IBM Power9 End of Standard Support on 31 January 2026

What it means for your business, and how Baby Blue can help you sweat the asset

If you’re running IBM Power9, there’s an important date you should already have in your calendar:

📅 31 January 2026 - End of Standard Support (EoSS)

After this date, standard IBM support is withdrawn for IBM Power9 systems. That doesn’t mean your system suddenly stops working, but it does mean you need to make some informed decisions about how you support it going forward.

What happens after 31 January 2026?

Once standard support ends, customers must move onto IBM Service Extension / Extended Maintenance if they want to remain on IBM-backed support.

Typically, IBM will offer:

• Monday–Friday coverage, or
• 24×7 coverage

However, one critical detail often gets overlooked...

Not all IBM Power9 contracts include fixed SLAs

Depending on your Power9 model number, IBM may:

• Offer response-only support (no guaranteed fix time), or
• Decline to provide fixed SLAs altogether

This is why it’s essential to check your contract carefully. Two customers can both be “on IBM support” and yet have very different levels of service and risk exposure.

Do you really need to upgrade yet?

Many IBM Power9 environments are:

• Stable
• Fully paid for
• Still performing exactly as required

If your system is doing the job, upgrading purely because of a support milestone may not be the most cost-effective decision.

This is where asset life extension comes into play.

How Baby Blue helps extend the life of IBM Power systems

At Baby Blue IT & Consulting, we specialise in helping customers sweat their IBM Power assets safely and commercially.

We can:

• Review your existing IBM Power9 support contracts
• Confirm whether you have response-only vs fixed SLA coverage
• Advise on IBM Service Extension vs alternative options
• Reduce risk while avoiding unnecessary upgrades

Flexible support options

Depending on your requirements, Baby Blue can provide:

• Genuine IBM maintenance, where it still makes sense
• Third-party maintenance (TPM) where IBM no longer supports the equipment
• Hybrid models combining IBM + Baby Blue services

Power9… and beyond

IBM Power9 is no problem for Baby Blue, but we don’t stop there.

We support the full IBM Power lineage, including:

• IBM Power9
• IBM Power8
• IBM Power7
• IBM Power6
• IBM Power5
• IBM Power4

We also cover:

• IBM i-Series and p-Series platforms
• IBM disk and tape storage products across generations

If IBM no longer supports it, chances are we still can.

Final thought

End of standard support doesn’t have to mean end of life.

If your IBM Power9 (or older) system is reliable, secure, and meeting your needs, extending its life can free up capital, reduce risk, and give you time to plan upgrades properly on your terms, not the vendor’s.

Get in touch with Baby Blue and let us review your IBM Power9 support options. We’ll help you understand what you really have, what you really need, and how to extend the life of your platform with confidence.

IBM Power9 or older - Baby Blue has you covered.