Thinking IBM i 7.4 and POWER9? IBM i Solution Edition Booster Pack
In this You and i blog, IBMer Steve Will explains why the Solutions Edition Booster Pack should motivate you to upgrade.
IBM i 7.4 has been available for about a year now, and while I know many organizations have already adopted it, there are many more who are still on prior releases. Similarly, while POWER9 has been in the market for even longer, many IBM i clients are on POWER8, or POWER7 (or even older) systems. There are significant benefits to moving up, and starting June 9, there is even a nice financial incentive to do so.
As I’ve written before, with IBM i 7.4, you can take advantage of Db2 Mirror for continuous availability. The most recent announcements included support for direct attach storage. This means even small and midsized clients can now implement continuous availability in their business.
Additionally, the latest Technology Refresh for IBM i 7.3 and 7.4 includes security enhancements and tape virtualization for even more storage options and flexibility. And all of the application development, RPG and open source options are enabled for 7.3 and 7.4 and POWER9.
So if that new capability sounds great, but you still haven’t found a reason to upgrade, we want you to know about the financial advantage of Solution Editions—and in particular, the IBM i Solution Edition Booster Packs.
IBM i Solution Editions are a combination of Power Systems S914 hardware and discounted and no-charge software, along with the ISV solutions you already use to run your business every day. Solution Editions reduce the cost, complexity and risk of deploying new business solutions and upgrading to IBM i 7.4 and POWER9.
To even further lower the barrier for upgrading to IBM i 7.4 and POWER9, we’re announcing the IBM i Solution Edition Booster Pack available from June 9 to September 30, 2020. With the Booster Pack, you can purchase software from any IBM i PartnerWorld-registered ISV (they do not have to be registered in the Solution Edition Program) and be eligible for the IBM i Solution Edition Power Systems S914 4-core or 6-core.
We are also doubling the amount of IBM Systems Lab Services vouchers received with each IBM i Solution Edition. For the 4-core S914, the vouchers will double from half a day to a day, and for the 6-core the vouchers will increase from one day to two one-day vouchers. These vouchers can be redeemed with IBM Systems Lab Services to assist with infrastructure and operating system upgrades, performance tuning, security assessments, education, workshops and more.
In addition to these offerings, this past November we also announced NVMe support for IBM i. NVMe, or Non-Volatile Memory Express, is an open logical device interface that reduces I/O overhead and improves system performance. By utilizing NVMe with the IBM i Solution Edition, the overall solution price is reduced dramatically, and performance is improved even further.
To get started, head to the IBM i Solution Edition page to learn more about the program. To qualify, simply show proof of purchase from any PartnerWorld-registered ISV to your IBM seller or Business Partner and they will register your new Power Systems S914 as an IBM i Solution Edition.
If you have any questions, or need help, please feel free to reach out to IBM i Product Marketing Manager Brandon Pederson. (bwpeders@us.ibm.com) He helped me get the details for this blog accurate, and he’s excited to help you, too.