Report Table of Contents:
1. Introduction & Survey Highlights (current page)
2025 marks the 11th edition of the IBM i Marketplace Survey Results. Each year, Fortra captures data on how businesses use the IBM i platform and the IT and cybersecurity initiatives it supports.
Over the years, this survey has become a true industry benchmark, revealing to readers the trends that are shaping and driving the market and providing insight into what the future may bring for this technology.
At events like tradeshows, members of the IBM i community tell us about the significance of this survey. Business partners, IBM, and its customers alike have routinely used this data to help other members of the IBM i ecosystem understand the needs of their users and the trends they should be aware of. We thank everyone who has confirmed that our efforts are appreciated and contributing to the betterment of the IBM i community.
This survey is meant to reflect the thoughts and opinions of the IBM i community, and we encourage you to use the community’s collective voice to spark conversations within your organization on how current challenges can be addressed. In a time where many IBM i shops are still relying on security by obscurity or are barely getting along with a shorthanded staff, educating other stakeholders on topics like managed service offerings and cybersecurity best practices can help you create a more sustainable future for your IBM i and the community as a whole.
250 IBM i users from all over the world completed this year’s survey, which revealed a record high level of satisfaction with the platform, concern regarding IBM i skills, and widespread adoption of security solutions. AI and Machine Learning as well as compliance regulations also piqued the interest of this year’s survey respondents. We hope you find these and the many other data points to be thought-provoking and informative as you plan your 2025 projects.
As always, I want to thank everyone who participated in the research and who helped bring it all together. Your help and enthusiasm are always appreciated. I would also like to thank our team here at Fortra who puts so much time and energy into publishing these results.
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
Trust and satisfaction on IBM i reach a record high
A record high 96% of respondents believe their IBM i server gives them a better ROI than other operating systems. In an era where competition among operating systems is abundant and interest in moving the application to the cloud is ever-growing, IBM i users have never been more satisfied with their investment in this platform. In fact, IBM i users are so happy with the operating system’s reliability and scalability that the percentage of those planning to increase their IBM i footprint jumped from 12% to 20%.
Concern over IBM i skills surpasses modernization
With 60% of respondents listing IBM i skills as a top concern when planning their IT environment, this selection has surpassed modernization and HA/DR, trailing only cybersecurity. With a worldwide shortage of IT personnel and many IBM i professionals reaching retirement age, organizations are finding new ways to replenish their IBM i expertise without making additional hires. Many are moving to the cloud, leveraging managed services, modernizing applications, or all the above in an effort to maximize their current expertise and optimize operations while key positions are in flux.
IBM i supports increased interest in AI and Machine Learning
The percentage of respondents that listed artificial intelligence and machine learning as a top concern rose from 18% to 30%, showing a legitimate interest in embedding these revolutionary technologies into everyday processes. This growing interest coincides with increased use of the development languages most often associated with AI and ML. Python usage jumped from 20% to 26% while Node.js grew from 18% to 21%. These figures indicate that IBM is working to help customers use AI alongside IBM workloads by providing AI in helping developers write code, helping administrators manage the system, and helping businesses access their data for better decision making.
Adoption of all security solutions grows
Following last year’s record-setting concern over cybersecurity, IBM i users took action. Use of every single security solution category saw year-over-year growth for the first time in the history of this survey. Contributing to this trend is the growing concern about compliance and regulations, as IBM i has become increasingly recognized by audit teams as a server that should be in scope due to the volume of data it typically hosts. Although room for improvement remains, we are encouraged by this trend.
Power10 and IBM i 7.5 adoption ramps up
Organizations are adopting the IBM Power10 scale-up and scale-out servers running the Power10 processor at a much greater rate. This year, more than half of survey takers own Power10, compared to just one-third last year. Similarly, use of IBM i 7.5 as the primary operating system level jumped from 19% to 32%. Customers clearly understand the many tangible benefits that come with each new operating system and hardware release. The findings also demonstrate that older hardware (Power8 and older) and operating system levels (7.3 and older) are being gradually phased out. IBM i customers continue to upgrade their hardware and software levels. Many also get this as they move workload to IBM Power in the cloud.