Arvind Krishna

New Capabilities

Defending IBM's mainframe and consulting franchise amid AI disruption concerns

An estimated 220 billion lines of COBOL code still run in production every day, processing 95% of ATM transactions and roughly $3 trillion in daily commerce. For decades, understanding and modernizing that code has required large teams of specialized consultants working for months or years. On February 23, Anthropic published a playbook showing how Claude Code can automate these labor-intensive tasks—mapping dependencies, documenting workflows, identifying risks across thousands of files.

Updated May 29

Money Moves

Leading IBM's enterprise AI pivot

The four largest cloud providers—Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon—are tracking toward over $720 billion in combined AI infrastructure spending for 2026, up sharply from $410 billion in 2025. All four reported first-quarter results on April 29, 2026. Microsoft delivered the clearest signal: $77.7 billion in revenue (up 18% year-over-year), Azure cloud growth of 40% (above its 37% guidance), and earnings per share of $4.13 versus analyst estimates of $3.67.

Updated May 26

Money Moves

Architect of IBM’s hybrid cloud and AI acquisition strategy

IBM has agreed to acquire Confluent, the data‑streaming company built around Apache Kafka, in an all‑cash deal for about $11 billion, or $31 per share, a roughly 34% premium to its last close. IBM says Confluent's real‑time event streaming and governance capabilities will anchor a new "smart data platform" that connects, cleans, and orchestrates data across hybrid clouds for generative and agentic AI applications. The deal positions IBM as both an AI model provider and the owner of the data plumbing that makes enterprise AI work.

Updated May 10

New Capabilities

Strategic sponsor of IBM’s partnership with Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia's startup flag carrier, is what IBM and the airline call the world's first "AI-native" airline — built from day one around AI-driven, cloud-based systems, not retrofitted legacy IT. Launched in March 2023 under Vision 2030, the airline has ordered large fleets from Boeing and Airbus and aims to connect over 100 destinations and serve millions of travelers by 2030 through Riyadh's planned mega-hub.

Updated May 10