IBM does not aim to compete with Nvidia in helping create and train AI systems, but is ..., says Tom McPherson, GM of Power systems, IBM
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This update, the first major refresh to its "Power" chip line since 2020, positions IBM to compete more aggressively in the specialized data center market. Traditionally, IBM's Power chips have been a strong contender against offerings from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), particularly in demanding sectors such as financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare.
Similar to Nvidia's AI servers, IBM's Power systems are an integrated solution, combining both powerful chips and sophisticated software.
This tight integration, Tom McPherson, General Manager of Power Systems at IBM, told Reuters, has allowed the company to prioritise unparalleled reliability and robust security.
IBM is not competing with Nvidia
McPherson clarified that IBM's strategy isn't to directly compete with Nvidia in the realm of creating and training AI systems. Instead, Big Blue is sharply focused on streamlining AI deployment for inference – the crucial process of putting an AI system to work to accelerate business tasks.
"We can integrate AI capabilities seamlessly into this for inference acceleration and help their business process improvements," McPherson reportedly said in an interview, referring to work with early customers. He, as per the Reuters report, added, "It's not going to have all the horsepower for training or anything, but it's going to have really good inferencing capabilities that are simple to integrate."
A key highlight of the new Power11 systems, which will be available starting July 25, is their exceptional uptime.
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IBM claims these systems will require no planned downtime for software updates, and their average unplanned downtime each year will be a mere 30 seconds. Furthermore, the Power11 systems are engineered to detect and respond to a ransomware attack within a minute, offering a critical defense against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
Looking ahead, IBM plans to integrate the Power11 with Spyre, its AI chip introduced last year, in the fourth quarter of 2025.
"We can integrate AI capabilities seamlessly into this for inference acceleration and help their business process improvements," McPherson stated in a recent interview, referencing collaborations with early customers. He emphasized the system's ability to deliver "really good inferencing capabilities that are simple to integrate," even if it doesn't boast the same horsepower as training-focused systems.
This strategic focus on simplifying AI for practical business applications could prove to be a significant advantage for IBM in the evolving data center landscape.
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