Telefónica Tech, the enterprise division of Spain-based operator Telefónica, has signed with IBM to develop AI solutions for enterprises in its home market. They will use the US firm’s Watsonx AI and data platform as the basis of all their work, which is to include a new multi-cloud AI management platform, a new AI ‘use case office’, new market-ready AI product prototypes, and a bunch of training and certifications to scale digital-change projects in the private enterprise and public administration sectors.
The new platform, called SHARK.X, is already finished. It hosts different IBM hardware and software components, and integrates with IBM and third-party cloud environments. IBM said its Fusion human–computer interaction (HCI) system, for running edge-based Kubernetes enterprise applications on Red Hat’s OpenShift container platform, “stands out” as a key feature. Telefónica Tech’s “tech inspiration centre”, called La Cabana, is to deploy the open SHARK.X system to underpin the development of new AI solutions for enterprises.
The new use case office will comprise staff from both companies to develop customer pilots. IBM will contribute specialists from its ‘client engineering’ consultancy (“co-creation”) division; Telefónica Tech will provide professional services into the bargain, to define and integrate edge systems for customers. The new office will “promote and coordinate the definition and development of use cases, proofs of concept, and minimum viable products (MVPs)”, they said. The brief stretches to cover traditional and generative AI, plus analytics and data governance solutions.
Telefónica Tech is also taking charge of regulatory and ethical compliance. The agreement is initially limited to Spain, they said. The duo have already jointly-released new generative AI solutions for enterprise customers, they said, including to simplify and expedite code generation for IT applications, automation of processes and incidents, cognitive assistants in industrial operations, advice and customer service, analytics, processing and management of audiovisual content and text documents.
The pair have worked together for ages (“a strong history of collaboration”), they said, including on Telefónica Tech’s multi-cloud TROS service, virtual AI assistants for customer services, and blockchain-based supply chain IoT. A recent study by IBM reckons almost half of the companies in Spain already working with AI have accelerated their investments in this technology in the last 24 months. “This highlights the need to provide the business landscape with tools and solutions that drive their digital transformation journeys, in which AI plays a prominent role,” they stated.
Elena Gil Lizasoain, director of the AI and data business unit at Telefónica Tech, said: “This new collaboration with IBM will help drive the many benefits of AI, traditional and generative, and proper data management in the business world. By combining the knowledge of both teams, we will continue to advance in the construction of use cases aimed at creating more efficient and sustainable businesses.”
Adolfo Hernández Pulido, technology managing director for Telefónica at IBM, said: “Together, we are accelerating the digital transformation of the Spanish business community, enabling the development of innovative technology solutions that will help companies adapt to the AI era. Analytics, data governance and the correct deployment of AI are key elements for today’s business success, and we both share the commitment to help businesses achieve it.”
