IBM Power Enhancements Focus on AI and Modern Workloads

Bargav Balakrishnan, vice president of product management at IBM Power, explains the recently announced advances

In keeping with its goal of providing IBM Power clients the innovation and modernization required for their mission-critical workloads, IBM recently announced enhancements throughout the system that support artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and modern infrastructure demands.

Enhancements include:

• Improvements to IBM Power Virtual Server service: Clients can choose to implement the solution either on-premises as a service or at one of IBM’s 21 data centers worldwide. 
• The next-generation Power system: IBM Power11 offers enhancements at the processor, system and stack levels.
• IBM Spyre Accelerator integration with IBM Power: Complex AI models and generative AI (GenAI) use cases are supported by this purpose-built, enterprise-grade accelerator through scalabile capabilities.
• RPG Code Assistant project releases: Pushing forward code modernization efforts for IBM i clients through modernizing legacy RPG code for both current and new developers.

“Our strategy is not only around supporting our clients’ existing workloads but helping them modernize, infuse AI into these workloads, and extend and leverage flexible consumption models,” explains Bargav Balakrishnan, vice president of product management, IBM Power.

Clients unsure about infusing AI into their technology and processes should consider the results in the IBM study, “Build a more intentional hybrid cloud: The key to continuous innovation.” The report notes that clients who configure their IT infrastructure using a hybrid-by-design approach can, over the course of five years, deliver upwards of 3.3x higher return on investment than those that do not.

“There’s been a lot of interest [around modernization and AI], and we have a pretty significant innovation pipeline we are investing in to continue the strength of the business,” Balakrishnan explains.

Time and again, clients are asking Balakrishnan’s team to help modernize their systems and workflows while not compromising the mission-critical service levels and business efficiency that the IBM Power family is known for. 

These updates focus on stack-level capabilities to drive the performance benefits that allow for more efficient operations. 

IBM Power Virtual Servers Expand to Client Data Centers

Clients wanting—or needing, due to regulations—a local or hybrid IBM Power Virtual Server option for their data and workloads (which has been available from IBM’s data centers since 2019) can now implement this solution in their own data center. 

From a local zone on premises connected to the IBM Cloud, clients have the option for semi-configurable compute, storage and network infrastructure that can scale while retaining security and reliability. 

As a fully managed solution, IBM manages the IT operations of the setup, and IBM Cloud integration offers a comprehensive security solution to the infrastructure. Read more about client-site capabilities.

IBM Power11 Processor Provides Improvements in RAS, Energy Use

The next generation of the IBM Power family will be available for delivery in 2025. The IBM Power11 system features a processor focused on stronger reliability, availability and serviceability characteristics; better energy efficiency and management; and improved quantum-safe security.

Processor packaging improvements include integrated stack capacitor technology and cooling innovations aimed to optimize energy delivery and increase system capacity.

Power11 features technology-agnostic Open Memory Interface architecture and the updated DDR5 DDIMMs, while also supporting OMI DDR4 memory migrated from Power10 high-end systems.

AI Workloads Amplified With Accelerators

Continuing support of emerging enterprise AI use cases via the Matrix Math Accelerator (MMA)  architecture, the Power11 processor will improve performance of the MMA for inferencing workloads.

As AI workloads, demands and expectations grow, IBM is also incorporating the IBM Spyre Accelerator into Power11 offerings. Each Spyre is mounted on a PCIe card, featuring 32 individual accelerator cores onboard. The purpose-built enterprise-grade accelerator brings support to scale AI business workloads and more variety of use cases and requirements. 

Balakrishnan points to a hospital in Thailand—a mission-critical organization in a regulated industry—that is leveraging AI with IBM Power10 to better serve its patients. By accessing medical data stored on the platform and harnessing AI, staff at the hospital is able to improve patient care and throughput of patients they can serve, he explains.

The hospital utilizes smart forms, speech-to-text capabilities, patient images, automated workflows and AI inference capabilities, resulting in real-time access to integrated data to better serve patients.

The Thai hospital case shows the power of AI throughout the processes, challenging those in IBM to ask: How can we accelerate workloads? “AI is one of those versatile technologies that can impact a wide range of applications and use cases,” Balakrishnan says. “It is very much strategically linked to our modernization and AI strategy.”

Improving the Developer Experience With a Code Assistant

As the IBM Power platform continues to support enhanced processes and workloads, the demand for a modern, skilled workforce grows.

Announced at COMMON POWERUp 2024, the RPG Code Assistant (RPGCA) project focuses on application modernization and upskilling of the IBM i RPG code. The code assistant will help developers understand existing RPG code, create with natural language description and generate test cases.

RPGCA is very much about “how do we help modernize the user experience from a developer perspective,” explains Balakrishnan, noting how AI can be used to help people more efficiently use the platform, as opposed to using the platform for an outcome.

Learn more about the RPG Code Assistant project in the Tech Channel e-book on the topic.

Demand Grows to Harness Modernization

“The demand, interest and appetite from customers” around infusing the IBM Power system with AI is top of mind for many, Balakrishnan acknowledges. As customer requests to integrate the technology in new and unique ways continue to grow, IBM is keeping up with innovation.

With IBM Power known as a mission-critical platform capable of supporting the workloads of many key industries, he notes that infusing AI throughout and ensuring the presence of modern capabilities will help clients find the value and trust they rely on for the platform. Reach out to an IBM Power representative or business partner to understand how to leverage these technologies and innovations.

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