IBM i Customers Believe IBM i Is 'Future Proof'

Jul. 10, 2013by Chris Maxcer in PowerMaxcer

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Here's a gem: Infor recently completed research into its customer base—70,000 strong—that revealed that its 16,000-plus IBM i-running customers still consider IBM i on Power Systems to be the platform the future. Of course, Infor's customers typically run some or several of Infor's ERP suites, so these are customers who are deeply committed to serious enterprise-wide solutions. 

Twenty-five years after the launch of the AS/400 and evolution of name changes, Infor reports that IBM i has retained its core values of reliability and low total cost of ownership.  Infor’s EMEA System i Survey 2013—with results from more than 100 managers and high level decision-makers—revealed a vote of confidence in IBM i. However, Infor says, the report also flags continuing concerns around skills and cloud.

 

"As the biggest IBM partner with more than 16,000 customers worldwide using the platform, Infor has access to a lot of end user insight,” notes Paul Field, general manager of Infor's System i/IBM i group in EMEA. "It is clear from this research that a lot of businesses are still reliant on IBM i and that the platform is holding its own amongst younger technologies. The reliability, cost-effectiveness and security of the platform combine to make it virtually future-proof at 25 years old. This is in itself quite an achievement but even more impressive is that the platform continues to remain relevant with new updates and investment in capabilities such as mobile or analytics."

 

He adds, "It is clear, however, that some of this investment will need to focus on maintaining a base of skilled staff that will form the basis of this continued ROI in years to come."

Key Findings

• 71 percent of IBM i platform end-users agreed with the statement, "We believe our System i platform is future-proof." Twenty-two percent were neutral to the statement and only 7 percent disagreed.
   
• When asked whether their business system is "very reliable," 92.5 percent agreed while the remaining 7.5 percent were "neutral." Side note: None of the respondents running their mission-critical business systems on IBM i disagreed.
   
• The survey results also support the widely-held belief that IBM i applications can be deployed faster and maintained with fewer staff. When asked whether total cost of ownership of their system compares well with alternatives, nearly two thirds—63 percent—agreed.
   
• When asked whether users are able to access the data they need to run the business, 71 percent agreed, with the vast majority of the remainder giving a neutral answer. Only 8 percent disagreed -- proving that even a mature business system, kept up to date, will continue to serve business needs very well, Infor says.
   
• The report shows that the industry is reaching a tipping point on IBM i skills with 52 percent of respondents saying attracting and retaining critical IT skills is becoming a problem. The role of cloud computing in addressing these issues is also far from clear. When asked whether cloud could help address skills shortages, 53 percent were neutral.  Surprisingly a further 33 percent said cloud could not help.
   
• Looking ahead, many users indicated that they plan further investment in the platform: 90 percent of respondents consider reporting and analytics, additional functionality, mobile, and 24x7 availability as either a need or a priority for investment.

 

To see additional findings and download the full survey results, check outinforsystemi.com/survey/.