IBM has announced its acquisition of Hakkoda, a New York-based data and AI consultancy, as part of its strategy to expand its consulting services, particularly in the financial services, public sector, and healthcare and life sciences industries.

Who is Hakkoda?

Founded in 2021, Hakkoda has quickly become a recognized leader in modern data consulting. The company helps organizations migrate and modernize their data architectures, with a strong focus on healthcare, financial services, and government sectors. Its capabilities span data engineering, analytics, machine learning, and application development.

Hakkoda is especially known for its expertise with the Snowflake Data Cloud, holding hundreds of SnowPro core and advanced certifications. The firm was named Snowflake’s 2024 Healthcare & Life Sciences Services Partner of the Year and 2023 Americas System Integrator Innovation Partner of the Year.

IBM Consulting’s Momentum

IBM Consulting has emerged as a key growth driver for IBM, playing a central role in its transformation strategy. In Q4 2024, the consulting division delivered $5.2 billion in revenue—roughly 29.5% of IBM’s total $17.55 billion revenue for the quarter.

Several factors have fueled this momentum:

• AI and Hybrid Cloud Services: IBM’s focus on AI and hybrid cloud has positioned its consulting business to help clients modernize infrastructure and operations.
• Generative AI: By the end of 2024, IBM’s generative AI business surpassed $5 billion in bookings, reflecting growing client demand for AI-enabled transformation.
• Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships: Collaborations with technology providers like Oracle have expanded IBM’s ability to deliver integrated, end-to-end solutions.

Acquisitions have also played a pivotal role. Alongside Hakkoda, IBM acquired Accelalpha in September 2024 and Applications Software Technology (AST) in January 2025. Accelalpha deepened IBM’s capabilities in Oracle Cloud applications for supply chain and logistics, while AST brought specialized expertise in Oracle implementations for government and education sectors.

Final Thoughts

The acquisition of Hakkoda is a well-timed, strategic move that enhances IBM’s capabilities in enterprise data transformation. Hakkoda’s strength in Snowflake-based cloud data migration and modernization, combined with its deep industry experience, will enhance IBM Consulting’s ability to support data-intensive, regulated industries.

The acquisition fits squarely within IBM Consulting’s broader growth narrative. With nearly 30% of total revenue and accelerating AI traction, the consulting division is now one of IBM’s

Unlike previous infrastructure-focused deals, Hakkoda addresses the upstream challenge of preparing enterprise data for AI. It adds a high-value layer that enriches IBM’s end-to-end transformation capabilities.

Bottom line: Hakkoda gives IBM a sharper edge in data-centric consulting, accelerates its AI strategy, and reinforces its position in complex, regulated markets. It’s another step forward in accelerating IBM Consulting into a global leader in AI-enabled enterprise reinvention.