Microsoft and IBM Launch Imagine Enterprise

Microsoft and IBM announced Imagine Enterprise on Tuesday, a platform for businesses to build and govern AI agents across company data and daily processes. The companies said it will let organizations use more than 6,000 pre-built agents for industry-specific processes. IBM Consulting will contribute those agents and its transformation expertise, while Microsoft will provide the AI and cloud foundation for secure agent operation. Forward deployed engineers from both companies will help enterprises adopt the platform.

The initial industry-specific frameworks target financial services, insurance and retail. IBM Consulting head Mohamad Ali said clients want to build an “agentic business,” moving beyond AI that helps people do the same work faster. Microsoft Frontier Company president Rodrigo Kede Lima said enterprise AI will be won by organizations that turn their data, industry expertise and AI into action.

The launch comes as CIOs consider how agentic AI may affect workflows, processes and the workforce. Gartner found that only 4% of CIOs have implemented plans to adjust roles for a human-agent workforce, while most have not undertaken the deep redesign analysts say is needed. Microsoft, IBM, Google and AWS have launched forward deployed engineering programs, and vendors are also offering pre-built agents that organizations can integrate into their environments.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told investors during the company’s Q3 2026 earnings call in October that enterprise AI depends on the systems around it, including contextual data, workflows that coordinate actions, secure and efficient infrastructure, and a flexible hybrid cloud foundation without lock-in. Imagine Enterprise was announced less than a month after that earnings call.

Microsoft and IBM announced Imagine Enterprise on Tuesday, a platform for businesses to build and govern AI agents across company data and daily processes. The companies said it will let organizations use more than 6,000 pre-built agents for industry-specific processes. IBM Consulting will contribute those agents and its transformation expertise, while Microsoft will provide the AI and cloud foundation for secure agent operation. Forward deployed engineers from both companies will help enterprises adopt the platform.

The initial industry-specific frameworks target financial services, insurance and retail. IBM Consulting head Mohamad Ali said clients want to build an “agentic business,” moving beyond AI that helps people do the same work faster. Microsoft Frontier Company president Rodrigo Kede Lima said enterprise AI will be won by organizations that turn their data, industry expertise and AI into action.

The launch comes as CIOs consider how agentic AI may affect workflows, processes and the workforce. Gartner found that only 4% of CIOs have implemented plans to adjust roles for a human-agent workforce, while most have not undertaken the deep redesign analysts say is needed. Microsoft, IBM, Google and AWS have launched forward deployed engineering programs, and vendors are also offering pre-built agents that organizations can integrate into their environments.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told investors during the company’s Q3 2026 earnings call in October that enterprise AI depends on the systems around it, including contextual data, workflows that coordinate actions, secure and efficient infrastructure, and a flexible hybrid cloud foundation without lock-in. Imagine Enterprise was announced less than a month after that earnings call.