IBM Introduces Autonomous Storage with New FlashSystem Portfolio Powered by Agentic AI

IBM announced the next generation of IBM FlashSystem, co-run by agentic AI, ushering in a new era of autonomous storage. By enhancing FlashSystem’s existing AI capabilities with agentic AI, IBM is redefining resilience through sustained protection, autonomous threat analysis, and customized recovery recommendations. Clients can now turn storage into an always-on layer of intelligence, enabling reliable and secure storage operations that can reduce the manual effort of storage management by up to 90%.

The new portfolio includes:

As companies increasingly integrate AI workflows into their operations, agentic AI has the potential to streamline the way IT teams work across the stack. In fact, 76% of executives responding to an IBM IBV study say their organizations are developing, executing, or scaling proof-of-concepts that automate intelligent workflows through self-sufficient AI agents. In tandem, enterprise IT teams continue to face accelerated data growth, expanding cyber threats, and tightening compliance requirements. These roadblocks have created a need for intelligent, autonomous storage solutions.

“The next-generation IBM FlashSystem elevates storage to an intelligent, always-available layer, where autonomous AI agents continuously optimize performance, security, and cost without human intervention,” said Sam Werner, GM of IBM Storage. “The updated portfolio marks the beginning of an autonomous storage era, where FlashSystem becomes a strategic AI partner that can help IT leaders ensure optimal, secure performance for every workload they run.”

Three simultaneous model launches make this the most significant IBM FlashSystem launch in the last six years, with a series of new models developed for a variety of business needs, including:

IBM FlashSystem reduces the required storage footprint by 30%-75%, depending on the model, through optimized placement and consolidation, compared to its previous generation. For the FlashSystem 7600 and 9600, clients also have the option to monitor and visualize system state information physically with new interactive LED bezels.

FlashSystem.ai brings AI-powered data services to clients through seamless, self-service operations that automate manual and error-prone tasks. IBM designed FlashSystem.ai to transform storage from a static repository into a self-improving system. With an AI model trained on tens of billions of data points collected through advanced telemetry and years of real-world operational data, the platform can execute thousands of automated decisions per day that previously required human oversight.

FlashSystem.ai not only automates many parts of storage management, but also quickly learns over time. This new agentic AI feature is built to adapt to application behavior in hours and designed to be significantly faster than template-based machines, suggesting performance improvements and explaining reasoning, while incorporating administrator feedback to tailor recommendations. FlashSystem.ai on the latest generation of FlashSystem models is engineered to cut audit and compliance documentation time in half through AI-generated, explainable operational reasoning. The newest generation of IBM FlashSystem runs client workloads with proactive tuning, intelligent placement of workloads for non-disruptive data mobility across storage devices, including third party storage arrays.

All new FlashSystem models contain the fifth-generation FlashCore Module, a drive with up to 105TB of capacity and significant updates to efficiency and security. It also enables IBM FlashSystem models to compute complex statistics on every I/O using hardware‑accelerated analytics, designed to detect ransomware and anomalies rapidly without impacting system performance. Trained on tens of billions of data points collected through advanced telemetry and years of real-world operational data, the new IBM FlashSystem models’ threat detection can keep false positives to under 1%. The drive also provides AI-driven ransomware detection and alerting in under 60 seconds, as well as autonomous recovery actions at the hardware layer, making IBM FlashSystem among the most resilient storage offerings in the market.

“New advanced AI capabilities to the IBM FlashSystem portfolio give customers mechanisms to automate optimal placement of enterprise workloads within the IBM storage system’s footprint, enhance security, and proactively address compliance requirements,” said Natalya Yezhkova, Research Vice President, Worldwide Infrastructure Systems, IDC. “These capabilities allow organizations to quickly react to changing business requirements through adaptive SLAs without additional burden on IT administrators.”    

“More than three years ago, IBM began reshaping the storage landscape by introducing resiliency as a core capability, through innovations like Safeguarded Copy and built-in anomaly detection. Storage stopped being only about capacity and performance and started being about protecting data at its source,” said Nezih Boyacioglu, Business Development at Istanbul Pazarlama A.S. “Today, the rest of the industry is finally catching up to that vision, but IBM is already moving into the next era. With FlashSystem.ai, we’re moving from 'built-in protection' to 'pervasive intelligence.' It’s about more than just fast drives; it’s about combining human expertise with a system that learns, adapts, and gives organizations the confidence to move fast without looking over their shoulder.”

IBM Technology Lifecycle Services uses AI-enabled monitoring, automated issue detection through Call Home, pre-code health checks, and priority support for critical issues to help identify and resolve potential system problems before they cause downtime.

Source: IBM media announcement