DEPLOYMENT · US
IBM CEO Krishna says AI will not disrupt mainframe software business; promises catch-up within year
IBM's CEO pushed back investor concerns that AI will erode mainframe software revenue, arguing that mainframe hardware capacity is growing and software will "catch up" within 12 months. Signals IBM's strategy to maintain legacy COBOL/mainframe business alongside new AI stack.
WHY IT MATTERS
Legacy BFSI institutions (banks, insurers) can defer costly mainframe-to-cloud migrations. IBM's mainframe+AI roadmap extends adoption runway for core banking systems. Compliance officers should map IBM's AI maturity claims to actual pilot risk.
Source: CNBC · 2026-07-23