Walking the golden path to AI value
Published 20 October 2025
What exactly is the right path for organizations to walk when it comes to AI? The “golden path” to AI value is the balance between hype and hesitation—finding pragmatic ways to deliver measurable outcomes today, while building the foundations for long-term transformation, Gartner says.
At its flagship regional conference—Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2025 on the Gold Coast, Australia—the dilemma facing today’s CIOs was a major focus: boards are demanding tangible AI value now, yet most organizations are still working through issues of readiness, culture and cost. The advice was clear: to succeed, CIOs must focus on simplification, cultural readiness and vendor selection.
Here are some lessons CIOs can take to ensure that they are taking this path.
CIOs should internalize the following recommendations:
- Balance readiness with ambition. CIOs must be realistic about where their organizations stand, both technically and culturally, while still moving decisively toward AI adoption.
- Simplify before scaling. Fragmented data, overlapping systems and redundant processes are going to magnify only AI’s complexity and costs.
- Choose vendors carefully. The right partners aren’t just tool providers. They bring transformation experience, integration capability and a proven ability to scale AI sustainably.
IBM has walked this path, the company’s Richie Paul says. And its transformation wasn’t theoretical—it was a disciplined effort to simplify operations, scale AI and reimagine how work gets done. Here’s how:
- Starting with data foundations: IBM confronted fragmented data systems, introduced governance standards and reduced manual consolidation. This process provided the clarity and quality needed for AI to be effective.
- Simplifying the technology stack: By consolidating platforms, IBM reduced complexity and costs. Today, we run on common components including Adobe, Salesforce, SAP and Apptio®.
- Changing how work gets done: Productivity squads and an AI-first mindset drove rapid sprints to identify inefficiencies and embed automation in workflows.
- Embedding AI assistants and agents: Tools such as AskIT and AskHR now provide real-time support, automate reporting and free employees from administrative costs.
- Scaling AI adoption: AI usage across internal systems grew from 25% to 75%, driving a USD 3.5 billion reduction in operating expenses. Just as importantly, it created a cultural shift: employees working confidently alongside digital agents.
Here is the practical application of Gartner’s recommendations: start with simplification, scale with discipline and select vendors that deliver measurable outcomes.
AI transformation is not about chasing hype or waiting for perfection. It’s about choosing the right path, the right pace and the right partners.
IBM shows what’s possible: billions in cost savings, streamlined processes, improved employee experience and a cultural shift that embraces AI as a trusted collaborator.
For CIOs, the golden path is not abstract—it is walkable, with discipline, foresight and the right guidance. And the lessons are clear: simplify, scale and select vendors who bring proven transformation experience.
What makes IBM’s journey relevant is that the same capabilities we used internally are available to clients. CIOs walking their own golden path can leverage:
- IBM watsonx®—our AI and data platform for building, governing and scaling trustworthy AI. With watsonx.ai®, watsonx.data® and watsonx.governance®, organizations can move from experimentation to enterprise adoption with confidence.
- Agentic AI—IBM offers solutions that go beyond chatbots to deliver autonomous, decision-making agents that transform end-to-end processes.
- AI-driven observability and optimization—through Instana®, Turbonomic® and Apptio, organizations can monitor hybrid cloud performance, optimize costs and make data-driven investment decisions.
- Hybrid cloud and automation—with Red Hat® OpenShift® at the core, CIOs can modernize workloads, deploy securely across environments and automate processes for resilience and speed.
- Integration at scale—through webMethods® and DataStax®, IBM helps connect diverse data and applications, enabling CIOs to turn silos into systems of intelligence.
IBM’s experience underpins these capabilities as both a technology provider and a transformation partner—and validated by the results of our own journey. IBM has walked this path. Now we are helping others to do the same.