ServiceNow, IBM team up to target legacy IT

2026-06-11 · Source: Information and Enterprise Technology News | CIO Dive - Www.ciodive.com · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Cloud Computing & IT Infrastructure, Software Development & Engineering · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, short

Summary

ServiceNow and IBM expanded their partnership on June 11, 2026, to help enterprises modernize legacy IT systems and scale AI adoption. This collaboration integrates IBM's AI, data, and automation capabilities with ServiceNow's AI platform. The initiative focuses on three key areas: application modernization, enterprise data governance, and autonomous infrastructure operations. Customers will gain access to IBM tools like Bob, Enterprise Application Runtimes, and watsonx.data through the ServiceNow platform to update aging systems. Additionally, the partnership incorporates Red Hat Ansible, Instana, HashiCorp Terraform, and HashiCorp Vault into ServiceNow IT workflows to enable more autonomous infrastructure operations, including automatic issue detection and resolution. These joint capabilities are expected to be available in the second half of 2026, aiming to evolve existing systems rather than requiring full replacements.

Key takeaway

For CIOs and IT professionals planning AI deployments, this partnership offers a path to overcome legacy system hurdles. You should evaluate how integrating IBM's AI, data, and automation tools via ServiceNow can accelerate application modernization and enhance data governance. Consider utilizing these joint capabilities, expected in late 2026, to evolve your existing infrastructure for AI readiness rather than undertaking costly full system replacements.

Key insights

Scaling enterprise AI requires modernizing legacy IT systems and ensuring robust data governance and automation.

Principles

• AI adoption needs foundational system updates.
• Evolve existing systems over full replacement.
• Integrated platforms simplify AI scaling.

Method

Integrate IBM's AI, data, and automation tools (e.g., Bob, watsonx.data, Ansible) into ServiceNow's platform to modernize applications, govern data, and automate infrastructure operations.

In practice

• Use IBM Bob for AI coding assistance.
• Apply watsonx.data for data governance.
• Automate IT workflows with Red Hat Ansible.

Topics

• Enterprise AI
• Legacy IT Modernization
• Data Governance
• IT Automation
• ServiceNow Platform
• IBM watsonx.data
• Red Hat Ansible

Best for: VP of Engineering/Data, Executive, Director of AI/ML, IT Professional, CTO

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Information and Enterprise Technology News | CIO Dive - Www.ciodive.com.