In AI, IBM is seen as trusted, yet not embraced. It upholds essential values in enterprise AI—such as governance, auditability, and privacy—but struggles with developer adoption, cultural relevance, and rapid iteration. While WatsonX is robust from a technical standpoint, it is limited by the absence of open integrations. IBM culture prioritizes safety and compliance, which hinders innovation. In the competitive landscape, the market offers numerous cheaper and faster models, leaving most users seeking performance and simplicity.
Among the options to consider are these:
a) Continue as the enterprise guardian.
b) Open WatsonX to students, startups, looking for 3rd party innovation (sort of like App Store).
c) Develop special purpose AI in selected vertical(s) (health, finance . . . )
d) Specialize in infrastructure for national governments
e) Acquire AI-native specialist (e.g., Mistral AI, Pinecone, Modular.ai)