It is a well-known fact that IBM iSeries systems act as a backbone for many IT enterprises to host their mission-critical workloads and applications. Undeniably, IT organizations are under incredible pressure to drive innovation at a rapid pace and meet the needs of end-users. However, when it comes to driving innovation and change using iSeries systems, many enterprises often find it challenging. Using legacy systems like iSeries AS400 results in increased operational costs and lost market opportunities for enterprises. Organizations can overcome this scenario through two viable options such as modernization and maintenance.
However, complete AS400 system modernization is an expensive and time-consuming process. That’s why organizations should opt for maintenance and support services. Through maintenance efforts like installations, upgrades, monitoring, and configurations, enterprises can keep their iSeries systems running and operating smoothly and enhance the end-user experience.
Challenges in Modernizing AS400 Systems
- Greater Costs – Allocating the budget for modernizing iSeries systems is complicated since businesses may need to consider various unforeseen costs down the line, for instance, scaling the workforce.
- Talent Scarcity – A major obstacle to modernizing AS400 is a dwindling talent pool. As per a recent survey, 34% of AS/400 coders retired in 2020. In addition to a lack of AS400 experts, the lengthy process of technical documentation may further overwhelm an enterprise and impact business continuity.
- Complex Refactoring – IBM i systems may come with millions of lines of code. Performing code refactoring without a robust strategy can impact the developer’s productivity and businesses may not realize the desired outcomes.
To overcome the modernization challenges, businesses can leverage IBM i maintenance and support services from a recognized services provider through an outsourcing model. This way, enterprises can save a lot of resources and ensure better performance of AS400 systems. Deploying in-house teams for iSeries maintenance can be inefficient since it’s hard to maintain decades-old codebases. Offshore AS400 maintenance experts can help enterprises reduce the margin for error and improve the efficiency of iSeries systems.
Importance of AS400 Maintenance and Why Outsource it
When hosting mission-critical apps on iSeries systems, a lot of corporate and application data gets recorded in it. Therefore, organizations largely risk the confidentiality of their data. It’s because IBM i possesses traditional data security protocols and standards, which makes them more vulnerable to ransomware and security attacks. Besides, without enabling integrations and synchronization, organizations using AS400 systems can’t get the required agility and fulfill vital business requirements. That’s why iSeries support and maintenance is important.
By outsourcing AS400 support services, enterprises can keep their legacy server platforms updated and working at an optimal level. The offshore AS400 maintenance experts conduct effective system checks and assessments. These include complete security evaluation, performance analysis, and possibilities for other enterprise platform integrations. For instance, by integrating a BPA platform with AS400 systems, organizations can automate application database extractions, while reducing manual processes.
AS400 support and maintenance outsourcing enable organizations to resolve any ongoing issues and eliminate costly disruptions and downtime. With rich technical expertise, experts can help businesses experience improved business continuity and other cost benefits.
6 Benefits of Outsourcing iSeries Maintenance and Support Services
- Work With a Range of Expertise
One of the key benefits of working with a team of IBM iSeries AS400 support & maintenance experts is the ability to access a wide range of expertise. The support team involves experts with a varied set of experience and skills. This can be helpful when it comes to addressing complex technical issues. There’s no need to figure out the problem autonomously when enterprises outsource a team that can instantly diagnose the issue. That saves enterprises valuable time that can be invested in other core tasks.
- Fast Technical Resolution
Another crucial benefit of outsourcing IBM i Support services to an experienced company is the ability to rapidly address and resolve any technical problem that may arise. When AS400 systems experience a malfunction, it can impact applications and workflow performance. Having a team of dedicated maintenance experts that is familiar with the AS400 ecosystem can troubleshoot problems and eliminate downtime situations.
This support can help enterprises ensure 100% uptime of their mission-critical applications. In addition, this approach can help enterprises relieve in-house IT experts from the burden of AS400 issue resolution.
- Drive Business Agility
By obtaining comprehensive iSeries maintenance services from offshore partners, organizations can easily scale (up/down) their applications and fulfill evolving business needs. With strong administration and communication, offshore AS400 support experts can guarantee controlled management and better transparency of maintenance activities. This way, enterprises can have firm control over their investments.
Besides, organizations can also communicate their scalability requirements through chat, and emails so that the maintenance experts can make all the software enhancements remotely. With uncompromised maintenance, offshore specialists can help enterprises benefit the most from their iSeries infrastructure.
- Expert Guidance
A team of maintenance experts can also deliver valuable advice and direction on running and optimizing the AS400 system. And they can help enterprises make informed decisions about security patches, upgrades, and other improvements. Thereby, aiding to enhance the efficiency and performance of the AS400 system.
They can also provide training and support to in-house staff to help enterprises get the most out of their system. Training and guidance can help enterprises become more efficient and proficient with the AS400 system.
- Lessen Modernization Complexities
Implementing IBM iSeries modernization is a complicated task for organizations. Performing IBM i upgrades and modernization is far different from Cloud migration. Especially when an enterprise hasn’t employed skilled professionals, performing modernization might cost businesses a fortune.
In a recent survey, 40% of respondents from many IT enterprises stated that security and data privacy inaccuracies are the key challenges they encountered after modernization. Similarly, extensive AS400 modernization or migration to Cloud can result in complexities that require a greater level of expertise to resolve. Since AS400 is a legacy system, the more challenging it will be to modernize due to the significant coding alterations. iSeries maintenance arises as an effective alternative due to challenges accompanied by IBM i modernization.
Offshore maintenance professionals can perform code refactoring, which allows enterprises to run AS400 systems with better enhancements. Refactoring can swap modernization activities and boost operational efficiency.
- Cost-Efficient
With dedicated experts handling IBM iSeries maintenance, organizations can improve the chances of acquiring a greater Return On Investment (ROI). Through outsourcing, organizations don’t need to devote their capital on employing separate internal talents, offering physical space, and related compensations.
Hiring in-house AS400 executives and creating a support team for maintenance may require organizations to spend more resources. Besides, training the hired executives and purchasing the prerequisite tools for them to work with can be an added expense as well. On the other hand, outsourcing software maintenance for IBM i systems would not require enterprises to buy tools or organize them, thereby lessening overall operational expenses. This way, organizations would need to pay only for required resources, which fulfil their business requirements.
Summing Up
As stated before, outsourcing support and maintenance services can be an effective approach for organizations that are looking to optimize their IBM i infrastructure. Through steadfast guidance, offshore iSeries experts can organize and scale up the IBM i ecosystem and ensure better business continuity. Consequently, enterprises can easily meet technical and non-technical objectives and obtain a competitive edge.
