Enterprise IT and creative agencies don’t usually share the same playbook. But Kyndryl (NYSE: KD) and VML, a WPP company (NYSE: WPP), are betting that a mashup of infrastructure muscle and customer experience design could be the key to future-proofing brands.

The two companies announced a new partnership this week aimed at reimagining customer engagement through a mix of AI, data, and design. The idea: combine Kyndryl’s deep technical expertise with VML’s brand and digital transformation chops to help enterprises move from pilot projects to personalized customer experiences at scale.

Breaking Down the Walls Between IT and CX

At the heart of the collaboration is Kyndryl Consult and Kyndryl Vital, which bring advisory and co-creation services for business and infrastructure transformation. On the creative side, VML Enterprise Solutions brings its “experience transformation” know-how, powered by WPP Open, the company’s AI-driven operating system.

Together, the companies want to help brands do something most still struggle with: connect messy back-end systems with sleek front-end customer journeys. “Customer expectations are evolving faster than ever,” said Ismail Amla, SVP of Kyndryl Consult. “Our partnership with VML is about removing the friction that slows down experience transformation.”

Kyndryl adds engineering depth, infrastructure management, and Kyndryl Bridge, its AI-powered integration platform. VML contributes real-time data tools, design expertise, and an ecosystem of digital solutions. The pitch is an end-to-end experience pipeline: from idea to proof of concept to delivery at enterprise scale.

Use Cases Across Industries

The companies are targeting sectors where customer experience can make or break loyalty:

• Financial Services: Using AI agents from Kyndryl’s Agentic AI Framework and WPP Open to orchestrate customer data, improve personalization, and navigate compliance-heavy environments.

• Retail: Helping retailers unify order management, CRM, and customer data platforms to deliver personalized omnichannel experiences while boosting data security.

The joint approach emphasizes deploying mixed “squads” of designers, AI specialists, developers, and engineers—a model borrowed from agile startups but applied to Fortune 500-scale challenges.

Why This Partnership Matters

AI hype is everywhere, but many enterprises are stuck in pilot purgatory: proof-of-concept projects that never scale. Kyndryl and VML are positioning themselves as the duo that can break that logjam, bringing both infrastructure reliability and creative vision to the table.

Competitors like Accenture and Deloitte are also trying to bridge the IT-CX divide, but Kyndryl and VML’s pitch leans heavily on integration and speed—essential in markets where personalization and seamless digital experiences are no longer nice-to-have.

As VML Global CEO Jeff Geheb put it: “Together, VML and Kyndryl are breaking down silos, integrating talent and services and ultimately simplifying the path from idea to delivery.”

The Bottom Line

For enterprises, the partnership could mean less handoff between IT vendors and creative agencies—and more cohesive, AI-powered customer experiences. Whether banks, retailers, and other verticals bite will depend on execution, but one thing is clear: brands that fail to link back-end data with front-end interactions risk falling behind in a customer-first economy.

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