How Ai Is Reshaping Business Models Ibm

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 25, 2025, 5:15 AM

Director, Data Platform Australia and New Zealand Each year, Gartner publishes its Strategic Predictions—forecasts designed not as certainties, but as provocations to help leaders prepare for the forces likely to shape business and society. These predictions provide a useful lens on how AI, governance, sovereignty and productivity trends can intersect with local economic conditions. From skills shortages to sovereign AI debates, the implications are significant. We explore Gartner’s nine predictions for 2026 and beyond, their impact and how businesses can prepare. By 2027, Gartner predicts that 75% of hiring processes will include certification or testing for AI proficiency.

In Australia as in other places, AI literacy will become a baseline requirement for many roles. Universities, TAFEs and employers all need to play a role in bridging the skills gap. Australian banks are already embedding AI literacy into staff development, ensuring employees can adapt to AI-enhanced processes. Organizations are racing to implement artificial intelligence, but many struggle to define a successful enterprise AI strategy. Despite all the tools at their disposal, results remain elusive. A recent BCG study found that just 26% of companies have developed the capabilities to scale AI and generate real business value.

For all the talk of automation, smarter workflows and digital reinvention, real progress is proving harder to define. Companies don’t just need new tools. They need sharper strategies, trusted data and partners who understand the operational grind — partners willing to deliver tangible outcomes, not just effort. IBM’s Tony Menezes talks with theCUBE about how AI is transforming business operations, enabling enterprises to achieve scalable growth and efficiency. “One chief financial officer told me, ‘You know more about my business than any other consultant I would pay millions of dollars. Just tell me what I know what you already know,’” Tony Menezes, global managing partner of business process operations, IBM Consulting, at IBM Corp., told theCUBE during a recent interview.

“That’s where I think we have the opportunity to be really different in delivering our values for our customers.” That kind of candor cut through the noise during the “AI-Powered Business Operations: Strategies for End-to-End Transformation”2025 event, where theCUBE Research’s Dave Vellante met with IBM leaders and enterprise decision-makers to talk about what... From hybrid strategies to outcome-based models, the conversations revealed where the future is headed — and what’s standing in the way. (* Disclosure below.) 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 In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries at lightning speed, many companies face a difficult balancing act: embracing automation while safeguarding their workforce. IBM, a global leader in technology and consulting, has emerged as a compelling example of how AI can be scaled responsibly—without triggering mass layoffs. Rather than deploying AI to replace human workers, IBM adopted a strategy of augmentation—using AI to support and enhance employee performance. Tools like IBM Watson have been integrated into operations ranging from IT support and customer service to HR and data analysis. These tools handle repetitive or data-heavy tasks, freeing employees to focus on higher-value, strategic work.

For instance, Watson Assistant is used to resolve common customer queries in IT and HR, allowing human agents to tackle more complex issues. This not only improved response times but also enhanced job satisfaction by removing monotonous tasks. Recognizing that AI would change job roles, IBM invested heavily in reskilling its workforce. The company developed internal platforms such as Your Learning, a personalized, AI-driven education hub offering courses in AI, data science, cloud computing, and more. In addition, IBM introduced the concept of “new collar jobs”—roles that prioritize skills over formal degrees. By focusing on what employees can do rather than what their credentials say, IBM expanded opportunities for internal talent to transition into tech-forward roles without leaving the company.

A Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 race car sat encased in glass at the center of the IBM Think 2025 conference in Boston this week, flanked by attendees and backlit by a glowing blue IBM... Its deep red chassis and aerodynamic curves attracted a steady stream of photos, but its presence was more than symbolic. According to IBM, the car generates over one million data points every second, capturing pressure, friction, temperature and velocity in real time. That information now fuels a personalized mobile experience for fans, powered by the IBM watsonx platform. The display opened the event, where the company laid out its position that AI is no longer speculative. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, hybrid cloud infrastructure and automation were presented not as future concepts, but as current capabilities that are reshaping operations at global enterprises.

Across keynotes and panels, speakers from industries as varied as defense, retail and finance described how foundational shifts in architecture, talent, data management and interoperability are already underway. Executives and engineers from PepsiCo, Meta, Lockheed Martin, The Heineken Company and BNP Paribas joined IBM leaders to share how artificial intelligence, quantum computing and automation are producing measurable results. “AI is the productivity engine,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM Chairman and CEO. “AI unlocks the value in your data.” Discover expertly curated insights and news on AI, cloud and more in the weekly Think Newsletter. IBM is no longer just a legacy tech giant—its focus on Watsonx, Granite AI models, and enterprise-first innovation is reshaping its role as a key force in artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud computing.

Once synonymous with mainframe and enterprise hardware domination, IBM has stealthily become a top player in the international AI wars. IBM has plotted a different course, as opposed to other brands like Google, OpenAI, and more. This branding is based on enterprise-level innovation, strategic shifts, and measured risk-taking. IBM’s makeover wasn’t overnight. It started building the foundation decades earlier with symbolic mileposts, Deep Blue’s 1997 chess victory over Garry Kasparov, and Watson’s Jeopardy! Won in 2011.

Impressive as they were, those feats were so much about establishing AI’s potential as a technology and less about realizing its commercial potential. The actual inflection point arrived in 2020, when Arvind Krishna became CEO. With a strong heritage in cloud and AI, Krishna launched a company-wide transformation that guided IBM away from its low-growth legacy businesses and into emerging markets with greater margins. Among some of Krishna’s most important moves was the $34-billion acquisition of Red Hat in 2019-until then, the largest acquisition ever undertaken by IBM. As a result, the acquisition helped put IBM's hybrid cloud in the front seat and also helped create the architecture to support AI models securely and at scale across disparate environments. Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just

We use cookies to provide and improve our services. By using our site, you consent to cookies. Learn more about our privacy policy IBM Consulting is blending human expertise, AI and hybrid delivery to drive real transformation, build trust and deliver measurable impact for enterprises across India. As AI matures from experimentation to enterprise-scale deployment, the fundamental question has shifted from investment to impact. Yet many organisations still struggle to translate bold intentions into measurable outcomes.

In an exclusive conversation with Dataquest, Rishi Aurora, Managing Partner for IBM Consulting India and South Asia, offers a candid view of how IBM Consulting is helping enterprises bridge this gap by embedding AI,... He reflects on the changing expectations of CEOs, the rise of hybrid consulting, and the new operating playbook taking shape across India's digital economy. Excerpts. IBM has been part of India's technology story for decades. As AI reshapes enterprise priorities, how would you describe IBM Consulting's evolution and the value clients now expect from you? Get the latest updates delivered to your inbox every day, and stay up-to-date for free 🧠📈

Get the latest updates delivered to your inbox every day, and stay up-to-date for free 🧠📈 IBM CEO makes play for AI market and more US investment May 6 (Reuters) - IBM (IBM.N), opens new tab on Tuesday made a play for more sales in the crowded artificial intelligence field, touting tools that could help customers manage a fleet of AI... In an interview, Chief Executive Arvind Krishna said he saw an opening to provide software that integrates customers' AI agents from other providers -- among them Salesforce (CRM.N), opens new tab, Workday (WDAY.O), opens... "We help our clients integrate. We want to meet them where they are," he said, ahead of IBM's annual Think conference sessions on Tuesday.

IBM's tools to help customers create their own agents, a process it said would take under five minutes, draw on the IBM Granite family of AI models, as well as alternatives from Meta Platforms... Krishna said that customer interest in using different AI models for different tasks would build demand for IBM, which last month reported that it has built a $6 billion "book of business" on ChatGPT-like... A small cloud provider relative to Amazon Web Services (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, IBM has tailored its tech to clients wanting multiple clouds or their own infrastructure to... "All of these capabilities will only accelerate that rate of growth on those numbers," he said of IBM's new tools. IBM also announced in April that over the next five years, it would invest $150 billion in the United States, where it has manufactured mainframe computers for more than 60 years. It will make quantum computers in the United States as well, Krishna said.

"Between mainframe, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, we think there's going to be a very healthy market that behooves us to invest and lean in," he said. Krishna added that the technology focus and reduction in regulations from President Donald Trump's administration would set the economy up for growth. Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence IBM Replaced Hundreds of HR Workers With AI, According to Its CEO

How Ai Is Reshaping Business Models Ibm

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