IBM: Classic power server for the data center, modern fees in the cloud subscription

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ibm classic power server for the data center modern fees.jpg
ibm classic power server for the data center modern fees.jpg

In the future, IBM customers will book Power10 servers as part of a cloud subscription. Big Blue wants to lure the local medium-sized business in particular with a fixed price plan.

 

IBM is now also offering its i-systems via subscription for hardware, software and support/services, as Big Blue already promised when announcing the new Power10 servers on July 12th. In the first step, this offer is limited to the entry-level model S1014 of the new Power10 family. It will also be available in Germany later this month and will later be expanded to other power systems.

 

The S1014 server including software licensing and support can be booked for 1 to 5 years. During this time, the technology remains state-of-the-art, which reduces the acquisition costs – keyword OpEx instead of CapEx. Specifically, the first IBM i system subscription includes an S1014 model with four processor cores in the cheapest processor class P05, the IBM i operating system with the necessary system software and the services for operating this IT environment. A comparable subscription model was introduced for the first time in May 2022 for the S1014 predecessor, the S914.

An S1014 subscription will bill the customer on an annual basis, which should then amount to less than $55 per user per month – based on the annual subscription list price at the P05 license level divided by 12 months divided by 25 User. The customer can choose an initial subscription period of three to five years, with options to renew for one or more years. The terms of payment and the price do not change during the term of the subscription.

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“Entrepreneurs want to be flexible with their IT systems as their requirements change – instead of owning hardware, storage and software in the traditional sense,” said Dylan Boday, vice president and offering manager hybrid cloud, systems and AI at IBM. And further: “They want the ability to change capacities or functions to have faster access to technology when needed. As-a-service solutions can simplify IT environments and free customers to focus resources on higher-value projects.”

This also applies to small and medium-sized IBM i customers, for whom the operation and maintenance of their IT environments can be quite demanding. Boday promises them “more solutions with cloud-like economics”, whereby they do not have to go to the cloud, but can keep their IT on site. You pay a consistent amount for a clearly defined capacity. This also means: Your costs are fixed and not variable, which makes IT budget planning easier. The fact that the operation of the systems is also included in the price eliminates many of the problems arising from the acute shortage of skilled workers in the IBM i environment – especially for medium-sized companies that have little or no IT staff in their IT department with the appropriate have education.

According to Boday, this subscription was also developed “to make planning easier for our small and medium-sized customers. The constant annual payments over the term of the subscription simplifies the planning of the IT infrastructure considerably. Customers can keep their mission-critical workloads on-premises and still take advantage of cloud-like economics. And as new technologies become available, you can upgrade to the latest and greatest technology on your next subscription, protecting your investment in your most critical applications.”

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In the long term, the IBM i subscription for hardware, software and support/services for different systems is to appear alongside the previous license models. With this rental model – often referred to as “IT as a Service” (ITaaS) in the age of the cloud – IBM is returning to its roots, as the mainframe computers of the time were already being rented out to customers in the 1960s, with software and system technicians on site also working in the price were included.

However, this bundling of hardware and software was forbidden by the antitrust authorities, so that the group had to set up a new business model on June 23, 1969 with the unbundling of hardware, software and services, which ultimately marked the start of an independent software and IT service -industry was.