How the BMC Helix spin-off has fared, one year later

The split of BMC into two companies, announced just over a year ago, marked the evolution of this long-standing business project into two players: one, BMC, focused on mainframe automation and software, the firm’s original business; and the other, BMC Helix, focused on IT services and operations.

Raúl Álvarez, vice president of worldwide sales for BMC Helix, explains in an interview with Computerworld Spain how specialization, agility, and a technological focus are driving accelerated growth for the new entity.

The split, he asserts, citing analyst data, has enabled the company to accelerate innovation, strengthen alliances, and position itself in the IT service management (ITSM) market, where other technology companies such as ServiceNow, Ivanti, Jira Service Management (from Atlassian), SolarWinds, and IBM also operate.

The result of this move, he adds, is a faster, more customer-focused organization, ready for a new era of AI-based agent automation.

Here is that conversation, edited for length and clarity.

Why did BMC decide to split into two companies, and what strategic needs does this separation address in the specific case of BMC Helix?

Raúl Álvarez: I’ve been working at BMC for 26, almost 27 years. So, as you can imagine, I’m not at all neutral because this is the company of my life. I’ve built my career at BMC.

Why do I say this? Because, splitting the company has an emotional impact: You stop working day-to-day with half your family. It’s a bittersweet feeling: On the one hand, you stop working with people who have made you who you are; on the other, there’s the professional aspect, which is what you mentioned, and the logic behind splitting the company in two, the main reason for which was focus and specialization.

Our owners rightly considered, in my opinion, and setting aside any emotional considerations, that we [BMC Helix] had already achieved sufficient size and growth to be an independent company. Furthermore, as you can see, focus is essential in such a dynamic market, where AI and innovation must be tangible and rapid. The announcement of the separation was made last year, and it officially began on April 1 with two separate companies. Without a doubt, time has proven that the decision was the right one.

Why do you say that?

Because that’s how our clients perceive it. They tell us that this specialization is helping us provide better service. And not just them, but analysts, too. I don’t know if you’ve seen Forrester’s latest quadrant for ITSM, which places us as leaders. I think the last time we were leaders was in 2011. We’re leaders again in a very competitive market. That’s why, as I said, it’s clear that the focus is making sense.

What role does BMC Helix play within the company’s new ecosystem, and how does it differ from BMC’s historical mainframebusiness?

The mainframe market is fairly static. There’s a lot of talk about its decline, but the reality is that the large companies using it continue to grow. I come from that world, and I know it works very well, but it’s not a growing market; it’s a replacement market. Consequently, the separation gives us differentiation per se: focus, faster innovation, and the ability to generate more value. It’s a SaaS model, with more aggressive growth, focused on new clients, new brands, adding value to the installed base, and all the artificial intelligence, agent-based AI, and use cases.

What growth and specialization opportunities are opening up for BMC Helix after the spin-off, especially in the ServiceOps and distributed operations market?

Well, to be honest, you could say it was almost step one. When BMC was a single company, everything was aligned in our catalog, but there were always overlapping schedules. Now, being independent gives us agility in decision-making. Before, you had to see how each move fit into a huge portfolio; now it’s a single line, and that accelerates everything: marketing, go-to-market, resources, roadmap, development, etc.

Looking back 10 years, we’ve done a tremendous amount of work evolving from on-premises technologies like Remedy, Proactive, TrueSight, and Patrol to modern cloud and container architectures. That effort has put us in a very good position. Having changes, configurations, service models, assets, and metrics all in one place is invaluable. And the emergence of AI — first generative, now agent-based — is a huge opportunity because this structured data multiplies its value.

How was this whole process put into action?

It’s very simple: On day one, we reorganized everything. Before, we had product managers for each module; now they’re aligned with roles: change manager, asset manager, governance manager, and so on, because we’re creating agents for those roles. Each agent automates repetitive tasks that historically required a lot of effort from people. We launch new agents every two, three, or four weeks. And we prioritize based on real impact: which agent can automate the most work for our clients, how much time it saves, and so on. Undoubtedly, having 40 years of experience and so much data makes this strategy much easier.

The separation also opens doors to strategic alliances that were previously impossible. Where will they lead?

We’re working extensively on these areas. We have several layers to work on. First, we collaborate with large consulting firms, especially in the banking sector, on compliance matters, regulations like DORA, audits, and so on. In this regard, we’re creating dedicated agents for these tasks. Then, working with integrators allows us to gain specialization, scalability, and project capacity.

As we expand our network with new logos, we need well-trained partners. And finally, I can’t forget the hyperscale providers: Google, AWS, and Oracle. Our SaaS platform resides in their clouds, so we’re exploring ways to leverage their LLMs, their datacenters, and establish a presence in their marketplaces. Consequently, both forging technological alliances and strengthening our platform are key actions that were part of the agenda we defined a year ago.

What specific benefits will BMC Helix customers gain in terms of agility, technological focus, and speed of delivery in digital transformation projects?

First, operational robustness: incidents, changes, configurations, IT, availability, capacity. That’s fundamental. But the real opportunity lies in AI and agents. And here the benefits are very clear: agility, accuracy, predictability, and quality. Automation reduces hours spent on repetitive tasks. Many clients don’t complete all the projects they want due to a lack of time and resources. This will allow them to rebalance priorities.

What impact is expected from the adoption of agent-based AI and intelligent automation technologies from BMC Helix on the IT operations of companies such as Telefónica, BBVA, or the public administration?

I would summarize it in three words: agility, accuracy, and self-service. IT is becoming increasingly complex, which is why AI will allow us to identify and resolve problems faster, make decisions sooner, and free up resources for higher-value tasks. Self-service is also key: enabling users to resolve issues themselves with the help of agents, thus freeing up support teams.

The channel is important to BMC Helix. What messages were conveyed at the event held in Madrid, and how do you see its potential to generate business with AI?

It’s fundamental. We depend 100% on the channel to grow sustainably and guarantee the success of our projects. We’ve invested in training and equipping them with skills, and we need to continue expanding that network: specialized integrators, solid partners, scalability. Without a doubt, the company’s future depends on a strong channel.

Finally, how do you foresee 2025 ending and what are your expectations for 2026?

The year is looking good. It’s a very active market, and we’re in a good position. The focus now isn’t just on sales, but on ensuring adoption: customers in production, using the agents, and satisfied. For that, we have a solid pipeline and a highly specialized team. That’s why we’ve developed an aggressive growth plan — which has to be aggressive by nature — but we’re optimistic. Product, focus, market, and analysts are all aligned. Now it all depends on us executing well.