The OpenPOWER initiative has certainly created a buzz over the past year; however, is it really a disruptive technology? Bradley McCredie, IBM Fellow and vice president of the IBM Power Systems Development and president of the OpenPOWER Foundation, thinks so.
In a recent article published on Wired, “10 Ways the World’s First Open Server Architecture is Disruptive”, McCredie provides his rationale. Essentially, he says that the traditional methods of developing new chip technology will not keep up with the ever-increasing demands that big data and the cloud are placing on IT infrastructures.
The OpenPOWER Foundation, a technology movement started by Google, IBM, NVIDIA, Mellanox, and Tyan in 2013 and now includes 111 industry leading companies in 22 countries around the world, was created to enable the scalability of servers to handle massive workloads. Through the OpenPOWER Foundation, IBM’s POWER hardware and software are available for open development.
The following is a summary of the 10 ways McCredie believes OpenPOWER is disrupting the data center:
- Open, collaborative development is the key to the rapid, continuous innovation of servers.
- It is secure because everyone can see the source code.
- It can form the basis for indigenous transformation.
- OpenPOWER enables customization.
- Open technology guarantees continuity of supply and options.
- The OpenPOWER architecture is fully open.
- OpenPOWER provides the ability for organizations to build new solutions on the open platform.
- OpenPOWER technology includes some technology breakthroughs.
- It provides access to a broad range of customers.
- It provides a forum for collaboration.
Just like Linux has proven, open technology is here to stay and making a difference in the rapid advancements of the IT industry.