Building Cyber and Operational Resilience on IBM Power

IBM has announced that IBM i 7.4 will end standard support in September 2026. This milestone makes it urgent for enterprises to begin migration planning. However, upgrading to IBM i 7.6 is not simply about maintaining support; it’s about unlocking significant security advancements that safeguard IBM Power environments against modern threats. 

When evaluating cyber security managed services, organisations should track

IBM i 7.6 comes with a set of new defences designed to meet the toughest challenges for cyber and operational resilience: 

• Stronger security with integrated MFA: Multi-Factor Authentication is now built into IBM i itself, allowing TOTP codes to protect logins across ACS, Navigator, and administrative accounts. This reduces reliance on third-party tools and makes system access more secure. 

• Faster and more flexible SQL: Db2 gains FINAL TABLE support for UPDATE and DELETE, parallel execution for large data changes, and new functions for dates, JSON, and HTTP. These improvements simplify coding and streamline heavy workloads. 

• Simplified system management and migration: Enhancements to Db2 Mirror, rsync-based transfers, and partial save options make upgrades and migrations smoother, while new system services automate routine admin tasks. This cuts downtime and operational overheads. 

• Modernised, leaner platform: Legacy components such as Java 11, SDA, RLU, and older DNS/DHCP services are retired. By eliminating outdated features, IBM i 7.6 reduces security risk and concentrates on more secure, supported, and modern technologies. 

• Future-ready hardware support: Full optimisation for POWER10 and tighter service tool ID security means organisations can confidently deploy IBM i 7.6 on the latest systems. 

• Expanded developer and HA/DR capabilities: Application development is more efficient through updates to open-source tooling such as Code for IBM i, delivering improved debugging, formatting, and syntax validation. Disaster recovery is also strengthened with better replication, FlashCopy support, and enablement for IBM Power Virtual Server environments. 

Together, these features make IBM i 7.6 the most secure IBM i release to date. 

outcomes that go beyond traditional KPIs. Instead, focus on the impact on areas within your organisation that the board will recognise as business-critical: 

When IBM i 7.6 runs on Power11 hardware, it gains additional layers of protection and resilience that strengthen the platform overall.  

• Built-in quantum-safe cryptographic modules in Power11 help guard against future threats like “harvest-now, decrypt-later” attacks. 

• Hardware-level isolation features, such as memory tagging, secure boot, and partition isolation, are designed to contain and isolate malicious activity. 

• Advanced memory protection models detect and help prevent exploit techniques, such as buffer overflow and side-channel attacks, from spreading. 

This combination of OS-level enhancements and hardware safeguards helps UK enterprises achieve layered, end-to-end security and resilience. 

While IBM i 7.6 and IBM Power 11 deliver stronger prevention and defence, true resilience requires validated recovery. That’s where Celerity’s CopyAssure, purpose-built for IBM Power workloads, comes in. 

Customers on IBM systems often struggle with: 

• Long recovery times due to manual, resource-heavy processes, which extend downtime and incur greater cost 

• Uncertainty around recovery, as recovery points may be untested 

• Having no way of proving recoverability as backups are rarely validated, leaving outcomes unknown. 

•  Human error and lack of automation slowing down unplanned recovery efforts. 

• Downtime and breaches eroding stakeholder and customer trust, as well as impacting revenue 

CopyAssure integrates seamlessly with IBM i environments to: 

• Continuously validate IBM i recovery points, ensuring they are clean, useable, and compliant 

• Automate recovery testing for IBM Power workloads, reducing downtime and removing human errors 

• Leverage immutable storage to protect IBM system backups against corruption or ransomware 

• Provide independent, audit-ready assurance that mission-critical IBM i workloads can be restored quickly and securely 

This makes CopyAssure an essential pairing for IBM i 7.6, extending the platform’s enhanced security with the proven recovery assurance enterprises need for compliance, resilience, and peace of mind. 

Any industry that relies on continuous operations and operates on IBM systems will benefit from the peace of mind and seamless recovery that CopyAssure offers. For example: 

Retail 

Challenge: Slow recovery of transaction systems impacts customer experience. 

CopyAssure Benefit: Accelerates recovery with validated copies, cutting RTO/RPO from days to minutes. 

Financial Services 

Challenge: Regulatory frameworks (such as PRA and FCA) demand demonstratable operational resilience. 

CopyAssure Benefit: Provides frequent recovery points and proven recoverability to meet strict compliance. 

Manufacturing 

Challenge: Production downtime directly impacts output and revenue. 

CopyAssure Benefit: Provides known recovery points, reducing downtime costs and uncertainty. 

Public Sector 

Challenge: Organisations must align to NIST standards and demonstrate audit-ready resilience. 

CopyAssure Benefit: Ensures continuous recovery validation and immutable storage to support compliance and offer peace of mind for audits. 

Healthcare 

Challenge: Patient care systems must remain available with minimal disruption. 

CopyAssure Benefit: Enables rapid, clean recovery of clinical systems to ensure uninterrupted care. 

Celerity is a trusted IBM partner with deep expertise in IBM Power and IBM i environments. We don’t just implement upgrades; we deliver strategic consulting, managed services, and validated recovery that ensure resilience is proven, not assumed. 

• Upgrade to IBM i 7.6 for long-term security and compliance 

• Adopt CopyAssure to validate recovery and meet resilience standards 

• Future-proof your IBM Power workloads against evolving threats by working with expert IT managed service providers, who keep you on the front-foot for all updates and market shifts 

Speak to Celerity’s IBM experts today and discover how IBM i 7.6 and CopyAssure can secure your mission-critical workloads.