Outsourcing AS400 Administration – Bet Worth Taking?

Does your company have an IBM i infrastructure and system?

Do you want to save all the expensive costs and in-house resources for IBM i environment management?

Are you looking for experts to maintain, support, and handle AS400 (Application System/400) administration?

Well, if you want to unlock your true business potential, you need experts behind your IBM iSeries administration.

A lot goes behind proper support and maintenance to create a scalable and optimized IBM AS400/i-series environment, and only a professional understands it from an in-depth perspective.

And, finding and hiring professionals to manage various metrics associated with IBM AS400 iSeries administration could be a tedious task for any business.

You’ll have to invest your time, energy, and capital to get the best team for your complete IBM i infrastructure management.

So, what are your options?

Roping in an AS400 technology partner.

Thinking, “How a technology partner helps navigate the major roadblocks off your way while operating in an AS400 environment?”

Sit back and relax!

Without any further ado, let the exploration begin!

Benefits of Outsourcing Your AS400 Administration to IBM Experts

Increased Productivity

One of the biggest benefits that outsourcing your AS400 administration will bring to your company is productivity. You can speed up your workflow and fix all the leaks to skyrocket your business productivity.

There are two ways that your business productivity will increase –

You and your team will focus on more productive and core business tasks – Once you offload the IBM i system and infrastructure management and maintenance tasks to experts, you don’t need to work on the technical aspects of the IBM i ecosystem.

While the IBM experts manage the backend, you can focus on improving your business workflow and customer service.

An optimized IBM i environment – With experts managing all the tasks like recovery, backup, support, maintenance of the AS400/i-series systems, the efficiency of the infrastructure will increase, and there will be more chances of extracting fruitful results from the IBM i management.

With experts putting their heart and soul into what they love to do, there are increased chances of improved productivity.

Boost In ROI

With professionals managing your IBM i infrastructure, you’re set to extract a higher amount of return on investment. When you work with an AS400 administration services provider, you gain access to a professional team of AS400 experts. Then, you don’t need to waste your capital on hiring individual talents.

You can utilize your time to strengthen your core business and level up your team’s skillset to achieve new business heights and goals.

You’ll have the best team to manage all your IBM i operations, and it will help you make more returns than the actual cost invested in outsourcing your IBM management work.

You’ll have controlled operational management and complete transparency of the processes to keep a firm grip on your budget.

Complete Security & Availability

A professional team of IBM experts handle and execute all your AS400 administration tasks with agility and complete security.

There will be no compromise on the security of your ecosystem, and an expert level of execution will be done to scale and optimize IBM iSeries systems.

Talking about scalability, let’s have a look at the next benefit.

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Increased Scalability & Flexibility

With end-to-end agile IBM iSeries administration from a professional IBM service provider, you’ll be able to scale your IBM ecosystem and bring flexibility to your workflow.

With robust management and communication, it will be easier for you to check the progress.

There’ll be no compromise on management quality, which will help draw the most out of IBM iSeries systems. You’ll be able to navigate all your challenges with the ease of emails, chat, and calls so that the hired IBM experts can manage all the tasks remotely.

Room for Innovation

With an AS400 technology partner, you’ll get a team of IBM experts with different sets of perspectives and knowledge levels. So, you don’t need to worry about the technological advancements and implementation happening with AS400 ecosystem.

Your extended team of AS400 incorporates all the latest innovations into your ecosystem and helps you match up with the top corporations in your industry.

It will alleviate all of your burdens to cope with evolving technological needs while managing your core business operations.

Experienced Resources

The AS400 technology partner of your choice will help you onboard a team of AS400 experts with years of experience in managing IBM iSeries administration, as an extension to your in-house team.

Access to top-tier AS400 talent enables you to innovate and cope with evolving technological needs; ultimately achieve your set business objectives.

You’ll be able to maintain, upgrade, install all the IBM hardware and software with ease and even achieve the maximum potential of your existing IBM ecosystem.

Their experience helps you make well-informed decisions and ensure smooth business continuity while meeting the desired business outcomes.

Easier IBM iSeries systems Management

You’ll be able to manage your IBM iSeries systems more professionally and make the most of its potential. From IBM i application hosting to operating system support, from resource management to disaster recovery, you’ll have access to experts to support you through.

An entire team of experts – from developer to the strategist’s level – will help you manage and support the entire IBM ecosystem with ease and complete data recovery in case of any data loss.

The team of experts manages all aspects of your IBM environment, from vendor management to application management, to ensure smooth operations and management of your existing IBM AS400/iSeries systems.

There will be swift problem evaluation and management with experts monitoring all the operations remotely. Because there’s a reputation to maintain for any top IBM i service provider in the industry, the level of professionalism and agility of execution will be at the maximum compared to your in-house team of experts.

Preventive Maintenance

If you outsource your AS400 administration, the team of IBM experts ensures no data loss happens in your company’s IBM environment.

Proper preventive measures will be taken daily to ensure no leaks and loopholes that might drain your vital information.

The experts check all the security getaways, and there’s no chance of hindrance in the software or hardware components of your IBM i system and infrastructure.

24*7 Customer Support

You’ll get faster and 24*7 customer support because, for a professional team of IBM experts, delivering top-notch user experience is paramount.

This isn’t attainable with your in-house team as you’ll have some limitations with your employees.

Complete customer support will help you reach out to an expert team anytime and anywhere and get all your work done as soon as possible.

There will be no compromise in the quality of work done, and you receive all kinds of technical, software, operational, and application support for a complete AS400 administration.

These are all the top benefits you’ll extract if you decide to outsource your AS400 administration work to IBM experts in the industry.

By now, you must be convinced that a reliable AS400 technology partner provides a strategic advantage in terms of AS400 asset management & administration.

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Now, let’s understand how they help navigate the top challenge 9/10 leaders are facing – shortage of AS400 talent.

How Can AS400 Outsourcing Help You Mitigate iSeries Staffing Challenges?

Have your Company’s AS400 veterans approaching retirement made you consider AS400 outsourcing?

Two of the very important reasons why some business organizations fail –

• Lack of experienced IT professionals
• Reliable skill sets

Such organizations just do not have the workforce to optimize the function of their IBM i system.

If your company is struggling with similar situations, your worries will come to an end today.

Read ahead to understand how iSeries services address staffing challenges and learn how to mitigate them successfully with ease.

How do AS400 Services Resolve Staffing Bottlenecks?

With so much value in the AS400 system’s data and core application programs, depending on the existing legacy system is not a reasonable solution.

A major concern is that the IBM i AS400 may become a roadblock to expansion as many veteran IBM specialists are set to retire.

The problem can become critical in organizations with fewer employees, some of whom are nearing retirement. Even if they do have IT personnel, their teams may lack some necessary abilities. When they hire a new employee, onboarding takes far too long.

You can ensure that your IT team has all the necessary skill sets by recruiting, hiring, and training new personnel. That, on the other hand, is far easier said than done.

Companies that are competitive and successful are constantly seeking strategies to cut costs while increasing revenue from sales.

As you should be aware, this corporate reality has a significant impact on the IT department. Unless your organization utilizes AS400 technology to its greatest capacity, your company risks falling behind the competition.

Unfortunately, some business organizations only have the means to preserve the existing circumstances of their IBM i AS400 system and fail to fulfill the needs of a growing firm.

However, outsourcing as400 services from a reputable corporation or independent professional is yet another alternative that is generally more cost-effective.

Hiring AS400 outsourcing services from a reliable iSeries software development company saves you time that would otherwise be spent on recruiting and training. It also lowers your long-term financial burden because contracts have expiration dates.

With a quick lookback, let’s understand what iSeries outsourcing is.

What is iSeries Outsourcing?

AS400 outsourcing takes place when an organization relies on a third-party company to perform certain tasks in order to reduce the load of handling such tasks in-house.

Because of the latest advancements in cloud computing technological solutions, iSeries outsourcing is now available in remote regions.

And because of this single change, many organizations now have the option of outsourcing work to several third-party providers of AS400 support services.

Outsourcing AS400 as a service can assist you in cutting costs, optimizing operational efficiencies, streamlining existing internal IT systems, and increasing performance and quality standards.

When it is time, AS400 outsourcing can help smooth your company’s transfer from mainframe legacy operations to modernized enterprise-wide technologies.

Now, let’s understand how iSeries services from a reliable AS400 partner helps you navigate iSeries staffing challenges.

How AS400 Outsourcing Helps Mitigate iSeries Staffing Challenges?

Access to a Pool of Expert IT Specialists

AS400 outsourcing will assist you in bringing on board a team of IT experts with years of experience handling IBM iSeries AS400 administration. You’ll make room for new and innovative ideas to achieve the best business outcomes.

You’ll be able to easily maintain, update, and deploy all AS400 hardware and software, as well as enhance the efficacy of your existing IBM platform. Outsourcing experts can even assist you in making well-informed decisions and facilitating effective business operations while attaining the targeted business goals.

Segmenting Your Work and Priorities

You free up your time when you delegate your iSeries responsibilities and backlog to an experienced and skilled expert. Furthermore, conducting a work assessment to determine what to outsource allows you to prioritize your IT workload better.

The outsourcing strategy allows you to plan for the future instead of resolving bugs and dealing with upkeep or operational difficulties from the past. The truth is that delegating and assigning those tedious maintenance jobs can help you get a lot of things in order.

Outsourced professionals will listen to you, understand what you’re saying, and apply their skills to meet your needs.

Saving Costs in the Long Run

In general, recruitment agencies usually charge a 20% premium on top of the wage of the new employee you recruit. Hourly-waged or contract-based external sources, on the other hand, can have a significant impact on the budget.

You might well have attempted recruiting in the past that took major effort on your parts, such as more time, energy, and money.

Furthermore, the screening fees required for marketing or advertising the position are rather high. The truth is that full-time staff require a major investment.

On the other hand, outsourcing might appear to be costly until you include all of the hidden costs of an in-house employee. And if you choose your outsourcer wisely, you’ll almost certainly find a skilled professional who is well-suited to the task at hand.

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Increased Flexibility and Growth

You’ll be able to scale your AS400 ecosystem and add flexibility to your work processes with agile end-to-end iSeries management from an experienced IBM service provider.

It will be easy to monitor progress and performance if you have strong management, communication, and collaboration in place.

There will be no compromising on the efficiency of the management, which will aid in drawing the most from iSeries systems.

You will be able to instruct all of your issues via emails, chat, and phone calls, allowing the outsourced AS400 iSeries professionals to manage all tasks and responsibilities remotely.

Increased Focus

iSeries outsourcing can help you improve your competitive edge by allowing you to focus on key activities such as research and product development, new industry prospects, and building client connections.

Instead of worrying about where to find qualified staff to replace veterans approaching retirement, you can concentrate and work on outsourcing top industry talents to improve vital aspects or promote new initiatives. You can re-direct IT professionals into more strategic planning, organizing, and exploring new options.

Significantly Better Outcomes

Outsourcing iSeries services is a versatile solution that can be tailored to your specific needs.

You can cut expenditures while still ensuring excellent performance and 24-hour support and maintenance. Consistent and reliable service standards eliminate concerns about equipment failure or workforce shortages when employees get sick, go on vacation, retire, or quit.

Your outsourcing partner can offer ideas and suggestions to streamline and upgrade existing in-house IT infrastructure and services. Instead of letting increasing Mainframe issues overwhelm other needs, outsourcing allows you to play to your company’s strategic goals.

Improved Customer Support

You will receive faster and 24×7 customer assistance because providing an exceptional and premium user experience is important for a skilled and professional AS400 staff.

You might not be able to achieve this with your in-house staff due to workforce constraints.

Effective customer support allows you to consult an expert team at any time and from any location, allowing you to complete all of your tasks as soon as possible.

There will be no reduction in work performance, and you will get access to all forms of technical, operational, software, and application assistance for a full as400 management.

By now, you must be convinced that having an AS400 technology partner proves instrumental. Realize, in today’s crowded market, it’s not a walk in the park to land just right AS400 services provider.

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Next, let’s understand what to look for in an ideal AS400 technology partner.

Choosing the Best IBM AS400 Consulting Company

Choosing an AS400 consulting company can be challenging, especially for those who have not worked with one earlier.

Almost every firm claims to have considerable experience in terms of the services they provide.

How will you assess which consulting firm is best for your business and help you achieve your business goals?

Hiring a consultant company can help you improve business performance and help you to achieve success.

A consulting company can help you overcome business challenges and increase revenue.

Before choosing a consulting firm, make sure to check their experience and projects they have completed successfully in the past.

Also, remember, the pricing policy of consulting firms may vary, depending upon the requirements.

IBM AS400 consulting services firms help organizations like yours to improve their performance and efficiency. The consulting firm professionals analyze your businesses and suggest solutions that can help companies achieve their goals.

Organizations should consider hiring consulting firms when they need help or a catalyst for change in their current setup.

Let’s look at the key aspects that you should consider while choosing an IBM AS400 consulting firm.

5 Essentials for Choosing an AS400 Consulting Services Provider

Entrepreneurs are independent risk-takers by nature compared to small business owners, as they will not ask for help when needed. Entrepreneurs who have started a company; it is like their baby, and they know how to raise it.

However, it is normal if they do not know everything about managing a business.

Sometimes, it makes sense to consult others about the same, but how will you decide who is right for your business?

When choosing an AS400 consulting partner, follow these five tips –

1. Unimpeachable Character

The first tip, an effective consultant must be a company with high values. They must be the consummate professional and must be willing to put the client’s interest ahead of their own.

For example, they must have the guts to say what the client wants to hear instead of saying something by sugar-coating. The consulting company must care about their clients deeply.

2. Solid Experience

A perfect consulting company must have a similar experience to the challenges you face as a client.

They may not be familiar with your company specifically, but they should be familiar with your service industry quite well. What an IBM AS400 consulting company brings to the table is addressing the issues you are facing.

3. Creative Problem-solving Approach

As a client, you must wish to engage with an outstanding problem-solving company.

After all, you are looking to hire a consultant to solve business problems.

The successful consulting company must have outstanding analytical skills to synthesize their thoughts and practices and then conclude. They should be imaginative, creative and effective learners.

4. Outstanding Business Communication

A good AS400 consulting company should possess strong business communications, both internally and externally.

No matter how innovative AS/400 consulting company you choose, they will not be able to help you until their team cannot fully understand the issues you are facing.

5. Excellent Interpersonal Skills

For a consulting firm to help your company, a trust-based relationship needs to be developed. It would be best if you were comfortable in revealing the secure details about your business, and they should only implement it for your business.

The relationship between consultant and client should be like a relationship between doctor and patient. Without complete honesty, the consulting company is hindered in its efforts to help your business. Choose a consulting company with whom you can develop such a professional relationship.

The right IBM AS400 iSeries consulting company can create incredible business value, and choosing the wrong consulting firm can destroy that value. Following these five tips will help you choose the right firm or individual.

Next, let’s understand what all services AS400 services providers offer to alleviate your AS400 worries.

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What Different Services can AS400 Services Providers Offer?

AS400 services providers with years of expertise offer multifarious services to help you navigate AS400 challenges.

Let’s look at the set of services they offer, one-by-one.

IBM AS400 iSeries Consulting and Development

Looking for help while upgrading your AS400 or consultant support?

We are ready for everything and can help you with business analysis, application design, and application programming.

IBM AS400 RPG Staffing

Is someone from your team going to retire? Or are you facing a shortage of RPG developers?

Well, you do not need to worry as we can do staffing for you. Instead of hiring someone full-time, your company can save time and money by having the right expertise onboard as per the project.

IBM AS400 Modernization Services

Looking for something new in your IBM AS/400 software or wish to move away from your AS400 system? Well, you can keep your existing setup in place while improving the overall user experience. With AS400 modernization, you can maintain business effectively and efficiently.

IBM AS/400 Integration Services

Fully leverage your IBM i environment and extend its capabilities by integrating third-party applications, e-commerce solutions like Magento.

IBM AS400 Software Third-party Integrations: You can integrate technologies like CRM, Warehouse management system, and security applications.

IBM AS/400 e-Commerce Integration: The IBM AS400 e-commerce integration will take your business to the next level in terms of online purchase, safe and secure transaction, and quick process.

IBM AS400 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Implementation Support

EDI plays an important role in companies, as it reduces the order-to-cash cycle time by 20% and improves business transactions. But EDI rate can be affected by various factors like- backlog or code change and can cost time and money to your company.

So, as a company, you cannot afford to lose such a high grip due to an outdated system. Take a self-assessment from Integrative Systems to know more about the benefits of EDI and how to keep it updated.

IBM i AS400 Security

You must have heard that the IBM AS400 system is untouchable and resistant to security threats. While IBM i AS400 is one of the safest platforms, everyone is exposed to security threats.

How are your IBM AS400 security levels?

Often companies assume that the integrated security features of IBM i AS400 are enough to keep the data secure.

But AS400 software requires consistent monitoring and maintenance to ensure that its security is up to date. The proper security audit by a reliable AS400 technology partner helps you deploy the best practices and decrease exposure risk.

Next, let’s understand how a technology partner helps you make the most out of the existing AS400 setup?

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Should You Stay Invested in AS400 iSeries?

According to statistics by IBM, over 100,000 companies worldwide use IBM i for powering their mission-critical, robust, computing-heavy applications.

Companies that run on iSeries fall into verticals right from banking to the health sector, from manufacturing to distribution centers & retailers.

Even Government sectors trust their data to the secure infrastructure of the AS400 system.

If you ask our clients, 65% say they are running 85-100% of their workload and business applications on iSeries and the rest are planning to increase workloads on the platform.

This simply reflects the enduring nature and the legacy of IBM i platform & clearly explains why you should invest in it.

IBM AS400 iSeries is one of the most robust systems in the world. Out of all the application servers, IBM AS400 operating system has an incredible – uptime rate of 99.97%.

That is why it is one of the most reliable and secure methods for every vertical.

Even after three decades with more than 7lac+ application systems, as400 iSeries is installed in over 150 countries. The current AS400 programmers are not generally enthusiastic about replacing IBM AS400 / i-series with something else, which is yet to prove its worth.

The importance of the IBM AS400 iSeries system has increased a few notches higher for enterprises, as it’s working well and able to avoid the necessity of yet-to-prove new technologies.

Newcomers need to know that the IBM AS400 iSeries platform is the best business tool for over 30 years. And the fully integrated database of IBM AS400 iSeries comes with full system logging via journals that cannot be accomplished by any other system.

Contemplating what makes it irreplaceable in modern times?

Let’s explore!

Why IBM AS400 / iSeries Is Irreplaceable?

Making an entry into the market 30 years prior and still, IBM AS400 iSeries is regarded as the most reliable and secure server worldwide. Hence, IT organizations are reluctant to move away from their dear IBM AS400 iSeries.

Furthermore, IBM AS400 iSeries is fully compatible, and the upward compatibility of AS400 software protects your revenue by avoiding costly code migrations at the time of platform update.

Many organizations that purchased IBM AS400 iSeries web services years ago continue to refer it due to this seamless compatibility.

IBM continuously updates the platform and has big plans for the future of IBM AS400/iSeries software.

Every 2 to 3 years, IBM releases a new version of hardware and software that features enormous leaps forward in terms of processing power and functionality.

Organizations around the globe are running on AS400 / i-series software. AS400 iSeries software forms the foundation of some of the most powerful servers and OS in the market today, and both, i.e., power systems and AS400 iSeries software, are alive and kicking.

AS400/iSeries software is continuously evolving, embracing modern techniques, and becoming increasingly robust and giving a competitive edge to the world’s top server systems.

For various industries like – insurance, banking, and manufacturing, data is their lifeline, and businesses generally don’t switch the servers or operating systems on which they are working for a long time.

In the current scenario, when integration and development in IBM AS400 / iSeries are becoming much more comfortable, there is no point in neglecting this legacy system. Also, moving to something entirely new always poses a risk of uncertainty regarding performance and robustness.

Even though the AS400 iSeries platform has heavy-hitting technology, people still have some misconceptions in their minds.

Here, let’s try to clear up the misconceptions and give you the reasons to stay invested in this advanced technology.

AS400 Is Outdated!

The software was created in 1988, and since then, it has been renamed several times, and renaming has not helped in changing the mindset that it is a modern platform. But the fact is, AS400 iSeries software and AS400 iSeries services are critical parts of many top organizations’ computing infrastructure worldwide.

AS400 Talent Is Retiring!

According to a few experts, the veterans on the as400 iSeries platform are reaching retirement age, and all their knowledge and expertise will go along them. But, they are unaware that there are several as400 development companies and on-demand developers of AS400 / i-series software, working with various top organizations worldwide.

Just have a look at the pointers to know where AS400 iSeries is still used

Over 10,000 companies worldwide use AS400 iSeries technology as it exists within IBM to power their most critical applications.

These companies work in various sectors like banks, healthcare, manufacturing, government agencies, and distribution centers.

The AS400 iSeries software is like an unsung hero. It is not used for general office functions or to increase employee’s productivity; instead, it handles heavy applications like ERP or health information systems.

According to the recent survey of AS400 iSeries software users, 39% of them manage their 75-100% workload through this software only.

Moreover, the statistics also indicated the importance of this platform in the future. As per statistics, 20% of the users are ready to increase IBM’s workload of IBM i web services.

AS400 Software Performance with its Marketing Competitors

When comparing the technology and scope, you need to be aware of the market or the application category it currently fits in.

If you will resemble a user mobile application technology against a huge transnational server application, it is altogether in a different context.

The sole purpose of their existence is other. The problem each of them solves is also different.

For example, it is better to compare Android vs. iOS or Linux vs. Windows or even SAP vs. Oracle.

Why AS400/iSeries is Still Considered?

Still looking for a reason to stay invested in AS400?

Here are some major factors why staying invested in AS400 proves strategic.

Unwavering Stability

Never question AS400/iSeries software reliability. The AS400 iSeries is still recognized because maintenance problems associated with it are rare. As per IBM, AS400 iSeries developers experience only around 5.1 hours of unavailability per year, which counts to 99.99% uptime.

Top-Notch Security

Today, server security is more critical than ever, and the AS400 iSeries software has never been infected with similar viruses that affect other systems.

Moreover, its object-based design has been the heart of power systems since the start, and still today, it’s the key to IT security since viruses often penetrate systems into data form and not objects.

Web Servers

More than 70% of organizations are running their web servers on AS400 iSeries software, and the number has increased by 2% if compared to last year. With this trend, more organizations are expected to adopt this technology in the future.

Staffing

Most AS400 / iSeries software enables organizations can function with limited staff or with one administrator only. This thing results in low TCO of the platform.

At least one AS400 programmer speaks to the amount of intellectual property created on AS400 iSeries software in every organization. The AS400 / iSeries software community is active in furthering development on IBM i.

Automation

A large number of unattended organizations prove that automation is a feasible strategy for AS400/iSeries software. Large organizations with 2-4 servers are more likely to run alone in comparison to small organizations.

Moreover, the decision of automation is not decided as per size; this depends upon the project.

Percentage of Core Business on IBM AS400/iSeries

AS400 software is a critical platform for most organizations, as more than half of their core business runs on AS400 iSeries software. Without this platform, some organizations will struggle to run their businesses.

What it means is, these organizations are running their business on AS400 iSeries software, not because other technologies are ignorant, but because only “IBM i” suits their needs.

Return on Investment

The vast majority of AS400 service providers and the AS400/iSeries development company believe that this platform delivers a better ROI than others.

And this shows that the marketplace is highly stable. Also, 76% of survey takers are placed in a varied IT environment and positioned to compare as400 iSeries software with other available options.

System Administration

Every tool that AS400 developers and AS400 programmers need to administer the IBM AS400/iSeries already exists and is provided by IBM. On the other hand, other companies spend valuable time in buying software licenses and monitoring.

Modern Application Building

Do not be surprised by this. You can build modern applications running on AS400 / iSeries software. AS400 developers can build applications that can be hosted directly on the IBM i.

They can also take advantage of iSeries sockets to build modern desktop applications in the technology of your own choice.

Impeccable Performance

The volume of information and exchanges overseen by the AS400 iSeries is still today the reference in enterprises, such as banking and retail.

In opposition to specific conditions that require complex estimations, this environment favors data.

As described earlier also, the application codes of AS400 iSeries were written three decades ago, and people feel there is a shortage of experts in this field, and there is a challenge in maintaining them.

Many of application experts have retired long ago, and people with limited knowledge base left.

But that’s not the truth, as companies like Integrative Systems have more than 20 years of experience in IBM AS400/iSeries applications and have many experts on board, capable of making application codes and implementing them within the systems.

Apart from this, the IBM i community is there to help programmers and developers. A group of experts exchange ideas and help IBM users if they come across any issue.

Here, users can instantly support, beyond just technical, in running their organization. This is a mature platform of its kind, and no other forum exists with such a model.

Furthermore, RPG IV is evolving as a user base maintained language like COBOL, and both of the languages are widely used, especially in core enterprise solutions.

Moreover, IBM AS400 iSeries is here to handle modern-day languages like PHP, Java, etc. It is no wonder that the IBM iSeries AS400 will be the most secure system with merged technology in the coming times.

In case you are looking for an IBM AS400 iSeries service provider company, Integrative Systems will be your best choice.

With over 20 years of experience in this field, we can provide our clients with peace of mind and help them yield more from investment. With services like modernization, transformation, service extension, and development, clients can reap maximum benefits with minimal investments.

With Integrative, IBM AS400 iSeries expertise, one can get real advantage of advanced technology and drive business to greater heights.

What More Integrative Can Do for You?

AS400 UI Modernization: Improve functionality and looks Real-time Web Reporting and Dashboard:

Transform AS400/iSeries software: Restructure business modules as web services and integrate web services into mobile or tablet applications

Continuous Integration: Streamline application delivery process and recurring business process

Improve Database Design: Migrate from DDS to DDL and improve indexes and views

Having spoken highly about AS400 software and how an AS400 technology partner helps you make the most of it, it’s to unwind a bit about the hardware. Looking at the existing successor of AS400 iSeries – IBM Power 10 system, technology leaders often struggle to draw a line of demarcation.

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Let’s understand what makes IBM Power 10 systems potentially unique.

What Makes IBM Power10 Unique from AS400 Systems?

You must have heard about the launch of IBM Power10 Systems that was announced by IBM last year. It is now officially confirmed that IBM will begin shipping the first set of Power10 servers in the second half of 2021.

The innovative Power10 processor will offer three times more performance and 2.6 times more efficiency than AS400 systems.

According to IBM, such power and efficiency will bolster hybrid cloud, AI, and security workloads in upcoming years.

Let’s understand what makes Power 10 unique.

Power10 for IBM i, AIX, and Linux

Power10 will offer impressive performance improvement and hardware updates in comparison to its predecessors, like AS400 systems. But without the availability of hardware until next year, we will not know how Power10 affects IBM I, AIX, and Linux.

After availing hardware, IBM will release new operating systems that will provide the advantage of Power10 hardware capabilities in terms of security, speed, encryption, virtual machine, and data transfer.

Impressive Architecture Specs

The specs and architecture of IBM Power 10 Systems are quite impressive. The new setup is based on a 7nm process, and IBM cram 18 billion transistors on a 602 sq. mm piece of silicon.

This is much better than the power9 transistors, which was built on a 14 nm process. The latest version of the chip features 128 MB of L3 cache, and L2 comes with a size of 32 MB, but in reality, it shines as a mixture of advanced I/O and memory sharing capabilities to extend IBM’s lead.

IBM has partnered with Samsung Electronics for the manufacturing part, and the company has manufactured two versions of Power10.

The high-performance simultaneous multi-threads (SMT) features eight threads per core and sixteen physical cores, but only 15 cores will be activated due to yield issues.

Furthermore, SMT4 (four threads per core) and out of thirty-two physical cores (only 30 will be activated). In reality, the actual chip for SMT8 and SMT4 is identical, and this core difference is primarily necessary for software licensing.

IBM will pack Power10 System in a single-chip setup, having up to 16 sockets, each delivering 15 SMT8 cores running at 4GHz. IBM AS400 systems are also building dual-chip modules, with up to 4 dual-chip sockets, including up to 30 SMT8 bodies running at 3.5 GHz. This will allow IBM to deliver up to 240 SMTs per socket.

Data Transfer Enhancements

To keep the processors fed with data, IBM AS400 systems provide various mechanisms, which is where Power10 system architecture shines. IBM Power10 will feature –

• 2PCI express 5.0 controllers
• Each PCI will feature 16 lanes running at 32 (GT)
• Works at 128 GB per second
• First chipset to support the new bus

Next, let’s look at the technical advancements Power 10 systems has to offer.

What’s the Big Deal About IBM Power 10 Systems?

As a CTO, it is a wise call to upgrade your AS400 iSeries to Power 10 systems, isn’t it?

And, it’s quintessential to understand the functional advantage that you gain with this upgrade.

Without any further ado, let’s look at the functional benefits, one-by-one.

Energy Efficiency

IBM AS400 systems are the first 7nm processor from IBM capable of delivering 3X more efficiency and capacity and allowing higher performance.

The IBM Power10 processor uses an energy optimization and performance-centered design and 3x greater efficiency than the previous Power9 generation processor.

This helps multiple data centers in accelerating higher efficiency and reduce costs.

Moreover, at the same time, it will enable hybrid cloud users to handle more workloads.

Scalability

IBM has made more memory available in the cloud with a significant breakthrough in IBM Power10 called Memory Inception.

This technology collects physical memory across a group of systems, where any of the systems in the group can gain access to the entire collective memory— up to multi-PB. This feature will allow businesses to decrease the costs of their memory-intensive workloads on the cloud.

Expanding AI Capabilities from the Previous Generation

By enhancing AI capabilities in its CPU core, IBM Power10 will deliver twenty times more performance than Power9. This will bring a more incredible combination of AI workloads on the hybrid cloud with a typical enterprise workload.

AI is becoming essential for business applications and continues to be integrated more and more into system applications. The IBM AS400 systems will provide core AI inferencing capabilities without specialized hardware.

An Order-of-magnitude Increase for Memory

IBM AS400 systems power the new “Memory Inception” architecture with this chip. This modern architecture is known as “Holy Grail” of microelectronics, and it will enable customers to share data in terms of petabytes among multiple systems.

This will create a single pool of bundled memory that ranges to two petabytes, far more than the 64 TB of memory sharing of X86 systems. According to IBM, this approach will deliver data at a tiny fraction compared to other memory sharing techniques like RDMA.

Power10 ML Workload will be like a Commercial Workload

IBM AS400 systems are also involving new dedicated accelerators to deliver 10x to 20x more speed for ML inference in comparison to Power9. Machine learning capabilities based on the latest learning models are also expected to be the most common workloads in a new processor and, in contrast, to traditional transaction processing.

40% Increment in Encryption and 4X the Number of Encryption Engines

Security was another focus area for IBM AS400 systems in Power10, and as per IBM, the company has expanded memory of Power10 processors.

It will allow each chipset to support four times the number of AES encryption engines and encrypt data 40% faster in comparison to Power9.

Isolation and Enhanced Security for Containers

IBM AS400 systems are more secure than other system software available on the market, and due to this reason, several banks use them.

In IBM Power10, the company enhances security capabilities, like- transparent memory encryption, to support end-to-end security. The IBM AS400 systems are intended to achieve drastically more accelerated encryption performance in comparison to the Power9 standard.

The latest version, i.e., IBM Power10 is expected to have future cryptographic standards like quantum-safe cryptography. Such capabilities will bring improvements to container security.

IBM developed this new chip to increase the container’s security and provide isolation to several machines running on the same chip.

The new hardware is developed to protect containers running inside Red Hat OpenShift and will strengthen the Power10 usefulness in hybrid environments.

Moreover, to address the latest cybersecurity issues, IBM Power10 will provide safeguards and isolation capabilities in new hardware.

If a container is exposed to risk, the IBM AS400 systems processor will block other containers from being attacked. Furthermore, to deal with vulnerabilities, the AS400 application has dynamic implementation register control.

It’s been five years since the IBM AS400 Power10 is in the making, and it’s the result of lots of patents and billions of dollars invested by IBM and Samsung. With its ground-breaking capabilities, the software will reset expectations in upcoming years.

That was all about the unique benefits IBM Power 10 systems bring to your IT ecosystem

Now, you must be thinking, “How do I leverage full benefits of AS400 & the existing investments made toward it?”

Simple – with the help of a reliable AS400 technology partner.

Where to find one?

Your search ends here with Integrative Systems.

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Where to Find Top-Class AS400 Outsourcing Services?

An outsourcing partner is your best bet if you want to get access to top-tier iSeries outsourcing services.

iSeries outsourcing partners who specialize in working with businesses like yours can provide relevant and reliable technological solutions.

A skilled and competent as400 outsourcing partner can often discover flaws or opportunities that you may have overlooked.

Now that you are aware of all the benefits you would receive if you resorted to AS400 outsourcing services, let’s lead you to one such leading and secure outsourcing partner.

How Can Integrative Systems Help Scale Your Business?

Integrative Systems is a software development firm of repute, situated in Chicago with clients across North America and Canada.

Our company has been in the IT industry for over 20 years and has successfully delivered over 1150 projects.

Let us know about your AS400 software application concerns, so we can finalize if you require a dedicated team of outsourced IT experts based on –

• Contracts
• Fixed rates for one-time projects
• Hourly rates for ongoing development

Drop us a line at [email protected], and our team of experts will get back to you in two business days.