At IBM’s Think conference this week, the company made a bold announcement: 94% of its HR functions are now handled by AI, a shift they claim will generate $3.5 billion in savings over the next two years.

These are staggering numbers. And while the cynic in me can’t ignore that this announcement was made at what is, effectively, a sales conference – especially one that coincided with the launch of IBM’s AI Agent Store – the scale of those numbers deserves attention. There’s clearly real value being unlocked.

But here’s the more important question: How exactly did IBM realise these gains – and why isn’t every enterprise able to copy and paste its success?

Yes, IBM has powerful AI tools. But so do many others. Large Language Models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and agentic AI frameworks are increasingly commoditised. You can buy, build, or license them with relative ease.

What you can’t copy so easily is IBM’s operational foundation, which is where the real secret lies — and where most AI transformation strategies fall short.

  1. Infrastructure That Enables AI to Thrive

Agentic AI – AI that doesn’t just generate but acts across systems – demands high throughput, low-latency, dynamically orchestrated networks. IBM’s network is architected for precisely that. Most enterprises still work with fragmented infrastructure and legacy bottlenecks that choke AI performance before scaling.

  1. Security That Empowers, Not Restricts

AI introduces new threat surfaces – from prompt injection to data leakage and decision integrity risks. IBM has invested heavily in security frameworks that allow AI to operate safely and with trust. By contrast, many organizations still operate with inherited security controls that are too rigid to enable responsible innovation.

  1. Observability That Drives Confidence

AI tools don’t just need to work; they need to be monitored, measured, and continuously improved. IBM’s environment delivers full-stack observability into model latency, outcome consistency, and user satisfaction. Without this level of visibility, most enterprises won’t trust AI enough to scale it.

At Teneo, we help enterprises assess and evolve their infrastructure to unlock the full potential of Agentic AI. Through our no-cost, no-obligation assessment, we’ll examine your:

  • Network readiness for AI workloads
  • Security posture and AI enablement controls
  • Observability across infrastructure, models, and user experience

Because in this new era, AI productivity isn’t about having the tool – it’s about creating the conditions for it to thrive.

The AI race is on. The winners won’t just deploy faster, they’ll be the ones who are truly ready.

Let’s make sure you are – schedule a free no-obligation consultation with Teneo today. 

Author: Brett Ayres, CTO, Teneo

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