Dive Brief:

• IBM introduced a new family of Power systems that run Linux and will be sold directly to businesses over the Web.

• The servers are aimed at helping organizations deploying cloud environments, particularly those that need to crunch large volumes of data.

• The servers are targeted at enterprises, managed service providers and HPC customers.

Dive Insight:

Power processors support high memory bandwidth, so they work well for analyzing big data, but they are expensive.

IBM already sells Power servers running Linux, but the new ones differ in a number of ways, said Stephanie Chiras, director and business line executive for scale-out Power systems. The servers make use of industry standard components to keep prices lower, and they're sold with a warranty that allows customers to order their own replacement parts.

With the new servers, IBM is hoping to compete more effectively with Intel-based systems from companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo.

"We want those folks who are used to running x86 to know there's a choice out there," Chiras said.

IBM is also improving the buying experience, allowing companies to buy preconfigured options with a credit card via the Web.