IBM Partners with OpenAI to Accelerate Secure AI Deployment Across Core Operations
Monday, August 17, 2026
Photo - Jack Moreh/Freerange Stock
IBM has announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI to help enterprises deliver business outcomes by deploying AI at scale across core business operations and complex workflows, while strengthening cyber defence and resilience through programs like OpenAI Daybreak. The partnership includes joint-go-to market initiatives and creating industry-specific solutions for financial services, government, telecommunications; and retail, as well as key enterprise domains such as finance, procurement, customer operations and HR.
The partnership embeds OpenAI frontier models like GPT-5.6 and products like Codex and ChatGPT Work into IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM’s AI platform for delivering consulting services to clients, combining AI agents, industry assets, and cybersecurity capabilities to help organizations securely deploy AI at scale, drive business outcomes, and create new commercial models. Contd
IBM will bring forward-deployed units of highly specialized engineers and consultants trained through the OpenAI Partner Network to work directly with clients to accelerate AI implementation across complex business workflows and highly regulated environments. IBM will also launch a dedicated OpenAI Practice, with thousands of consultants and engineers obtaining expert-level certifications under the OpenAI Partner Network.
Together, IBM and OpenAI aim to help organisations tackle one of the biggest barriers to scaling AI – turning decades of fragmented processes, legacy systems, and operational complexity into AI-driven operations that can be deployed even more safely and securely.
“While enterprises are rapidly investing in AI, they are looking for practical ways to apply it across their core operations to deliver measurable business outcomes and create new commercial models,” said Andy Baldwin, Global Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting. “The challenge is not access to AI technologies — it’s integrating AI securely and at scale into complex enterprise environments and workflows. By embedding OpenAI’s technology with IBM Consulting’s AI assets, industry solutions, and cybersecurity capabilities, we can help clients accelerate secure, AI deployments at scale.”
“The organisations pulling ahead with AI are the ones turning it into a trusted part of how their business operates,” said Denise Dresser, Chief Revenue Officer at OpenAI. “IBM Consulting and OpenAI are helping organisations make that shift, combining deep transformation expertise to deploy AI that is secure, operational, and aligned with real business priorities.”
