1) Can you briefly explain cloud hosting?
Simply speaking, cloud hosting is like renting an office space instead of buying the office building. We rent you a small portion of a server to use … only as much as you need and only as long as you need it. Besides providing greater flexibility in terms of capacity and length of use, cloud hosting is generally less expensive than the total cost of owning an on-premise server.
2) How does Cloud400 work?
Cloud400’s primary clients are IBM i (iSeries/AS400) users.
Cloud400 hosts IBM high-capacity POWER servers at its SSAE-16 certified data center in Minneapolis.
With PowerVM virtualization, we allocate the resources each client needs to host their applications on their own, dedicated “virtual server” or Logical Partition (LPAR). Once set up, only client users with authorization can access their system – and clients cannot access any other LPAR on the server.
Generally speaking, most users access their system via encrypted VPN at their location to their LPAR at our data center. Some clients use MPLS, special portals, or remote user encrypted access.
3) How safe is your data center?
SSAE-16 certification is the gold standard of safety. It means you can count on limited physical access to the servers. Redundant power, cooling, and internet access. The data center is a former bank vault so it is also bomb-proof.
4) What software do I need?
There are two parts to this question.
First, Cloud400 licenses the most commonly used IBM Licensed Program Products (LPPs). Besides such common LLPs like RPG, COBOL, DB2 and Query, there is no cost to you for IBM i (OS/400) activation or User Seats – which can save you from $21,000 – $65,000 in software licensing fees.
Second, is your application software that runs your business. If you license applications from a software developer, you will need to research what is involved when you move your software from your current server to a new server with a different serial number. Many software developers charge a software transfer fee when you change serial numbers – even when you upgrade to a new on-premise server.
5) What can I expect for response time?
Generally, your response time will be better than your current system.
First, the traffic between our server and your users is dinky compared other stuff that travels the web.
The Cloud400 team has done extensive testing of bandwidth requirements. They discovered average bandwidth utilization is less than 100th of T1 speed.
Let’s remember – the AS400 heritage has very efficient bandwidth characteristics.
Generally, when you update a 5250 screen – which takes up 2K of addressable space – you are generally sending 20-50 characters per update – this is dinky compared to the bandwidth required to transmit a graphical screen when you log into Google news or Amazon.com, for example.
Second, the internal speed of the new POWER processors we have are way faster than most of our clients legacy servers.
6) What about OS400 version updates?
There are 2 parts to this answer.
First, Cloud400 includes IBM software maintenance, so there is no cost for version updates, PTFs or annual support from IBM. You don’t pay for IBM SWMA. So we always keep our server the most current.
On the other hand, you may prefer to remain on V5R4 or V6R1. Implementing a version upgrade in your LPAR is not included in your monthly fee – it would be an additional charge.
The good news is because the server is local to us as well as the OS400 management tools available to us, we expect the cost of a version upgrade to be much less than what it would cost to do the same upgrade at your site.
Plus, we can provide you an interim test LPAR with your new O400 version to validate your applications before you go live.
7) Where will the system console be?
You can designate any PC with iSeries Access as a system console.
You can even designate multiple system consoles. The only limitation is that only one PC can be used as a system console at any one time.
8) What if my internet access goes down?
Cloud400 is directly connected to 3 major internet fiber loops. The combined uptime percentage is well over 99.999%.
The bigger concern would be — your individual internet connection. Cloud400 offers some low-cost solutions for redundancy and automatic failover at your location if this is a concern.
9) What if I test Cloud400 and I am dissatisfied with the test results?
Cloud400 guarantees the performance of your solution.
We offer a 60-Day FREE Trial.
You will not pay a dime until the solution is working to your complete satisfaction.
10) How can I determine if Cloud400 can work for me?
First, we provide a FREE assessment. Our proprietary 22-point checklist gives a solid understanding of your environment.
Once the assessment is completed, we provide pricing within 48 hours so you can determine if Cloud400 hosting makes financial sense for you.
Then, we offer a 60-day FREE Trial to prove our capabilities to you. If you are dissatisfied for any reason, you can walk away and not pay us a dime. The only cost you incur is the investment in time to test your system.
We understand that cloud hosting has to be good business for you to be good business for us.
Want to learn more?
If you want to learn more, visit my website at: https://www.source-data.com/cloud-400/
Want to get a FREE Assessment, click: https://www.source-data.com/request-assessment/
Want to learn about our Cloud400 60-Day FREE Trial: https://www.source-data.com/cloud-400/cloud400-free-60-day-trial/
Or call me at 714-593-0387
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