Press Release: There’s a transformation happening in enterprise technology, and it’s being fueled by the accelerated evolution of SaaS and AI. Despite speculation about AI agents overtaking SaaS, the reality is clear – SaaS is not only here to stay, but it's becoming even more critical as AI capabilities expand and hybrid cloud infrastructures mature.
The Surge of SaaS
According to Gartner, global end-user SaaS spending is expected to reach $247 billion in 2024 and nearly $300 billion by 2025. This surge reflects the growing need for agile, cost-efficient, and scalable solutions that power faster innovation — capabilities that SaaS delivers, especially when supercharged by AI.
IBM is fully committed to leading this new era. In fact, our commitment to the acceleration of SaaS is definitively seen through our acquisitions, our software offerings, and our partner resources. Our strategic acquisitions of Apptio and HashiCorp, combined with the strength of Red Hat and watsonx, have created a powerful ecosystem of hybrid cloud and AI-driven SaaS solutions. These platforms enable enterprises to integrate, automate, and secure complex operations across diverse environments — key for building future-proof, cloud-native applications.
The Partner Opportunity
The integration of HashiCorp’s infrastructure automation and security capabilities into our portfolio creates lift for partners reselling the products while strengthening our hybrid cloud offerings. Modern SaaS applications rely on hybrid cloud infrastructure spanning multiple environments, where HashiCorp’s technologies excel. For our ecosystem, this means bigger opportunities to sell comprehensive solutions that clients can implement without disruption.
The appetite we’re seeing from partners for HashiCorp’s offerings further demonstrates the acceleration of the SaaS model, which is instrumental in driving enterprise innovation. Partner success is our priority, and the numbers speak for themselves. To further support partners on this journey, we recently introduced a bonus program that increases partner earnings on SaaS deployment and new client adoption through the end of the year, closely aligning with what we are seeing from partners and accelerating SaaS in the market.
It’s no surprise that SaaS opportunities within IBM’s partner ecosystem are growing significantly faster than traditional methods, offering a competitive edge. Take SAP, a partner which leverages SaaS to deliver AI-driven insights, slashing operational costs for clients. Or consider Rocket Software, a resell partner using IBM’s watsonx SaaS solutions to enhance generative AI productivity at scale. These examples showcase the power of IBM’s SaaS portfolio, which saw double digit growth throughout 2024.
Accelerating AI and SaaS
Looking ahead, generative AI is forecasted to drive the creation of over one billion cloud-native applications by 2028. IBM’s focus on vertical AI solutions, robust governance, and scalable security positions our SaaS offerings to meet this unprecedented demand head-on. The integration of AI-driven capabilities is enhancing SaaS, and the combination is creating more value than either technology could deliver alone, leaving our partners well-positioned to address the growing demand for automated, secure infrastructure supporting next-generation SaaS.
The future is SaaS and AI working together. IBM is building it and leading the charge.
More info here.
