Let’s Solve the Challenges of your AS400

This is important for visionary technology leaders, like YOU, who are forward looking and want the best for their teams and businesses.

Legacy AS400 and Skill Deficit:

Your Challenge: Your AS/400 is built and relies heavily on legacy programming languages such as RPG and CL, and that makes it difficult for you to find skilled IT professionals with expertise in these languages. It is possible that the staff who worked on your AS400 is approaching retirement.

Solution: Either invest in training and upskilling your existing IT staff or avail the ready-to-use expertise of external AS400 consultants or AS400 solution and service providers to bridge the skill gap. Contemplate on the cost of delay for not a taking a decision sooner.

AS400 Modernization is Complex:

Your Challenge: Your AS/400 ecosystem is not evolved and not keeping up with latest technology trends. You lack support for using the modern AS400 tools, newer frameworks, and cloud-based solutions. Your users are frustrated using the 5250 green screens and running time taking manual processes.

Solution: Plan for gradual transition from AS-400 to newer technologies by implementing modernization initiatives internally. You’ll need to preserve your existing business logic and data. If at any point, you need expert assistance, get in touch with AS-400 service provider. They’ll become an extension of your internal team and expedite the modernization process for you.

High Cost of AS400 Ownership:

Your Challenge: You know that maintaining AS/400 systems can be costly due to licensing fees, hardware investments, and ongoing support costs. Keeping it running as legacy will do nothing but increase your TCO overtime. It not only eats into your allocated IT budget, but and you are also answerable to the board of senior management.

Solution: How much is your TCO? Its more than just a sticker price. Include all parameters such as IT infrastructure/equipment, data center and hosting, cost of software/licenses, support employees cost, downtime, risks, growth plans, inflation rates and your historic data. Basic formula is TCO = Purchase Price + (Costs of Operations x Time). If it is going anywhere above 8-10% of the revenue, you need to explore alternative options such as cloud-based solutions or working with an AS400 service provider to reduce costs.

AS400 Integration Limitations:

Your Challenge: AS400 faces the challenge of limited compatibility with newer technologies, software, protocols, and APIs which can hinder seamless exchange and real-time AS400 integration resulting manual processes.

Solution: You need to start planning around utilizing integration middleware or platforms to facilitate communication between your AS/400 and other systems. Alternatively, you can work AS400 service and solutions provider to develop custom integration for overcoming the compatibility issues.

Uses of AS400 – The Server

Let’s understand about the server-side benefits of the AS400.

Data Warehousing:

With multi-gigabytes of RAM and ample hard disk space, the IBM i series AS 400 can act as a central repository for various big companies’ data, where data mining could be applied.

Web and E-commerce Serving:

The IBM as400 / i-series is equipped with a web server and applications intended to support e-commerce tasks like order management, tracking orders, customer support, vendor, and warehouse management. The IBM as/400 iSeries comes with firewall capabilities and has the capability handle multiple visitors at a time without downtime.

Java Application Development:

The IBM as400 i series can be used as a development system because of its relative integrity with Java virtual machines and tools designed by IBM for developing commercial applications with Java.

Corporate Groupware Services:

Given that Domino and Notes have been included in the system, the IBM AS400 is designed to provide the organization with sophisticated e-mail, project file sharing, and quick collaboration.

IBM Db2 Mirror for IBM AS400 iSeries

Mission-critical applications are needed to run 24/7 without any downtime. IBM Db2 Mirror for IBM AS 400 iSeries is a high-level solution with active-active topology and provides zero Recovery Time Objective (RTO). The software ensures continuous accessibility of applications regardless of the obstacles.

Benefits

Ensure constant availability of AS400 applications.

In-built GUI for observing and handling the Db2 Mirror environment.

Supports systematic advancements.

No journaling needed.

Allows active-active application positioning for load balancing.

Allows active-passive application arrangement for BI and query.

IBM as/400 iSeries technology provides cost-effective options for implementation.

Integrated Web Services for IBM AS400 iSeries?

Integrated Web service supporting IBM AS400 / i-series is a term that refers to the technologies that belong to IBM AS 400 i series:

Integrated Web service server

integrated Web service client for ILE

An Integrated Web service server is a server in which objects can be implemented as Web services.

ILE’s integrated Web service client enables ILE-based applications to act as a Web service client by creating RPG, C, or C++ counterfoils that ILE programs can use. The Web service protocols are responsible for the serialization and deserialization of Web service requests.

AS400 i-series cloud provides all the advantages of cloud hosting on a platform that you can trust. By leveraging the benefits of attributes like flexibility and scalability of AS400 i-series cloud hosting, organizations can create a more flexible and agile IT environment.

In turn, achieve unparalleled business robustness and a strong competitive advantage by:

Reduce total operating costs and data centre overheads.

Pay only for the resources you need, thereby reducing capital costs.

Optimized change management process. Expand the business operations as per your needs to keep up with resource-intensive projects and business plans.

Simplify your entire IT environment.

Eliminate database licensing costs when switching from another platform.

iSeries/AS400 is Cloud-Ready

Cloud-ready technology for IBM AS 400 software have existed for many years. Before the x86-based computing environment adopted the concept of virtualization, IBM AS/400 series were directed at the HW layer and introduced the concept of logical partition (LPAR) in 1999.

Why IBM i (O/S of AS400) Stands Out?

Let’s have a look at the short philosophy behind the different OS and understand why IBM i is different from others:

Linux:

There are quite a few small devices, apps, etc., for individual tasks, after which they “connect” them collectively to do bigger things.

Windows:

Monumental target-programs (solutions) for a tangible problem. (Mostly Defined as “package”).

IBM i:

A solid system with outstanding documentation and full proof

operations. Applications are precisely sufficient alone. They aren’t enormous and don’t need to be linked together mostly to make something meaningful.

The AS-400 applications can be written in several programming languages, like – JAVA, COBOL, and RPG.

Integrative Systems for All your AS400* Needs

We, at Integrative Systems, have more than 20 years of experience in extending AS400 services. Whether you need to hire a team of AS 400 developers for your project or work on-site or remote as an extension of your team, we can cater to all types of requirements.

We are an IBM Silver Business Partner and INC 5000 ‘One of America’s Fastest Growing Company’.

At Integrative Systems, we believe in helping our customers succeed first and we would stick to that belief with you too.

Feel free to contact us at [email protected],and we would be happy to help you!