IBM Named a Leader in the 2025 IDC MarketScape: Worldwide AI Coding and Software Engineering Technologies 2025

We’re excited to announce that IBM has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide AI Coding and Software Engineering Technologies 2025 Vendor Assessment. We believe this recognition highlights our continued commitment to helping enterprises modernize and automate their software development with enterprise-grade AI.

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Today’s software teams face mounting pressure to deliver faster, modernize aging systems, and ensure security and scalability across increasingly complex hybrid environments. Developers aren’t just looking for tools—they’re searching for an intelligent solution that empowers them to build, deploy, and maintain applications with ease, with AI as a trusted partner every step of the way.

IBM watsonx Code Assistant, launched in 2023 and built on IBM’s powerful Granite foundation models, is designed specifically for the complex needs of large organizations. It brings AI-powered code generation and modernization to hybrid cloud and legacy environments—where many enterprises still run their most critical workloads.

Watsonx Code Assistant is recognized for its strength across the 5 following areas:

1. Deep integration with platforms like Red Hat Ansible and IBM Z, enabling seamless workflows across traditional and modern systems.
2. Mainframe modernization capabilities that help organizations transform legacy codebases with confidence.
3. Robust governance features, including code provenance, bias detection, and fine-grained access controls—critical for regulated industries.
4. Infrastructure automation through Ansible playbook generation, bridging the gap between traditional IT and cloud-native operations.
5. Flexible deployment options, including support for air-gapped environments to meet stringent security and compliance requirements.

While its support for emerging cloud-native paradigms like serverless and Terraform is still evolving, watsonx Code Assistant already delivers exceptional value for enterprises with complex, compliance-driven modernization needs.

From financial services to government and healthcare, organizations operating in highly regulated sectors rely on watsonx Code Assistant to modernize securely, efficiently and at scale. Its enterprise-grade capabilities and flexible deployment make it a trusted partner for those prioritizing operational resilience and governance.

Read the IDC MarketScape excerpt to learn why IBM is a Leader in AI Coding and Software Engineering Technologies.

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide AI Coding and Software Engineering Technologies 2025 Vendor Assessment" by: Arnal Dayaratna, July 2025, IDC # US52982525IDC

MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. The Capabilities score measures vendor product, go-to-market and business execution in the short-term. The Strategy score measures alignment of vendor strategies with customer requirements in a 3-5-year timeframe. Vendor market share is represented by the size of the circles.