IBM i/AS400 Expertise That Starts With Understanding Your Business
Right-Sized IBM i Hosting, Managed Services and Infrastructure Solutions
Before Source-Data recommends an IBM i solution, we work to understand what your business actually needs.
Your applications. Your users. Your workload. Your current infrastructure. Your IBM i expertise. Your future plans.
Because the right IBM i solution is not necessarily a larger server, or even a new server. It is the solution that best fits your business.
How we are different
Understand First. Propose Second.
We Do Not Start With a Server. We Start With Questions.
Those answers matter.
Source-Data combines IBM i infrastructure expertise with decades of application experience to help determine what your environment actually requires before we recommend what you should buy.
- What is running on your IBM i?
- Is it custom software or a third-party application, or a blend of both?
- How is it actually being used?
- How many users depend on it?
- What are the performance, storage and connectivity requirements?
- What other systems depend upon it?
- Is your IBM i expert retiring?
- Are you planning to stay on IBM, or transition away?
We Understand What’s Running on Your IBM i. Not Just the Server It’s Running On.
That application-level understanding can materially affect sizing, performance, storage, connectivity, migration complexity, cost and risk.
Where you might be today
Are You Facing One of These IBM i Challenges?
01
Your IBM i Expert Is Retiring
Replacing decades of IBM i knowledge can be difficult. Source-Data can help provide the hosting, technical expertise and managed services required to keep your critical IBM environment operating.
02
You Are Paying for More IBM i Than You Need
Your current server specifications do not necessarily represent what your applications actually require. Source-Data evaluates the environment and right-sizes hosting around actual requirements, not simply the size of the server you are replacing.
03
You Are Moving Off IBM, but Still Need It
You may have selected a replacement platform, but the IBM i environment still needs to operate for another year, or five. Cloud400 can provide a flexible bridge without forcing another major investment in IBM infrastructure.
04
Your IBM Applications Still Create Real Business Value
Old does not necessarily mean obsolete. Custom and third-party IBM i applications may contain decades of business rules, processes and institutional knowledge that are not easily replaced.
05
You Need Long-Term Access to IBM Data
Some organizations need years, or decades, of historical information without maintaining a full production IBM infrastructure. Cloud400 can provide an efficient path for retaining access to critical IBM i data and archived records.
06
You Are Considering Another IBM Power Server
Before committing capital to new on-premise infrastructure, compare the complete cost and requirements of ownership against right-sized cloud hosting, including hardware, IBM software, maintenance, backup/disaster recovery and access to IBM i expertise.
Cloud400
Right-Sized IBM i Hosting
Do Not Pay for Infrastructure Your Applications Do Not Need.
A conventional hosting proposal may begin by recreating your existing server. Cloud400 takes a different approach.
We evaluate factors including:
- Applications
- IBM i OS version
- Processing requirements
- Memory
- Storage
- Users
- Workload
- Connectivity
- Backup and recovery
- Supporting systems
- Future plans
Then we recommend a Cloud400 environment based upon what your business actually requires.
Charles Bowman & Company
What Right-Sizing Can Look Like
Charles Bowman & Company supported 10 users running Infor Application Plus on an IBM Power8 at IBM i V7.3. After assessing the environment, Cloud400 recommended an entry logical partition (LPAR) at IBM i V7.5 with SAN-to-SAN disaster recovery replication.
The Cloud400 technical team also manages the IBM i environment, addressing the client’s lack of in-house IBM i expertise.
“Overall, the migration process was very smooth. The Cloud400 technical team was responsive, knowledgeable, and helpful every step of the way… We are very happy with our migration to Cloud400.”Cara Larsen, Chief Financial Officer, Charles Bowman & Company
| Existing environment | Cloud400 recommendation | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | IBM Power8 | Entry LPAR |
| IBM i | V7.3 | V7.5 |
| Processing | 9,350 CPW | 2,600 CPW |
| Memory | 32 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Storage | 853 GB (about 120 GB in use) | 300 GB |
| Disaster recovery | SAN-to-SAN replication |
10 users on Infor Application Plus. Right-sized around the application’s actual requirements, not simply the server being replaced.
Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative
When Decades of IBM i Expertise Walk Out the Door
After 35 years at Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, Director of Information Systems & Technology John Wieser was planning for retirement. Finding a replacement with a long-term commitment to IBM i proved difficult.
Moving to Cloud400 helped Minn-Dak address the expertise challenge while reducing the burden and cost of maintaining its own IBM environment.
“I would 100% recommend Source Data Products and Cloud400. Everything went easier than expected, the performance is awesome, and you’ll be in a better place to not have the burden of keeping your server current.”John Wieser, Director of Information Systems & Technology, Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative
Simonds International
Moving Off IBM i? Keep It for Exactly as Long as You Need It.
Simonds International needed archive hosting for a full-featured Infor XA environment running IBM i V7.4 with 4.5 TB of storage. Its active modules included customer order management, inventory, financial management, product data, production control and costing, purchasing, MRP and intercompany transfers.
Simonds compared Cloud400 with its existing hosting provider and selected Cloud400 based on competitive pricing and confidence in Source-Data’s IBM i expertise.
“I would absolutely recommend Cloud400 for IBM i hosting… The migration went very smooth. The Cloud400 technical team was outstanding and extremely helpful. I am super happy with the decision we made.”Doug Morrison, IT Project Manager, Simonds International
How Source-Data works
A Better IBM i Decision Starts With Understanding
-
Talk
Start with a brief, no-pressure conversation about your IBM i system, applications, users, infrastructure and objectives. In many situations, we can quickly determine whether cloud hosting appears worth investigating.
-
Assess
We review your current IBM i environment, including configuration, IBM i version, processing capacity, memory, storage, applications, workload, connectivity, backup requirements and other relevant factors.
-
Discover
The initial assessment often raises additional questions. Rather than making assumptions, we investigate the applications, users, performance expectations, growth plans, third-party software, security, connectivity and other business or technical requirements that can affect the solution.
-
Propose
Only after we understand the environment and objectives do we recommend a Cloud400 configuration and pricing based on your actual requirements, not a generic cloud configuration.
-
Validate
If you move forward, Cloud400 gives you the opportunity to validate the proposed environment before making a final commitment.
Not Sure if IBM i Cloud Hosting Is Right for You?
Find Out in Just 7 Minutes. No Cost, No Obligation.
In seven minutes, we’ll ask you a few straightforward questions about your IBM i system, applications, users, current infrastructure and what you’re trying to accomplish.
We’ll then give you our initial assessment:
- Cloud hosting looks like a good fit.
- Cloud hosting may be worth investigating.
- Or staying where you are may make more sense.
No proposal. No sales presentation. No obligation. Just an experienced initial assessment from a company serving the IBM midrange market since 1979.
Validation
60-Day Cloud400 Validation
Validate Before You Commit.
Rather than asking you to accept our proposal based solely on specifications, pricing and promises, Cloud400 gives you time to validate the proposed solution in your own environment before making a final commitment.
During the validation period, you can confirm that your IBM i applications perform as expected, users are comfortable with the environment, connectivity works properly and the proposed configuration meets your business requirements.
The validation period also gives both sides an opportunity to identify questions or requirements that were not apparent during the initial assessment, address those issues and refine the configuration before a final decision.
We do not ask you to take our word for it. We give you the opportunity to validate the proposal for yourself.
Authority
IBM Midrange Expertise Since 1979
Technology has changed dramatically. The importance of understanding how a company’s applications, infrastructure and business requirements fit together has not.
Source-Data has served IBM midrange users since 1979, with 38 years of AS/400 and IBM i platform experience since the AS/400 was introduced in 1988. That experience spans IBM midrange infrastructure, applications, hosting, upgrades, disaster recovery and related services.
Our objective is not to sell you the biggest environment. It is to help you determine the right one.
Understand First. Decide Second.
Whether you are facing an IBM i retirement, evaluating cloud hosting, trying to lower costs, transitioning away from IBM i or simply wondering what your next IBM move should be, start with a conversation.