Wallaroo's Power Inference Microservice (PIM)

Wallaroo's Power Inference Microservice (PIM), is designed to overcome the primary technical and skill-based barriers that have traditionally limited AI adoption on IBM's legacy platforms. Directly enhances Power11 users by providing a straightforward path to leverage modern AI, which is typically tied to Linux-based environments.

The PIM as a Modernization Enabler 

The key challenge for IBM i and AIX customers is that their staff often lack the skills to work with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), which is the dominant operating system for enterprise AI workloads. Wallaroo's PIM addresses this directly.

• PIM as an "Easy Button": The PIM acts as an abstraction layer. It encapsulates the complexity of launching a RHEL logical partition (LPAR) and the necessary software stack, including the KGNN. This means users don't need deep RHEL expertise; they can simply deploy the PIM and get to the AI workload.

• Skill Gap Bridge: This approach bypasses the need for extensive retraining of IT staff, allowing companies to adopt modern AI without a major overhaul of their workforce. The PIM simplifies the process, reducing the time and effort required to get an AI project off the ground.

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The Architecture & Go-to-Market Strategy 

The go-to-market plan with Sycomp and TD SYNNEX is crucial for the success of this initiative.

1. KGNN on top of the PIM: The blueprint for delivering the KGNN (Knowledge Graph Neural Network) on top of the PIM is the core technical component. The KGNN is essential for complex, data-intensive AI applications, and the PIM provides the optimized, low-latency environment to run it on IBM Power11.

2. TD SYNNEX Enablement: Taking this architectural blueprint to TD SYNNEX for enablement is the strategic move. TD SYNNEX's extensive network of resellers can then be trained on how to sell and implement this solution. Their programs, like Destination AI, are already built to help partners integrate AI into their offerings.

3. Targeting IBM i and AIX Customers: This blueprint provides a clear value proposition for the resellers. They can approach their existing IBM i and AIX customer base with a compelling story about modernizing their infrastructure and unlocking new capabilities with AI, all while leveraging their existing hardware investment.

By combining the technical innovation of Wallaroo's PIM with the robust go-to-market strategy of TD SYNNEX, the plan effectively turns a significant challenge (the RHEL skill gap) into a unique selling proposition for Power11 users. This partnership offers a seamless path for customers to move from legacy platforms to a future-proof, AI-enabled environment.

This video is relevant as it discusses how Wallaroo.ai's partnership with IBM Power can help enterprises optimize AI inference, including running AI models without GPUs, which is a key part of the modernization play for Power users.

AI Without GPUs: How Wallaroo.ai + IBM Power Outperform A100GPUs