IT services giant Kyndryl and Microsoft are working together to enable enterprise-grade generative AI applications that run in the Microsoft cloud.
The two companies said they will develop and drive new generative AI applications for customers leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot, Azure OpenAI Service, and Microsoft Fabric. Kyndryl said it’s committing to using Kyndryl University for Microsoft to educate thousands of its employees on Microsoft AI technologies.
Kyndryl is also launching an AI readiness program within Kyndryl Consult that is dedicated to the responsible adoption of generative AI systems and applications. Kyndryl experts will help customers build trusted data foundations while navigating the use of new generative AI systems and applications.
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Kyndryl and Microsoft said they will help customers leverage generative AI in four key ways:
- Innovation and Co-creation: customers can utilize Kyndryl Vital transformation and co-creation services, along with the two companies’ Joint Innovation Centers, to co-create custom use cases that leverage generative AI.
- Enhanced customer and employee experiences: Kyndryl will pilot-test new technologies and develop industry-specific models, use cases, and applications to help customers improve enterprise automation and workplace productivity in ways tailored to their unique business requirements.
- Build solid data foundations: Kyndryl will provide end-to-end services from building a trusted data architecture to managing customers’ data to improve the quality and reliability of that data.
- Execution and management: Kyndryl will create and deploy bespoke frameworks to help customers derive value from data and generate AI insights at scale.
“Together with Kyndryl, we have a shared vision to responsibly enable our customers to jointly explore, design, and deploy generative AI solutions across their enterprises, and to do it in a way that enables them to realize business value,” said Stephen Boyle, GM Global Partner Solutions, Microsoft in a statement by the two companies.
Kyndryl is bringing its firsthand experience with AI to bear for customers. After becoming independent from IBM in late 2021, Kyndryl embarked on its own technology transformation and integrated AI across its operations. The company plans to continue developing new use cases for deploying generative AI internally and for its customers across industries. The Kyndryl Bridge service will enable customers to manage their technology estates through services such as AIOps and FinOps that will leverage AI.
The strategic partnership with Microsoft was Kyndryl’s first global strategic alliance upon becoming an independent public company, and this latest initiative demonstrates how the two companies are continuing to push ahead in strategic areas including AI.
Kyndryl, which reported its financial results this week as well, now has more than $80 million in revenue tied to alliances with three cloud hyperscalers (Microsoft plus AWS and Google Cloud). Kyndryl’s revenue target with hyperscaler partners for fiscal 2024 is $300 million.
The Microsoft news came two days after Kyndryl reported its first fiscal quarter 2024 financial results that beat analysts’ forecasts: The company reported break-even adjusted earnings per share vs. analysts’ estimates of a 55 cents per share loss and a loss of $1.11 per share one year ago. Revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 totaled $4.2 billion.
“We’re relentlessly transforming our business, and this past quarter represented an important turning point. We now expect to generate adjusted pretax profit this fiscal year and going forward. This return to profit, driven by our strong execution, positions us well to deliver the significant margin expansion we’ve targeted,” said Kyndryl Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Martin Schroeter.
