IBM Power and AS/400 Server Hardware

Does adopting AI on IBM Power require replacing IBM i or our ERP?

No. PowerVS extends the Power servers you already run into IBM Cloud without changing the operating system, the Db2 for i database, or the RPG and COBOL applications running on it. watsonx connects to that environment as a separate AI layer through APIs and data connectors, so the ERP and the business logic underneath it stay exactly where they are.

Answer

No. PowerVS extends the Power servers you already run into IBM Cloud without changing the operating system, the Db2 for i database, or the RPG and COBOL applications running on it. watsonx connects to that environment as a separate AI layer through APIs and data connectors, so the ERP and the business logic underneath it stay exactly where they are.

The realistic path is incremental: extend infrastructure into PowerVS where it makes sense, connect watsonx to a specific, narrow use case, and prove it against real data before expanding scope. A full platform replacement is a much higher-risk move than extending what already works.

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