Latest news with #IBMConsultingAdvantage
Mint
24-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
How IBM Is Redefining Enterprise Transformation with Responsible AI
Introduction: As artificial intelligence moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption, the real question is no longer if companies should use AI—but how. From intelligent automation to customer experience and business model redesign, AI is reshaping how organizations operate, innovate, and grow. But with this power comes responsibility—around ethics, transparency, and human-centric design. In this exclusive conversation, Rishi Aurora, Managing Partner, IBM Consulting India & South Asia, shares how IBM is helping clients harness AI not just for efficiency, but for sustainable, Trustworthy transformation. Rishi Aurora: We are witnessing a fundamental shift. A few years ago, discussions around automation or AI were rare. Today, almost every client conversation includes expectations around AI—how it will drive productivity and efficiency. We believe we are entering a new era, led by AI, and IBM Consulting is positioned at the forefront of this transformation. What used to be technology transforming businesses has now evolved into AI transforming technology itself. With our platform, IBM Consulting Advantage, consultants are empowered with pre-built AI accelerators, enabling up to 50% gains in productivity in pilot implementations. In India especially, AI is driving transformation across financial services, retail, and healthcare with remarkable speed. Rishi Aurora: Most CXOs have moved past experimentation and are focused on real, scalable programs. Our research shows that 76% of Indian enterprises report a return on investment from AI, and 93% believe it will play a role in multiple use cases across their organization. For example, in BFSI, we've helped reduce KYC processing time by 40% using intelligent automation. In retail, AI-led demand forecasting has streamlined inventory cycles. In customer support, virtual agents are streamlining manual agent onboarding times by nearly 40%. A notable example comes from the cement industry. During a merger and consolidation phase, a client was struggling with product deviations across plants. Using watsonx models, we reduced root cause analysis time from hours to just five minutes, dramatically improving production outcomes and operational clarity. Rishi Aurora: The biggest challenge is trust. While adoption is rising, only 20% of enterprises feel confident moving AI into full production. Key barriers include a lack of skilled talent, fragmented data governance, and unclear accountability frameworks. Our solution is rooted in the principles of Responsible AI, governed by the Five Pillars of Trust: Explainability – Clear visibility into how the AI model arrives at decisions. Fairness – Elimination of bias across gender, caste, geography, or social parameters. Robustness – Ability to scale, remain secure, and operate reliably under stress. Transparency – Full disclosure and auditability of the AI systems in use. Privacy – Data protection aligned with regulations and ethical boundaries. Using watsonx we provide comprehensive monitoring across the model lifecycle—capturing metadata, detecting drift, and integrating seamlessly with other platforms like Amazon SageMaker. Rishi Aurora: AI is freeing up consultants from repetitive, manual work, allowing them to focus on high-impact, strategic activities. This marks the evolution of what we call the "Science of Consulting." By combining the digital workforce with human expertise and integrating processes with ecosystem partnerships, we are delivering outcomes that go beyond efficiency, improving customer experience, reducing turnaround time, and ultimately driving ROI. This shift is about enhancing the role of consultants in enabling transformation at scale. Rishi Aurora: AI is no longer a value-add—it's a non-negotiable foundation of every proposal, every project, and every outcome. Organizations that invest now in AI governance, workforce readiness, and scalable infrastructure will lead the next phase of enterprise growth. We are entering a future where consulting is redefined by hybrid intelligence—a collaborative engine powered equally by human insight and machine intelligence. That's the future we're building at IBM Consulting. As industries accelerate toward digitization, AI is fast becoming the defining lens through which consulting services are delivered and measured. For IBM Consulting, the journey is not just about faster solutions—it's about building trust, transparency, and long-term value in every engagement. With a strategic focus on Responsible AI and a growing library of real-world success stories, IBM is setting the standard for a new era of consulting, where insight is data-driven, delivery is intelligent, and transformation is continuous.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IBM vs. Accenture: Which Stock Stands Out in the Consulting Game?
International Business Machines Corporation IBM and Accenture ACN are major players in the digital transformation and consulting space worldwide. IBM's Consulting business focuses on designing, creating and operating various technology and business processes based on open or hybrid cloud architecture powered by generative AI. The enterprise clients collaborate with IBM to build and implement tailored solutions securely and transform their processes with AI and is also a prominent player in the field. Its strategy and consulting services ensure operational improvements, enhance competitiveness, optimize cost and streamline every part of the enterprise's deep industry acumen and a focus on investing in advanced technologies, both IBM and Accenture are strategically positioned to match the dynamic nature of enterprises' digital transformation initiatives. Let us dive a little deeper into the companies' competitive dynamics to understand which of the two is relatively better placed in the industry. IBM Consulting business is benefiting from growth in technology consulting, supply chain and business application transformations. The company's robust AI technologies from the software segment, coupled with its broad partner ecosystem, which includes AWS, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP SE SAP, allow it to seamlessly develop intelligent operation services for its customers. The company's IBM Consulting Advantage is an AI delivery platform that equips IBM consultants with industry and business domain-specific AI assistants integrated with IBM Granite and various other leading AI models. The solution is a game changer compared to legacy traditional consulting approaches, allowing IBM to deliver solutions at scale and accelerate time to its partner ecosystem, IBM is expanding its market reach in various sectors. It has collaborated with SAP to tap generative AI technology within the retail industry. The collaboration is likely to facilitate higher productivity and help accelerate business transformation in consumer-packaged goods and retail firms. The technology focuses on feeding external data such as weather, traffic and local events into the SAP Direct Distribution solution and applies AI to identify optimal store delivery routes to reduce costs. IBM's effort to diversify its portfolio to create new revenue-generating opportunities augurs well for long-term current macroeconomic uncertainty and growing geopolitical volatility continue to impact client spending decisions. This is hindering IBM Consulting's net sales growth. In the first quarter of 2025, the company's consulting signings decreased 10.5% year over year. Intensifying competition from other major players, such as Accenture, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services, particularly remains a company is steadily improving its product offerings through innovation and strategic acquisitions to address these issues. IBM recently acquired Hakkoda Inc., a prominent data consultancy provider. Integration of Hakkoda's capabilities in migrating, modernizing and monetizing data estates along with comprehensive generative AI capabilities with IBM Consulting will allow it to match the growing demand for AI-transformation initiatives across industries. IBM is also acquiring Oracle consulting companies to enhance its consulting expertise in Oracle Cloud applications. Growing spending on application modernization and maintenance, cloud enablement and cybersecurity-as-a-service boasts a solid growth opportunity for Accenture. Organizations across industries are prioritizing improving productivity and saving operational costs by transforming their operations through data and analytics, automation and artificial intelligence. These emerging market trends are driving demand for Accenture's managed services company places a strong emphasis on developing a robust digital core by utilizing cloud, data and AI, and technology evolution. It continuously innovates its services and capabilities through early adoption of advanced technologies, including generative AI, blockchain, robotics, 5G and edge computing. Moreover, strategic collaboration with major technology giants like Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Databricks, Google, HPE, SAP, and Oracle drives innovation and boosts competitive edge. The company recently joined forces with Dell and NVIDIA to provide enterprise customers with an open, interoperable, scalable solution that accelerates AI transformation initiatives. The company has been witnessing steady customer growth in the finance domain. The largest financial group in Finland, the OP Financial Group, has recently opted to leverage Accenture's solution to modernize its insurance business processes. Apart from in-house innovation, the company is acquiring a large number of companies to venture into high-growth although this strategy improves revenue generation opportunities and enhances market reach, it also raises integration risks. This could impact organic growth going forward. In the IT services and consulting market, the company faces competition from IBM, Infosys and Capgemini. This put pressure on pricing. Macroeconomic headwinds remain a concern. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IBM's 2025 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 5.5% and 6%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been trending northward over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Accenture's 2025 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 5.41% and 6.11%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2025 has remained unchanged for the past 60 days, and the estimate for 2026 has been trending southward over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Over the past year, IBM has gained 50.5%, while Accenture has gained 3.1% over the same period. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Going by the price/earnings ratio, IBM's shares currently trade at 23.02 forward earnings, slightly lower than 23.95 for Accenture. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Both IBM and Accenture carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks has shown steady revenue growth for years, while IBM has been facing a bumpy road. However, IBM's broad technology portfolio, integration of cutting-edge hybrid cloud and AI technologies, gives it a competitive edge. Better price performance and upward estimate revision highlight investors' growing confidence. Hence, IBM seems to be a better investment option at the moment. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Accenture PLC (ACN) : Free Stock Analysis Report International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) : Free Stock Analysis Report SAP SE (SAP) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Mint
30-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Unpacking the AI Revolution in Consulting with IBM and Mint
A compelling webinar hosted by Mint in collaboration with IBM recently delved into the transformative power of artificial intelligence within the consulting industry. Titled "The Reinvention of Consulting — How IBM is Supercharging Its Employees with AI," the session offered invaluable insights into how IBM Consulting is leveraging AI to empower its consultants and deliver enhanced value to clients. Moderated expertly, the webinar commenced by setting the stage for the AI-driven revolution sweeping across the global consulting landscape, with a particular focus on India's dynamic market. Drawing upon the IBM CEO Study 2023, the moderator highlighted that a significant 75% of global CEOs recognize generative AI as the key to future competitive advantage. This sentiment resonates strongly in India, where over 60% of enterprises are already integrating AI into their core operations, as noted in the NASSCOM Report 2023. At the forefront of this transformation is IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM's innovative AI services platform powered by IBM watsonx. This cutting-edge platform is equipping consultants with the tools they need to deliver smarter, faster, and more impactful outcomes for their clients. The session featured Mr. Rishi Aurora, Managing Partner, IBM Consulting, India & South Asia, who brought his extensive 25 years of experience in driving transformational change to the discussion. Mr. Aurora shared IBM's perspective on the profound impact of AI on the consulting industry, emphasizing that AI is no longer just an efficiency driver but a fundamental force creating tangible business results, as highlighted by the IBM Institute for Business Value. He elaborated on how IBM Consulting Advantage provides consultants with access to pre-built AI assets, leading to remarkable productivity gains of up to 50% in pilot phases, as reported by IBM Newsroom. Focusing on the Indian context, Mr. Aurora underscored the accelerated pace of AI adoption across crucial sectors like BFSI, healthcare, and retail. The conversation then shifted to real-world applications of AI in consulting. Mr. Aurora shared compelling examples of how IBM Consulting is collaborating with clients to drive tangible improvements. In the BFSI sector, AI-powered automation has led to over a 40% reduction in KYC processing times, as evidenced by IBM Client Success Stories. In retail, AI is being implemented for demand forecasting, optimizing inventory cycles. Furthermore, AI-powered virtual agents have significantly enhanced customer service, reducing manual call operations by an impressive 80-100% and accelerating agent onboarding by 30-40%, according to a Diginomica Report. Mr. Aurora emphasized how IBM's Consulting Advantage platform significantly accelerates the time to value for these solutions. Addressing the potential challenges and risks associated with AI adoption, Mr. Aurora highlighted the existing trust gap, with only 20% of businesses feeling fully confident in deploying AI models into full production, as reported by BizTech Magazine. Ethical concerns also loom large, with approximately 80% of executives viewing AI ethics as a hurdle in moving from pre-production to full deployment. To mitigate these concerns, Mr. Aurora detailed IBM's robust Responsible AI Framework, anchored by This framework offers end-to-end lifecycle monitoring and governance, automating risk management by capturing model metadata, monitoring for bias and drift, and ensuring compliance at scale. Notably, IBM's AI governance solutions are designed for seamless integration with third-party platforms like Amazon SageMaker, as demonstrated by the AWS x IBM Governance Collaboration. In his concluding remarks, the moderator aptly summarized the key takeaways, emphasizing how AI is not merely enhancing but fundamentally reinventing the consulting landscape. From enabling smarter engagement models and accelerating solution delivery to championing the responsible and ethical application of AI, IBM Consulting is establishing a global benchmark for future-ready advisory services. The webinar served as a powerful demonstration of AI's potential to revolutionize the consulting industry, offering valuable insights for businesses navigating their own AI adoption journeys. The collaboration between Mint and IBM provided a platform for a crucial conversation, underscoring the importance of strategic AI implementation for enhanced business performance and broader societal impact. Note to the reader: This article is part of Mint's paid consumer connect initiative and is independently created by the brand. Mint assumes no editorial responsibility for the content, including its accuracy, completeness, or any errors or omissions. Readers are advised to verify all information independently. First Published: 30 Apr 2025, 06:34 PM IST
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IBM Acquires Hakkoda Inc., Expanding Data Expertise to Fuel Clients' AI Transformations
ARMONK, N.Y., April 7, 2025 /CNW/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it has acquired Hakkoda Inc., a leading global data and AI consultancy. Hakkoda will expand IBM Consulting's data transformation services portfolio, adding specialized data platform expertise to help clients get their data ready to fuel AI-powered business operations. Hakkoda has leading capabilities in migrating, modernizing, and monetizing data estates and is an award-winning Snowflake partner. This acquisition amplifies IBM's ability to meet the rapidly growing demand for data services and help clients build integrated enterprise data estates that are optimized for speed, cost and efficiency across multiple business use cases. Hakkoda also brings a strong portfolio of generative AI powered assets that can speed up data modernization projects. Their industry solutions complement and build on their consultants' deep expertise in industries like financial services, public sector, and healthcare and life sciences. Hakkoda will further expand IBM's ability to bring both consulting expertise and AI to clients using its AI-powered delivery platform, IBM Consulting Advantage. "IBM is at the leading edge of the consulting industry with how we're supercharging our consultants with AI," said Mohamad Ali, Senior Vice President and Head of IBM Consulting. "With Hakkoda's data expertise, deep technology partnerships and asset-centric delivery model, IBM will be even better positioned to deliver value faster to clients as they transform with AI." "From the beginning, Hakkoda has committed to being 'in the arena', not observing the greatest transformation in history but shaping it," said Erik Duffield, CEO and Co-founder of Hakkoda. "It is because of this that we are excited to join IBM at this critical moment when organizations are looking for a trusted partner to help them modernize their data for the AI era. IBM's heritage of innovation, their commitment to discovery and deep partnerships with clients on their most technical challenges is a perfect pairing to take Hakkoda's industry focused modern data consulting to the global marketplace." Estimated global spending for enterprise intelligence services initiatives stands at $169 billion and, with a five-year CAGR of about 13 percent, is expected to grow to more than $243 billion by 2028, according to IDC1. To extract value from their data, business leaders need a thoughtful data migration strategy and a modern, multi-use case data platform on the cloud. As an Elite Snowflake partner, Hakkoda brings hundreds of SnowPro core and advanced certifications. They were named the 2024 Snowflake Healthcare & Life Sciences Services Partner of the Year and 2023 Snowflake Americas System Integrator Innovation Partner of the Year. Hakkoda is also an advanced-tier partner of AWS. Hakkoda is headquartered in New York and brings hundreds of experts across the United States, Latin America, India, Europe, and the United Kingdom to IBM Consulting. For more information on Hakkoda, visit The acquisition closed on April 2, 2025, and financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. About IBMIBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit for more information. Media ContactMichelle MattelsonIBM External Relationsmorrison@ 1 IDC Worldwide Enterprise Intelligence Services Forecast, 2024–2028, doc # US51423624, July 2024 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE IBM View original content to download multimedia:
Trade Arabia
25-02-2025
- Business
- Trade Arabia
Riyadh Air, IBM to create AI enterprise for enhanced experiences
IBM has announced a new agreement with Riyadh Air, which will integrate watsonx, IBM's portfolio of AI products, and IBM Consulting AI solutions to establish an enterprise-wide AI capability to elevate Riyadh Air guest and employee experiences. As Riyadh Air prepares for its inaugural flights in late 2025, the new Saudi Arabian airline sets another key building block of its journey in redefining air travel as the world's first digital native carrier. The announcement took place at the third edition of The FII PRIORITY Miami 2025 Summit, where senior executives from both IBM and Riyadh Air, including Adam Boukadida, Riyadh Air Chief Financial Officer, and Mohamad Ali, SVP and Head of IBM Consulting, reaffirmed their commitment to driving innovation in the aviation sector. Building a world-class airline requires more than just aircraft and infrastructure; it demands an intelligent digital foundation that anticipates passenger needs, streamlines operations, and empowers employees. Riyadh Air is embracing this challenge by making AI the driving force behind its transformation. 'Riyadh Air is more than just an airline; it is a gateway to new opportunities for travellers from the Kingdom and beyond,' said Adam Boukadida, Riyadh Air Chief Financial Officer. 'As we move closer to our first flight later in 2025, our vision is to deliver a seamless, world-class travel experience by expanding our reach, pioneering innovations, and redefining industry standards. By deepening our collaboration with IBM, we are harnessing the power of AI, from intelligent customer interactions to optimised flight operations, to set a new benchmark for the future of aviation.' This agreement aims to strengthen Riyadh Air's position as a truly digital-native airline, building on IBM's AI-driven products and solutions together with IBM Consulting as its lead systems integrator. IBM's watsonx, IBM's portfolio of AI products will serve as the foundation for Riyadh Air's AI platform, driving mission-critical functions and fostering open innovation with multi-model AI. The new platform will be built with a focus on data security, privacy, regulatory compliance, and responsible AI adoption. Riyadh Air will also leverage Agentic AI to deploy autonomous bots to enable seamless and personalised system interactions. IBM will oversee the installation and deployment of watsonx, as well as develop AI use cases utilising IBM Garage methodology to drive automation and digital transformation. With IBM Consulting Advantage, an AI-powered delivery platform, Riyadh Air will deploy AI solutions to boost efficiency and service, including AI-powered Virtual Assistants for customer and employee self-service. 'By embedding watsonx at the core of its operations, Riyadh Air is taking an AI-first approach to redefine air travel and set new industry standards as the world's first digital-native airline," said Mohamad Ali, Senior Vice President and Head of IBM Consulting. "Together we are supercharging our teams with AI to enhance traveller experiences, optimise operations, and shape the future of aviation in Saudi Arabia and beyond.'
