IBM Presents New Next Generation Chip With Samsung

IBM on Monday disclosed its new next generation processor chip which is focused on energy efficiency and is expected to have three times the workload capacity of its forerunner.

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The IBM (IBM) Power10 chip, which is designed to offer a platform to meet the needs of enterprise hybrid cloud computing for data centers, will be rolled out in the second half of 2021. The expected improvement in capacity is engineered to allow IBM Power10-based systems to support up to 3x increases in users, workloads and OpenShift container density for hybrid cloud workloads as compared to the IBM Power9-based systems.

The Power10 is IBM’s first commercialized processor, which will be manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co. using 7-nanometer process technology.

“Enterprise-grade hybrid clouds require a robust on-premises and off-site architecture inclusive of hardware and co-optimized software,” said Stephen Leonard, GM of IBM Cognitive Systems. “With IBM Power10 we have designed the premier processor for enterprise hybrid cloud, delivering the performance and security that clients expect from IBM. With our stated goal of making Red Hat OpenShift the default choice for hybrid cloud, IBM Power10 brings hardware-based capacity and security enhancements for containers to the IT infrastructure level.”

The IBM Power10 processor is engineered for faster encryption performance with quadruple the number of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption engines per core compared to its predecessor to meet anticipated future cryptographic standards like quantum-safe cryptography and fully homomorphic encryption. It also promises to bring new enhancements to container security.

The new processor chip has the ability to pool or cluster physical memory across its systems. IBM said that, for both cloud users and providers, memory inception offers the potential to drive cost and energy savings, as cloud providers can offer more capability using fewer servers, while cloud users can lease fewer resources to meet their IT needs.

IBM’s announcement comes after Intel last week revealed a new technology for making transistors which is said to improve the performance of its next round of processors by as much as 20%. The US chipmaker has come under pressure after the company said on July 23, that its 7-nm transistor would be delayed until 2022, which in turn analysts believe will provide competitors with an edge to gain market share.

Shares in IBM, which have recouped most of this year’s earlier losses, are still down 6.5% year-to-date. Meanwhile, the $138.50 average price target indicates 11% upside potential for the coming 12 months.

Argus Research analyst Jim Kelleher at the end of last month upgraded IBM to Buy from Hold with a $155 price target (24% upside potential), as he believes that the company has “turned a corner”, adding that legacy parts of the business could remain under pressure.

“The company’s hybrid cloud business is accelerating; the overhang of low-return services contracts has largely run off; and the deferred revenue drag from acquiring Red Hat is lessening,” Kelleher wrote in a note to investors. “Margins are benefiting from the software-heavy business mix, enhanced by Red Hat. And demand from the company’s blue chip client base is proving resilient amid the pandemic.”

The rest of the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock with a Moderate Buy analyst consensus. (See IBM stock analysis on TipRanks).