IBM and OpenAI also plan to develop solutions for financial services, government, telecommunications and retail. The broader goal is to help companies move AI into established business processes, particularly where older applications, fragmented workflows and regulatory requirements can complicate deployments.
IBM will establish a dedicated OpenAI Practice and train thousands of consultants and engineers through the OpenAI Partner Network, with participants working toward expert-level certifications. The initiative will prepare IBM teams to help enterprises implement OpenAI technologies across complex business workflows and regulated environments.
The company is also forming specialized teams of engineers and consultants to work directly with customers on AI implementations. These forward-deployed units will be trained through OpenAI’s Partner Network and are intended to support deployments involving complex workflows and regulated environments.
The partnership will concentrate on three areas: redesigning existing operations for AI, modernizing applications and software development, and strengthening cybersecurity and AI risk management. For business operations, IBM plans to use OpenAI technology within Consulting Advantage to analyze processes and operating procedures, identify inefficient work and support automation. The companies are also pairing Codex and ChatGPT Work with IBM’s technology and industry expertise as they work with clients on legacy application modernization and development of digital products and services.
Cybersecurity builds on an existing relationship between the two companies. IBM joined OpenAI’s Daybreak Cyber Partner Program in June, and the expanded collaboration will combine OpenAI models with IBM Autonomous Security, IBM’s multi-agent security service. The companies say the work will address cybersecurity threats as well as risks associated with AI deployments, including application vulnerabilities, governance shortcomings and operational issues.
“While enterprises are rapidly investing in AI, they are looking for practical ways to apply it across their core operations to deliver measurable business outcomes and create new commercial models,” Andy Baldwin, Global Senior Vice President of IBM Consulting, said. “The challenge is not access to AI technologies — it’s integrating AI securely and at scale into complex enterprise environments and workflows.”
For OpenAI, IBM adds another major consulting channel for reaching large corporate customers. The company has also established partnerships with global IT services firms including Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services. The IBM agreement follows a similar alliance between IBM and Anthropic announced less than a year ago, giving IBM another frontier AI provider to incorporate into its consulting work.
The agreement also expands the companies’ relationship beyond their earlier cybersecurity collaboration. IBM will join OpenAI’s Elite partner tier as part of the new partnership. “The organizations pulling ahead with AI are the ones turning it into a trusted part of how their business operates,” OpenAI Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser said. “IBM Consulting and OpenAI are helping organizations make that shift, combining deep transformation expertise to deploy AI that is secure, operational, and aligned with real business priorities.”
Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
This analysis is based on reporting from IBM.
Image courtesy of BigGo Finance.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
