Why do we have to choose?
I have had the privilege to work in the IBM i space for a few years now and continue to be stumped by this question. Why do we have to choose to run on Intel only or IBM Power only. When will we find an ERP vendor that embraces the qualities on both sides of the fence?
What is the IBM i the best at? If I told you everything I would be lying to you and I don’t lie. The reality is that IBM, ERP vendors, and users have been slow to embrace the fact that the perception LOB has about the platform matters. So IBM was slow to react. Regardless I think everyone can agree that the IBM i platform is stable almost to a fault and it crunches numbers and pushes data better than any other platform on the market. On top of that the biggest benefit in my mind is that the staffing requirements to maintain it are a fraction of what x86/Intel demands.
What is x86/Intel the best at? If I told you nothing I would be lying and iv’e already told you I don’t lie. X86/Intel has done a great job of staying on the front end of technology. They delivered systems to the front office that changed the standard for functionality and beauty. By giving users an interface that is appealing to the eyes at a price point that is appealing to the corner office they were able to slide by the overlooked pains. The servers lack security which is addressed by a hardware or software solution. The range of quality from brand to brand and even model to model. Most of all the staffing requirements to support an Intel stack are much greater.
So Intel is pretty and the corner office loves them. IBM i delivers great performance and reliability. So why can’t they play nice together? Wouldn’t they be a great combination if they could get along. Let’s look at some numbers.
So my point is why not take advantage of the performance and stability of the IBM i to manage your data and put a pretty little front end on it with an Intel/x86 system. It would be like the Bentley of the data center.
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