International Business Machines Corp Stock Price, News & Analysis

IBM has announced its intent to acquire Accelalpha, a global Oracle services provider, to expand its Oracle consulting expertise. The acquisition will strengthen IBM's capabilities in supply chain, logistics, finance, enterprise performance management (EPM), and customer transformation. Accelalpha, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, will join IBM Consulting, bringing a large global team of skilled consultants to help clients modernize with Oracle Cloud Applications.

Accelalpha's expertise spans the Oracle Cloud Applications Suite, including Oracle SCM, ERP, EPM, CX, and CPQ. The company has a strong presence across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America, focusing on distribution, industrial, and financial services sectors. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

IBM has opened its new flagship office at One Madison Avenue in New York City, spanning 270,000 square feet across five floors. The office will house over 2,000 New York-area employees and features state-of-the-art workspaces designed for collaboration and innovation. The LEED Gold CI certified building includes a 25,000 square-foot outdoor terrace with pollinator gardens.

The move consolidates IBM's previously held offices in NYC, creating a centralized hub expected to reach full occupancy in October 2024. The opening ceremony was attended by key figures including IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, highlighting the significance of IBM's commitment to New York's growing technology industry ecosystem.

Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) and Red Hat are collaborating to bring Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) to Dell PowerEdge servers. RHEL AI, an AI-optimized operating system for developing and deploying AI and generative AI models, will be available on Dell PowerEdge R760xa servers in Q3 2024. This partnership aims to simplify AI implementation for organizations by providing a consistent AI experience on optimized hardware.

Key points:

• RHEL AI becomes a preferred platform for AI deployments on Dell PowerEdge servers
• The collaboration includes continuous testing and validation of hardware solutions, including NVIDIA accelerated computing
• RHEL AI integrates open-source Granite LLMs from IBM Research and InstructLab model alignment tools
• The solution is packaged as an optimized RHEL image for individual server deployments and is included in Red Hat OpenShift AI

IBM unveiled architecture details for the upcoming IBM Telum II Processor and IBM Spyre Accelerator at Hot Chips 2024. These innovations are designed to scale processing capacity across next-generation IBM Z mainframe systems, accelerating traditional AI models and Large Language Models (LLMs) through a new ensemble method of AI. The Telum II Processor features increased frequency, memory capacity, and a 40% growth in cache compared to its predecessor. The Spyre Accelerator provides additional AI compute capability, forming a scalable architecture to support ensemble AI modeling. Both will be manufactured by Samsung Foundry on a 5nm process node and are expected to be available to clients in 2025.

IBM's Institute for Business Value study reveals a decline in C-suite confidence in IT's ability to deliver basic services, dropping from 69% in 2013 to 47% in 2024. Simultaneously, 43% of tech CxOs report increased concerns about their technology infrastructure due to generative AI demands. The study highlights a shift in budget allocation, with expectations to spend 50% on hybrid cloud and AI combined over the next two years.

The research also uncovers a disconnect between tech CxOs and CFOs in strategic planning, despite CEOs emphasizing the importance of their collaboration. Notably, organizations linking technology investments to measurable business outcomes report 12% higher revenue growth. The study also reveals gaps in implementing responsible AI practices and addressing talent shortages in key technology areas.

IBM and the USTA Foundation announced a new collaboration to integrate AI education with tennis, aiming to make AI more accessible and engaging. A recent study by IBM revealed that 55% of young tennis fans are optimistic about AI's impact on sports. To address the skills gap, IBM launched free AI content through its SkillsBuild platform. This includes interactive microlearning sessions and a beginner-friendly guidebook, 'Learn AI Skills with Tennis'. The initiative targets students, young professionals, and tennis enthusiasts, offering courses in AI fundamentals, cybersecurity, data science, and professional skills. The USTA Foundation collaboration will benefit 25,000 under-resourced youth across 250 chapters in the US, providing access to career readiness resources and earning IBM digital credentials. IBM aims to skill 30 million people by 2030, including 2 million in AI by 2026.

IBM and the USTA have announced new AI-powered features for the 2024 US Open digital platforms, leveraging IBM's watsonx AI and data platform. Key innovations include:

1. AI-generated Match Report summaries for all 254 main draw singles matches, produced within minutes of conclusion.

2. Enhanced AI commentary for match highlight videos, offering more frequent and contextual content.

3. Redesigned IBM SlamTracker with detailed pre-, live, and post-match insights, including a new 3D graphic for live matches.

4. Collaboration between IBM and the USTA Foundation to provide free AI and professional development courses through IBM SkillsBuild.

These features aim to deliver a more informative and engaging experience for millions of tennis fans worldwide, showcasing the continued innovation in the 30-year partnership between IBM and the USTA.

IBM has achieved a significant milestone in quantum-safe cryptography with two of its developed algorithms, ML-KEM and ML-DSA, being officially formalized within the world's first three post-quantum cryptography standards published by NIST. These standards are important for protecting data against potential quantum computer attacks. IBM's FN-DSA algorithm has also been selected for future standardization.

This development is part of IBM's dual mission in quantum computing: advancing useful quantum systems and ensuring global quantum safety. IBM projects delivering its first error-corrected quantum system by 2029, capable of running hundreds of millions of quantum operations. The company is also integrating post-quantum cryptography into its products and has unveiled the IBM Quantum Safe roadmap to guide the transition towards quantum-safe technology.

IBM and WWF-Germany have announced a collaboration to develop an AI-powered solution for monitoring critically endangered African forest elephants. The project aims to enhance elephant tracking and support conservation efforts using IBM's Maximo Visual Inspection software. This technology will analyze camera trap images to identify individual elephants accurately.

The solution may also help assess the financial value of nature's contributions provided by these elephants, such as carbon sequestration. African forest elephants have experienced an 80% population decrease due to habitat loss and poaching. By leveraging technology to track and value natural capital, organizations can support climate change mitigation and identify sustainable finance investments.

The collaboration combines IBM's expertise in technology and sustainability with WWF's conservation knowledge to create innovative ways to accelerate sustainability efforts.