IBM Power Systems Reviews

In 2013, I joined IBM Pakistan as an IT specialist. Where I used to work as a system manager, the guy who used to work with Power Systems, with OSAIX and IBM storage. Then, I was shifted to IBM Europe in the Czech Republic. There's a CIC center in Brno, where I've worked with IBM as well, but as a third-level support guy. Now I'm based in Qatar, and worked for  government organization. I work as a system specialist for the Power Systems and the unit support as well, the operation stuff. I worked for eight years or more before this AIX and Power Systems and storage. 

I worked as an operations guy for whole IT operations and as well as the implementation. Because there were so many clients from the banking sector, from the government sector, and telecom industry, they mostly have the billing systems on the Power Systems. 

Now, I work as a unified system specialist.

IBM Power Systems is mostly used for specific IBM products because the system AIX is actually propriety of IBM. You cannot install it on any other platform. You can use it in different domains, like SAP HANA, do rack data and rack warehouses. Users in the telecommunication use it. They were using as an IBM Middleware product. An IBM Middleware product was being used solely on the Power Systems.

IBM has started supporting Red Hat, so people use Red Hat and some clients do put it in a cloud environment as well. The core baking system runs on that because most of the core banking like Oracle Financials are being used on this.

The use case depends on what the customer requirement is.

I started working with Power4 back in 2012, and almost Power4, Power5, 6, 7, 8, and now I am working with Power9 as well.

The banking environment was running the physical servers of like five to six stacks. The utilization of the physical space they were renting out reduced. It enables them to save space. Because when you're leasing, space counts. They were saving quite a healthy amount of money.

The maintenance of the physical hardware is more complex because there were different systems running and you need to go directly into the data center to use it. Now, when it comes to Power Systems, they were using the virtual system and were sitting on centers to verify if there was a hardware failure.

It also saves the cost of having one person at the data center solely looking at data systems. This also saves costs.

When you're using five stack or six stacks, the power utilization of those servers will be high as compared to the two stacks. If you need to add more CPU resources, compute resources to the server, adding those to a physical server is sometimes impossible because there is limited capacity. But when it comes to IBM Power, they have high compute resources. You can add it and you can utilize it. It comes with five or six years of planning. If you have planning and a good planner, then you can use the system for the next four, five years, and that can easily fulfill your requirements. 

The availability of a solution depends on the requirement of the customer. The most valuable feature is the virtualization. You can have this one system or you can use it for many. They were using almost 120 servers within that specific service.

Within those two servers, there were 150 and then 30 LPARS running, and they were running all their core banking applications over that, from T24 to Oracle Financials, and their Oracle databases. It supports a variation.

You can use the same systems in the telecommunication industry as a middleware. Now, the whole scenario and the whole application are different. IBM Middleware is an application that is supported by IBM. They support these applications on their own platform.

It’s been 8 years now with IBM Power Systems.

I have had customers who have been using it for three years with no issues. You don't need to do a reboot. I run Linux on Power Systems and it is more stable. You don't need to reboot over again. 

It is scalable. It is one of the most important requirements, as an operational system of any IT industry. When they utilize the support that they are running on Oracle databases there is some load on the database, and they want to increase the compute or the resources of the system. This is one of the most critical things, which you usually face almost every day in an operational environment.

IBM provides a solution for that, without shutting down those systems called LPAR, you can increase the compute resources for that. You can increase it online. You don't need to go and switch it off because of the old system. In fact, you don't need to shut it down and then increase. The downtime is minimal compared to the physical hardware.

The scalability process should be simplified.

We have used their support. There are some nodes that only a technical support rep is able to see if there is an issue. In the last three years though, I have only needed to contact them twice. I never had any drastic issues. 

There are several levels of escalation. A level one, severe issue will be responded to in around four hours. If it is not severe then it can take 12 to 18 hours to get a response. 

I would rate their support a ten out of ten. I always find them very helpful, going down to the lowest level to fix the issues.

No I didn’t use any other systems and migrate to IBM Power, migrations are mostly from Old Power system to new release.

The deployment depends on customer requirements. There are various factors that can determine if it will be a simple deployment or difficult deployment. IBM Power Systems gives us a certified engineer, that usually comes through your domain and implements the systems. There are a few best practices that you need to follow. If you are an IBM customer or IBM person or an IBM engineer, then you follow those specific guidelines.

Sometimes the customer's requirements are simple so the deployment is simple but sometimes they have a lot of requirements. 

It takes around seven days to deploy it. 

Power systems usually implemented by coustomer in house team and there are few people i can still remember are quite skilled.

I usually work as support and implementation personal, ROI usually calculated by customers internally.

If the organization is small, with 20 to 30 people, they don't usually go for IBM because it's more expensive for a smaller organization. 

Smaller organizations of 10-50 people don't have millions of dollars in their budget. If you compare a banking environment, they have millions of budget behind them so they can afford IBM. 

It is mostly try to compare it with VMWARE virtualization as it supports Linux, but when it comes to stability, IBM Power systems are unmatchable.

When you implement the IBM Global Systems, you must take care of the small things. If you do it perfectly at the start, it will give you more stability at the end of the day. If you don't take care of the small technicalities then in the middle somewhere, there will be high load on the system and you will face issues. 

IBM has the best solution in the market and is always comparable to any service provider in the market. I always rate them 10 out of 10 because it's the best product.

We've been very satisfied with the solution's capabilities. 

The installation is easy.

It's very stable. There is less downtime.

The product can scale. 

The compatibility with other products could be better. They have a proprietary package to install on the server. With the application or the database, you can install on top of it.

Some competitors may have more features or a certain advantage over this product.

The solution is quite expensive.

We'd like the solution to have a cloud base. Most of it is on-premises.

I've used the solution for almost ten years.

It's very stable. They have a different Hypervisor compared to an Intel-based Hypervisor, like VMware or Red Hat. The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization is like an embedded Hypervisor, so you don't have to rest up the server. If you ever install the packets or any update, it does not require you to rest up the server. It's more stable, and you don't need more downtime.

Maybe the entry level is not very scalable. However, if you are using the enterprise level, like Power E-series, the enterprise series, not the entry-level, it's very scalable. Within the core or maybe the memory, and also the IO, it's very scalable.

In Indonesia, they have local support, however, maybe for certain products, the support is just not as good as the main product, like the Power System or Storage. Maybe for another product, the support is very limited.

We worked with IBM products, among others. 

The installation is very simple. 

From the installer, you install the machine. Maybe you want to install the operating system. It's quite different from Windows or Linux since this is Unix-based.

Compared to Intel, IBM Power Systems is more expensive compared to Intel. Still, if you compare the TCO or the license that you can save using IBM Power, the pricing is almost the same with the Intel base, however, it depends on the application license or the database license. 

In general, the pricing is quite high.

I manage the product at the company. I'm a consultant. We deal mostly with enterprise-level organizations. I'm an IBM partner.

If a company wants to implement the IBM System, maybe it has to check the compatibility of the apps and the DB. Also, if they want to implement the TCO, they have to check the TCO compared to the Intel base. Sometimes, they are only checking the base hardware installation. If they implement the DB or the apps, the pricing may be reduced since the core in Power System is more powerful than the Intel base.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We are currently using IBM Power Systems for applications and database core banking.

We found when working with IBM Power Systems that LPM is the most valuable feature.

I would like to see IBM Power Systems integrate with all cloud types.

I have been using IBM Power Systems for the past seven years.

IBM Power Systems is the most stable solution in the world.

The scalability of IBM Power Systems is good.

IBM Power Systems is very expensive. We have mid-range, entry, and enterprise. Every machine has its own licensing.

The setup of IBM Power Systems is complex. There are many steps and it takes three days to a week.

Before you purchase IBM Power Systems you should consider capacity requirements. 

I work with Dell servers in addition to IBM Power Systems.

I would rate IBM Power Systems an eight out of ten.

IBM Power Systems is used for data centers for CVS, activation, and databases.

Power Systems' best features are that it's reliable, stable, and easily available. It's also really scalable and can be virtualized without third-party software support. Power Systems has its own PowerVM where you can make VMs and have multiple systems in the same server, which benefits customers in terms of licensing.

The price is a bit high and could be improved.

I've been working with Power Systems since 2012.

PowerSystems is very reliable, it has very little downtime, so we don't have to worry about it going down or performing badly.

Power Systems is really scalable.

The initial setup is very straightforward - we migrated one bank in three days. The software is also 100% record compatible, so we don't have to think about compatibility and worry that older things won't work.

Power Systems is a bit more costly than other products in the market, but in terms of ROI and the longevity, performance, and reliability that Power Systems provides, it's worth it in the long run. 

PowerSystems is better than all other systems in the market, and I would recommend it to anybody whose application does not have a dependency in the operating system and machine. I would rate PowerSystems as ten out of ten.

I use IBM Power Systems for databases.

The most valuable feature of IBM Power Systems is its performance.

IBM Power Systems could improve by having a cloud feature.

I have been using IBM Power Systems for approximately 15 years.

The stability of IBM Power Systems is good.

IBM Power Systems is scalable in my experience.

We have approximately 10,000 people using this solution in my organization. We do not plan to increase usage.

The support provided by IBM Power Systems is very good.

I have not used any other solution in the past.

The setup of IBM Power Systems is easy because I have experience with it before. The full deployment took approximately four months.

We used a partner for the implementation of the solution.

We have seven engineers that provide the maintenance and support of our IBM Power Systems.

The price of IBM Power Systems is expensive and could improve.

I have evaluated Oracle before we decided to choose IBM Power Systems.

I would advise those who want to use IBM Power Systems to always have technical support.

I rate IBM Power Systems a ten out of ten.

The use case is for hosting a lot of the bank's applications.

Some of the most valuable features are the processing power, stability, and security.

I would like to see the scaling model improved so it's not just either tiny or huge.

We have been using IBM Power Systems since 2001, so it's been 20 years.

IBM is quite stable. That's one of their most popular aspects. We just upgraded our power systems recently, so we're going to be working with them through the next five years at least.

The solution is being used quite heavily.

The scalability is a bit above average. It's not the best, but it's a good deal.

The SKU modeling part they have is not very flexible toward customers. Either you have to go very big or you have to go very small. There isn't an in-between. There's not a lot of variety in this.

I have onsite support and I talk to technical support a lot. My experience has been good.

Setup was straightforward, with the help of the professional services from IBM. Maintenance is handled by the IBM team, especially the hardware.

We used IBM partners. Usually it's IBM themselves, not the partners.

The licensing costs are okay. With IBM Power Systems, it's inclusive, so you can differentiate the price of the hardware from the software itself. The power systems are quite expensive. In the end, you equate a means of value. From a value proposition, it is either justifiable or not.

The additional costs are the maintenance and warranty professional services.

Compared to similar solutions, IBM Power Systems has a proven record. They have their own reputation. You have the availability of technical expertise in the market. They're quite compatible with most of the solutions that we work with.

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.

My advice for an organization that is looking to implement this solution is that they should have the adequate expertise of personnel that can run the system. They should study their TCO and ROI regarding whether it is worth investing in this, given that it's a very expensive solution. These are the two most important aspects.

I would also advise dealing with an appropriate partner or dealing with IBM directly.

IBM Power Systems is used for the core banking applications. We have accounts with financial enterprises in Egypt. We propose this solution if you are a bank, you are upgrading or migrating bank applications from Oracle or other vendors, and you would like to have a stable platform in terms of hardware and software.

We value the stability and technology capability of this solution the most. It is very stable, and the processor technology of IBM is very good. When you have a CIO and you are dealing with C-level every day, you can, without any doubt, support the core banking or critical applications with this solution. 

Its management can be made easier because it is not easy to manage. They should also find a new way for migrating from an old Power Systems to a new one. The migration process is currently very complicated.

It should be made easier to scale. Currently, its scalability depends on the initial sizing, whereas in Nutanix HCI, you can add whatever you need and whenever you need it.

I have been using this solution for one year.

It is a very stable platform in terms of hardware and software.

Scalability is there, but it depends on the initial sizing. You need to plan for scalability from the beginning because it depends on the series of our systems, processors, and the number of processors that have been activated during the implementation. So, it depends on the sizing, whereas with Nutanix HCI, you can add whatever you need and whenever you need it.

It is usually focused on enterprise customers. In our company, we have around 20 to 25 users. We plan to increase its usage.

I don't contact their support team, but based on the experience of our team, they are usually supportive. Our team doesn't seem to have any issue with IBM technical support. I would rate them a nine out of ten.

I am into sales, and I don't implement Power Systems. Based on the experience of our technical team, the initial set up usually goes smoothly. The issue comes only while migrating from the old one to the new one. For the whole migration, which included the initial setup and testing, it took at least six months.

We upgraded Power Systems from version 7 to version 9, and we worked with the IBM team during the implementation phase. We successfully completed its implementation with their help.

Its price depends on the sizing.

We evaluate Oracle Exadata or Nutanix HCI. For a huge sizing, we go for Power Systems. For a small sizing, we can use an Intel-based solution. Nowadays, some of the core banking applications are moving to the Intel platform, and that's why we are recommending Intel-based solutions, but IBM Power Systems is still a number one solution. It is our preferred platform for core banking applications.

Before starting the implementation, I would advise others to take enough time in planning its implementation, especially the sizing.

I would rate IBM Power Systems a seven out of ten.

We use the solution primarily to provide services for the employees in our institute. Basically, it's the domain active directory. We also use it for its own server and providing the internet and our email server. We shifted recently to the Microsoft Product F365. We got the enterprise license for that as well. We don't use it to provide cloud services. We actually provide local services.

The older version of the servers that we had was the Dell Edge. The Dell Edge was a very old model and it had limited hardware capability and storage capacity. We had unfortunately faced some problems with providing for the new services due to these limitations. I'm talking about financially providing for the new service. 

The improvement was quite noticeable when we did the upgrade. We had faster service, better internet connection, and a more stable internet connection. We had a very stable active directory. I would say that whenever the users wanted to log in, we had no delays in creating the user profile and having the user access the server services such as Outlook or the internet. A firewall was installed also. The improvements were on a network scale, as well as the scale of the service. 

What we like the most is the ability to upgrade the scaling of the system itself. Whenever we need extra storage, we can do that. Whenever we need extra memory, we can do that as well. It's fast and it's available.

Thus far, the solution has been sufficient. I can't think of an area that really needs improvement at this time.

For the time being, our need is limited to certain features that are completely available in the Power Systems that we use. I can't say that we need an extra feature, or, at least, not in the near future.

The pricing of the product could always be lowered.

I've been dealing with the solution for two years. It was purchased in late 2019.

It's not the hardware itself that's unstable as much as it is the software. The hardware is stable enough. However, the software from time to time requires maintenance, and that requires us to reinstall some of the features. Sometimes we face problems with upgrading to newer versions or updates. Occasionally, we have to revert back to an older version. That said, in terms of the hardware itself, it's stable enough. We haven't had any failures so far in the hardware, with the exception of hard drives.

The scalability of the solution is excellent. It's very easy to scale and you can expand as much as you need to rather quickly.

Currently, we have between 350 and 450 users that access the solution.

In general, we do plan to increase usage. We're looking to have another server installed on a different site to upgrade the existing one. Right now, they're getting their services via a link from our servers, however, we are required to have a dedicated server on that different site to provide them with the services directly.

We have divisions. Everyone has their specialty in terms of maintaining the servers. In terms of software, we have a system administrator that takes care of the software. In terms of hardware, we directly communicate with the service provider. They come and they take a look if, and only if we require some upgrades. That said, there's been no hardware failure before. 

What we do is if there is any upgrade done to the servers, we use a tender system. We announce that we need an upgrade, and three companies come forward saying that we provide this upgrade to this system that you have, and we usually select the proper one either by price or by standards. If they meet the standards of the upgrade that we need, then they do that. However, if we require services for the hardware that we have in the company, then the one that we bought the hardware from is the one who does the service. The agent of IBM is local. He knows the servers, and he does the maintenance on them.

The initial setup wasn't complex at all. We were familiar with how the systems are and the system that we wanted to install. The shifting from an older generation, an older server, to the new server wasn't done, actually. We had a freshly installed active directory. We improved the structure during the shifting phases. The only thing that we actually did for deployment was that we had the deployment imaging ready when we did it, and we customized it based on a virtual machine.

When we installed the virtual machine, we did the testing to scale the deployment prior to the arrival of the servers, and then we did the installation directly. We had everything ready. The only thing that we shifted was the user data from the old server to the new server. That took a while. Other than that, the deployment was straightforward.

The cost could always be lower to make it more affordable to organizations.

We did look at Dell Systems, however, they were very expensive.

We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with IBM.

In general, I would rate the solution at a seven out of ten so far.

While every organization has to choose its options based on their requirements, I can say that this particular solution has met our needs quite well.