• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
TechGlobal 500

American Airlines Lands On IBM Cloud For Some Of Its Tech

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 29, 2016, 12:01 AM ET
A ticket agent at the American Airlines terminal at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, discusses a ticket with a customer.
Photograph by Phil Velasquez—Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

American Airlines plans to use IBM’s public cloud to run some of its applications, both companies said early Tuesday.

American Airlines, like most large companies, has legacy applications to manage tasks and will move some of them to IBM’s (IBM) public cloud and use IBM’s BlueMix tools to modernize them. It did not specify which applications would move.

“The agreement runs the gamut from software and services to infrastructure and also will include data analytics and Watson going forward,” said Patrick Grubbs, IBM’s vice president of travel and transportation. “Watson” is IBM’s brand of artificial intelligence software that is being customized to suit various vertical industries.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Neither he nor an American Airlines (AAL) spokeswoman would put a dollar figure on the deal, which is not exclusive. In a prepared statement, the airline said that the cloud computing model, which lets companies add and delete resources as needed, will give it more flexibility and scale for some of its business software.

In September, American’s chief information officer Maya Leibman told the CIO Journal that the airline was evaluating a move to the cloud and expected to make decisions about it within months. This looks to be one of those decisions. The American Airlines statement noted that IBM was “a cloud partner,” so there is no exclusivity implied.

Asked about that point, an airlines spokeswoman stressed that it is a big company that works with lots of tech providers. “We use the best and newest tools for the right applications,” she told Fortune. And, since this is new technology, there will be a lot of testing before it goes live.

The airline is not alone in this massive technology shift. Most large companies are weighing the need to keep building and operating their own data centers or moving more of those computing and data storage jobs to a third-party cloud provider like Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, Microsoft (MSFT) Azure, Google (GOOGL) Cloud Platform, or IBM SoftLayer.

For more on IBM, watch:

There will be more discussion about companies moving to the cloud at Amazon’s annual AWS Re:invent conference this week in Las Vegas, where Amazon will undoubtedly claim a list of customer wins. But while AWS is by far the largest public cloud purveyor, it doesn’t have this market to itself anymore. Microsoft, Google, VMware (VMW), IBM, and others are all wooing enterprise customers with their respective public clouds.

It probably doesn’t hurt that IBM and American have a relationship going back decades. IBM, for example, worked with American Airlines on SABRE, the pioneering online reservation system.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Robert Shiller, professor of economics at Yale University
AIEconomics
Nobel laureate economist warns AI jobs apocalypse fears could become a self-fulfilling prophesy
By Eva RoytburgJune 27, 2026
23 minutes ago
One in 10 Gen Zers want their boss to be replaced by AI—they’re already being polite to ChatGPT just in case
SuccessGen Z
One in 10 Gen Zers want their boss to be replaced by AI—they’re already being polite to ChatGPT just in case
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 27, 2026
2 hours ago
Photo of Elon Musk
C-SuiteElon Musk
‘Don’t look at the résumé’: Elon Musk admits he’s ‘fallen prey’ to flashy credentials and says conversation matters most when hiring
By Jacqueline MunisJune 27, 2026
2 hours ago
Microsoft executive Jacob Andreou poses for a photo wearing a black suit jacket, with a tan background behind him.
AIMicrosoft
The 33-year-old executive Satya Nadella is trusting to fix Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant
By Sebastian HerreraJune 27, 2026
3 hours ago
Big Short legend Steve Eisman says everyone is buying the wrong AI stocks
InvestingFinance
Big Short legend Steve Eisman says everyone is buying the wrong AI stocks
By Shawn TullyJune 27, 2026
4 hours ago
Hacker in a dark hooded jacket holding a smartphone displaying an incoming unknown call while working on a laptop
CybersecurityScams
Job scams are getting more sophisticated, and they’re costing Americans millions
By Jacqueline MunisJune 27, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
2 days ago
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
3 days ago
Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
Economy
Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
By Nick LichtenbergJune 26, 2026
1 day ago
The bond market knows something about the $39 trillion national debt that Washington doesn’t
Economy
The bond market knows something about the $39 trillion national debt that Washington doesn’t
By Eva RoytburgJune 25, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 26, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 26, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 26, 2026
23 hours ago
The richest 20% are the only ones powering the U.S. economy, says top economist, but their prospects are entirely reliant on teetering stock prices
Economy
The richest 20% are the only ones powering the U.S. economy, says top economist, but their prospects are entirely reliant on teetering stock prices
By Eleanor PringleJune 26, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.