret, and optimize AI systems.

To stay ahead of AI trends, listen to the Mixture of Experts podcast for insights from leading AI professionals. Also, explore reports such as 6 Hard Truths CEOs Must Face and Use Gen AI Economics to Lap the Competition for deeper strategic guidance.

For real-world examples, discover how Audi AG is driving digital innovation with AI and IBM Power Systems.

Transform your organization's AI strategy by integrating business and technology transformation services. Explore business consulting, HR transformation, and financial solutions to unlock new efficiencies and improve decision-making.

source: IBM (https://www.ibm.com/)

Aspirations for AI: Insights from IBM and Vanguard | Vanguard

IBM’s CEO and Vanguard’s global chief economist discuss the implications of AI on individuals and the workforce.

The 2025 Call for Code program invites developers to build AI-driven solutions addressing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Organized by Call for Code, IBM, UN Human Rights, and the Linux Foundation, the initiative includes five hackathons throughout the year. The first event, running from March 20 to 31, focuses on creating AI virtual agents for clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) in honor of UN World Water Day. Participants will have free access to IBM’s AI tools, including watsonx, and winners will receive cash prizes and passes to the IBM TechXchange Conference. The grand prize for the overall challenge is $50,000, with additional opportunities for open-source project support.

As IT systems grow more complex, traditional monitoring tools are being replaced by observability solutions, which provide deeper insights into system behavior. Observability goes beyond basic metrics by analyzing telemetry data—metrics, events, logs, and traces (MELT)—to identify root causes, anticipate failures, and enhance system resilience.

Companies are making the transition due to increasing IT complexity and advances in AI-powered automation. Modern observability platforms improve system performance, reduce downtime, and enhance operational efficiency. AI-driven observability, also known as AIOps, helps teams filter noise, detect patterns, and resolve issues proactively.

The shift to observability requires careful planning, including setting clear goals, auditing existing monitoring tools, and aligning security policies. Organizations should also ensure cross-functional team collaboration and define key performance indicators such as mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to repair (MTTR).

Choosing the right observability solution depends on factors like end-to-end visibility, deployment flexibility, advanced analytics, and scalability. Companies must also decide between open-source and commercial platforms, balancing cost, customization, and ease of implementation.

As businesses integrate observability into their IT strategies, they gain real-time insights that drive efficiency, system reliability, and overall business performance.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna predicts that AI adoption will surge as costs decrease, citing the emergence of lower-cost models like DeepSeek’s R1 as a catalyst for increased experimentation in 2025. While DeepSeek’s release briefly shook investor confidence in U.S. AI firms, Krishna views it as validation of smaller, specialized AI models.

AI adoption is accelerating across industries, with OpenAI reaching 400 million weekly active users and McKinsey reporting that 92% of companies plan to increase AI investments in the next three years. However, only 1% of enterprise data has been integrated into AI models, indicating vast untapped potential.

AI infrastructure investments are also growing, with Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta collectively planning over $350 billion in new data centers. Companies are developing custom AI chips to reduce dependency on NVIDIA and shifting to energy-efficient, flexible infrastructure to optimize AI workloads.

AI applications are expanding beyond tech companies, revolutionizing healthcare diagnostics, financial fraud detection, supply chain optimization, and cybersecurity. Within businesses, AI is reshaping HR, automating operations, and strengthening security.

Challenges remain, particularly in data privacy, AI ethics, and workforce integration. While 2024 was a year of AI experimentation, 2025 is expected to bring broader enterprise adoption. Businesses are now focusing on deploying AI responsibly, ensuring safe and effective implementation as costs decrease and accessibility improves.

Fitch Rates IBM's Senior Notes 'A-'

IBM is equipping the next generation of student developers across universities with AI skills

IBM has been working with universities for almost a century. Today, we’re excited to share the new IBM SkillsBuild university strategy to strengthen AI education in universities, helping them cultivate talent among future developers, and drive economic growth worldwide.

IBM contract for overseas cyber assistance canned amid USAID shutdown - Nextgov/FCW

The foreign aid agency — a prime target of President Donald Trump’s agenda to eliminate perceived government waste — declared cybersecurity an economic ...

IBM contract for overseas cyber assistance canned amid USAID shutdown - Nextgov/FCW

The foreign aid agency — a prime target of President Donald Trump’s agenda to eliminate perceived government waste — declared cybersecurity an economic ...

IBM TechXchange Dev Day: Virtual Agents provided insights into AI agents, watsonx assistants, open-source tools, and IBM foundation models. The event featured over 20 sessions across three tracks: AI agents and assistants, models and developer tools, and trusted AI applications.

Key topics covered included Granite models, LLM fine-tuning, AI governance, agentic AI, prompt engineering, and more. Highlights included a keynote by IBM’s VP of Product Management, a session on AI in sports and entertainment, and a hands-on workshop on using Granite AI models.

Developers also learned how to build AI agents using the Bee Agent Stack, accelerating production-ready applications. IBM encourages further exploration through its TechXchange community and AI development hubs, providing resources on generative AI, watsonx.ai, and AI-powered automation.

The full session playlist is available on the IBM Developer YouTube channel, offering over 20 hours of content for those interested in AI and virtual agents.

IBM is leveraging generative AI through its watsonx platform to streamline marketing and internal operations while driving innovation. Two primary initiatives are central to these efforts: marketing asset generation with the IBM Creative Assistant and unified search powered by large language models (LLMs).

The **IBM Creative Assistant** uses generative AI and preapproved templates to create on-brand marketing assets efficiently, significantly reducing time and labor. It has already generated over 4,000 assets but aims to expand capabilities to include image and video generation while maintaining brand and legal compliance. IBM plans to implement intermediary solutions, such as AI-driven compliance checks for images, before full asset generation capabilities are developed.

The **unified search initiative** aims to enhance findability across IBM's vast data sources, integrating free-text, context-aware querying through AI. This system includes robust user-role-based access controls to ensure security and confidentiality. IBM plans to expand this functionality to multimodal searches, incorporating tagged images and videos.

These AI advancements enable IBM teams to focus on strategic, high-value tasks while enhancing efficiency and compliance. By using these tools internally, IBM demonstrates their impact and positions itself to provide similar innovations to its clients. Additionally, IBM is addressing the global AI skills gap through partnerships, like the one with NYU Stern, and free training programs.

Power of small language models | IBM

How small language models can benefit enterprise AI adoption.

IBM announced its intent to acquire Applications Software Technology LLC, a global Oracle consultancy, to strengthen its capabilities in Oracle Cloud Applications and public sector solutions. The acquisition will enhance IBM’s expertise in supporting cloud transformations for clients in sectors like local government and education, addressing challenges such as transitioning legacy systems and ensuring security compliance. Applications Software Technology has been an Oracle partner since 1996 and brings expertise in Oracle ERP, HCM, and OCI, alongside partnerships with Salesforce and MuleSoft.

This acquisition aligns with IBM’s open ecosystem approach and expands its Oracle-focused services for public and commercial clients in industries like manufacturing, energy, and consumer goods. The company, headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, has operations in the US, UK, Canada, and India. The acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, with financial terms undisclosed. Applications Software Technology will join IBM Consulting upon closure.

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IBM to Announce Fourth-Quarter 2024 Financial Results

IBM and L'Oréal to Build First AI Model to Advance the Creation of Sustainable Cosmetics

With 62% ownership, International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) boasts of strong institutional backing

IBM named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™

IBM delivers User Services for the Emergency Services Network

IBM (IBM) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

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