At its annual THINK event, IBM introduced a comprehensive suite of hybrid AI technologies intended to expedite the integration of Generative AI (Gen AI) within enterprises. The company’s ambitious vision anticipates the emergence of over one billion new applications by 2028, and to facilitate this, IBM is providing essential integration and orchestration tools for building, deploying, and scaling AI agents in multifaceted IT environments.
A recent study by IBM’s CEO revealed a striking expectation among business leaders: investments in AI are projected to more than double within the next two years. Despite this optimism, only 25% of current AI initiatives have realised their anticipated return on investment. This shortfall is primarily attributed to fragmented and disconnected technologies, a challenge that IBM seeks to address through its hybrid cloud infrastructure, the watsonx AI platform, and consulting services.
Among the significant advancements announced is the enhanced watsonx Orchestrate, which enables businesses to create AI agents in less than five minutes, employing tools that require no coding expertise. These AI agents are designed to function seamlessly across a vast array of over 80 enterprise applications, including leading platforms from Microsoft, Adobe, Salesforce, Oracle, AWS, and ServiceNow. Additionally, the introduction of an Agent Catalog within watsonx Orchestrate includes over 150 pre-built agents co-developed with partners such as MasterCard and Box, reflecting a robust ecosystem aimed at accelerating AI integration in business systems.
To further dynamise AI deployment, IBM unveiled webMethods Hybrid Integration, a next-generation automation solution that facilitates cohesive management of applications, APIs, files, and partner integrations across both cloud and on-premises systems. According to an independent Forrester TEI study, this approach is projected to yield a remarkable 176% return on investment over three years, alongside significant efficiency gains in project execution and reduced downtime.
Another area IBM is keen to address is the management of unstructured data, often viewed as a bottleneck in AI workflows. The latest update to watsonx.data merges an open data lakehouse with advanced governance and data fabric capabilities, enabling AI applications to effectively leverage diverse data types, from contracts to spreadsheets. Early evaluations indicate that this method can enhance AI accuracy by as much as 40% compared to traditional retrieval-augmented generation techniques.
Recognising the substantial computational demands associated with Gen AI, IBM has also introduced the IBM LinuxONE 5, its most powerful and secure Linux platform. This new infrastructure is capable of managing up to 450 billion AI inference operations daily and is bolstered by advanced AI accelerators, including the IBM Telum II chip. Additionally, IBM asserts that users can expect total cost savings of up to 44% over five years relative to comparable x86 systems.
In a strategic move to enhance its capabilities, IBM revealed expanded partnerships with tech giants including AMD, Intel, CoreWeave, and NVIDIA, aiming to deliver superior compute and storage solutions tailored to manage AI-intensive workloads.
With these advancements, IBM positions itself as a frontrunner in the enterprise AI space, signalling the transition from experimental AI initiatives to definitive, production-grade outcomes. As businesses look to navigate the complexities of generative AI adoption, IBM’s innovative tools and strategies promise to simplify and enhance the process, ultimately driving measurable benefits across industries.
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Source: Noah Wire Services
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