Let’s get into it!

7. High Availability – your business is always ON

IBM itself works hard to optimise both the hardware, and the operating system to keep pace with the increasing demand for 24×365 availability.

You can further make this availability higher with external solutions, products.

IBM i has high availability, built in – and that’s it.  It is not an add-on.

We have seen plenty of businesses where IBM i has been up and running for years, without one single re-start, even without High Availability options, hardware or software installed.

Can you think of any other platform, apart from mainframes (that comes at a much higher price point), with this kind of availability?

6. Lower Staff Cost – it almost literally runs itself

You need fewer system administrators, therefore you need fewer IT managers to oversee them.

With clever automation solutions and high availability, it is obvious that you need fewer administrators to keep your systems up and running flawlessly.

Name another system where you need no high IQ warriors just to keep the system running. One system administrator will cost you 60 – 130k USD per annum. This is a significant cost.

And it is just like with kisses: one is never enough.

5. Unbeatable Speed of Use – for users

The Green Screen – YES!  It is an advantage.
Anyone who told you to go after a Facebook-like web-based interface is wrong.

It is a controversial topic but have you actually seen a Windows / GUI user and an AS/400 working on the computer, next to each other?
IBM i (AS/400) screens are much more simple but simplicity has its power: it is ways faster to navigate – there is no need to use the mouse.

Of course you can have a GUI. It is optional. Any IBM i system can have a GUI – if you want it. But be prepared to have more employees for the same tasks.

4. It is open and works together with any other software and business – WebService-Based Applications

There is a way to make your IBM i open to work together with any technology that comes to your mind.

The secret is “webservices”. Think of a common language that every modern application understands.
IBM i can be taught the language of webservice easily – yes!

It means that your IBM i (AS/400) can be the backbone of your business today and in the future, as well.

No, you do not need to get it replaced.
We built several IBM i applications in a way that all IBM i services are webservice-based

3. It thinks business – it has the only Business Oriented Operating System

IBM i was meant to be business from the start – it is not a second thought to build software on it for the business.
What it means that you not only do not need system administrators, but you need no database administrators, either.

Another 60 – 120k USD per annum, saved. And yes, you need 2 of them if you want to be sure.

2. Efficiency – Huge Volumes of Data

You may not care about it but IBM i (AS/400) is good for developers, as well.
You do not need highly experienced (=100k+ USD per annum salary) system architects to design your business and architecture that works.

An IBM i (AS/400) developer just sits down and can start to write meaningful code.

It is actually much easier to write high performing queries on IBM i than on other platforms – the hardware + software are optimised in a way that makes the entire software you run on IBM i simply fast.
On other platforms it is not uncommon that databases and queries must be optimised – losing precious time and money again.

And: more often than not – it fails. Then you have to hire system architects.

1. The most secure platform – ever – in terms of Security

IBM i has been so far the only platform with no viruses. No real (external) hacks. No real security events.

Yes, if you leave your password on the wall, bad boys will find their ways in.

But apart from these, it is much harder to hack – as the entire solution is built upon each other: it is one coherent system, where each element “is aware” when something is intact and when something is infected.

The internal architecture of IBM i ensures that it is nearly impossible to run anything but authorised applications.

+1. Very low TCO – Total Cost of Ownership

FACT: IBM i + Power System’s TCO is 75% less on a 3 year period than on Windows or Linux server.
This alone should be a strong reason to stay on IBM i.

-1. Rumours and reputation of (AS/400) IBM i

We think the only reason why a business leader wants to migrate away from IBM i is its reputation of being an ageing platform.
They may say that it is not in fashion. It is outdated. There are no developers.

In our next article we will explain why rumours and assumptions are wrong.

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So do you think this will be enough to convince your boss to stay on IBM i?

Need the quintessence / bullet points of this article ?
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We welcome actually would love to have your feedback!

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