In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, organizations and companies seek to adopt reliable technologies that can modernize their applications, protect their data, and streamline their workflows. Recognizing this need, IBM has adopted an approach to ensure efficiency and confidence in its solutions, becoming the first user of its technologies in what is known as “Client Zero”. Through this approach, IBM turns its internal processes and systems into real test cases before rolling out these technologies to external customers. This approach allows the company to accurately verify the effectiveness, reliability and security of its solutions in real operating environments on a large enterprise scale. By doing so, IBM aims to instill confidence in its potential customers about the robustness and practical application of its technologies. By reimagining its operations through artificial intelligence, the company has set a clear goal for itself, in the words of its CEO, Arvind Krishna: “to become the most productive organization in the world.” IBM’s “client zero” approach has transformed the company’s business using its proprietary portfolio of hybrid cloud technologies, artificial intelligence and automation tools. One of the most prominent tools driving these transformations is IBM watsonx Orchestrate, a solution that helps create, deploy and manage artificial intelligence agents (AI agents) to automate processes and workflows. “We are transforming our enterprise operations with technology, embedding AI in more than 70 different workflows, leveraging IBM’s proprietary solutions in hybrid cloud, automation and AI to achieve competitive advantage,” says IBM President Krishna. “What sets IBM apart is the breadth of our AI offerings, innovative technology architecture and extensive consulting capacity.” Our approach is based on the concept of (customer zero). watsonx Orchestrate: The Engine of Transformation watsonx Orchestrate serves as a unified hub that brings together AI agents, digital assistants, and low- or no-code programming tools to help organizations rapidly build, deploy, and scale automation. The solution connects to more than 100 enterprise applications and is equipped with a range of AI agents in HR, sales, purchasing, IT support and more, reducing manual work, speeding up decisions and increasing efficiency. According to IBM data, several results were achieved thanks to this solution, including: productivity gains worth $4.5 billion by the end of 2024, in addition to saving 3.9 million working hours during the same year, as well as a 40% reduction in the operating budget through tools such as AskHR, and saving $18 million in IT costs while maintaining continuous support around the clock. Efficiency coordination: AskHR and AskIT in the field In the changing business world, effective management and smooth operations are crucial. IBM’s innovative solutions: AskHR and AskIT, have redefined these areas by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence. AskHR uses the capabilities of watsonx Orchestrate to provide accurate and fast answers to a wide range of HR queries, simplify process management, save time and promote a more positive and engaged work environment. Since its launch, according to IBM, AskHR has achieved remarkable results. In 2024, the system handled more than 11.5 million interactions, of which 94% were contained within the platform, meaning that only 6% of cases required the intervention of a specialized HR partner. Also built using watsonx Orchestrate, AskIT provides instant solutions to complex technical issues, reducing downtime and ensuring optimal performance of the technical infrastructure, thereby improving overall productivity. VraIT addresses 80% of the most common technical issues, covering over 200 support topics in 40 different languages. Over time, integration with watsonx Orchestrate has enabled both AskHR and AskIT to continuously learn and evolve to improve accuracy and responsiveness. IBM plans to add “financial agents” to this system to extend these benefits to financial management, putting the company at the forefront of AI-powered enterprise solutions. Testing innovation from within IBM’s transformation was not limited to the technical side, but included the activation of human participation by launching innovative challenges at the company level to encourage employees to propose ideas that would help simplify daily tasks. Nearly 170,000 employees participated in the “IBM watsonx 2025 Challenge,” which aimed to give workers first-hand hands-on experience with the company’s AI technology. IBM’s approach is also characterized by relying on “small, specialized language models” trained on specific organizational data rather than general giant models, which ensures higher accuracy, reduces the risk of AI “hallucinations” and delivers output that matches business needs. The Broader View The IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) report “Orchestrating Agent-Agented AI for Intelligent Enterprise Operations” notes that managers are increasingly interested in AI-powered automation. According to the results, 80% globally consider automating enterprise services a strategic priority, while 86% believe that AI agents will make automation and workflow redesign more effective by 2027, and 75% expect AI agents to perform processes and transactions autonomously within the next two years. Executives participating in the study expect a tangible improvement in global industry performance by 2026, as they expect a 24% increase in the accuracy of financial forecasting, in addition to a 35% improvement in human resources productivity, in addition to a more than 40% improvement in procurement efficiency, and an increase of up to 50% in customer satisfaction indicators. IBM and Saudi Arabia partnership: Within the Saudi approach to promote technical transformation, IBM signed several agreements with Saudi companies and institutions in 2024, including an agreement with Riyadh Airways to build an institution based on artificial intelligence to improve the experience of customers and employees alike. Additionally, in March 2024, IBM announced its plan to invest more than $200 million in developing competencies and infrastructure within a new software lab in Riyadh. The new lab will focus on accelerating digital innovation and the development, management and design of software products, while providing advanced solutions in the fields of data and artificial intelligence as well as software dedicated to sustainability. Also, IBM, in collaboration with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), launched the Arabic linguistic AI model “Allam” through the institutional AI and data platform Watsonx. Collaboration between IBM and Saudi Arabia opens the door to more opportunities in the field of artificial intelligence, according to what Issam Al-Waqit, director of the National Information Center at SDAIA, said during a discussion session with the CEO of IBM in 2024, where he was of the opinion that “the partnership with IBM in the development of the (Allam) model is an incentive for further technological development, and the adoption of generative artificial intelligence techniques is at the heart of this transformation. To lead the Kingdom and the region into a new era of digital excellence,” placing the Kingdom among the first users of Watsonx Orchestrate at scale. A roadmap for AI-powered growth IBM’s experience with Customer Zero shows that AI transformation is not just about deploying new technology, but about reshaping the way organizations work and the way employees approach their tasks. Its success story provides a practical model for organizations and governments that want to harness the full potential of artificial intelligence. For Saudi Arabia, which is already accelerating the implementation of its digital agenda, the IBM model represents a “practical guide” and practical framework that can support its journey to “a new era of growth and innovation driven by artificial intelligence.”
Beyond “Customer Zero”… How digital transformation in Saudi Arabia aligns with IBM’s approach to artificial intelligence
