As enterprises have responded to the pressing need for digital transformation and modernization during a global pandemic, they’ve also had to figure out how to do so in a budget-friendly manner.

Across the world, IBM is at the forefront of supporting clients through its technology transitions and ensuring that they keep the lights on.

“We can help very clearly by saving them 30% on average on their IT spend in terms of maintenance,” said Michael Perera (pictured), general manager of technology support services at IBM. “So … we’ve done a study of almost 300 of our clients over the last year, and 30% is the number that they have spent … straight to the bottom line or straight to reinvest directly back into their business.”

Perera spoke with Dave Vellante, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during IBM Think. They discussed global examples of how IBM has helped its customers modernize and digitally transform during the past year. (* Disclosure below.)

Helping enterprises across the globe with digital transformation during COVID-19

So what are some success stories that IBM has seen as it helps organizations transform digitally? Perera mentioned several examples, all of which are across the globe and each effected by the pandemic in unique ways. One of those examples is McKesson Corp., a healthcare coverage and access company. 

“[McKesson has] been swamped distributing COVID vaccines across the U.S.,” Perera said. “[And we’re] enabling them to scale on IBM Power and Storage — along with Cisco networking software, including Linux [and] — what they do around hard drive retentions as they’re swapping things in and out and expanding in order to meet regulatory requirements.”

IBM has also been helping Vodafone Group PLC, a telecommunications company in New Zealand, by adding 3,000 network devices due to increased traffic from COVID-19, and Vodafone saved 20% right off the bat as part of its overall umbrella maintenance agreement, according to Perera. Banco Santader, a worldwide banking firm, built its own custom branch infrastructure in Chile using IBM technologies and solutions, giving it anywhere between a two to 24-hour response time.

“We’ve also introduced a cloud-based support insights platform, which has helped clients like Maple Leaf Foods in Canada, to give them access and visibility [to their network],” Perera stated. “What is their network look like? What are the devices that they’ve got? Where do they have security vulnerabilities and in identifying hardware and software bugs? So giving them the ability to work smarter so that they can also not just save … but also so that they can put their resources to work more efficiently and, as a result, be able to go spend more time on other things.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of IBM Think. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for IBM Think. Neither IBM, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE