By David La Rose | GM, IBM Ecosystem, Sales
June 4, 2025
Enterprise technology is undergoing transformation, driven by the accelerated evolution of SaaS and AI. Despite speculation that AI agents have overtaken SaaS, the reality is clear. Not only does SaaS stay here, it's becoming even more important as AI capabilities expand and cloud infrastructure matures in hybrids.
Surge in SAAS
According to Gartner, global end-users' SaaS spending is expected to reach $247 billion in 2024 and close to $300 billion by 2025. This surge reflects the growing need for agile, cost-effective, scalable solutions to enhance the capabilities SAAS delivers, especially when supercharged by AI.
IBM is fully committed to leading this new era. In fact, our commitment to accelerated SaaS is clearly seen through acquisitions, software delivery and partner resources. The strategic acquisition of Apptio and Hashicorp combined with the strength of Red Hat and Watsonx creates a powerful ecosystem of hybrid clouds and AI-driven SaaS solutions. These platforms allow businesses to integrate, automate, and protect complex operations across diverse environments.
Partner Opportunities
Integrating Hashicorp's infrastructure automation and security capabilities into our portfolio creates a lift for partners who resell products while enhancing hybrid cloud products. Modern SaaS applications rely on hybrid cloud infrastructures across multiple environments where Hashicorp's technology is superior. For our ecosystem, this means a great opportunity to sell comprehensive solutions that clients can implement without confusion.
Appetite from the viewpoint of Hashicorp's partners for delivery further demonstrates the acceleration of the SaaS model that helps drive enterprise innovation. Our partner's success is our priority, and the numbers speak for itself. To further support our partners on this journey, we recently introduced a bonus programme by the end of the year to increase partner revenue for SAAS deployments and new client recruitment, working closely with what our partners see and accelerated SaaS in the market.
It is no surprise that SaaS opportunities within IBM's partner ecosystem are growing significantly faster than traditional methods and offering competitiveness. Use SAP, a partner that leverages SAAS to provide AI-driven insights and reduces client operational costs. Alternatively, consider Rocket Software, a Resell partner that uses IBM's Watsonx SaaS solution to increase productivity for generative AI at scale. These examples illustrate the power of IBM's SaaS portfolio, which has seen double-digit growth throughout 2024.
Acceleration of AI and SaaS
Looking ahead, generative AI is projected to drive the creation of over 1 billion cloud-native applications by 2028. IBM focuses on vertical AI solutions, robust governance and scalable security, offering SaaS to meet this unprecedented demand head on. The integration of AI-driven capabilities is bolstering SAAS, and this combination creates more value than any technology can offer on its own, allowing partners to be properly positioned to address the growing demand for automated, secure infrastructures supporting next-generation SAAS.
The future is for SaaS and AI to work together. IBM is building it and leading the fees.
