The document summarizes the current state of IBM i and its continued strength over 25+ years later. Key points include its undeniable reliability, industry-leading security, and support through 2027. It highlights improvements to the POWER8 architecture, expanded memory and I/O capabilities, and modernization efforts including improved virtualization and incorporation of open source technologies and cloud capabilities. The document advocates staying current on IBM i releases and services like managed backups to take advantage of ongoing innovations.

2. IBM i Still Strong 25+ Years Later
• The reputation that made IBM i (AS/400) great is still true today
oUndeniable reliability
oIndustry-leading security
oHigh performance for volume transactions
• New modern features and functions
oNew and future technologies
oCompletely cloud ready
oLong-term technology roadmap
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3. IBM i State of the Hardware
• Rock solid hardware and software integration
oFewer administrators than Linux, Unix, and Windows systems
oBuilt on advanced POWER8 architecture
oIBM i support to 2027 and beyond
• IBM has consolidated many of their servers under the Power Systems line
oIBM sold their commodity x86 business to focus on Power
oLarge investments in the processor and the open community
oTake full advantage of new technologies such as SSD storage
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4. IBM i State of the Hardware (cont.)
• POWER8 Processors Are Revolutionary
oPOWER7 to POWER8 = a major jump in performance
oPOWER5 to POWER8 = trading in your bicycle for a Ferrari
• More RAM = Greater Speed
oGo from 32GB to 64GB, 128GB, even 1TB
oRun larger, data intensive workloads
• Improved I/O to eliminate performance bottlenecks
oPOWER8 has the fastest controller available
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5. IBM i Roadmap
IBM i support through 2026 and BEYOND!
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6. Modernization of the
Operating System
• Combine superior hardware with a modern Operating System
• Improvements to virtualization
oAdd more logical partitions per machine
oSeveral operating systems on a single system using separate partitions:
 Linux
 AIX
 Multiple versions of IBM i
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7. IBM 7.3 Released
• IBM i Next Released in April 2016 as 7.3
oSignificant client value:
 Database and Security enhancements
oSupport for industry-leading workloads:
 Analytics and Mobile Computing
• MUST be on 7.1 or 7.2 to upgrade to 7.3
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8. Firmly Rooted in Open Source
• 2013 IBM invested $1 billion in open source
• Created the OpenPOWER Foundation for POWER8 innovation
• Easy point of entry for adding enterprise-class Linux of choice
oUbuntu
oRed Hat
oSUSE
• IBM i an incubator for Open Source now supporting
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oRuby
oPHP
oJava
oGIT
oNode.js
oGCC
oORION
oAnd many more on the way

9. IBM i Gets Cloudy
• 93% of IT departments using cloud in some form
• Take advantage of shared resources and economies of scale
• NOT limited to the commodity x86 world
o www.iInTheCloud.com in operation for over 3 years!
• IBM Power Systems partitioning = private clouds in shared environment
• Hybrid Cloud
o Maintain Mission-Critical Apps on-premises
o Offsite High Availability and Disaster Recovery in the cloud
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10. Benefit From Managed Services
• IT is being asked to do more with less
• Offload day-to-day management to IBM i specialists
oReduce costs
oIncrease technology expertise
oReduce downtime and risk
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11. Backup Tape in 2016
• Tape backups are still alive
o2014 saw Sony announce tape capacity up to 185TB
oTapes can store data for 30 years
•But will the technology to read them still exist?
• Challenges with Tapes
oExpensive to manage and maintain
•Handling tapes is time and money wasted
•Moving tapes to offsite storage costs money
•Difficult to find when needed to restore
•Lost Tape Liability
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12. Move Toward Virtual
Tape Libraries
• Due to the challenges with tape, enter Virtual Tape Libraries (VTLs)
• Create storage volumes on disk-based storage
o Exponentially faster than tape
o Backup windows not eliminated, but dramatically reduced
• Replicate VTLs offsite or to the cloud
o Cost effective, easy to manage, automated data insurance policy
• Backups need to be tested
o It is difficult and expensive to manually test backups on physical tapes
o Recovery with VTLs are simple, fast, and cost-effective
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13. So where does that leave IBM i?
• Currently over 150,000 companies in over 115 countries running IBM i
• Still the most dependable servers available today with performance to match
• IBM i 7.3 arrived in April, iNext is now in the works
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14. Make 2016 the year that you
get current and stay current
with IBM i.
Sign up for the iTech Solutions Group Newsletter and
receive IBM i news, updates, and technical tips from
Pete Massiello.
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