IBM
IBM and OpenAI team up for massive enterprise AI push: Here’s what changes
Tech major IBM has announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI to help enterprises deploy artificial intelligence at scale across core business operations and complex workflows, while strengthening cybersecurity and resilience through initiatives such as OpenAI Daybreak.
The partnership will include joint go-to-market initiatives and the development of industry-specific solutions for financial services, government, telecommunications and retail, as well as key enterprise functions including finance, procurement, customer operations and human resources.
As part of the collaboration, IBM will integrate OpenAI’s frontier models, including GPT-5.6, along with products such as Codex and ChatGPT Work, into IBM Consulting Advantage, the company’s AI platform for delivering consulting services.
By combining AI agents, industry-specific assets and cybersecurity capabilities, the companies aim to help organisations securely deploy AI at scale, improve business outcomes and develop new commercial models.
IBM will also deploy specialised teams of engineers and consultants trained through the OpenAI Partner Network to work directly with clients. These teams will help accelerate AI implementation across complex business workflows and highly regulated environments.
The company will also establish a dedicated OpenAI Practice, with thousands of IBM consultants and engineers pursuing expert-level certifications through the OpenAI Partner Network.
Together, IBM and OpenAI aim to address one of the biggest challenges in scaling enterprise AI: transforming decades-old fragmented processes, legacy systems and operational complexity into AI-driven workflows that can be deployed safely and securely.
Three key areas of collaboration
Transforming legacy operations into AI-ready workflows
IBM will embed OpenAI’s frontier models and products into IBM Consulting Advantage to help organisations integrate AI into their everyday business processes.
The platform will support functions such as finance, procurement, customer operations and HR, while analysing existing procedures and workflows to identify inefficiencies and opportunities to automate and streamline tasks using AI.
Application modernisation and product development
The companies will help clients modernise legacy applications and accelerate software development by combining OpenAI Codex and ChatGPT Work with IBM’s industry, technology and domain expertise.
The collaboration is designed to simplify engineering processes and accelerate the development and delivery of new digital products and services.
Cybersecurity and AI risk management
IBM and OpenAI will expand their cybersecurity collaboration following IBM’s participation in the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program.
The companies will combine OpenAI’s frontier AI capabilities with IBM Autonomous Security, a multi-agent-powered service designed to provide coordinated decision-making, response and intelligence at machine speed.
As AI-powered cyberattacks become increasingly sophisticated, the partnership will help organisations manage both cybersecurity and AI-related risks, including application-layer vulnerabilities, governance gaps and operational risks that could limit AI adoption.
“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,” said Andy Baldwin, Global Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting.
“The challenge is not access to AI technologies — it’s integrating AI securely and at scale into complex enterprise environments and workflows. By embedding OpenAI’s technology with IBM Consulting’s AI assets, industry solutions, and cybersecurity capabilities, we can help clients accelerate secure AI deployments at scale,” he added.
Denise Dresser, Chief Revenue Officer at OpenAI, said organisations that are pulling ahead with AI are those making it a trusted part of their business operations.
“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,” she said.
As part of the collaboration, IBM will join OpenAI’s Elite partner tier, reflecting the companies’ shared focus on delivering secure, enterprise-ready AI at scale.siness workflows and highly regulated environments.
IBM will also launch a dedicated OpenAI Practice, with thousands of consultants and engineers obtaining expert-level certifications under the OpenAI Partner Network.
Together, IBM and OpenAI aim to help organizations tackle one of the biggest barriers to scaling AI – turning decades of fragmented processes, legacy systems, and operational complexity into AI-driven operations that can be deployed even more safely and securely.
The partnership will focus on three key areas:
Transforming legacy operations into AI-ready workflows
IBM will embed OpenAI frontier models like GPT-5.6 and products like Codex and ChatGPT Work into IBM Consulting Advantage, to help organizations integrate AI into daily processes with business context and redesign workflows across finance, procurement, customer operations, and HR. The capabilities within IBM Consulting Advantage can analyze operating procedures and workflows to identify inefficiencies and help teams automate and streamline work using AI.
Application modernization and product development
The companies plan to help clients modernize legacy applications and accelerate software development by bringing together OpenAI Codex and ChatGPT Work with IBM’s industry, technology and domain expertise, including integration with IBM Consulting Advantage. The collaboration is designed to help organizations simplify engineering processes and speed the delivery of new digital products and services.
Cybersecurity and AI risk management
IBM and OpenAI will expand their collaboration on cybersecurity following IBM’s participation in the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program by combining OpenAI frontier AI capabilities with IBM Autonomous Security — a multi-agent-powered service designed to deliver coordinated decision-making, response, and intelligence at machine speed. As AI-powered attacks grow more sophisticated, the partnership will help clients manage both cyber and AI model risk, including application-layer vulnerabilities, governance gaps, and operational risks that limits AI adoption.
“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,” said Andy Baldwin, Global Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting. “The challenge is not access to AI technologies — it’s integrating AI securely and at scale into complex enterprise environments and workflows. By embedding OpenAI’s technology with IBM Consulting’s AI assets, industry solutions, and cybersecurity capabilities, we can help clients accelerate secure, AI deployments at scale.”
“The organizations pulling ahead with AI are the ones turning it into a trusted part of how their business operates,” said Denise Dresser, Chief Revenue Officer at OpenAI. “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.”
As part of the collaboration, IBM will join OpenAI’s Elite partner tier, reflecting the companies’ shared focus on delivering secure, enterprise-ready AI at scale.
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