IBM (NYSE:IBM) has introduced IBM Bob, a new artificial intelligence platform aimed at supporting enterprise software teams throughout the entire development process. The platform is designed to cover all stages of the lifecycle, including planning, coding, testing and deployment.
IBM Bob integrates AI-powered orchestration across these phases, coordinating different agents and workflows to improve efficiency. It also incorporates built-in security features such as prompt normalization and real-time policy enforcement, along with audit capabilities via its CLI interface to track and document AI-driven activities.
The system leverages multiple AI models, including Anthropic Claude, open-source models from Mistral, and IBM’s own Granite models, assigning tasks based on factors such as accuracy requirements and cost efficiency. Developers can also set approval checkpoints within their existing workflows.
“IBM Bob is how enterprises can move at AI speed without sacrificing the governance and security needs their businesses require,” said Dinesh Nirmal, Senior Vice President of IBM Software.
According to IBM, more than 80,000 employees have used Bob since its internal rollout in June. The company said surveyed users reported an average productivity improvement of 45% across development and modernization tasks. The Instana team saw a 70% reduction in time spent on certain activities, while the Maximo development team achieved approximately 69% time savings in code generation.
The platform is already being adopted by external clients. Ernst & Young is using Bob to modernize its global tax systems, while Blue Pearl completed a Java upgrade project in just three days—significantly faster than the usual 30-day timeframe. APIS IT has also deployed the platform to update government systems, citing improvements in architecture analysis and documentation speed.
IBM Bob is currently offered as a Software-as-a-Service solution with a 30-day trial period. The company also plans to introduce an on-premises version for organizations with specific data residency and compliance requirements.