Perspectives

Meridian IT and IBM: a partnership going from strength to strength

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For years global services provider, Meridian IT, has been backed by IBM Storage and IBM Power servers to support its suite of enterprise cloud solutions. Recently, Meridian IT became the first IBM Business Partner to utilise IBM Power10. IBM solutions allow Meridian IT to build cloud environments suited to a broad range of clients, and also allows adjustment to them quickly and effectively. As a celebration of such a relationship between the two companies, in October, Meridian IT held their regular iCommunity event at IBM’s York Road office. Talks from figures such as IBMi CTO Steve Wills & IBM Power Global Principal David Spurway showcased the constant innovation IBM are taking in improving the functionality of IBM solutions. Supporting Meridian IT, and other IBM partners, was the central focus of the talks- highlighting IBM’s wider ethos in encouraging partner growth through innovation of platforms.

IBMi CTO Steve Wills’ Talk

Meridian IT’s utilisation of IBM systems, both software and hardware, means that events such as the iCommunity day provide a great insight into updates that partners can look forward to. For the event, IBMi’s CTO Steve Wills took the trip across from the US to discuss the innovation behind the platform. “IBMi has a clear development roadmap into the 2030s and has a history of delivering to previous roadmaps across the last decade. The platform consistently looks to develop its offerings to enable clients to carry out innovative technological extensions, for example natural language and automated chatbots. This forward-thinking approach carries the platform into the future, with a methodology of new releases having already been set out. IBMi Next Gen Apps as well as new products such as iMerlin are being launched to support customers in adopting modern cloud, AI and analytics.” These software developments support Meridian and IBM’s strategic alliance and allow Meridian to work more effectively with their customers as a result.

Global Principal IBM Power, David Spurway’s Talk

Meridian IT rely on IBM Power Systems as a tool to give them a competitive edge, but also as it works very well as complimentary service to IBM Storage. From a hardware standpoint, David Spurway was keen to highlight the progression being made within IBM Power during the event. The latest update is IBM Power10, with David highlighting the perks of a such a system, “With IBM Power, based on Power10, you can respond faster to business demands, while sustainably protecting and enhancing your mission critical workloads. New IBM Power servers, based on Power10, are engineered for agility.” As a summary, the Power10 service helps users like Meridian IT to:

  • Respond faster to business demands with Hybrid Cloud
  • Protect data from core to cloud
  • Maximize Availability
  • Streamline insights and automation with In-core AI Acceleration
  • Sustainable Compute

Events such as the iCommunity highlight the positive relationship between IBM and Meridian. Not only does it give Meridian clients an insight into the latest developments available on the IBM platforms they utilise, but it’s also a chance for IBM to learn more about Meridian IT’s suggestions for change. Feedback is crucial in developing and evolving products, and IBMi CTO Steve Wills was candid in stating that feedback gained is immediately reviewed by the development team and acted on accordingly. This partnership and aligned feedback helps influence future innovation, delivering a better experience for partners, and their clients.

The day showcased the fantastic work between Meridian IT and IBM, as well as highlighting the progress being continually made within IBM’s services offered. For years, storage has played a pivotal role within Meridian IT’s delivery model, but it’s recent coupling with IBM Power will allow the partner to accelerate their offerings to customers. This further highlights the progression made within the relationship, one that will long run into the future.

To find out more about Meridian IT’s work with IBM Power, then check out the latest press release: ‘Meridian IT Announces Launch of Next Generation Cloud for IBM Power’. https://go.themeridian.com/launch-next-gen-power

UKI Ecosystem Co Marketing

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