“I am so happy I did this, I would have done this years’ ago.”
“I would absolutely recommend Cloud400. If your existing system is coming to the end of its life, you need to give Cloud400 serious consideration instead of acquiring your own hardware. I know the Cloud400 guys can get any support issue done fast. And I felt much more comfortable with the safety of the data center. Now we don’t need a second disaster recovery system.”
Background
Gleason Corporation is a maker of heavy-duty quality lawn and garden equipment, hand trucks, and hammocks. Gleason is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with 5 production locations in the Midwest and a major distribution center in Ontario, CA. Gleason supports 35 concurrent active users at any given time with Infor JBA System 21, Extol EDI and Optimum Payroll.
Jim Kerr is Gleason’s Information Systems Manager.
The Challenge – Aging 9406-720 AS400 Server On V5R2 At End Of Life
“I was concerned that our business was running on an aging IBM 9406-720 on V5R2,” reflects Jim. “This server was already here when I came on board in 2000. I was apprehensive about this server’s reliability and IBM had withdrawn support for V5R2.
“I was also concerned about disaster recovery. I was uneasy about having our AS400 in our Los Angeles office. Our environment was risky because we are in an earthquake state – California. I just think it is a matter of time until we have a disruptive earthquake.”
Financial Pressures Delay Upgrade
“I had been thinking about a newer server but financially that seemed out of reach,” Jim explains. “I had been receiving SDP newsletters and informative mailings for several years.
“I started thinking of the cloud as an option. When I saw the cloud hosting approach, I was intrigued by it. I thought it could be a good fit for Gleason.
“When reviewing the option of purchasing a new system and all the upgrading that would be needed, cloud hosting seemed like it could be a good fit.”
IBM i/OS400 Cloud Hosting – Cost-Effective, Expert Support, Safe From Earthquakes
“I contacted Cloud400 for more information,” Jim continues. “One thing I really liked was that the server and our critical system would be in a safe, secure data center, in a safe part of the country. I just think it is a matter of time until we have that major earthquake.
“Also, the AS400 was taking up a lot of valuable office floor space. It’s an old box; it takes up a lot of room. Cloud hosting frees up some room in our expensive office space.
“Cloud400 just made good sense me,” Jim concludes.
Relieved That Migration Done By Others
“I liked that with Cloud400 I would not have to migrate to a new server myself. The Cloud400 team provides expert support. They handle the setup, version upgrade, the new PTFs, server management, and things of that nature. These are activities that add to the cost of an on-premise server. Because these were included with Cloud400, it made the choice for cloud hosting that much easier.
Cloud400 Managed By AS400 Fanatics
“We had considered putting a server out in one of our other locations, like Lincoln, Illinois. I just don’t have the resources or the technical support for a server in a remote location. With Cloud400, I am comfortable that I can get an IBM expert engineer pretty quickly to help me out when I need it.”
Cloud400 Team – Friendly Technical Excellence, Responsive And Go The “Extra Mile”
“I found working with Cloud400 excellent. The team was very helpful. Very friendly. Lots of good advice. I got more support than I expected. Cloud400 was definitely willing to go out beyond their agreement to help out. Nothing was too much trouble for them.
“And the Cloud400 team was polite. Always a “please”. Always a “thank you.” They are just great guys. Very knowledgeable.
“We had challenges along the way. The Cloud400 guys made it very simple to upgrade to a newer level of OS400. They got all the PTFs for me fast. They made it easy. This would have taken me much longer – with everything else I have to do — if I had to hunt down and apply the PTFs. The Cloud400 team response time was excellent.”
Unexpected Challenges Delay Transition – Software Transition Licensing And MPLS
“When we decided to go with Cloud400, I did not expect the issues I had with my software and MPLS.
“In the mid 1990’s we had paid a premium for a perpetual license so we would not be charged a transfer fees if we moved our new IBM server with a different serial number.
“Our ERP software vendor were acquired by a big IBM i application conglomerate. They had a different interpretation of the existing software license which prevented us from running our ERP software on new hardware.
“It took a lot of effort and months of delay before we could reach a settlement.
“We also choose a prominent MPLS provider with the expectation of simplicity and better service. I was very disappointed with their project roll out. It seemed uncoordinated and took months of delays. We often found them slow to respond to our needs. They even created errors with their setup.
“Despite it all,” Jim continues, “The Cloud400 team was always patient, helpful and knowledgeable. They helped us through during these challenges.”
Networking Software Had Issues
“If we had to do it again, we probably would not have selected MPLS. This turned out to be more difficult, take longer and cost more than our MPLS providers lead us to believe. If you have any others that are thinking about Cloud400, I would be happy to share our experience with networking our locations.”
Cloud400 Texting Kept Me Informed And Reassured
“Even when we went live, Darren kept me informed. As soon as he got the overnight backup tape, he sent me a text ‘tape is in my hand’. And the texting continued as he went along… ‘starting the conversion’, ‘conversion finished’, ‘I am at data center performing restore’, ‘restore done’ and ‘system live’. That was very reassuring.”
Cloud400 Go Live Was Seamless – Now Batch Jobs “Fly”
“Everything went perfect.
“I noticed when we went live, the batch jobs just fly. The interactive jobs – they are pretty much the same – they are just 5250 green screens. But the big difference was the batch jobs.
“The go live went seamlessly. Most of our users never were aware of the transition to Cloud400. It was that smooth.”
I Would Absolutely Recommend Cloud400
“I am so happy I did this, I would have done this years’ ago.”
“I would absolutely recommend Cloud400. If your existing system is coming to the end of its life, you need to give Cloud400 serious consideration instead of acquiring your own hardware. I know the Cloud400 guys can get any support issue done fast. And I felt much more comfortable with the safety of the data center. Now we don’t need a second disaster recovery system.”