Omnilogy is leveraging the established market reach of Power by Fortra to scale its i-Rays observability platform across the IBM i ecosystem. This strategic move aims to address a critical talent deficit within the IBM i community, where skills shortages have recently surpassed cybersecurity as the primary concern for professionals. The partnership positions AI-driven anomaly detection as a vital tool for maintaining operational stability amidst shifting expertise levels.
Scaling i-Rays via Power by Fortra Infrastructure
The partnership integrates Omnilogy’s i-Rays platform into the Power by Fortra ecosystem, providing customers with AI-driven visibility into IBM i operations. According to Fortra's 2026 IBM i Marketplace Survey, 69% of 315 polled professionals identified skills shortages as their leading concern, a significant shift from previous years. By deploying i-Rays, organizations can transition from reactive monitoring to proactive management through automated anomaly detection. This capability is designed to assist enterprises in modernizing operations and expanding observability initiatives. Furthermore, the technology aims to integrate IBM i data into broader enterprise observability platforms, such as Dynatrace, which Omnilogy currently supports for clients in sectors including banking, healthcare, and manufacturing.
Operational Support and Deployment Framework
Power by Fortra will manage the commercial and technical lifecycle for i-Rays customers, handling sales, implementation, training, and technical support. This framework is intended to provide a seamless transition from initial evaluation to full production deployment. Beyond technical services, Power by Fortra will utilize its existing commercial infrastructure to manage opportunity discovery, contract negotiations, billing, and renewals. This arrangement allows Omnilogy to focus on technology development while utilizing Fortra's established channel expertise and customer base. For enterprise IT leaders, this structure provides a streamlined path to adopting AI-driven observability, backed by specialized industry expertise at every stage of the deployment process.
Key Takeaways
- 69% of 315 IBM i professionals surveyed by Fortra cited skills shortages as their top concern.
- Omnilogy’s i-Rays platform utilizes AI-driven anomaly detection to support proactive IBM i operations.
- Power by Fortra will provide end-to-end services including implementation, training, and contract management.
TechInsyte's Take
In our view, this partnership is a direct response to the widening expertise gap in legacy but critical infrastructure. By embedding AI-driven observability like i-Rays into the Fortra ecosystem, Omnilogy is attempting to automate the "eyes on glass" requirement that is becoming harder to fulfill due to talent shortages. This signals a broader trend where AI is not just used for new features, but as a necessary layer of defense to maintain aging, high-value environments like IBM i against operational volatility.
Questions & Answers
How does this partnership address the current IBM i talent crisis?
The partnership introduces i-Rays' AI-driven anomaly detection to help organizations manage IBM i environments proactively. This aims to mitigate the impact of skills shortages, which 69% of surveyed IBM i professionals now rank as their top concern.
What is the scope of Power by Fortra's involvement in the i-Rays rollout?
Power by Fortra is providing the full commercial and technical lifecycle, including sales, implementation, training, technical support, contract negotiation, billing, and renewals for the platform.
Can i-Rays integrate with existing enterprise monitoring tools?
Yes, the company states that i-Rays is designed to integrate IBM i data into enterprise observability platforms that large organizations already utilize, specifically mentioning Dynatrace.
Which industries are the primary targets for this observability solution?
While available to the broader IBM i community, Omnilogy's existing implementation work focuses on highly regulated or high-uptime sectors such as banking, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and e-commerce.
Source: Omnilogy
