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ARMONK, N.Y., June 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — A new global study by the IBM Institute for Business Value found that nearly half of CEOs surveyed identify productivity as their highest business priority—up from sixth place in 2022. They recognize technology modernization is key to achieving their productivity goals, ranking it as second highest priority. Yet, CEOs can face key barriers as they race to modernize and adopt new technologies like generative AI.

The annual CEO study*, CEO decision-making in the age of AI, Act with intention, found three-quarters of CEO respondents believe that competitive advantage will depend on who has the most advanced generative AI. However, executives are also weighing potential risks or barriers of the technology such as bias, ethics and security. More than half (57%) of CEOs surveyed are concerned about data security and 48% worry about bias or data accuracy.

There is also a disconnect between CEOs and their teams when it comes to AI readiness. Half (50%) of CEOs surveyed report they are already integrating generative AI into products and services, and 43% say they are using generative AI to inform strategic decisions. Yet, just 29% of their executive teams agree they have the in-house expertise to adopt generative AI; only 30% of non-CEO senior executives surveyed say that their organization is ready to adopt generative AI responsibly.

“Generative AI can reduce the barriers to AI adoption and half of CEOs interviewed are actively exploring it to drive a new wave of  productivity, efficiency and quality of service across industries,” said Jesus Mantas, Global Managing Partner, IBM Consulting. “CEOs need to assess their company requirements around data privacy, intellectual property protection, security, algorithmic accountability and governance in order to plan their deployment of emerging use cases of generative AI at scale.”

Key study findings include:

CEOs say productivity – and the technology that will help deliver it  – is a pressing priority

• Almost half (48%) of CEOs surveyed pinpoint productivity as a top priority for their organization – up from sixth place in 2022; technology modernization follows as their second highest priority (45%) but CEOs also indicate this is among their top challenges.
• For the fourth consecutive year, CEOs surveyed say technology factors remain the top external force impacting their organization over the next three years.

CEOs are increasingly looking toward operational, technology and data leaders as strategic decision makers

Additional data gathered during the survey indicates the following:

• When asked which C-Suite members will make the most crucial decisions over the next three years, CEO respondents identify COOs (62%) and CFOs (52%).
• The influence of technology leaders on decision making is growing – 38% of  surveyed CEOs point to CIOs (up from 19% a year ago), followed by Chief Technology or Chief Digital Officer (30%) as making the most crucial decisions in their organization.

CEOs indicate they are ready to adopt generative AI, but other executives have reservations

• Three out of four (75%) CEOs surveyed believe the organization with the most advanced generative AI will have competitive advantage.
• Half (50%) of CEOs report they are already integrating generative AI into products and services; 43% say they are using generative AI to inform strategic decisions, with 36% using the technology for operational decisions.
• While 69% of CEO respondents see broad benefits of generative AI across their organization, just 29% of their executive teams agree they have the in-house expertise to adopt generative AI.
• Only 30% of non-CEO senior executives surveyed say that their organization is ready to adopt generative AI responsibly.

Generative AI is fueling workforce changes, but broader assessments of its impact on the workforce are lagging

• About 43% of surveyed CEOs say they have reduced or redeployed their workforce due to generative AI, with an additional 28% indicating they plan to do so in the next 12 months.
• At the same time, 46% of CEOs surveyed have hired additional workers because of generative AI, with 26% saying they have plans for more hiring ahead.
• Yet, fewer than one in three CEOs (28%) surveyed have assessed the potential impact of generative AI on their workforces, and 36% say they plan to do so in the next 12 months.

To view the full study, visit: https://ibm.co/c-suite-study-ceo.

To learn more about the top trends and strategic bets business leaders are making to boost productivity, visit https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/report/seven-bets.

*Study Methodology

The IBM Institute for Business Value, in cooperation with Oxford Economics, interviewed 3,000 CEOs from over 30 countries and 24 industries as part of the 28^th edition of the IBM C-Suite Study series. These conversations focused on executives’ perspectives on leadership and business; their changing roles and responsibilities; and CEO decision making today, including key challenges and opportunities, their use of technology, data and metrics, and their visions for the future. The IBM Institute for Business Value also conducted a survey of 200 CEOs in the United States on their responses to generative AI.

The IBM Institute for Business Value, IBM’s thought leadership think tank, combines global research and performance data with expertise from industry thinkers and leading academics to deliver insights that make business leaders smarter. For more world-class thought leadership, visit: www.ibm.com/ibv.

About IBM

IBM 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. More than 4,000 government 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 legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

ARMONK, N.Y., June 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — IBM today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Vista Equity Partners to purchase Apptio Inc., a leader in financial and operational IT management and optimization (FinOps) software, for $4.6 billion. The acquisition of Apptio will accelerate the advancement of IBM’s IT automation capabilities and enable enterprise leaders to deliver enhanced business value across technology investments.

Organizations are digitally transforming their businesses faster than ever, causing IT environments to expand across public and private clouds, with multiple service providers. To manage this dramatic increase in complexity, clients are turning to Apptio’s solutions for integrated and simplified visibility into technology spend across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, labor and associated resources. Apptio, together with IBM’s IT automation software and it’s watsonx AI platform, will help businesses around the world manage and optimize enterprise IT spend and derive tangible financial value and operational improvement.

Apptio is an established, growing and profitable technology business management and FinOps leader, with over 1,500 clients, serving more than half of the Fortune 100. Industry recognized, Apptio partners and integrates with leading companies such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Oracle and SAP, consistent with IBM’s commitment to an open partner ecosystem.

Apptio empowers enterprise leaders to manage technology spend and direct investments to high-value cloud innovation and digital transformation. The company has three core offerings, all delivered as software as a service (SaaS) – ApptioOne, Apptio Cloudability, and Apptio Targetprocess:

• ApptioOne: Hybrid cloud spend management and optimization capabilities to analyze, optimize and plan IT spend and value. ApptioOne is used to establish repeatable and accurate planning and financial management processes, delivering actionable insights around cost and utilization, while benchmarking against industry peers for continuous optimization.
• Apptio Cloudability: Public cloud spend management visibility and optimization capabilities, connecting multi-cloud and SaaS infrastructure with cloud financial management best practices to maximize the value of clients’ cloud strategy.
• Apptio Targetprocess: Agile investment planning capabilities to align development resources to business outcomes, plan and track value delivery for projects or products.

“Technology is changing business at a rate and pace we’ve never seen before. To capitalize on these changes, it is essential to optimize investments which drive better business value, and Apptio does just that,” said Arvind Krishna, CEO and chairman, IBM. “Apptio’s offerings combined with IBM’s IT automation software and watsonx AI platform, gives clients the most comprehensive approach to optimize and manage all of their technology investments.”

Apptio and the performance optimization and observability capabilities of IBM’s IT automation software like Turbonomic, Instana and AIOps, will give clients a 360-degree technology business management platform, providing a “virtual command center” for spend management and optimization stretching across their entire technology landscape. In addition, Apptio will bring to IBM $450 billion of anonymized IT spend data, unlocking new insights for clients and partners.

The acquisition of Apptio is a continuation of IBM’s deep focus and investment in hybrid cloud and AI and is expected to drive significant synergies across several key growth areas for IBM, including automation, Red Hat, IBM’s broader AI portfolio, and IBM Consulting, as well as strong partnership with other leading systems integrators like Accenture, KPMG, Deloitte and EY. IBM will also deliver new innovation by augmenting watsonx with Apptio’s anonymized FinOps data. Additionally, Apptio is expected to benefit from IBM’s long-established scale and reach, working with clients and partners across more than 175 countries.

“Our customers are evolving to a complex digital-first, hybrid world where technology investments are distributed and decentralized but all innovation must be aligned with clear business outcomes,” explained Sunny Gupta, Apptio co-founder and CEO. “We are so excited to be joining IBM and combining our industry leading offerings with IBM’s global presence and strong portfolio across AIOps, automation and hybrid cloud offerings.”

“We are committed to building resilient enterprise software companies, which has proven to be highly attractive to strategic and financial buyers, as well as public markets,” said Robert F. Smith, founder, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. “Our investment philosophy, value creation strategy, and industry expertise, enables us to identify and partner with companies that have the potential for long-term success. Apptio has transformed how leading organizations optimize their IT spend and performance for better outcomes. We are proud of these shared accomplishments and look forward to seeing Apptio further evolve with IBM.”

Apptio will be acquired with available cash on hand. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the latter half of 2023.

LONDON and ARMONK, N.Y., June 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — IBM  and The All England Lawn Tennis Club today announced new features for the Wimbledon digital fan experience that will launch at this year’s Championships.

• A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) feature, leveraging generative AI technology from IBM watsonx, will produce tennis commentary for all video highlights packages during Wimbledon
• In a first for tennis, the IBM AI Draw Analysis feature will also provide a new statistic to define how favourable the path to the final might be for each player in the singles draw

The new features expand on the suite of digital tools for fans on the Wimbledon App and wimbledon.com. They are the latest examples of how IBM and Wimbledon are using technology to help fans engage with The Championships on a deeper level.

IBM AI Commentary
The new AI Commentary feature will provide fans watching match highlights videos with audio commentary of key moments, along with captions, which they can toggle on or off. The tool has been designed to give fans a more insightful experience when catching up on key moments from matches with highlights videos on the Wimbledon App and wimbledon.com. Its introduction this year is a step towards making commentary available in an exciting way for matches outside of Wimbledon’s Show Courts, which already have live human commentary.

To develop the new feature, experts from IBM iX, the experience design partner within IBM Consulting, worked with The All England Club to leverage foundation models from watsonx, IBM’s enterprise AI and data platform, to train the AI in the unique language of tennis. Generative AI built on these foundation models was applied to produce narration with varied sentence structure and vocabulary to make the clips informative and engaging.

IBM AI Draw Analysis
Another new feature IBM will introduce this year is the IBM AI Draw Analysis – the first statistic of its kind in tennis – which uses AI to define how favourable the path to the final might be for each player in the singles draw. A player’s draw favourability will be indicated with a rating along a scale, based on factors including the player’s match-ups against potential future opponents and how the player’s position in the draw compares to competitors. This new insight will help tennis fans to uncover anomalies and potential surprises in the singles draw, which would not be apparent by looking only at the players’ ranking, inspiring more debate and engagement in the fan community.

Usama Al-Qassab, Marketing & Commercial Director, The All England Club, said: “We are constantly innovating with our partners at IBM to provide Wimbledon fans, wherever they are in the world, with an insightful and engaging digital experience of The Championships. This year, we’re introducing new features for our digital platforms that use the latest AI technology from IBM to help fans gain even more insight into the singles draw and access commentary on a wider variety of matches through our match highlights videos.”

Jonathan Adashek, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for IBM, said: “IBM is bringing new layers of insight and engagement to the 2023 Championships through the use of innovative new tools, powered by foundation models and generative AI from watsonx. We’ve seen first-hand how these technologies have the power to help major sporting events like Wimbledon to grow their audiences through outstanding digital experiences. The AI and data platform that IBM is using to create unique fan experiences for Wimbledon is the same technology that we’re using to drive business transformation with clients across all sectors and industries.”

The new features being introduced this year will add to the suite of AI-powered digital tools for fans available on the Wimbledon App and wimbledon.com. They include the IBM Power Index Leaderboard, IBM Match Insights and Personalised Highlights Reels and Recommendations. Using over 100,000 data points from every shot played across the tournament, analysed by IBM’s Watson AI technology on IBM Cloud, these digital features are designed to make it easier for fans to understand which players to follow, how they compare to their opponents and who’s likely to win. Fans are kept updated and engaged throughout the tournament with fresh insights tailored to the players they’re following.

The Championships, Wimbledon will run from July 3 – July 16, 2023. To see the technology in action, visit wimbledon.com or download the Wimbledon App on your mobile device, available on the App Store and Google Play Store.

ARMONK, N.Y., June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — IBM  today announced a new collaboration with will.i.am and FYI (Focus Your Ideas) to leverage the transformative power of secure and trustworthy generative AI for creatives. The FYI app is engineered to inspire and empower artists, creators and innovators to collaborate seamlessly on projects and help them manage their business with everything from storyboarding, messaging and video calls to high-resolution file sharing and scheduling all in one place — tracking the creative process end-to-end.

FYI and IBM Consulting will work together to integrate watsonx, a new AI and data platform for business, to scale AI and embed responsibility, transparency and explainability into the creative process.

FYI currently runs on IBM Cloud and is enabled by IBM technology to harness cryptography with secured messaging for projects from end-to-end. With watsonx, the FYI team will be able to deploy custom AI capabilities that can automate content creation and supply chain workflows, helping to reduce administrative tasks, enhance communication among teams and allow more time for the creative process. FYI will serve as a “digital coach,” empowering creators with a suite of services such as creating business documents and managing creative development workflows.

“The FYI team is honored to expand our relationship with IBM, adding watsonx capabilities that will help our Web 3.0 messenger app to be even more productive,” said will.i.am, founder and CEO of FYI. “Collaborating with IBM, a trusted partner and expert in the generative AI field, will enable both FYI and the creative community to scale.”

“Generative AI has incredible power to transform the content creation and collaboration process at scale, but the AI used must be built with security, governance, and transparency,” said Jesus Mantas, global managing partner, IBM Consulting. “Together, FYI and IBM aim to transform the creative collaboration process with simple and highly efficient generative AI powered workflows.”

IBM has a long history of emphasizing ethics in AI development and this latest collaboration is no different. AI workflows will help FYI users’ collaborative work to be responsible, accountable and explainable.

With deep industry expertise spanning strategy, experience design, technology, and operations, IBM Consulting is the catalyst for business transformation and the trusted partner to over 3,000 of the world’s most innovative and valuable companies. Our 160,000 consultants embrace an open way of working, bringing a diverse set of voices, experiences and technologies like Hybrid Cloud and AI together to accelerate business transformation. Supported by IBM Garage, our proven co-creation method, we bring speed and scale to innovation with an enduring ecosystem of technology leaders to deliver solutions for some of the world’s most complex challenges.

Statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only. 

Editor’s Note: If you need to include will.i.am’s legal name, it is William Adams.  All other names shown in wikis and previously published stories are incorrect.

About IBM
IBM 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. More than 4,000 government 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 legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

About FYI

FYI is the ultimate communication & collaboration platform for creatives, by creatives.

FYI is a productivity platform designed to serve creatives; FYI is where the creative community drives culture forward.

A fully integrated creative collaboration and productivity platform, FYI combines communication tools with file management features to create an all-in-one experience that makes creative teams more productive.

On FYI, you can easily share multimedia files with your team, organize your creative work into projects, use AI tools to write creative content, conduct group calls and chats, display assets in beautiful, interactive layouts, and present your work – all in one app. All data is end-to-end encrypted and secured at multiple levels.

FYI, the trusted space where millions of creatives make an impact every day.

ARMONK, N.Y. and CANNES, France, June 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today, IBM announced plans to expand its longstanding partnership with Adobe to help brands successfully accelerate their content supply chains through the implementation of next-generation AI including Adobe Sensei GenAI services and Adobe Firefly (currently in beta), Adobe’s family of creative generative AI models.

Drawing on decades of AI experience, IBM Consulting is launching a new portfolio of Adobe consulting services to help clients navigate the complex generative AI landscape, bringing together innovation, technology and design to digitally re-invent customer interactions. Leveraging Adobe’s AI-accelerated Content Supply Chain solution and IBM Consulting services, the partners can help clients build an integrated content supply chain ecosystem that drives collaboration, optimizes creativity, increases speed, automates tasks and enhances stakeholders’ visibility across design and creative projects.

Adobe’s enterprise customers will have access to IBM Consulting experts, including 21,000 data, AI and experience consultants, who can help them effectively implement generative AI models for the design and creative process, including Firefly, which is initially focused on the generation of images and text effects, as well as Sensei GenAI services, a co-pilot for marketers embedded across Adobe’s enterprise applications that can help simplify marketing workflows to increase productivity.

“We’re seeing incredible momentum in AI adoption as more brands turn to generative AI to create seamless and highly personalized customer experiences to drive growth and improve productivity,” said Matt Candy, global managing partner, IBM iX Customer & Experience Transformation, IBM Consulting. “By expanding our strategic partnership with Adobe, we can help marketers more effectively design AI-powered experiences while establishing appropriate guardrails, so the AI is built on trust and transparency principles to promote brand consistency and integrity.”

Innovations Already Underway
The new services are built on IBM’s own marketing transformation journey. IBM is helping Adobe improve how its marketing team manages work. Building on more than 20 years of collaboration, IBM and Adobe have a strategic partnership that spans both technology and services, including Adobe’s adoption of Red Hat Open Shift, IBM AI and Sterling software. IBM Consulting also currently leads the market for Adobe technology certifications.

“We look forward to expanding our partnership with IBM to help brands deliver more personalized experiences to their customers,” said Justin Merickel, vice president, Digital Experience Business at Adobe. “By bringing together Adobe’s AI-accelerated Content Supply Chain solution and IBM’s human-centered experience design, we can help unlock an entirely new level of creative possibilities that delights employees and customers, accelerates adoption and drives better business decisions.”

IBM Consulting’s AI Capabilities
IBM Consulting recently announced its Center of Excellence for generative AI, which has more than 1,000 consultants with specialized generative AI expertise ready to help accelerate its clients’ business transformations with enterprise-grade AI, including technology from Adobe, IBM and other ecosystem partners.

The Center of Excellence stands alongside IBM Consulting’s existing global AI and Automation practice, which has conducted over 40,000 enterprise client engagements. It leverages proven methods like the IBM Garage for Generative AI, where IBM consultants apply a comprehensive, collaborative method to help clients fast-track innovation in the emerging category of foundation models for generative AI. That includes rapid use case ideation and prioritization, an open, multi-model approach to selecting architectures and training, as well as fine tuning and scaling models to unique business needs.

With deep industry expertise spanning strategy, experience design, technology, and operations, IBM Consulting is the catalyst for business transformation and the trusted partner to over 3,000 of the world’s most innovative and valuable companies. Our 160,000 consultants embrace an open way of working, bringing a diverse set of voices, experiences and technologies like Hybrid Cloud and AI together to accelerate business transformation. Supported by IBM Garage, our proven co-creation method, we bring speed and scale to innovation with an enduring ecosystem of technology leaders to deliver solutions for some of the world’s most complex challenges.

Statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only.

About IBM
IBM 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. More than 4,000 government 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 legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

ARMONK, N.Y., June 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — IBM today announced a new breakthrough, published on the cover of the scientific journal Nature, demonstrating for the first time that quantum computers can produce accurate results at a scale of 100+ qubits reaching beyond leading classical approaches.

One of the ultimate goals of quantum computing is to simulate components of materials that classical computers have never efficiently simulated. Being able to model these is a crucial step towards the ability to tackle challenges such as designing more efficient fertilizers, building better batteries, and creating new medicines. But today’s quantum systems are inherently noisy and they produce a significant number of errors that hamper performance. This is due to the fragile nature of quantum bits or qubits and disturbances from their environment.

In their experiment, the IBM team demonstrates that it is possible for a quantum computer to outperform leading classical simulations by learning and mitigating errors in the system. The team used the IBM Quantum ‘Eagle’ quantum processor composed of 127 superconducting qubits on a chip to generate large, entangled states that simulate the dynamics of spins in a model of material and accurately predict properties such as its magnetization.

To verify the accuracy of this modeling, a team of scientists at UC Berkeley simultaneously performed these simulations on advanced classical computers located at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and Purdue University. As the scale of the model increased, the quantum computer continued to turn out accurate results with the help of advanced error mitigation techniques, even while the classical computing methods eventually faltered and did not match the IBM Quantum system.

“This is the first time we have seen quantum computers accurately model a physical system in nature beyond leading classical approaches,” said Darío Gil, Senior Vice President and Director of IBM Research. “To us, this milestone is a significant step in proving that today’s quantum computers are capable, scientific tools that can be used to model problems that are extremely difficult – and perhaps impossible – for classical systems, signaling that we are now entering a new era of utility for quantum computing.”

To learn more about the details of the demonstration and the results, read the IBM Research blog.

IBM Commits to Utility-Scale Processors Across IBM Quantum Systems

Following this groundbreaking work, IBM is also announcing that its IBM Quantum systems running both on the cloud and on-site at partner locations will be powered by a minimum of 127 qubits, to be completed over the course of the next year.

These processors provide access to computational power large enough to surpass classical methods for certain applications and will offer improved coherence times as well as lower error rates over previous IBM quantum systems. Such capabilities can be combined with continuously advancing error mitigation techniques to enable IBM Quantum systems to meet a new threshold for the industry, which IBM has termed ‘utility-scale,’ a point at which quantum computers could serve as scientific tools to explore a new scale of problems that classical systems may never be able to solve.

“As we progress our mission to bring useful quantum computing to the world, we have solid evidence of the cornerstones needed to explore an entirely new class of computational problems,” said Jay Gambetta, IBM Fellow and Vice President, IBM Quantum. “By equipping our IBM Quantum systems with processors capable of utility scale, we are inviting our clients, partners and collaborators to bring their hardest problems to explore the limits of today’s quantum systems and to begin extracting real value.”

All IBM Quantum users will be able to run problems on utility-scale processors larger than 100 qubits. The over 2,000 participants in the IBM Quantum Spring Challenge had access to these utility-scale processors as they explored dynamic circuits, a technology that makes it easier to run more-advanced quantum algorithms.

Global Researchers and Industry Leaders Pursue Value with IBM Quantum

As IBM expands its quantum technology stack, research institutions and private-sector leaders are mobilizing across industries for which quantum holds immediate potential. Equipped with more powerful quantum technology, including advanced hardware and tools to explore how error mitigation can enable accuracy today, pioneering organizations and universities are working with IBM to advance the value of quantum computing.

These working groups that are exploring the potential value quantum computing offers include:

• Healthcare and Life Sciences: led by organizations such as Cleveland Clinic and Moderna, are exploring applications of quantum chemistry and quantum machine learning to challenges such as accelerated molecular discovery and patient risk prediction models.
• High Energy Physics: comprised of groundbreaking research institutions such as CERN and DESY, are working to identify the best suited quantum calculations, for areas such as identification and reconstruction algorithms for particle collision events, and the investigation of theoretical models for high energy physics.
• Materials: spearheaded by the teams at Boeing, Bosch, The University of Chicago, Oak Ridge National Lab, ExxonMobil and RIKEN, aim to explore the best methods to build workflows for materials simulation.
• Optimization: aimed at establishing collaboration across global institutions such as E.ON, Wells Fargo and others to explore key questions that progress the identification of optimization problems best suited for quantum advantage in sustainability and finance.

About IBM

IBM 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. More than 4,000 government 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 legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

RMONK, N.Y. and EHNINGEN, Germany, June 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today, IBM announced plans to open its first Europe-based quantum data center to facilitate access to cutting-edge quantum computing for companies, research institutions and government agencies.

The data center is expected to be operational in 2024, with multiple IBM quantum computing systems, each with utility scale quantum processors, i.e., those of more than 100 qubits.

The data center will be located at IBM’s facility in Ehningen, Germany, and will serve as IBM Quantum’s European cloud region. Users in Europe and elsewhere in the world will be able to provision services at the data center for their cloud-based quantum computing research and exploratory activity. The data center is being designed to help clients continue to manage their European data regulation requirements, including processing all job data within EU borders. The facility will be IBM’s second quantum data center and quantum cloud region, after Poughkeepsie, New York.

“Europe has some of the world’s most advanced users of quantum computers, and interest is only accelerating with the era of utility scale quantum processors,” said Jay Gambetta, IBM Fellow and Vice President of IBM Quantum. “The planned quantum data center and associated cloud region will give European users a new option as they seek to tap the power of quantum computing in an effort to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.”

“Our quantum data center in Europe is an integral piece of our global endeavor,” said Ana Paula Assis, IBM General Manager for EMEA. “It will provide new opportunities for our clients to collaborate side-by-side with our scientists in Europe, as well as their own clients, as they explore how best to apply quantum in their industry.”

The IBM Quantum Network currently has more than 60 organizations across Europe accessing quantum hardware and software via the cloud, including Bosch; Bundeswehr University; Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, including its technology subsidiary Euro-Information, and Targobank; Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron; E.ON; the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN); Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft; Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC); and, T-Systems.

These clients across Europe are exploring potential uses for quantum computing including material science, high energy physics, energy transition, sustainability, and financial applications.

“We are happy and proud to support the IBM Quantum team’s decision to set up their European quantum data center in Ehningen, Germany,” said Dr. Raoul Klingner, Director Research, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. “The choice of location in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg will further strengthen the ecosystem that Fraunhofer has built with customers and partners from industry and research. We are pleased to further continue our strategic partnership with IBM.”

“At T-Systems, we are collaborating with IBM to combine quantum and classical computing in a seamless and scalable experience for our customers to explore applications of quantum computing,” said Adel Al-Saleh, Deutsche Telekom board member and Chief Executive of T-Systems. “Having access to a quantum data center dedicated to Europe will help lower the access barrier for our customers as they decide on how to take their first, decisive steps in exploring and using quantum.”

The European cloud region is a key component in IBM’s efforts to collaborate with leading European industry, academia and government to advance quantum and build a quantum workforce in Europe. IBM Quantum and the open source Qiskit® software is used in over 100 university classes in Europe. One million learners in Europe have advanced their quantum skills through hackathons, workshops and digital learning sponsored by IBM.

For more about IBM’s first quantum data center in Europe, read the IBM Research blog.

Statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping 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. Nearly 4,000 government 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 business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. For more information, visit www.ibm.com.

Qiskit® is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation.