IBM’s agentic strategy brings scale and control to enterprise AI

Companies are leaning into generative artificial intelligence with bold ambitions, but scaling those aspirations demands an agentic strategy that goes beyond enthusiasm and experimentation.

As many focus on engagement and content generation, IBM is calling attention to the operational realities that underpin lasting success. Its agentic strategy is gaining traction because it bridges creative momentum with the practical discipline of execution oversight and governance, according to Bruno Aziza (pictured), group vice president for data, business intelligence and artificial intelligence at IBM Corp.

IBM’s Bruno Aziza talks with theCUBE Research’s Dave Vellante about what’s possible when agents work across apps, clouds and workflows to drive real value.

“We’re … learning what really matters is to think … about the idea of being more than just agents,” Aziza said. “I think while everyone’s thinking about the opportunity of engineering new content and getting better engagement, you also have to think about everything that matters in production. How are you going to manage costs? How are you going to manage governance?”

Aziza spoke with theCUBE Research’s  Dave Vellante at IBM Think, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how recent wins with global players such as PepsiCo Inc., L’Oréal S.A. and Heineken N.V. reflect what’s possible when agents work across apps, clouds and workflows to drive real value. (* Disclosure below.)

How IBM’s agentic strategy for data and AI supports scale and control

IBM is doubling down on the concept of integration that cuts across silos, clouds and tools. Rather than forcing organizations into a single cloud or tightly coupled application, the company offers a federated framework where data, agents and business logic move fluidly, according to Aziza. This strategy aligns with what chief information officers strive to achieve.

“This move from a vertical priority to a horizontal priority, I think, is really very much aligned with what CIOs want to do today and what they’re going to get value from,” Aziza said. “So they never want to get stuck with one stack or locked with one application, because the reality is you’re going to cut across all of those.”

IBM’s investment in agents reflects this modular mindset. The company recently announced 150 prebuilt agents connected to more than 80 applications, offering organizations an agentic strategy they can tailor to start fast, customize as needed and scale with confidence across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, Aziza explained.

“You can use prebuilt agents, and you can use the fact that IBM is probably one of the most open companies in this domain right now,” he said. “We’re doing work with Box … Oracle … [and] Salesforce. We’re really probably one of the most open companies you can think of when it comes to operationalizing these agents in production at scale.”

Behind the headlines, IBM is shifting the spotlight to the perhaps less glamorous — but mission-critical — challenges of operationalizing gen AI. Without a clear framework for scale and accountability, many efforts risk spinning out before they reach production, Aziza noted.

“While there’s excitement, we now need to think about a true agentic strategy, which includes cost and governance,” he said. “We’re not talking about this as much because it’s not sexy, but I guarantee you the next six months, probably the next five years in fact, are going to be about that.”

IBM’s approach avoids hard-coded processes and rigid workflows. Through its watsonx Orchestrate product, the company is enabling a flexible agentic strategy, allowing dynamic agent behavior to adjust to business conditions in real time, Aziza said. This adaptive model supports both structured and unstructured data, making it possible to optimize across use cases while respecting operational boundaries.

“What we talked about with … customers is that the way to think about this moment is about transformation,” he added. “If process is needed, automate. If process is not needed, eliminate.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of IBM Think:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for IBM Think. Neither IBM Corp., the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE