• The two companies will introduce SHARK.X, an open, hybrid, multi-cloud hardware and software platform focused on analytics, data management and AI.
• Telefónica Tech and IBM will establish a Use Case Office to develop customer pilots.
• The news cooperation agreement will promote training and educational activities to develop and expand digital transformation projects in the business and public administration sectors based on these technologies.
Telefonica Tech and IBM have announced a new collaboration agreement to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), analytics and data governance solutions to meet the ever-changing needs of enterprises. The agreement, initially limited to Spain, establishes a framework for collaboration between the two companies to help clients address the complexities of managing new technologies in heterogeneous and changing environments and maximise the value of these technologies in their business processes.
According to the survey results IBM Global AI Adoption Index SurveyAlmost half of the companies in Spain already working with AI claim to have accelerated their investments in this technology in the past 24 months, highlighting the need to provide the business environment with tools and solutions to drive digital transformation efforts, in which AI plays a key role.
Through this new collaboration, the two companies will work together to develop and deploy an open, hybrid, multi-cloud platform focused on data management and AI to accelerate and accelerate client business initiatives, implement use case offices, MVP demonstrations and development, resources, training and certification. IBM launched the watsonx AI and data platform last year, which is at the core of the collaboration agreement.
Elena Gil Rizasoain, Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Business at Telefónica Tech, said: “This new collaboration with IBM will help advance the many benefits of traditional and generative artificial intelligence, as well as proper data management in the business world. By combining the knowledge of both teams, we will continue to build use cases to create more efficient and sustainable businesses.”
Adolfo Hernández Pulido, Managing Director, Telefónica Technology, IBM, added: “This collaboration marks another step in our long history with Telefónica Tech. We are working together to accelerate the digital transformation of the Spanish business community, enabling the development of innovative technology solutions that help companies adapt to the AI era. Analytics, data governance and the successful implementation of AI are key elements of business success today, and we both share a commitment to helping companies achieve it.”
Co-creation with technology that meets real business needs
Telefónica Tech and IBM will launch a Use Case Office, made up of highly qualified experts from both companies, to facilitate and coordinate the definition and development of use cases, proofs of concept and MVPs to accelerate business development and further showcase the value delivered to clients through the use of these technologies.
IBM Client Engineering, the IBM team that helps solve business challenges through co-creation and innovation with experts, will play a key role in the Use Case Office, as will Telefónica Tech experts with extensive technical knowledge and experience in implementing AI in business areas.
The collaboration is already offering customers generative AI solutions including code generation for IT applications, process and incident automation, cognitive assistance in industrial operations, advice and customer service, analytics, and the processing and management of audiovisual content and text documents.
IBM and Telefónica Tech have a history of strong collaboration, including on hybrid cloud-based solutions. TROS, Telefónica Tech's RedHat OpenShift-based multi-cloud serviceThese include integrated AI to create virtual assistants for improved customer service, optimized supply chain management using blockchain to increase traceability of business assets, etc. This joint effort marks the next step in a fruitful relationship as the two companies continue to drive innovation and digital business transformation through the implementation of cutting-edge technologies.
SHARK.X, a new platform for driving end-to-end AI adoption
SHARK.X is a new, innovative, open hybrid multicloud platform hosting various IBM hardware and software components with access to IBM Cloud and other clouds. It highlights the native hyperconverged IBM Storage Fusion HCI infrastructure for running enterprise applications. SHARK.X will be deployed at Telefónica Tech's La Cabina facility, Telefónica's technological inspiration center for the digital transformation of businesses and governments.
Telefónica Tech offers specialized professional services to define the optimal deployment architecture for each client, integrating the solution into their environment as well as developing Artificial Intelligence use cases aimed at ingesting data from different sources and addressing their business priorities, as well as advising in the areas of data governance and artificial intelligence models, as well as regulatory and ethical compliance, particularly relevant to the new regulations approved in the European Union.
At the software level, SHARK.X includes multiple IBM technologies covering the entire value chain related to enterprise data management, analytics and enterprise data governance. SHARK.X hosts IBM Cloud Pak for Data, which allows for data collection, organization, analysis and governance. It also includes the IBM watsonx AI and data platform for building, deploying and scaling AI applications in a simple, secure and governed way, and Cognos and Planning Analytics for collaborative business intelligence, planning and reporting solutions.
With these capabilities, the SHARK:X platform supports both traditional and generative AI initiatives, addresses end-to-end data governance and management, and offers Lakehouse as a robust enterprise data management solution, addresses data security and protection, and provides business intelligence, planning, optimization, and reporting.
