Customers
Kyndryl and WPP expand strategic partnership to drive enterprise transformation, marketing growth and joint go-to-market innovation
Press release
6 Oct 2026
Even the finest tools are valueless without people to control them. That’s why organizations must center on people while exploring the capabilities of AI. Human factors, from cultural acceptance to usability, technical mastery and trust, spark innovation, determine return on investment and create business value.
Kyndryl excels in experience design, and recently received Level 4 certification from the XLA Institute. This is the highest level the XLA Institute has awarded to any IT services provider to date and aligns with ISO’s technical guidance on experience management.
Here, Michael Przytula, SVP and Global Practice Leader, Applications, Data, AI and Digital Workplace Services at Kyndryl, explains why the firm’s approach to design always begins with people.
Why is experience transformation such an important business priority?
Michael Przytula: In the digital transformation space, we create value through the experiences people have with technology. The technology doesn’t create value on its own. If it did, an organization could just buy some off-the-shelf components and be done with it. But when companies proceed that way, they can end up with the enterprise equivalent of expensive, shiny objects scattered across a production floor. That lack of an integrated system then burdens users with a disconnected experience.
The most successful organizations approach their business and technology strategies from a more holistic perspective. They start with the business goal they need to achieve, and then design the experience that delivers it. We lean on Kyndryl Consult’s Connected Experience framework here — a repeatable, successful approach that is grounded in experience-led strategy and transformation.
“Getting it right” is critical when working with agentic AI. An organization’s goals and instructions must be clear and precise. And if goals and instructions are not contextualized, agentic AI can deliver flawed results. While agentic AI is powerful and designed to help, it isn’t human. So people must supply it with the ethics, judgment and nuance that are essential to achieving productive results. Context is key.
This is where capabilities and offerings such as Kyndryl Bridge, Kyndryl Vital and Kyndryl’s AI Innovation Labs come into play. Together, they enable Kyndryl to advance the art and science of integrating people and technology to drive business outcomes. These capabilities help us help our customers turn great ideas into tangible results.
When it comes to AI, explain how Kyndryl is a "people-centered" culture.
Przytula: That statement encapsulates everything that Kyndryl is about — both as a services provider and in the ways we operate as a firm. Internally, we’re using a combination of human judgment and AI capabilities to redefine employee digital experience. Our work identifying and prioritizing best practices, streamlining procedures and reducing friction helps our people help our customers. We then combine the ongoing learnings from our “customer zero” experience with the millions of cross-industry insights we receive from Kyndryl Bridge to deliver the experience design leadership for which we have been recognized.
Being the humans in the room means understanding that people will always be essential to innovation and advancement. Human judgment, empathy, creativity and relationship-building will always matter. Our goal is always to elevate the quality of human interactions with technology. We want AI to handle the tasks it’s best at so people can concentrate on higher-value concerns. Our approach to experience design with AI focuses as much on preserving human value as it does on elevating human experience.
Our approach to experience design with AI focuses as much on preserving human value as it does on elevating human experience.
How does Kyndryl’s XLA Institute Maturity Model (XMM) certification translate to customer value?
Przytula: Industry-leading recognition by the XLA Institute in experience management validates two things. First is the importance of the experience component of IT services management and delivery. Second is Kyndryl’s leadership in designing and delivering enterprise experience transformation. We’re going beyond technology modernization to help customers achieve the synergies required to move their organizations forward through a combination of human perspectives and AI power.
Building strong data foundations and designing for human oversight in an environment of trust are important. So is creating ethical, empowering and frictionless experiences that unlock human potential by encouraging people to push their limits. These are the drivers of business value and returns on investments in AI.
Kyndryl’s approach helps mitigate the risks associated with AI, automation and digital transformation. We understand both the technical specifics and the broader strategic context needed to help these transformations succeed. Having great technology for its own sake is not enough.
