IBM and Microsoft announce Imagine Enterprise AI platform

IBM describes Imagine Enterprise as an agentic platform for building, running and governing AI agents that help people carry out industry-specific processes.[1] The companies say its aim is to connect agents with enterprise data and daily processes while combining human expertise with AI.[1] IBM says the platform includes controls, observability and AI-compliance support to govern agents and secure industry-specific deployments.[1] IBM and Microsoft said they made a joint investment to co-develop the platform.[2]

Microsoft provides the AI, data, cloud and security foundation intended to help agents operate securely across enterprises.[1] Microsoft Foundry, GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Copilot Studio are among the technologies intended to coordinate agents and enterprise systems.[1] IBM says Imagine Enterprise is designed to connect with organizations’ existing data, processes, systems and technology environments.[1] IBM Consulting Advantage’s Process Studio, Context Studio and Advantage Core are intended to help organizations design, deploy and govern tailored agents.[1] IBM Consulting contributes more than 6,000 AI agents and assets built on IBM Consulting Advantage.[1]

Imagine Enterprise is available through IBM Consulting-led deployment and operation or co-innovation on enterprise-scale implementations.[1] Self-management options are also available.[1] Microsoft and IBM Consulting provide forward-deployed engineering support, and IBM says those engineers can help customers move from experimentation to production.[1] The initial industry-specific frameworks cover financial services, insurance and retail.[1] IBM says future frameworks could extend to manufacturing, energy, the public sector and mobility.[1]

The companies disclosed no price, revenue forecast or contract value.[3] IBM says the work with IBM Consulting and Microsoft is exploring how emerging capabilities could support critical processes and be responsibly scaled over time.[1] Two workforce figures offer context, but do not establish how Imagine Enterprise will affect staffing: IBM’s page says 82% of global business leaders plan to deploy digital labor within 18 months, while CIO Dive reports that 4% of CIOs had implemented plans to adjust roles for a human-agent workforce.[5][4] The evidence does not explain the studies’ methods or show that the figures are directly comparable.