IBM's TechXchange event underscored the company's commitment to a partner-first approach that emphasizes the critical role of its ecosystem in scaling enterprise AI success.

The event highlighted several key developments and partnerships that reflect IBM's strategy to make advanced AI technology accessible and practical for businesses.

Fuel Your AI: Key AI Technology Advancements

IBM unveiled significant progress in AI technology, designed to drive business transformation with a focus on choice, openness, and trust. Here are some of the notable advancements:

1. Granite Models: IBM introduced powerful new Granite models that match or outperform similarly sized models from leading providers.

2. watsonx Code Assistant: The next generation of this tool for general-purpose coding was debuted.

3. AI Application Tools: New tools for building and deploying AI applications and agents were introduced, tailored for specific enterprise use cases.

Strategic Partnerships

The event highlighted IBM's expanding network of strategic partnerships, which are critical for broadening access to their AI technology:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS): Several Granite Models are now available on Amazon SageMaker JumpStart and for Amazon Bedrock.

• Qualcomm, Salesforce, and SAP: These tech giants have partnered with IBM to make Granite models available to their developer communities.

• Samsung SDS Caidentia: The company is piloting Granite Time Series models for manufacturing anomaly detection and using watsonx for supply chain management.

• Platform Availability: Granite models are being made available across various platforms including Domo, NVIDIA's NIM stack, Ollama, Replicate.ai, Hugging Face, and Docker, Inc.

Ecosystem Collaboration

IBM emphasized the importance of its diverse ecosystem in addressing AI implementation challenges:

• Consultancies and Systems Integrators: Partnerships with firms like lti mindtree, Wipro, EY, Tech Mahindra, and NTT DATA are helping to establish watsonx Centers of Excellence and build industry-specific AI solutions.

• Distributors: Collaboration with companies like TD SYNNEX to create Gen AI Centers of Excellence and learning hubs.

• Software Vendors: ISVs such as Accusoft, Airtable, and Applause are embedding IBM watsonx to create AI-powered solutions for various industries.

Partner-First Approach

The event reinforced IBM's evolution into a partner-first company, recognizing that modern business needs cannot be met by a single entity:

• IBM's ecosystem includes ISVs, hyperscalers, resellers, distributors, service providers, technology partners, consultancies, systems integrators, and MSPs.

• This approach aims to bring IBM's state-of-the-art technology to business users at scale.

Future Outlook

IBM's TechXchange painted an optimistic picture of the future, highlighting:

• The projected $16 trillion in value that AI is expected to unlock by 2030.

• The IBM Ecosystem's strong positioning with advanced AI technology, skilling resources, and a partner-first business model.

The event underscored that the true power of AI technology lies in its accessibility to developers, open-source communities, and business users, which IBM is facilitating through its robust ecosystem of partners.

Here are some most memorable moments:

1. Partner Day - How Does Combustion Fuel Your AI?

• Ayal Steinberg’s opening remarks on “combustion” as the fusion of fuel and spark resonated deeply with IBM’s approach to AI development. He emphasized learning through doing—encouraging attendees to step out of their comfort zones to develop tech skills through hands-on experience. My tech journey reflects this: attending TechXchange brought back memories of my early career in finance, where I ventured beyond my comfort zone to design financial planning applications that directly impacted enterprise deployments.

• The panel discussion on “How IBM Partners are Winning with IBM” featured inspiring stories from Deloitte, Samsung SDS Caidentia, GS Lab, Rootly, and Applause about how integrating watsonx.ai has driven powerful improvements in their businesses.

2. Keynote Highlights

Dinesh Nirmal, SVP of Product at IBM, highlighted how generative AI will disrupt every application and process running in enterprises but stressed that it must leverage existing investments. His insights set the tone for the conference as he explored how IBM’s domain expertise positions it as a leader in this transformation.

That’s where IBM’s advantages come in with their domain expertise in the current landscape. Check out what Enterprise Architecture looks like.

3. How AI Agents work? Dinesh Nirmal explained how AI agents work in 4 ways:

• Think: Perception and reasoning using large language models (LLMs).

• Plan: Determining the best course of action.

• Act: Executing based on selected paths.

• Reflect: Learning from feedback while ensuring governance through guardrails.

4. IBM Z16 Mainframe Advancement

The IBM z16™ mainframe represents a major leap forward with on-chip AI inferencing capabilities and quantum-safe encryption. Powered by the Telum™ processor, it offers remarkable speed for real-time data analysis while safeguarding against evolving cyber threats. Check out PJ’s elevator pitch.

5. Testing watsonx Code Assistant for Z

I was thrilled to test watsonx Code Assistant for Z - a generative AI tool designed to enhance mainframe application lifecycles by automating code refactoring and transforming COBOL into Java. Vijay Bhadriraju guided me through the process that showcases how watsonx converts COBOL into Java. This tool supports developers with features like automated code refactoring, performance optimization, and COBOL to Java transformation. With deployment options for both on-premises and as-a-service, watsonx Code Assistant for Z offers the flexibility to meet the diverse needs of enterprises modernizing their applications. I was impressed by how intuitive the process was and how quickly the code conversion occurred.

6. Exploring the AI studio

I ventured into the AI studio and tested watsonx.ai by uploading a dog image. The watsonx™ platform uses different generative AI models, each with unique strengths in image processing. For example, the llama-3-2-11b-vision-instruct model provides detailed descriptions of a dog's appearance and expressions. The llama-3-2-90b-vision-instruct model interprets context and analyzes the environment and actions, helping to understand the scene's significance or safety concerns. Lastly, the llama-guard-3-11b-vision model focuses on safety by assessing the image and text prompts to classify content as safe or inappropriate. This variety in model capabilities lets users choose the best approach for their needs.

7. Creating My LEGO AI Assistant

I had a fantastic time at the Architecture/API booth, where I created my own LEGO minifigure representing my ideal AI assistant. I named my LEGO assistant “Hitch” and can’t wait to see how my creation will inspire the official watsonx community virtual assistant name. Don’t forget to share your own LEGO assistants and join the conversation on LinkedIn using #techXchangeconference2024 and #techXchangecommunityAI for a chance to win tickets to next year’s event! Check it out here! ( https://community.ibm.com/community/user/community/lego-your-ai-agent)

8. Nostalgic Games

The event also featured nostalgic games like Rubik’s Cube and Jenga-style wood blocks—reminding everyone that learning can be fun! Attendees even got to take home miniature versions as souvenirs.

9. Celebrating Learning

After my hands-on learning experience, I celebrated by taking a picture and creating a personalized note to add to the celebration wall filled with colorful messages from fellow participants. My note read: "Learning is Fun! 💙 IBM," perfectly capturing the spirit of hands-on learning at the TechXchange.

IBM TechXchange 2024 was an inspiring showcase of innovation, collaboration, and hands-on learning experiences that will shape the future of enterprise AI.