1. Introduction & Survey Highlights
4. Outlook for IBM i (current page)
Business Applications
An organization can't function well without its fundamental business applications. These applications must be readily accessible, execute quickly, and provide enterprises with the assurance that they will perform as expected.
It’s no surprise that many businesses rely on IBM i for their most critical applications, given the platform's reputation for dependability and durability. More than half of the respondents' primary business applications are being run on IBM i. This demonstrates users' confidence in the IBM i platform.
This year’s results also saw a slight upward trend in the number of users that run between 51% and 75% of their core business applications on IBM i—up to 31%.
RECOMMENDATION:
With applications relying very much on access to core business data, the role of business intelligence (BI) cannot be underestimated when it comes to successful applications. Fortra has a suite of BI solutions and services that dovetail seamlessly with IBM i and allow business users and leadership teams to make smarter and more informed decisions based on real-time data.
Plans for the Platform
We have witnessed the evident value that users obtain from IBM i throughout the nine years that we have been collecting data for the IBM i Marketplace Survey. This is exemplified by the fact that 20% of those who responded intend to grow their IBM i footprint in 2023. From a management standpoint, IBM i requires fewer personnel and has a lower cost of ownership. As a result, it is not difficult to understand why organizations are interested in expanding their footprint. 37% of users plan to keep operating their IBM i environment in its current configuration, which is a reflection of the satisfaction and stability that customers are currently enjoying.
The percentage of businesses who will continue to use IBM i with no change is smaller than on 2022 (37% vs 43%). This is justified by the fact that another 12% of respondents reported they will stay on IBM i but are moving to the cloud, a clear indication that they are gradually realizing the benefits of cloud environments.
Additionally, 21% of organizations are planning to move some or all of their applications to another operating system or service. Windows-based servers come out highest at 49%. If planning to move applications, Windows is not a surprising choice as many organizations have Windows servers running alongside IBM i. The number of users planning to move applications to Linux dropped by four points to 32% and AIX dropped by the same amount to 2%.
Over time, there isn’t a strong drive for people to move from IBM i as only 4% of respondents plan to migrate all applications from IBM i within 2 years.
RECOMMENDATION:
If you are thinking about leaving IBM i, you need to understand the true cost of migration. We have seen first-hand customers attempting to move off IBM i over a period of time and then failing to do so. This failure is very expensive to your organization as it sets you years behind in application modernization and hardware levels. Our recommendation is to talk to both consultants who are for moving off IBM i as well as those who are against the move. They will help you understand the true costs associated with replatforming.
ROI
The most constant result of the annual IBM i Marketplace Survey over the past nine years has been the value that IBM i provides to its consumers. IBM i has consistently delivered a high return on investment (ROI), and 2023 will be no exception.
In a record-breaking year, 95% of respondents said they believes IBM i provided better ROI than other servers. This number has never been below 90% in nearly a decade of analysis, demonstrating that IBM is committed to maintaining a system that provides substantial value to its devoted clientele.
We know that many survey participants use multiple servers, so their opinions on the best server are well-informed. IBM i is a trusted platform, and its popularity will continue to rise in the years to come.
