Deutsche Telekom accelerates IT processes with AI-powered automation

Deutsche Telekom is accelerating its IT processes with artificial intelligence (AI) powered automation from IBM.

Deutsche Telekom, one of the world's leading providers of telecommunications and IT services, serving millions of residential and business customers, will implement the AI-powered solution IBM Concert, enabling intelligent automation in patch management and the orchestration of security-related activities.

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Automating software patch management

Deutsche Telekom turned to IBM for an approach that could scale and dramatically improve the overall efficiency of software patch management, according to a press release.

Patches play a vital role in managing the software lifecycle, ensuring systems remain secure, stable and up to date in an ever-evolving IT environment. Without regular patching, software can quickly become exposed to security risks, performance issues and obsolescence. However, managing patches effectively can be complex and time-consuming.

With IBM Concert, organizations can accelerate their response to vulnerabilities, reduce the cost and effort of patch management and enhance overall operational efficiency. The result is faster protection, improved system security and more resilient IT operations.

IBM Concert provides Deutsche Telekom with intelligent resilience for complex IT operations with a single source of truth for vulnerability management, patching and reporting. The solution brings together all relevant data and specializations, creating contextual information that enables end-to-end AI-powered automation.

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Deutsche Telekom accelerates IT processes

The fully automated patching process for operating systems has been designed to reduce patching time from 90 minutes to a maximum of 20 minutes per instance, according to IBM. This time savings gives IT teams new freedom for strategic tasks, innovations and optimizations.

During a successful pilot of IBM Concert, Deutsche Telekom achieved a 10-times improvement in a key metric – reducing the median time to patch for critical vulnerabilities from 80 hours to just eight hours. This significant acceleration not only strengthened IT security but also enhanced risk management and compliance. With faster patch deployment, Deutsche Telekom can now address IT operational risks more effectively and maintain a stronger security posture.

“Secure operating systems form the foundation for all applications, databases and services that we offer our customers,” said Dr Peter Leukert, group CIO of Deutsche Telekom. “When it comes to patching, the time factor has taken on a critical role in the AI era. Those who use available updates immediately and automatically can reduce security risks.”

By intelligently orchestrating and automating security-critical processes, clients like Deutsche Telekom can not only respond faster to new threats, but also use resources more efficiently using IBM Concert, added Dinesh Nirmal, SVP IBM Software. “In doing so, they are creating a solid foundation for a future-proof, scalable and highly secure IT operating model with the help of AI.”

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Image credit: Photo: Deutsche Telekom, Norbert Itterman