SAN FRANCISCO – IBM (IBM.N) unveiled its next-generation Power11 data center chips and servers on Tuesday, promising superior energy efficiency, ransomware resilience, and streamlined AI deployment for enterprise customers.
The announcement marks IBM’s first major Power series update since 2020, positioning the new systems as alternatives to Intel (INTC.O) and AMD (AMD.O) offerings in sectors like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Unlike competitors focused on raw performance, IBM emphasized reliability with near-zero downtime – requiring no planned maintenance windows and averaging just over 30 seconds of unplanned outages annually.
Key innovations include:
-
Ransomware Defense: Automated threat detection and response within 60 seconds of an attack
-
AI Integration: Fourth-quarter plans to combine Power11 with IBM’s Spyre AI accelerator chips
-
Inference Optimization: Tailored for deploying (rather than training) AI models in business workflows
“These systems deliver enterprise-grade security while making AI inferencing simple to implement,” said Tom McPherson, IBM’s Power Systems GM, noting early customer tests showed measurable process improvements.
Available July 25, the Power11 servers build on IBM’s legacy of tightly integrated hardware/software designs. While not competing directly with Nvidia’s AI training dominance, IBM aims to carve a niche in secure, maintainable AI inference for regulated industries. The launch comes as data center operators increasingly prioritize energy savings and cyber resilience alongside computational power.