IBM and Microsoft Open New Experience Zones to Drive Business Innovation

New locations in Bucharest, Romania, Buffalo, New York, and Leicester, UK, aim to help clients explore opportunities in generative AI, hybrid cloud and other Microsoft technologies to transform their business

Sep 19, 2024

ARMONK, N.Y., Sept. 19, 2024 — IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Microsoft have announced the opening of three new IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones within IBM’s Client Innovation Centers. These new Experience Zones, located in Bucharest, Romania, Buffalo, New York, and Leicester, UK, are designed to help clients across various industries, such as financial services, government, healthcare, industrial, manufacturing, and consumer packaged goods (CPG), explore and leverage the benefits of generative AI, hybrid cloud, and other Microsoft technologies to transform their business operations.

These new Experience Zones complement the inaugural IBM-Microsoft Experience Zone in Bangalore, India, which was launched in April 2024. By strategically positioning these zones across different geographic locations, IBM aims to broaden its outreach and enable clients to fully exploit Microsoft’s technologies to innovate and propel their businesses forward. The new Experience Zones are situated in:

• Bucharest, Romania
• Buffalo, New York
• Leicester, United Kingdom

IBM, in partnership with Microsoft, announced three new IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones opening at the company’s Client Innovation Centers in Bucharest, Romania, Buffalo, New York, and Leicester, United Kingdom, to help clients explore and innovate through the benefits of generative AI, hybrid cloud and other Microsoft technologies to transform their business.

“The IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones will give clients and prospects an opportunity to explore potential solutions that leverage the strengths of both organizations,” said Brian Wood, Research Director, Global IT Services and Systems Integration Services at IDC. “The combined tools and platforms for data and AI show synergy in many environments and business processes.”

The IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones

At these Experience Zones, IBM’s global clients will have access to a range of Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft Azure, Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Copilot, and Microsoft Dynamics. Using dedicated technology stations, clients can explore and co-create generative AI solutions that address both internal and external business functions. Additionally, clients can experiment with select IBM technologies that run on Microsoft Azure, such as the IBM Maximo Application Suite.

“Our IBM consultants understand the challenges today’s businesses face in adapting to the cloud and how AI can help them drive successful business outcomes,” said Chris McGuire, Vice President and General Manager for the Global Microsoft Strategic Partnership at IBM. “Before clients begin their cloud transformation journey, these Experience Zones can provide opportunities for hands-on access and ideation with IBM and Microsoft experts to identify those challenges and help clients develop technology solutions to create value and solve their most pressing business needs.”

At the Experience Zone in Bangalore, CIOs and their teams have explored solutions around cloud modernization, Microsoft Azure, and custom copilots. Industry clients such as those in manufacturing, gas and oil, and CPG have shown interest in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) capabilities, including solutions like Microsoft’s Hololens and Azure Internet of Things (IoT) and Edge.

While onsite, IBM experts collaborate with clients to identify and solve unique business challenges using cloud and generative AI solutions that can help accelerate business transformation and increase return on investment. For instance, a financial services client could explore how Microsoft Copilot’s ability to create AI-based solutions could reduce the time needed to find documentation and review loan applications for approval. Similarly, a healthcare client could evaluate ways to use various Microsoft Azure solutions to provide cloud computing for business-critical applications, such as cross-clinic access to patient files while ensuring the security of patient health information. Moreover, the Experience Zones offer clients opportunities to upskill their employees by showcasing next-generation technologies and industry-specific case studies, providing resources to help enterprises harness generative AI to tackle the complexities of competitive business environments.

“IBM’s inaugural Microsoft Experience Zone has empowered customers to harness the full potential of the Microsoft Cloud, generative AI, and Copilot, to enable business transformation, and we are thrilled that IBM is launching three additional IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones,” said Dinis Couto, GM, GSI Commercial Partners at Microsoft. “Our partnership with IBM to establish three new Experience Zones will enable even more customers to create groundbreaking and transformative AI-powered services and solutions.”

Microsoft as a Strategic Partner

IBM Consulting’s ongoing investment and collaboration with Microsoft aim to help clients bring cloud and generative AI solutions to market through the expertise and guidance of IBM’s dedicated practice of Microsoft practitioners globally. Currently, IBM consultants hold more than 46,000 Microsoft certifications and plan to add 10,000 generative AI certifications by the end of 2024. To date, IBM consultants have successfully delivered thousands of Microsoft projects for clients, and the new Experience Zones provide another opportunity for global clients to engage and discuss their business needs onsite, where they can leverage IBM’s expertise to develop and deliver innovative solutions that will enable them to transform their business and fully harness the power of AI.

As another example of IBM’s partnership with Microsoft, during the recent IBM-Microsoft Copilot Hackathon, 250 client teams and more than 800 participants worked with experts from IBM, Neudesic, Bluetab, and Microsoft to explore and co-create AI-based solutions aimed at improving productivity, unlocking creativity, and streamlining business processes. Beyond developing solutions on Microsoft Copilot, the teams utilized IBM Consulting’s Copilot Runway offering, announced in May, which allows enterprises to create and deploy customized, tailored copilots to enhance business efficiencies that can impact the bottom line. From more than 150 submissions, the hackathon’s winning prototype solutions addressed challenges ranging from enhancing customer engagement and enablement to accelerating business decision-making.

With these three new Experience Zones and client-focused engagements like the hackathon, IBM continues to emphasize its commitment to and momentum with Microsoft as a strategic partner in delivering joint solutions for clients globally, showcasing the “better together” philosophy. By harnessing the full potential of generative AI and hybrid cloud, IBM aims to meet the growing client interest and demand for Microsoft technologies. To provide even greater access for clients worldwide, IBM will consider expanding the Experience Zones to additional global Client Innovation Centers in the future. Learn more about IBM’s collaboration with Microsoft here.

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 a 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 achieve 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 long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.

Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

For more Information, Refer to this article.