For the fifth consecutive year, IDC ranked IBM the #1 market share leader in AI software platforms for 2019. In the IDC report, Worldwide AI Software Platforms Market Shares, 2019: The Battle Has Begun (doc #US46652020, July 2020), IDC valued the AI software platform market at USD 3.5 billion in 2019, a near-30% increase over the prior year. And despite a crowded landscape of competitors, IDC finds IBM leading the field among the largest AI platform players with an 8.8% share. While COVID-19 forces companies worldwide to reconsider business as usual, the accolades can wait; there's no time for a victory lap when work remains to accelerate the COVID-19 economic recovery with Data and AI. With IBM Watson positioned as the business world's first choice in AI software platforms, four competitive differentiators distinguish it from the competition.