What is LibrePower and why take part?

LibrePower is an independent project focused on the open-source ecosystem around IBM Power. Its main output is a yearly public report on how the platform is doing from the point of view of the people who actually operate and build on it: the AIX admin maintaining Toolbox packages, the IBM i shop bringing modern tooling on board, the engineer building Python wheels for ppc64le, the architect sizing up a new workload for Power.

Between surveys, LibrePower runs a technical newsletter on Substack with benchmarks, ppc64le porting notes and IBM Champions interviews. It works as a complement to the official channels and the vendor blogs — an additional view from the technical community itself.

Are you the target audience? Almost certainly yes

The survey adapts to your profile: you only see the questions that make sense for the platforms you work with. If you work with IBM i, the AIX questions never appear. If you do Linux on Power, you don't get asked about VIOS. And if your only contact with the platform is following the ecosystem from the outside, there's a path through for you too.

It's designed to cover the full spectrum:

• Operations — L1, L2, L3 admins on AIX, IBM i, VIOS and Linux on Power. The people who actually pick up the phone when production moves.
• Development and platform — ppc64le developers, DevOps/SRE teams, open-source maintainers, engineers porting stacks to Power.
• Architecture and pre-sales — anyone deciding between Power and other platforms, designing migrations, or walking customers through the technical choice.
• ISVs, IBM Business Partners and IBM employees — the voice of the people building and selling on the platform counts just as much as the voice of those running it.

Why we're getting behind this at SIXE

As an IBM Business Partner focused on open source, Linux on Power, AIX, IBM i and the wider Power platform, we've watched the open-source layer keep growing across the ecosystem in recent years — from the official repositories, to the modern tooling landing on IBM i, to the steady evolution of ppc64le on Linux. What we see day to day in consulting and training is a useful complement to what comes through the official channels: concrete cases, real decisions, the kind of questions that show up in actual projects.

That's why we're spreading the word about the survey: the more diverse the sample, the more useful the report — and while we're at it, we'd love to see strong representation from across Europe and the broader international community.

If you want to see the kind of work we publish in this space: we installed and tested AIX 7.3, looked at what's new in IBM i 7.6, and compared alternative hypervisors to ESXi (PowerVM, Proxmox, OCP). We also offer official AIX training and consulting on Power, AIX, VIOS and PowerVM.

Three quick questions before you start

Is it in English?

Yes, the survey is fully in English. There's a free-text box at the end ("anything we should have asked?") where you can flag anything in your own language — that's exactly the kind of feedback that shapes the next edition.

What if I don't have experience in something specific?

Almost every question has an "N/A" or "don't know" option. The survey is designed for you to only weigh in when you have a basis to do so — that's precisely what gives the report its credibility.

Can I share the link with my team?

Yes, please. It's librepower.org/annual-survey. The more varied the profiles that respond, the more useful the report.