IBM has formed a partnership with OpenAI to assist businesses in deploying AI across core operations, with an emphasis on secure integration and cyber resilience.
The collaboration aims to provide joint solutions targeting sectors such as financial services, telecommunications, government, and retail, as well as areas like finance, customer operations, procurement, and human resources.
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Under the agreement, IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM’s platform for delivering consulting services, will incorporate OpenAI’s models, including GPT-5.6 and products such as Codex and ChatGPT Work.
The combined offering is meant to support organisations in embedding AI into complex workflows and manage associated cybersecurity challenges.
IBM will establish a dedicated OpenAI Practice, with plans for thousands of consultants and engineers to gain expert-level certifications through the OpenAI Partner Network.
Specialised teams of engineers and consultants will also work directly with clients, particularly in regulated environments, to speed the deployment of AI solutions across their business processes.
The initiative builds on IBM’s participation in the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program.
OpenAI chief revenue officer Denise Dresser said: “The organisations pulling ahead with AI are the ones turning it into a trusted part of how their business operates.
“IBM Consulting and OpenAI are helping organisations make that shift, combining deep transformation expertise to deploy AI that is secure, operational, and aligned with real business priorities.”
A key focus of the partnership is transforming legacy operations and modernising applications.
The companies will jointly develop workflow redesigns that use OpenAI technologies within IBM Consulting Advantage, aiming to automate processes and address inefficiencies in business operations.
Another area of emphasis will be application modernisation, with the intention of supporting clients in updating older software systems and expediting the development of new digital products.
On the cybersecurity front, IBM and OpenAI plan to deepen their collaboration by combining OpenAI’s AI models with IBM Autonomous Security, a system designed for real-time coordinated decision-making and threat response.
The companies stated that this approach intends to address risks associated with advanced AI-powered cyber attacks, application vulnerabilities, governance, and operational gaps.
IBM Consulting global senior vice president Andy Baldwin said: “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.
“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.”
As part of the agreement, IBM will join OpenAI’s Elite partner tier, reflecting both companies’ stated commitment to supporting enterprise-scale, secure deployment of AI.
Recently, IBM signed a multi-year deal valued at $240m with Together AI to construct a large cluster of Nvidia HGX B300 systems on IBM Cloud, intended for open-source model inference.
