Thinking About Replacing your IBM i (iSeries/AS400) Server With A New POWER9 9009-41A?
The purpose of this blog is to highlight how expertise can save you money on the purchase of your next POWER server.
Disclaimer: IBM i is an operating system. iSeries and AS400 are names for IBM servers. I use them interchangeably to make it easier to find information on the web.
As you may know, I have been an IBM Business Partner for over 26 years. My focus has been IBM i, iSeries, and AS400. Most of my clients buy Entry and Enterprise class servers.
As a result, I have closely studied the evolution of this wonderful server, its features, related pricing and the policies that govern how it can be acquired. In other words, I have a solid working knowledge of issues like performance, software transfers and configuration defaults that can cost you more without giving you the value you are expecting.
Over the years, most of the really smart experts I know have retired. So, my sense is that the IBM i expertise that they have passed on to me is not as prevalent as it once was.
Clearly, there are excellent experts and tools to help you determine the ideal server for you…just harder to find unless you know where to look.
Some of you are truly fortunate to have had a long-term relationship with an IBM i expert. If so, this blog is probably not for you. Your IBM expert has got your back.
On the other hand, if you currently do not have an IBM Business Partner or BP (more prevalent than you might imagine) or do not feel like you are getting the expertise and pricing you think is appropriate, you may find this blog beneficial.
Assess Your Current Server, Your Environment And Your Needs
First, I encourage you to work with an expert who will take the time to understand your needs. An assessment of your application software, your workload, your reporting tools, your server-to-server integration, your user count and locations you support, your peripherals and your connectivity to the internet would be topics your IBM i expert should cover.
It is also good if this expert can understand your industry, your business, and demands within which you work.
All of this assessment brings insight to determine the server resources you need at the right price.
Configure Your Server – This Is The First Place To Save $5,000 Or More
Next, your expert needs a solid understanding of factors that affect how your POWER9 server will work as well as the configuration tool.
Configuration tool? What’s that?
All IBM BPs rely on the IBM configurator to configure your server.
Simply put, the BP submits your current server and serial number (the donor server) to configure your desired new server and transfer your software.
The IBM configurator is a wonderful tool that simplifies and streamlines the steps a BP must take to configure your new server.
Even so, the output generates a report with 1,000 to 1,500 line items to review. Sometimes more.
I think you need to be an expert to analyze the report because the configuration tool defaults to a variety of features that I do not believe most of my clients need…or use.
For example, very few of my clients use DB2 Web Query. If this feature is included and you don’t use it, the support fees can exceed $3,000 to $5,000 over 5 years for software you will not use.
So, unless you have an expert that understands your business, your software, and your REAL requirements you can end up with several unneeded features that cost you extra and you will never use.
The new servers also come with choices for number of cores, the tradeoff between disk units vs Solid State Drives (SSDs), RAID options, RAM memory options, interface feature options, user count, core activation, entitlement transfer, IBM i OS version upgrades, and migration issues.
There are more complexities than those I have just referenced.
Having reviewed many new client systems over the years, most all that I have analyzed have been over-configured. In other words, these folks had bought WAY more computer resource than they needed. And at very hefty prices.
Third, the BP works with a different tool to calculate the IBM hardware and software support.
Fourth, there are two more tools the BP works with to determine final pricing.
Ultimately, I can say from first-hand experience that it can take 2-10 days to assemble all the components to give you your final configuration and pricing. In this process, the BP must continue to analyze and reconcile these multiple tools to be sure the final pricing is accurate without omissions. (It is not like these reports are all integrated and self-checking. It requires expertise.)
And I commonly have to do 5-12 configuration variations for my clients until I get them exactly the performance and price they want.
When the configuration portion is complete, I generally save a client in a range of $5,000 to $10,000.
The savings range depends on a variety of factors including size of the server and needed resources. This is often where I discover the donor had been over-sized or the client no longer uses software, including BRMS, Lotus, and Advanced Job Scheduler.
Professional Services – This Is The Second Place To Save $2,500 – $5,000+
Now that we have the configured server a client wants, a BP has to help the client move his system to the new server and, generally speaking, upgrade the IBM i OS to a newer version.
The professional services to migrate a client to a new server include a variety of factors, including the status of the client’s software support, software transfer fees, custom programs that have modified the business applications, new enhancements that need to be added, and more.
Clearly, you need skilled, expert help to move to the new server.
Generally speaking, this transition can range from about $2,500 to $5,000.
That is why I have been stunned to learn of competitive BPs who charge $10,000 to $20,000…sometimes as much as $60,000…for the professional services that we commonly do in the range of $2,500 – $5,000. And, these IBM i users pay it!
To give you a glimpse of our professional services capabilities, check out:
https://www.source-data.com/4-hour-version-upgrade/
Conclusion
I am grateful for the modern tools IBM has given BPs to work with to make the configuration process easier.
Even so, with what I know and what I have seen, because of the intricacies and complexities a BP must work with, I am very confident that I can save my clients $5,000 when they get a new server.
Often, way more than $5,000.
You may want to check out a variety of clients we have helped over the years:
https://www.source-data.com/ibm-i-on-power-server/ibm-i-on-power-case-studies/
If you would like help, email me at blosey@source-data.com or call me at 714-593-0387.
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