Power systems revenue climbed 4 percent from a year earlier, or eight percent adjusted for the strong US dollar. On that basis, sales were up for all of 2015.
The reason it is back is IBM’s shift to Linux as an alternative to AIX, its proprietary Unix software. The new Power8 processor makes it easier for clients to port Linux applications from x86.
It opened the platform to third parties. Under the OpenPower initiative, other companies can now design and sell Power servers and processors under IBM’s license. IBM is adding more components to its systems from third parties like Nvidia and Mellanox. This allowed Power to be changed to handle modern workloads like big data and cloud applications. IBM even released a new line of low-cost Linux servers that customers can order online.
