Morgan Malyon
IBM Power and Storage solutions remain relevant and robust, with upgrades that make them the foundation of the agile, hybrid and AI-enabled enterprise.
This is according to experts from IBM and systems integrator TCM, who were speaking during a webinar on transforming IT infrastructure.
The webinar outlined how IBM Power and IBM FlashSystem are helping companies modernise their infrastructure, enhance performance and optimise costs.
Morgan Malyon, Partner Technical Sales at IBM, said: “Power is an architecture tried and tested since the early 1980s, and it’s still going strong. It’s a processor and a family of servers – so there’s one for everybody.
Aiming to change perceptions about IBM Power platforms, he said the new IBM Power family was future proof from both an application and growth perspective.
“We are often asked why IBM Power is still relevant in a world of x86. There is a misconception that it is a legacy platform; however, as the product has evolved, it’s become incredibly relevant. It’s not a competitor to x86, but rather a complementary and co-existent technology built on resilience and high availability, high performance and elastic capability, and it can drive savings from a pure infrastructure perspective.”
He also highlighted IBM Power’s robust security: “I have often heard of companies where there have been ransom attacks and the only systems that were unaffected were the IBM Power platforms. It is also sustainable and flexible, and has a native ability to run multiple operating systems. Linux is a key driver to move IBM Power into modern relevance. With Linux you get the same experience, management and monitoring on IBM Power as you do on x86, but the core licensing requirements are significantly lower. We provide the same functionality, higher resilience and availability at a lower price point.”
Malyon added: “It’s not a legacy box, there has been a lot of investment in R&D. IBM Power is not going anywhere, and we’re about to release a new product soon that will be a game changer.”
He also highlighted IBM Flash storage, noting: “IBM is seen as the leader in highest density, highest performance, lowest power and most cyber resilient storage, such as IBM FlashSystem storage for mission-critical transactional workloads. Big features for us are its real-time ransomware detection and an all-inclusive licensing model.”
Terry Bailey, Senior Sales Executive at TCM, noted: “TCM has been a trusted systems integrator since 1987, partnering with leading enterprises across the country helping clients modernise their legacy infrastructure, navigate their hybrid cloud journeys and unlock the power of AI and analytics. The team has a long track record, over three decades, of successfully implementing IBM Power and Storage systems. TCM is also a strategic enabler to deliver real, measurable outcomes.”
TCM worked with Diners Club, Standard Bank and IBM on a complex migration to the latest generation of IBM Power systems.
Mohammed Ahmed, IT Technical Specialist at Diners Club, outlined how the organisation had upgraded from an older IBM Power environment to the latest generation as part of a modernisation project. He said: “As our infrastructure approached the end of life, and we were working on PCI DSS compliance at the same time, we modernised our core payments infrastructure through the implementation of new IBM Power servers. Since moving to IBM Power, we have seen significant performance improvements, tighter security, increased availability and reliability, greater scalability and energy efficiency, and we are poised for AI.”
