[Advertorial] Is your IT infrastructure ready for the future? We discuss the technology trends your business shouldn’t miss, and how to make sure your infrastructure is with you.
IT is evolving at lightning speed. It is the job of IT leaders to constantly monitor the latest developments and ensure that the organization stays up to speed. After all, switching gears too late can mean that competitors are literally and figuratively one step ahead of you. This is not always obvious, especially when your IT infrastructure is stuck.
When determining the right IT infrastructure, future-proofing is a criterion that is sometimes taken too lightly. As a result, it is realized too late that the infrastructure is hindering the further growth of the organization. Therefore, choose IT that will help you not only in the present, but also in the future.
IBM Power servers are a textbook example of IT that has not stood still in time. You previously read about what makes them so unique and how they keep your IT environment up and running. In this third article, we discuss four IT trends and why you can be future-ready with Power.
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Security first and foremost
Security may only come up as the fourth topic in this overview, but it is actually requirement number one for your IT infrastructure. Without robust security, your organization cannot grow. Security must be built in at all levels of the infrastructure, and it helps if both hardware and software have built-in security.
This is certainly the case with Power servers. The servers are known to be robust and reliable. IBM continually invests in improving data encryption and access control on the servers to continue to provide an adequate degree of protection against evolving cyber threats.
With PowerCloud, Comarch guarantees another layer of security on top of what its Power servers already offer by default. The IT provider manages its infrastructure in a tightly guarded data center owned by the company. Comarch does not rely on an outside provider for data center management and security. Thus, Comarch guards your IT environment from various forms of mischief that could cause serious damage to your organization.
AI/ML
No trend list is complete without AI. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are far from new concepts, but for the past year or two the hype around them has exploded. Power and IBM i-systems are profiling themselves in multiple ways as capable of pulling the AI cart for your organization.
IBM Power10 processors feature integrated Matrix Multiply Accelerator modules with multiple layers designed to accelerate AI inference. These modules use pre-trained AI models for fast decision-making. The Power infrastructure provides the necessary computing power and flexibility to run complex models.
Since version 7.5, you have access to Watson Studio in the IBM i operating system. With this streamlined development environment, build AI and ML applications directly on the IBM i system for rapid deployment. If your models are in an external environment, Cognitive APIs make the bridge.
Hybrid (multi)cloud
The cloud first dogma seems to be quietly becoming a thing of the past. Instead of purchasing the entire IT environment from a single public cloud provider, more and more companies are embracing a multi-cloud strategy. In many cases, this is a hybrid mix of private and public infrastructure. Merging all these different environments into one integrated whole requires a major challenge.
For Power systems, it doesn’t matter where your applications run. IBM i Cloud Integration ensures seamless integration of hybrid environments to provide flexibility and efficiency in customized IT infrastructure. This provides businesses with greater control over cost optimization.
Partners like Comarch can help your company further reduce cost and complexity in a hybrid cloud. Comarch runs its Power Cloud on proprietary IBM Power infrastructure to combine the reliability of servers with the flexibility of the cloud. The pay-as-you-go model means you pay only what you consume and can scale up at any time as needed. Comarch’s experts will guide you step by step for a successful migration.
IoT and edge
Contemporary IT extends far beyond the data center. Increasingly, innovation is also taking place at the edge to keep data as close to the source as possible. The edge is emerging as the playground for industrial IoT applications. Edge computing offers new opportunities, but equally new challenges.
The Power infrastructure does not abandon the edge; quite the contrary. The solutions include integrated edge computing capabilities for real-time data analysis on IoT devices. Integration with the Watson IoT platform in IBM i streamlines the process of data collection and analysis. Thus, Power supports the demands of the growing IoT ecosystem.
IT infrastructure lays the foundation for the success of your business now and in the future. So make sure that foundation is strong enough to build on. With an IT environment that is future-proof, nothing will stand in the way of your organization reaching its full potential.
This is a commercial contribution in partnership with Comarch and is part of a three-part series on IBM Power. For more information on the PowerCloud-solutions.