IBM Power Services
IBM Power is your business foundation - ERP, databases, core banking. We provide support on terms set in the contract, planned migrations and licence optimisation based on a real CPU utilisation audit rather than a headline percentage.
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What are IBM Power Services?
IBM Power Services provide administration, migration, and optimization for IBM Power systems running AIX, IBM i (AS/400), and Linux on Power — the platforms that typically host mission-critical ERP, core banking, and database workloads. nFlo's team brings 20+ years of market experience, from AS/400 to Power10, enabling right-sizing and sub-capacity licensing, which per IBM lets you license an eligible software product for less than the full capacity of your server, while Live Partition Mobility and PowerHA support planned migrations and failover.
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Discuss IBM Power Services with your dedicated account manager.
IBM Power knowledge disappearing from market - while your business depends on it
Team that knows Power for decades
Support & Administration
Monitoring, patching and tuning within the contracted scope
Migrations
Upgrade to new systems or consolidation without risk
Optimization
Right-sizing that lowers license costs after a utilization audit
Only IBM Power Admin Retiring - Panic Mode
IBM Power is IT infrastructure that rarely fails and rarely gets attention — which is precisely the risk: the platform outlives the people who know how to operate it, and the gap shows up on the day something needs restarting.
Manufacturing company has entire ERP on IBM Power. One admin has known system for 20 years. Announces retirement in 6 months. HR tries to find replacement - zero candidates. Recruitment takes a year. Meanwhile admin got sick for 2 weeks - nobody knew how to restart system after firmware update.
Without IBM Power support:
- No specialists on market - no one to hire or train
- Critical systems (ERP, banking, databases) depend on one person - huge risk
- Old configurations never changed “because it works” - growing costs and risks
- No knowledge transfer - knowledge in people’s heads, not documentation
IBM Power Security
IBM Power typically runs business-critical systems, so their security and continuity are a priority. We handle hardening, access and patch management and data protection to reduce the risk of operating the platform.
Ransomware-resilient backups and recovery plans complete the picture, enabling rapid restoration of critical systems after an incident.
Support from People Who Live IBM Power for Decades
Our team has 20+ years of market experience - from AS/400 days through i Series, p Series to current Power9 and Power10. We’ve seen all models, all problems, all weird legacy configurations.
What you get:
- Support on terms set in the contract, with SLA agreed individually for critical systems
- Existing infrastructure health check - risk and bottleneck identification
- AIX, Linux on Power, IBM i administration - patching, tuning, troubleshooting
- Migrations between Power systems or consolidation to newer models
- Resource utilization optimization - lower license costs after right-sizing
- Documentation and knowledge transfer - you’re not dependent on one person
Who Is It For?
This service is for you if:
- You have critical systems on IBM Power and lack experts on team
- You plan migration or upgrade but worry about downtime
- License costs grow while workload doesn’t - you need optimization
- You want backup for your Power admin who knows everything
IBM Power Platforms
Operating Systems
| OS | Use Case | Strengths |
|---|---|---|
| AIX | Unix workloads, Oracle DB, SAP | Stable, proven, RAS (Reliability, Availability, Serviceability) |
| IBM i (AS/400) | ERP, midrange apps, RPG | Backward compatibility, integrated DB2, zero administration |
| Linux on Power | Open source stack, modernization | x86 compatibility, Docker/K8s, lower license costs |
PowerVM - Virtualization
Micro-Partitioning - dozens of VMs on single physical system
Live Partition Mobility - per IBM, migration of an active or inactive logical partition between servers
Shared Processor Pools - elastic CPU allocation between partitions
VIOS - I/O virtualization for simplified management
PowerHA - High Availability
Active-Passive Clustering - automatic failover in seconds
Active-Active - load balancing between nodes
Geographic Mirroring - DR between datacenters hundreds of km apart
Application Monitoring - application restart on problems
Typical Scenarios
Migration to Newer Power Systems
Reason: Old hardware ending support, maintenance costs rising
Process:
- Current workload analysis and new system sizing
- Target environment preparation (PowerVM, networking)
- Test migration for application verification
- Cut-over in maintenance window with rollback plan
- Stabilization and tuning
Time: 2-4 months depending on complexity
Multiple System Consolidation
Reason: You have 5 old Power servers - want 1 new with partitions
Benefits:
- Less hardware to maintain - lower datacenter costs
- Central management of all partitions
- License cost reduction (IBM, Oracle) through right-sizing
- Easier DR - one system to replicate
Savings: less hardware to maintain and lower license costs - the size depends on the utilization audit
License Cost Optimization
Problem: Paying for 100 cores but using 30
Solution:
- Real CPU utilization audit with nmon/topas
- Partition right-sizing - allocate only needed resources
- IBM sub-capacity licensing and partitioning aligned with Oracle licensing rules (per Oracle, Live Partition Mobility is not an approved hard partitioning technology)
- Shared processor pools - elastic allocation between workloads
Result: lower license costs - the size depends on the utilization audit results
Related Glossary Terms
Learn more about key concepts related to this service:
How we work
Our proven service delivery process.
Discovery
Configuration, workload, resource utilization audit
Health Check
Identify risks, bottlenecks, outdated configurations
Planning
Optimization recommendations, upgrade or support plan
Implementation
Deploy changes with downtime minimization and testing
Ongoing Support
Proactive monitoring, patching, capacity planning within the contracted scope
Benefits for your business
What you gain by choosing this service.
High Availability
Per IBM, PowerHA SystemMirror automates failover and recovery for critical systems (ERP, banking, databases)
Lower License Costs
Right-sizing and consolidation, based on a utilisation audit
Expert Access
Team that knows Power - no need to search the market
Risk-Free Modernization
Upgrade to new systems maintaining continuity
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Read more →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about IBM Power Services.
How long does a migration to a newer IBM Power system take?
A typical migration takes 2-4 months. It includes workload analysis, new system sizing, PowerVM environment preparation, test migration, cut-over during a maintenance window with rollback plan, and stabilization.
Do you support AIX, IBM i, and Linux on Power?
Yes. Our team administers all three operating systems on the Power platform. We have experts in AIX (Unix workloads, Oracle DB), IBM i (ERP, RPG), and Linux on Power (open source stack, Docker/K8s).
What does the support model look like?
nFlo resells vendor support and provides its own support on terms set in the contract — scope and response times (SLA) are agreed individually, depending on system criticality. Support includes proactive monitoring, patching, troubleshooting, and capacity planning.
How much can we save on IBM/Oracle license costs?
The size of the savings depends on the utilization audit results. We conduct an audit of actual CPU utilization using nmon/topas, right-size partitions, and implement sub-capacity licensing - per IBM, it lets you license an eligible software product for less than the full capacity of your server.