University of Kwazulu-Natal

From Automation To Reinvention Ibm Reveals How Ai Is Reshaping Entire

Bonisiwe Shabane
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from automation to reinvention ibm reveals how ai is reshaping entire

From Automation to Reinvention: IBM Reveals How AI Is Reshaping Entire Industries IBM’s Industries in the AI Era report is a sweeping exploration of how generative and agentic AI are reshaping ten critical sectors. The central thesis is clear: while many organizations are stuck in the productivity phase of AI adoption—automating repetitive tasks—true transformation only comes when businesses reimagine their operating models. AI is no longer about marginal gains. It’s now the core engine for innovation, revenue generation, and long-term industry reinvention. As AI moves from assistant to agent, enterprises must adopt industry-specific strategies, flexible platforms, and new partnerships to unlock its full potential.

85% of executives say AI will enable business model innovation 95% of executives expect AI projects to be at least partially self-funded by 2026 79% expect generative AI to reshape their core operating model The rise of generative AI has surfaced many new questions about how the technology will impact the workforce. Even as AI becomes more pervasive in business, people are still a core competitive advantage. But business leaders are facing a host of talent-related challenges, as a new global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) reveals, from the skills gap to shifting employee expectations to the...

The global skills gap is real and growing. Executives surveyed estimate that 40% of their workforce will need to reskill as a result of implementing AI and automation over the next three years. That could translate to 1.4 billion of the 3.4 billion people in the global workforce, according to World Bank statistics. Respondents also report that building new skills for existing employees is a top talent issue. AI’s impact will vary across employee groups. Workers at all levels could feel the effects of generative AI, but entry-level employees are expected to see the biggest shift.

Seventy-seven percent of executive respondents say entry-level positions are already seeing the effects of generative AI and that will intensify in the next few years. Only 22% of respondents report the same for executive or senior management roles. AI can open up more possibilities for employees by enhancing their capabilities. In fact, 87% of executives surveyed believe employees are more likely to be augmented than replaced by generative AI. That varies across functions – 97% of executives think employees in procurement are more likely to be augmented than replaced, compared to 93% for employees in risk and compliance, 93% for finance, 77% for... Employees care more about doing meaningful work than flexibility and growth opportunities, but leaders aren’t always in lockstep with their needs.

With AI primed to take on more manual and repetitive tasks, employees surveyed report engaging in impactful work is the top factor they care about beyond compensation and job security—more important than flexible work... On top of that, nearly half of employees surveyed believe the work they do is far more important than who they work for or who they work with regularly. This is the third of three articles on IBM’s AI and automation journey which resulted in $4.5B+ in productivity and other benefits through a business transformation approach. In prior posts we reviewed the areas focused on to drive value, the importance of rethinking workflows before enhancement, as well as how we organized internally to deliver value – including the critical role... While the examples provided are based on IBM’s experience – they really aren’t IBM-specific—they’re relevant to every enterprise, as has been proven through IBM work with other named firms. This article discusses the very real challenge IBM and other firms face in gaining benefits from these projects through firm and ultimately individual employee engagement and adoption.

This article provides specific examples for how we closed the gap between vision and outcomes to drive the noted benefits in the first two articles. I also will discuss the four key technologies essential to driving AI and automation project benefits. Of course, as workflows change you need to bring teams along with you. It’s more important than ever to lead from the front. Every company is going to have to build a completely new set of skills to navigate growth in the next 10-20 years. Everybody in the company must upskill, no matter what their role.

But, adopting an AI-first approach comes with challenges. To understand the barriers we’d likely face in this initiative, IBM leveraged a recent IBM Institute for Business Value or IBV study. If you are not familiar with the IBV I highly recommend you do a web search to learn about this organization, as they have for several years in a row been recognized as the... Also, unlike other consulting groups much of what they publish is accessible at no cost to you through their website. According to the IBM Institute for Business Value’s 2025 CEO Study, the top barriers to innovation are: There is an old saying: “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.” For decades, this phrase was more than a wry joke—it was a reflection of the near-mythic status of Big Blue in the...

The company’s mainframes powered the world’s banks, its computers helped put men on the moon and its “business machines” were so ubiquitous that "IBM" became shorthand for "work." But the true meaning of the... It was a nodding wink in the C-suite: Play it safe, stick with the tried and true and you’ll keep your job—even if you miss the next big thing. IBM’s history is a study in both the power and peril of incumbency. At its peak, IBM was the backbone of global commerce and the most valuable technology company in the world. But as the technology landscape shifted—first to personal computers (another IBM innovation), then to mobile and cloud computing, and now to generative AI—IBM found itself adrift. The irony is that IBM was no stranger to AI.

Its Deep Blue supercomputer famously defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, and Watson stunned the world by winning Jeopardy! in 2011. Yet despite these headline-grabbing technological triumphs, IBM’s core business and culture remained largely unchanged. The company stagnated through the late 2010s and early 2020s, its stock price languished and its reputation as an innovator faded. Mohamad Ali, senior vice president of IBM Consulting, experienced this arc firsthand. Ali spent 14 years at IBM during its boom years, then left in 2009, taking on CEO roles at two technology firms.

“We’ve been at these apexes, and then these troughs,” Ali told Newsweek. “Once we lost a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit, it wasn’t the right place for me and I left.” He returned to IBM in 2023 attracted by CEO Arvind Krishna's vision for IBM's future— and the opportunity to lead a radical transformation. Krishna had recognized that the rise of generative AI was an existential moment for the company and that incremental change would not be enough. This was not just a technology upgrade. It was an all-or-nothing bet on the future.

The company needed to become its own most demanding customer, using AI to transform every aspect of its operations before selling those solutions to others. What more than 2,000 client projects revealed of executives say they have scaled gen AI solutions report creating significant enterprise-level value Client stories from Ecolab, Accenture’s Marketing + Communications function, Sempra, a leading bank and large electronics retailer bring these lessons to life. Christophe Beck, CEO of Ecolab, reveals his inspiring vision for AI-powered reinvention, discussing the opportunities it presents and the leadership needed to successfully navigate Ecolab's transformative journey in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions.

Senior Vice President, Transformation and Operations This post was updated on 26 August 2025. No matter the industry, no matter the geography, every business leader wants growth. The details of how an enterprise gets there will vary. Industry dynamics shift, economic conditions fluctuate, governmental policies change. Whichever path is taken, productivity enabled by AI and automation will likely be at the heart of transformational growth.

It is one of the most exciting opportunities of our lifetime. Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman once said, "Productivity isn't everything, but in the long run, it's almost everything.” That’s because productivity is about more than just cost savings or efficiency—it’s about creating self-funding mechanisms... Find out how IBM successfully reinvented its business model twice, moving from hardware to services to AI and cloud computing. IBM is a multinational company that provides hardware, software, and related services in any computer-related field. Established in 1911, the International Business Machines company has garnered a reputation for making bigger computers known as “mainframes” that take up entire rooms. As IBM keeps reinventing itself and creating newer products, today it has over 270,300 employees present in more than 170 countries.

The company’s revenue in 2024 sits at $62.7 billion. Business reinvention expert Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva says that IBM is a great example of how companies reinvent themselves before they have to. IBM didn't wait for failure to force change. Instead, the company rebuilt itself three separate times over 30 years, moving from computer maker to service provider to cloud and artificial intelligence specialist. What happens when your main product becomes outdated?

IBM found out in the early 1990s. The company had dominated the computer industry for decades by selling massive mainframe computers to big corporations. These room-sized machines processed data for banks, airlines, and government agencies. But personal computers were getting more powerful. Companies started buying smaller, cheaper computers instead of IBM's expensive mainframes. IBM's revenue dropped.

Stock prices fell. The company that once seemed unstoppable was losing customers fast.

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