When Nutanix Inc. added IBM Corp. to its list of hardware partners last May, the move also signaled an offering of the first systems by Nutanix that would not depend on Intel’s x86-based servers. This decision by Nutanix to incorporate IBM’s Power Systems technology for enterprise applications was designed to leverage IBM’s Power chips for the massive data-crunching needed to perform machine learning and cognitive computing tasks.

The move represents an opportunity for financial services firms, big retailers or healthcare organizations to more easily use Prism, IBM’s predictive analytics platform, within the hyperconverged space. “Now the best of Prism capabilities along with the [Nutanix] Acropolis stack allow simplicity of single pane of glass management for you to run Power nodes side by side x86 nodes,” said Dr. Stefanie Chiras (pictured, left), vice president of hardware offerings for IBM cognitive systems. “It’s a new age for hyperconverged.”

Chiras visited theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, and spoke with host Stu Miniman (@stu) during the Nutanix.NEXT EU event in Nice, France. She was joined by Bob Picciano (pictured, right), senior vice president of cognitive systems at IBM, and they discussed the progress of the OpenPOWER consortium, the impact of IBM’s technology on cognitive computing, and the possibility of future sever announcements. (* Disclosure below.)

Loosening Intel’s grip on servers

The Nutanix partnership is another chapter in the evolving saga of IBM’s goal to loosen Intel’s grip on the x86 server world. After forming the OpenPOWER consortium in 2013 with several companies, including Google, IBM has embarked on a mission to broaden its base in the hyperscale server market.

“We knew our value proposition would shine based on how much optimization we put into our cores and how much optimization we put into IO bandwidth and memory bandwidth,” Picciano said. “And boy, have we been right.”

The OpenPOWER consortium has grown to include more than 300 members and has formed a useful ecosystem for IBM around its Power-based systems. In December, IBM announced its first system, designed for artificial intelligence workloads that would include the new Power9 processor. The news included support from Google, which is building a Power9 server called Zaius for its data center operations.

Google’s support has fueled speculation of further moves with IBM, although Picciano declined to address the possibility. “I won’t comment on that yet, but we have a big rollout coming up as we get ready to launch POWER9, so there will be more news on some of those fronts,” Picciano said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Nutanix .NEXT EU. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Nutanix .NEXT EU event. Neither Nutanix Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE