Today's on demand businesses rely on a variety of infrastructure technologies, from messaging systems to firewalls to file servers to Web application servers.  The total picture can be very complex. But it doesn't need to be.

Simplifying this infrastructure with IBM System i offerings provides an uncomplicated approach to helping cut costs, allowing you to focus on business — not technology.  The System i platform comes integrated with the components necessary to support robust business computing including the operating system, database, security, communications and networking, middleware, application servers and more.  In addition, the System i platform can replace a collection of smaller servers with a single system capable of supporting a variety of operating systems and applications so you can increase responsiveness, reduce operations costs, and improve productivity by running the best applications for your business.

System i is a leader in the IBM Virtualization Engine™ system technologies which enable a System i infrastructure to support multiple operating systems and application environments simultaneously — including IBM i5/OS™, Linux®, IBM AIX 5L™, Microsoft® Windows Server 2003™, Java, WebSphere® and Lotus® Domino® software.  It's true enterprise-level functionality in a business computer for small to large businesses.

• Reduce complexity and cost
  
  The IBM System i platform is designed to pool resources and optimise their use across multiple application environments and operating systems.  System i offerings can help simplify IT infrastructures by enabling you to deploy new applications and consolidate operations on a single, highly flexible, resilient system.

• Handle constant change
  
  The System i platform adjusts pooled processor resources automatically across operating systems by borrowing processing power from idle partitions to help handle high transaction volumes in other partitions.  Through Capacity on Demand, processors can be turned on and off to meet your immediate or periodic spikes in demand.

• Save time and money
  
  Through storage virtualisation, the System i platform can deliver excellent performance for multiple applications, maximise the utilisation of the storage resources, and reduce the storage management costs typically associated with server farms.  You can also use Virtual Ethernet technology to provide fast, very secure connections among these multiple operating environments, for effective application-to-application communications.

• Improve Business Continuity
  
  By consolidating your server and storage resources on the System i platform, you can be in a better position to protect your IT environment from downtime and viruses.

• Improve Business Flexibility
  
  With support for multiple operating environments on the i5 system, you have the freedom to run a wide variety of business applications without the costs and complexity often associated with managing multiple physical servers.