The IBM revenue and shipments of the mid-range iSeries (also known as the System i) servers are continuing their third year of a downward slide. Some of the revenue drop can be accounted for by reduced prices and additional low end systems. But the full 21% revenue plunge also indicates falling shipments as well.

Reorganization and Competition

This decline comes even as IBM has split the marketing for the System i and System p products into two groups, one focusing on the small to mid-sized market and the other on larger enterprises. The disappointing revenue, and a lack of growth in the AS/400 descendant, offers a warning to enterprises viewing this system as a potential data center component. While there are large numbers of applications available for i5/OS, the long-term viability of the system must now be questioned.