IBM and Microsoft have opened three new IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones within IBM’s Client Innovation Centres. These Experience Zones are designed to help global clients across industries, including industrial, manufacturing, healthcare, government, oil and gas, and consumer packed goods (CPG), find new ways to derive value from generative AI, hybrid cloud, augmented reality (AR), and IoT.

IBM, in partnership with Microsoft, announced three new IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones opening at the company’s Client Innovation Centres in Bucharest, Romania, Buffalo, New York, and Leicester, United Kingdom, to help clients explore and innovate through the benefits of generative AI, hybrid cloud and other Microsoft technologies to transform their business.

In addition to the inaugural IBM-Microsoft Experience Zone in Bangalore, India, which opened in April 2024, the three new Experience Zones are located in geographic locations that expand IBM’s reach and ability to engage with clients to take advantage of Microsoft’s technologies to innovate on potential opportunities.

“The IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones will give clients and prospects an opportunity to explore potential solutions that leverage the strengths of both organisations,” said Brian Wood, Research Director, Global IT Services and Systems Integration Services at IDC. “The combined tools and platforms for data and AI show synergy in many environments and business processes.”

“Our IBM consultants understand the challenges today’s businesses face in adapting to the cloud and how AI can help them drive successful business outcomes,” said Chris McGuire, Vice President and General Manager for the Global Microsoft Strategic Partnership at IBM. “Before clients begin their cloud transformation journey, these Experience Zones can provide opportunities for hands-on access and ideation with IBM and Microsoft experts to identify those challenges and help clients develop technology solutions to create value and solve their most pressing business needs.”

At the Experience Zone in Bangalore, CIOs and their teams have explored solutions around cloud modernisation, Microsoft Azure and custom copilots. Industry clients such as manufacturing, gas and oil, and CPG have shown an interest in capabilities with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), including solutions like Microsoft’s Hololens and Azure Internet of Things (IoT) and Edge.

“IBM’s inaugural Microsoft Experience Zone has empowered customers to harness the full potential of the Microsoft Cloud, generative AI, and Copilot, to enable business transformation, and we are thrilled that IBM is launching three additional IBM-Microsoft Experience Zones,” said Dinis Couto, GM, GSI Commercial Partners, at Microsoft. “Our partnership with IBM to establish three new Experience Zones will enable even more customers to create groundbreaking and transformative AI-powered services and solutions.”