IBM unveils cost-saving cloud and AI platform

IBM has unveiled a platform designed to extend the latest performance, security and AI capabilities of LinuxONE to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – and within new data center environments.

The LinuxONE 4 Express is a pre-configured rack mount system designed to offer cost savings and to remove client guesswork when spinning up workloads quickly and getting started with the platform. It addresses new and traditional use cases such as digital assets, medical imaging with AI, and workload consolidation.

As businesses move their products and services online quickly, they are often left with a hybrid cloud environment created by default, with siloed stacks that are not conducive to alignment across businesses or the introduction of AI.

In a recent IBM IBV survey, 84% of executives acknowledged enterprise struggles in eliminating silo-to-silo handoffs. And 78% of responding executives said that an inadequate operating model impedes successful adoption of their multicloud platform. 

With the pressure to accelerate and scale the impact of data and AI across the enterprise – and improve business outcomes – another approach that organisations can take is to more carefully identify which workloads should be on-premises vs in the cloud.

“Startups and SMEs are at the heart of enabling employment-rich economic growth for South Africa,” says Ria Pinto, general manager and technology leader of IBM South Africa. “Nevertheless, they are not immune to macro challenges throttling the economy. As a result, they are turning to digitalisation to be agile, efficient and innovative in order to thrive. 

“The IBM LinuxONE 4 Express presents a unique opportunity for them to craft a deliberate hybrid cloud strategy tailored to their needs. The system seamlessly integrates advanced technologies into their business operations, empowering them to navigate the digital landscape with confidence.”

The system addresses a new set of use cases that startups and small businesses are facing, including:

• Digital assets: IBM LinuxONE 4 Express provides a secured platform with confidential computing capabilities specifically designed to protect sensitive data, like digital assets. IBM Secure Execution for Linux is a hardware-based security technology that is now built into IBM LinuxONE 4 Express. Scalable isolation for individual workloads can help protect not only from external attacks, but also insider threats. This includes data in use, a particularly critical stage of security for digital assets use cases.
• Medical imaging with AI: With IBM Telum processor on-chip AI inferencing, clients can co-locate AI with mission-critical data on a LinuxONE system, allowing data analysis where the data is located. For example, health insurance companies could analyze large volumes of medical records in near real time to validate process claims, increasing the speed of business decision making.
• Workload consolidation: IBM LinuxONE 4 Express is designed to help clients simplify their IT environments and cut costs by consolidating databases onto a LinuxONE system. Designed to bring significant cost savings for clients over time, clients that move Linux workloads from compared x86 server to an IBM LinuxONE 4 Express can save over 52% on their total cost of ownership over 5 years.