I really should NOT be surprised.
My partner and I were recently reviewing our Cloud400 clients and reflected how many had come to us from older OS400/i5OS versions.
Many might think that most of our clients come to us in the range of V5R4 to V7R2 – supported (mostly) versions of IBM i.
In fact, about 30% of our clients come to us with OS400 from V3R1 (hard to believe) to V5R3.
So what’s the big deal?
Not all IBM i hosting providers are prepared to handle older systems.
We are!
Because we also have a 15,000 square foot warehouse full of hundreds of IBM AS400s, iSeries and POWER servers with related parts and peripherals. We also have a very active business selling IBM server parts for upgrades and maintenance.
Quite simply we are prepared for whatever someone throws at us.
So when we get an older OS400/i5OS system, we have 2 basic steps.
First, when clients with older versions of OS400/i5OS plan to host their applications with Cloud400, we get their Save21 system backups on all sorts of tape media – not the newer high-capacity QIC or LTO formats. Instead, we can get old QIC, 8MM and 3570 backup tapes. This means we must first save the backup to an older IBM server to upgrade the system in transition to a newer IBM i version…then migrate that system to a newer IBM POWER server.
Second, it also means that we have to do multiple version upgrades on older servers interim to a newer, supported server for hosting.
Curiously, we did not understand how important…or unique…our background with older AS400s was until 2012.
That’s when an $8 billion pharmaceutical company approached us to host their PRMS-based system that was running on a 9406-640 at V3R7 (since 1996).
When they expressed an interest in Cloud400 hosting their AS400 application, they told us that they had already spent $10,000 with the “big” IBM i hosting company and those guys could not restore their system on any of their servers. They had nothing to show for the money they spent. The “big” IBM i hosting company told them it would not work.
We explained we could prove to them. We could support their system if they would send a Save21 backup to us.
In less than a week after we got their tape, we had their system up and running on a modern IBM i OS on a newer POWER server.
We did not charge a dime to prove it to them.
They were blown away.
Then we let them “test-drive” their newly hosted system for a 60-day free trial.
They were blown away again.
And today they are still a happy client.
(I wish I could tell you who it is, but I cannot because of our Non-Disclosure Agreement.)
So, here’s the point. With our warehouse of hundreds of IBM servers, parts and peripherals, our experience with IBM AS400 since 1988 when it was introduced, and passion for IBM i, we are confident we can handle most anything you throw at us.
And, as we typically do, we will prove our capabilities to you with our free, no obligation 60 day trial proof of concept.
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