IBM Power systems continue to support some of the most important applications in business today. But for many organizations, the platform is facing a challenge that is harder to solve than technology alone: the trusted developers, stakeholders, and SME’s who know these systems best are retiring faster than they can be replaced.
This workforce reality is one of the reasons why we created the Transition of Power Assessment. First introduced at COMMON POWERUp 2026 in New Orleans, the conversations around IBM i modernization made one thing clear — organizations need a better way to understand the health of their applications, the readiness of their teams, and the future of the platform itself.
What is the Transition of Power Assessment?
The Transition of Power Assessment is a structured review of three critical areas in your IBM Power environment:
- Team
- Security
- Infrastructure
Together, these three areas provide a clear picture of the current state of your applications, the people supporting them, and the environment they rely on. The goal is to move beyond assumptions and create a more confident plan for what comes next.
Why it matters
Many IBM i environments have grown over decades with limited documentation, concentrated knowledge, and increasingly urgent succession concerns. In our last blog about the RPG retirement risk, we talked about how a small number of experienced professionals often hold the keys to critical business operations, which creates risk when retirements, turnover, or modernization efforts begin to accelerate.
At the same time, security expectations continue to rise, and infrastructure decisions require a clearer understanding of performance, capacity, and continuity. The Transition of Power Assessment helps organizations step back, identify where risk exists, and define a path forward before those issues become business interruptions.
What the assessment covers
Team
This part focuses on the people behind the applications. It looks at who supports key systems, where critical knowledge resides, and whether there are retirement, succession, or skills gaps that could create future risk.
Security
This part reviews how protected the environment is today. It considers access controls, system security settings, patching, audit readiness, and other factors that help reduce exposure and strengthen confidence.
Infrastructure
This part evaluates the IBM Power environment itself. It reviews system health, performance, capacity, backup, and disaster recovery alignment, and whether the platform is positioned to support future business needs.
What organizations gain
At the end of the assessment, organizations receive a clearer view of:
- What applications exist and who supports them
- Where risk is concentrated
- What gaps exist in people, security, or infrastructure
- What priorities should come next
- How to plan for modernization with less guesswork
In short, the assessment helps leadership make better decisions with better information.
A better way to plan ahead
The name Transition of Power reflects more than a simple “technology review”. It represents a shift from reactive support to proactive planning and helps organizations understand where they are today and what it will take to move forward with confidence.
If your business depends on IBM Power, this assessment can be the starting point for smarter decisions, stronger alignment, and a more secure and predictable future.
