How IBM Power Hardware Changes IBM i Tier Cost
It is a common misreading of IBM i licensing to assume a newer Power generation gets a pricing break on software tiers. It does not. P05, P10, P20, and P30 carry the same published per-core rate regardless of whether that core sits on a Power9, Power10, or Power11 chassis.
Where newer IBM Power hardware saves software cost
The lever is throughput per core. IBM's benchmark data shows meaningful CPW gains from one hardware generation to the next. A workload that needed six licensed cores on Power9 might clear the same throughput requirement on four cores of Power10 or Power11.
Where the IBM Power hardware advantage stops
This effect has diminishing returns. Once the workload sits inside a tier's core-count floor, newer hardware does not lower the software bill further. The saving matters most near a tier boundary where a faster server can avoid the next tier.
Model this explicitly before assuming a hardware refresh pays for itself in software savings alone. See IBM i Tier Economics for the full tier table and Configuration Efficiency for where the core-count curve flattens.
Sources
- https://www.itjungle.com/2024/04/15/drilling-down-into-new-ibm-i-perpetual-and-subscription-pricing/
- https://www.itjungle.com/2025/07/08/with-subscription-price-ibm-i-p20-and-p30-tiers-get-bigger-bundles/
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