The fact that the IBM i operating system (OS) is one of the best multi-workload, multiuser business platforms is undeniable. The value of IBM i and its architecture is that it is based on object security, job descriptions, and robust job scheduling and work management. These features make it an ideal platform for running multiprocess workloads. IBM i users run batch processing, web, and interactive application workloads concurrently, while still taking advantage of high availability. Other platforms are not structured in such a way to run these types of workloads as efficiently and with job isolation (separation).
From a technical perspective, security and isolation of tenants from each other's business processes and data is a primary concern for the cloud. New tenant provisioning is the ability to create the infrastructure, platform, and software environment in a timely and repeatable manner for your new customers
From a commercial perspective, the metering and measurement for billing is the key concern. Here are the main points that you must consider for the cloud:
IBM i has a long history of virtualization. For example, Logical Partitioning (LPAR) capabilities have been available since 2001.
For multitenancy, when one user or 1000 users use the same program, the executable part of the program is loaded only once into memory. If you deploy a new version of the program while users are still connected, nothing is broken and users continue to work with their current version. However, if they simply sign off and sign on again, they have the new version of the program. For a 5250 environment, this dynamic deployment is not possible because display file objects are allocated while they are open. In a multitier environment, this is entirely
possible.
IBM i is scalable for performance and security is its strength. IBM i has had this capability for many years. Your applications can already take advantage of the cloud.