TL;DR — Key Takeaways
- IBM and Microsoft are teaming up on Imagine Enterprise, a platform designed to help large organizations build, deploy and govern AI agents within their existing systems.
- The platform pairs IBM Consulting’s library of more than 6,000 prebuilt agents and industry assets with Microsoft’s cloud, data and security tools. It includes built-in controls, compliance monitoring and observability.
- Financial services, insurance and retail are the initial focus. Qualifying clients can get dedicated engineering support to move AI projects from pilots into production.
IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have teamed on Imagine Enterprise, a new platform designed to help large organizations — particularly those in heavily regulated industries — build, manage, and govern artificial intelligence (AI) agents tailored to specific business operations.
The joint initiative combines IBM Consulting’s library of more than 6,000 pre-built AI agents and industry assets with Microsoft’s cloud, data, and security infrastructure.
For qualifying enterprise clients, the two tech giants will also deploy dedicated engineering teams to help transition AI projects from early experimentation into full-scale production.
Rather than forcing companies to overhaul their existing IT infrastructure or build AI tools from scratch, Imagine Enterprise is built to integrate directly into a business’s current systems and proprietary data. The platform incorporates built-in controls, compliance monitoring, and observability tools aimed at addressing regulatory and security hurdles that often slow down corporate AI adoption.
“Clients are no longer looking for AI that simply helps people do the same work a little faster. They want to build an agentic business,” Mohamad Ali, senior vice president and head of IBM Consulting, said in a statement. “Microsoft and IBM are helping organizations bring human expertise and digital labor together in a way that can scale across the enterprise, to turn AI from a productivity aid into a real competitive advantage.”
Under the hood, the platform relies on IBM Consulting Advantage tools, including Process Studio and Context Studio, paired with Microsoft’s enterprise suite, such as Azure, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft 365, Copilot Studio, and GitHub Copilot. Security and identity management are handled through Microsoft Entra, Purview, and Defender.
“Enterprise AI will be won by organizations that can turn their data, industry expertise, and AI into action,” said Rodrigo Kede Lima, president of Microsoft Frontier Company. “Together, Microsoft and IBM Consulting are bringing the best of our technology and expertise, to help customers move from AI ambition to business impact faster and with confidence.”
Financial technology and asset management provider SEI is among the early adopters exploring the joint framework to streamline its operations. Sneha Shah, chief AI strategist and head of SEI Next, noted that the collaboration allows the firm to test and responsibly scale emerging AI capabilities while maintaining human oversight.
Initially, Imagine Enterprise will offer specialized frameworks for the financial services, insurance, and retail sectors, with plans to expand into manufacturing, energy, mobility, and the public sector. Clients can opt to have IBM Consulting fully manage the platform, co-develop custom implementations, or self-manage the system internally.
