AIX Collaboration Center

Over the last several years, the unique business value gained through AIX® running on POWER™ microprocessor-based systems has led to an expanding preference for the IBM System p™ family of servers—taking them to the number one position in terms of worldwide UNIX® revenue market share since 2Q 2005, according to the IDC Worldwide Server Tracker.

To capitalize on new growth opportunities for the AIX operating system, IBM has opened the AIX Collaboration Center based in Austin, Texas. The new center will collaborate with customers, developers, independent software vendors (ISVs) and academics as well as different divisions across IBM to drive innovation around AIX. The Center will facilitate the development, testing and adoption of new applications and middleware for the AIX operating system.

In fostering innovation around the AIX operating system, Satya Sharma, Distinguished Engineer and Chief UNIX Architect at IBM, sees the Center playing a major role in three key areas:

• Collaborating with ISVs to drive integration and exploitation of POWER processor and AIX technical capabilities
  Through the AIX Collaboration Center, IBM will work with ISVs to compound client benefits by driving tighter integration and exploitation of AIX capabilities, such as Advanced POWER Virtualization. Sharma sees the AIX Collaboration Center helping ISVs lay out plans to exploit future features in the AIX operating system and POWER processor-based systems such as multiple page sizes, storage keys and advanced workload management by driving development of new application programming interfaces and possibly even new hardware features. To that end, the Center will offer ISVs a wide range of resources including education, equipment, access to skilled technical consultants and testing capabilities. Sharma says this work is critical because IBM sees ISVs as highly influential in the end user’s decision to adopt a new technology.
  
  
• Working closely with customers to define new requirements and accelerate adoption of POWER and AIX technologies
  The AIX Collaboration Center will also provide customers with new programs and tools as well as early access to new technologies to refine the capabilities and features of the AIX operating system prior to each release. To further stimulate innovation, the Center will lead a Technical Customer Advisory Council to get direct customer feedback on product roadmaps, planned capabilities and specific implementation issues.
  
  
• Driving the growth of strong user communities around AIX
  A major focus for the AIX Collaboration Center will be to build strong communities around the AIX operating system and POWER processors. Community programs offer users the means to share insights and knowledge with each other and with IBM. The Center is already hosting a community web portal where developers, system administrators and technical users can participate in blogs and forums about a range of AIX related topics. The Center will also drive the expansion of formal AIX and POWER education programs such as the annual pSeries Technical University.
  
  

Join the AIX and Linux on POWER community
The AIX and Linux® on POWER community portal offers technical resources along with the opportunity to interact online with industry experts and interested users. Join the technical forums and blogs, discuss your successes, challenges, hints and tips, and discover new ways of doing business that help accelerate your company’s on demand transformation.

New client: migrate to AIX and build business advantage
Clients worldwide know IBM as a stable and proven partner for UNIX solutions; we can help you move to a high performing, resilient IT infrastructure built around the AIX operating system. With our technical resources and migration roadmap assistance, we can help businesses of all sizes move to AIX for competitive advantage.

Current client: upgrade to the latest versions AIX
AIX Version 6.1 and AIX Version 5.3 offer the ability to increase your system flexibility and utilization through leadership partitioning technology. Take advantage of the latest AIX performance, reliability, security and manageability features to enhance your IT operations.

Attend the pSeries Technical UniversitySystem p Technical University
Learn basic AIX skills and hone your advanced skills with the experts. Gain new insights into leveraging AIX and POWER technologies to meet your needs. Access in-depth technical content and learn how to manage your infrastructure more efficiently. Practice your skills in hands-on labs to take full advantage of your system capabilities.