assess appropriateness of ibm power systems in … admin, more san support, vm image management,...

Info-Tech Research Group 1

Assess the Appropriateness of the iSeries/IBM i in My BusinessEvaluate the future viability and potential challenges of IBM i, including legacy systems such as the iSeries as well as current Power Systems running IBM i, to determine your organization’s strategy for this platform.


Many organizations are apprehensive about buying or staying with the iSeries/IBM i due to a perception that this is a dying platform.

Introduction

IT strategic direction decision makers.IT managers responsible for an existing

iSeries or IBM i platform.Organizations evaluating platforms for mission

critical applications.

Evaluate the future viability of this platform.Assess the fit, purpose, and price.Develop strategies for overcoming potential

challenges. Determine the future of this platform for your

organization.

This Research Is Designed For: This Research Will Help You:

The perception is that it’s older technology. You need to look past that when evaluating this platform. We could move to a new system that is thought to be more current, but it may be more prone to downtime, less efficient, and cost more overall.

- Jeff Lutgen, VP of IT, Delta Dental of Wisconsin

Note: This report covers legacy systems (i.e. AS/400, iSeries, System i), and current systems (POWER6 and POWER7 systems running IBM i; note that POWER6/7 can also run AIX and Linux operating systems).


Executive Summary

• Although IBM Power Systems running IBM i are unlikely to see a sudden resurgence in net-new installations, it’s also not going away any time soon as organizations continue to invest in the platform.

• Legacy systems, such as the iSeries, and current Power Systems running IBM i continue to deliver exceptional reliability and performance, and play a key role in the enterprise.

• Perceived challenges, such as finding applications that run on this platform, integration issues, and cost, are not valid for most organizations, particularly for those running IBM i on current IBM Power Systems.

• For organizations that are struggling with the iSeries/IBM i platform, resourcing challenges are typically the culprit. An aging population of RPG programmers and system administrators means organizations need to be more pro-active in maintaining in-house expertise.

• Migrating off the iSeries/IBM i platform is not a good option for most organizations due to complexity, switching costs in the short-term, and a higher long-term TCO.

• Managed Services providers are filling the gap for companies that aren’t able to overcome resourcing issues.


What’s in this Section: Sections:

Evaluate the Future Viability of the IBM i Platform

• Reinvestment vs. migration trends• IBM i release roadmap• Programming languages supported• Applications running on IBM i• The state of the ISV market• IBM i is supporting consolidation efforts• Reliability and performance

Evaluate the Future Viability of the IBM i PlatformAssess and Mitigate Potential ChallengesDecide the Future of the iSeries/IBM i in Your OrganizationDecide Whether to Migrate to IBM i


Despite perceptions that this is a dying platform, only 4% of organizations are migrating off iSeries/IBM i

• While some organizations may express a desire to move off the platform, very few actually do, not only due to migration complexities and costs, but also because their iSeries/IBM i systems continue to meet business requirements.

• Most organizations are reinvesting in the platform, as shown by the 64% of survey respondents who indicated definite plans to upgrade.

• Small organizations are more likely to maintain the status quo as they try to extend the life of their platform to reduce costs, but even 53% of that group is planning to upgrade.

Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N=67

Overall, only 4% are migrating off iSeries/IBM i, while 64% are planning to upgrade to new hardware/software in the foreseeable future.

Small: up to100 employeesMidsize: up to 500 employeesLarge Enterprise: over 500 employees

Organizations are no longer investing in this platform. The install base is shrinking quickly.

Myth


Power Systems and IBM i are following a consistent 3-year cycle of major revisions over the last decade

• The IBM i software roadmap is clear and reliable: IBM i V5R4 is supported until at least October 2012, 6.1 is supported until at least 2015, and 7.1 is supported until at least 2017. IBM i 7.1 will be supported for at least seven full years from release to end of life.

• A new major release of IBM i is due out in 2013, and will be supported until at least 2018. Features for this release include:◦ Extending storage virtualization features like thin

provisioning; virtual machine image management, mobilityand automation

◦ Investing in language (RPG, PHP, C++, etc.) and database standards currency

◦ Simplifying administration of PowerHA , continue work on SAN integration

◦ Integrating IBM i management tools end-to-end with virtual I/O server; task automation

1988 IBM introduces logical partitioning (LPAR) & integrated database (DB2)

1995 IBM releases 64-bit AS/400 upgrade that automatically converts OS,

database and applications

2004 PowerVM introduced with POWER5 systems, bringing additional

virtualization features

2007 IBM i 6.1 released; analysis tools for moving hot objects to SSD, PowerHA

disk clustering, virtual storage

2010 IBM i 7.1 released; supports 93 SQL commands & native XML in DB2, hot objects automatically move to SSD

2013 Projected next IBM i release: easier PowerHA admin, more SAN support,

VM image management, mobility, automation

Power Systems & IBM i are old technologies that lack modern features.

Myth• IBM has consistently delivered new POWER-based processors every three years since 2001, and has introduced new features ahead of most competitors. The trend is expected to continue.

2001 POWER4 CPUs launched with full 64-bit PowerPC instruction set,

replacing POWER3 and RS64 CPUs


The RPG programming language & IBM i, go well beyond green screen

• There is no denying that legacy applications, providing a “green screen” user interface, still exist for IBM i. However, IBM and several IBM partners have worked to create development tools that expand on RPG and can create modern, Web-based interfaces for interacting with a legacy application, making applications available to tablets and smartphones.

• IBM Rational offers modern tools based on Eclipse, the open source IDE, that can reduce development times with specialized editors and code generation wizards. Eclipse also lets developers quickly build modern Web interfaces and mashups, and use existing RPG, COBOL, EGL, and Java applications as the backend for Web services. RPG maintains much backward compatibility, so a program written in RPG for OS/400 could run on IBM i 7.1 with few or no changes.

• IBM has continued working on the RPG language. RPG IV inherited Integrated Language Environment’s (ILE) features such as: prototyped functions and procedures, access to C routine libraries, static and dynamic binding, and dynamic link libraries. RPG can also link to Java and PHP objects as well as i5/OS APIs. This gives developers greater extensibilitythan previous versions of the RPG language, making it easier to build new functions instead of re-writing old code.

RPGC++COBOLJavaPHPPerlRPG

Legacy Apps Still Exist, and That’s Okay

Consider some of the following third-party development tool vendors:

IBM i only runs applications that provide green screen interfaces.

Myth


• Power Systems are known for high-availability and processing power, which makes them ideal for CPU-intensive, transaction-intensive, mission critical software such as financial applications and ERP systems.

• Today, Power Systems with IBM i are also being used for a wide range of modern business functionality such as Web applications, BI, and CRM.

IBM i on Power Systems is being used for more than just ERP and financial applications

The architecture has proven itself, and we're exploring other ways to utilize our Power Systems. For example, we're starting to do business analytics. BI lends itself well to this platform.

- David Booth, Chief Information Officer, North American Construction Company

Power Systems are just for ERP and financial applications.

Myth


In an effort to cut costs, organizations are using IBM i on Power Systems to support consolidation

IBM i on Power Systems provides an efficient and stable long-term environment for applications.

Virtualization Enables Efficient Utilization• IBM i subsystems (on a Power Systems platform) enable multiple

applications to run within a single IBM i instance.

• According to an IBM study, the average utilization on an IBM i system is 41% vs. 4% on an x86 server.

Applications Are Independent of Hardware Upgrades• A Technology Independent Machine Interface (TIMI) insulates

applications from changes to the underlying hardware. For example, the same applications that ran on earlier 48-bit AS/400s can now run on 64-bit Power Systems without recompilation.

• By contrast, when the 64-bit Windows Server platform was released, applications needed to be revised to take advantage of the new OS capabilities and to run on 64-bit hardware.

One of the fundamental problems with Windows is that every five to seven years there’s a major paradigm shift in Microsoft’s development platforms and strategies. Organizations pursuing that have to end up rewriting their code pretty much from scratch.

- Nathan Andelin, GROUP President, Relational Data Corporation

69%

70%

55%

SmallMediumLarge

Most organizations are running more than four applications on

IBM i systems

% Running 4+ Applications

Source: Info-Tech Research Group, N=43

Power Systems/IBM i are limited in use, only running one or two legacy applications.

Myth


The ISV market for IBM i remains strong, especially for enterprise software

• Some ISV’s had to re-architect their software for i 6.1 and have chosen either not to do so, or to charge customers separately for the new version outside of support agreements. Since many legacy systems couldn’t be upgraded past V5R4, those systems are now “out-of-date” and therefore cannot support newer versions of their selected COTS software.

Independent Software Vendors

Support Remains, Even for IBM i V5R4

• There is a robust software market for IBM i; it's not as big as Windows, but it's the right type of software – enterprise software. IBM counts over 2,500 ISVs and 5,000 solutions available for IBM i overall. Right now approximately 2,300 applications from over 850 ISVs are supported on IBM i 6.1 and 7.1.

• While there’s no doubt that some ISVs have left the platform, most are rewriting their applications in cross-platform languages, like Java, ensuring that they appeal to the largest number of prospects. Java applications are supported on IBM i.

There are all kinds of third-party applications out there. We use probably ten of them. It depends on what kind of application you’re looking for.

- IT Manager, U.S. Municipality

Less than 20% of respondents agree finding applications or developers is challenging

Software for IBM i is scarce, and there is a rapidly shrinking ISV market.

Myth


iSeries/IBM i systems have exceptional reliability & durability, reducing capital expenses but keeping “green screens” alive

• Two key results from the survey came down clearly on the side of myth confirmed:◦ Near-perfect results for meeting uptime and performance requirements.◦ Legacy iSeries systems are still prevalent today due to their reliability and durability.

• Ironically, the continued strong presence of legacy systems, such as the AS/400 and iSeries, contributes to the outdated image for this product line. Organizations using legacy systems have extracted a much higher return on investment than those running competing platforms.

IBM i on Power Systems had perfect scores for performance and uptime, with legacy systems only slightly under 100% overall

Legacy systems are still prevalent worldwide

If you look at the numbers, the facts, you can see that it’s a more efficient, more stable, more secure system. But at the end of the day, none of that matters if the CEO that’s making the decision thinks it’s old technology or it’s not sexy enough. In that scenario, you also need to put some effort into modernizing your applications.


The iSeries/IBM i are virtually bulletproof, rarely failing.

Myth



Assess and Mitigate Potential Challenges

• Potential challenges• Overcoming the resourcing challenges• Preventing ISV-selection remorse• Solving integration issues• Determining total cost



Be aware of potential challenges that have some organizations desperate to migrate off the iSeries/IBM i platform

Potential challenges scored low overall in a recent Info-Tech Survey, especially for organizations on POWER6/7 systems. However, regardless of platform version, companies struggling with this platform typically cite one of these concerns:

Finding staff skilled in these platforms is a key challenge, although less of a challenge overall for companies on the newer Power Systems running IBM i

1 Finding IT/Dev Staff: An aging pool of RPG programmers and system administrators has organizations concerned.

Finding Applications: As expected, applications for this proprietary system are less common than for Windows.

Integration Issues: Legacy systems in particular are prone to integration challenges.

Cost: The initial capex is higher than the equivalent capacity in commodity x86 servers.

2

3

4

The remainder of this section examines and provides strategies for overcoming these challenges.


Make succession planning part of yourresourcing strategy to mitigate future issues

Budget cuts and platform reliability has led to very thin resourcing, leaving organizations at risk of suddenly being without any in-house expertise.

• iSeries/IBM i systems require little upkeep, so they can be easily learned by your other administrators. This gives you homegrown staff with multiplatform knowledge and resourcing flexibility, both of which keep salary costs down.

• Similarly, teach your existing developers to program in RPG. They’ll be a lot cheaper than hiring someone with existing multiplatform expertise.

• Modern development tools for IBM i increases the appeal to other staff to learn how to code for this platform.

The solution: Train your existing IT/Dev staff on IBM

• Organizations looking to modernize their IBM systems need staff who know more than RPG and IBM i. Much of the available talent only know the IBM i (or its predecessors), or are 20-30 year veterans who have become priced out of the market.

• Many applications are still coded in RPG. The pool of programming talent familiar with RPG continues to shrink.

We let our developer go. At $150,000, he was just too expensive.

- David M. Fritzke, Business Technology Executive, YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee

When young people see what they can do with this platform, that they can use a multi-language software development environment like Eclipse, they love it.

-Trevor Perry, Chief Strategist, Angus Thinks!

The problem: Difficulty finding admins or developers

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Be proactive: contact educational centers todiscuss recruiting & training

Classroom, online, and self-study training are available from a variety of sources, including IBM. Those same educational centers also provide resources for recruiting. Below are a few examples of training resources and available courses:

• Gateway Technical College: Provides a 4-semester IBM i Programmer/Analyst program. Tuition is approximately $8,000.

• ExitCertified: Online and classroom training. Includes courses on IBM i, AIX and DB2. Example: IBM i Administration and Control, classroom training: 5 days, $3,665.

• Manta Technologies: 100+ online courses include administration, programming, and security topics. Courses are typically two to four hours long, and grouped together to form a series or combination package. For example:

• System Administrator package: $2,430

• Programming package: $3,990

• Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology: Provides a six-semester Computer Systems Technology program that includes exposure to IBM i and Power Systems. Part-time courses on operations and connectivity are also available.

• IBM: IBM Power Systems topics include administration, performance, and programming:

• Courses are typically 1 to 5 days, and costs vary from under $1,000 for a 1 day introductory course to $3,665 for a 4.5 day course on IBM i Administration and Control.

• IBM’s System i training paths page is a useful resource for finding relevant courses

• Also see the Training Finder page

Don’t wait until you need to hire. Contact local colleges about IBM courses and stay in touch. Your inquiries lets them know these skills are still in demand, which will influence curriculum planning and help the colleges draw students to these classes.

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http://www.mantatech.com/manta/ADMCUR.htm�

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http://www.senecac.on.ca/subjectoutlines/subject.jsp?s1=OPS650�

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Managed service providers can take overadministration, and host the system too

There is a healthy ecosystem of hosting providers, also providing managed services, available for iSeries/IBM i.• A managed service provider can relieve the trouble of trying to find

system administration staff by taking over routine duties. Many managed service providers also offer co-location, and therefore are taking in the AS/400 and iSeries hardware off customers’ hands to relieve the need to power and cool the system. This also relieves you of the need to sell or move the system post-migration.

• Only 7% of survey respondents are moving their legacy Power Systems (e.g. iSeries) to a hosting provider, eliminating human resourcing issues while maintaining the stable platform they currently employ.

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Consider some of the following managed service providers:


Case Study: Succession planning maintains asteady supply of home grown talent

• Connectria Hosting provides managed services for multiple platforms include IBM Power Systems going back to AS/400 systems.

• They have solved the resourcing challenge by developing their own people and hiring from within.

1) Exposure to the Platform• Skills/Experience: Entry level position. No prior experience with IBM

platforms.

• Responsibilities: Monitoring the system (reviewing alerts, error messages, system status).

2) Promote to Operator/System Administrator Level• Skills/Experience: Employees who demonstrate an aptitude for the

platform are promoted from the entry level monitoring position to an Operator/System Administrator position.

• Responsibilities: Day-to-day system admin functions, including troubleshooting errors, installing upgrades, and so on.

3) Promote to Engineering Level• Initial Skills/Experience: Operators who demonstrate an in-depth

understanding of the OS and hardware.

• Responsibilities: System installation, configuration, and troubleshooting when needed as well as hardware repairs.

Our people, right when they start with the company, they’re getting exposure to the platform, and then when we need someone in the operator role, we’ll take someone who has really caught on to the platform at the entry level and train them up to the Operator level, and so on.

We occasionally may look at potentially hiring someone from another company if needed, but a lot of times we just build up that expertise from within.

- Dave Wiseman, IBM i Hosting Director, Connectria Hosting

A three-stage process takes staff from new hires to key resources:

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Choose vendor reliability over cost to ensureyour ISV will be there for you long term

Fewer ISVs are providing IBM solutions than 10 years ago, and that can limit selection; however, the bigger risk is your ISV dropping support.

• For the most part, vendors that have survived the shrinking ISV market and the recent recession have figured out a business model that makes sense and are likely here for the long term. If your ISV does drop support, in addition to exploring alternatives, use the decision framework slide to help you decide next steps.

• When evaluating ISVs, look for:• Longevity, and a history of success in the IBM market.• Specific plans for continued upgrades to the application.

The solution: Choose vendor reliability over cost

• An ISV that is seeing less demand for their IBM solution may choose to focus their resources on the more common Windows platform where they expect to see more opportunity.

The ISVs that are disappearing are the ones that weren’t successful. If you’ve got a good application and it’s still providing you revenue streams, then there is absolutely no reason to kill it.

- Alan Jordan, Executive Vice President, Coglin Mill

The problem: Risk of ISV discontinuing support

There’s definitely new development going on in the marketplace.

-Tom Huntington, VP of Technical Services, Help/Systems

Rather than drop support for an IBM solution that is still bringing in revenue, a reputable ISV is more likely to re-code their software to be platform independent and broaden their opportunities, rather than restrict themselves to one platform, regardless of whether it is IBM i, Linux, or Windows.

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Case Study: ISV has stayed healthy bymodernizing its products

• Provides system management, security, and business intelligence software for IBM Power Systems.

• Help/Systems has evolved its products to meet the demand for more modern and platform agnostic solutions, and they continue to be a market leader.

It’s a market that has grown over the years to the point now where it’s more of a stable environment.

I don't know that anybody’s saying, ‘Hey, I’m being forced off of Power Systems because my application doesn’t run.’

The main issue you see, and this is true of Windows as well or any OS, is waiting on the vendor to support a newer operating system.

- Tom Huntington, VP of Technical Services, Help Systems

• Help/Systems created a Java-based interface to eliminate green screens. In the last 5 years, most of their new development has been in Java.

• It has also made its products platform independent. For example, Robot Automation Scheduler can automate scheduling on IBM i, AIX, Windows, Unix, and Linux.

Solution

• Organizations are typically running Windows servers alongside their IBM Power Systems, which increases expectations for a modern interface.

• Prospective clients were asking for a browser-based interface. Green screens just would not cut it anymore.

• Mixed IT environment and Power Systems' support for AIX and Linux, in addition to more demand for platform agnostic solutions that run on IBM i.

Challenges

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Integration doesn’t have to be hard, but usingold software won’t make it easier on you

Survey respondents indicated they have few integration challenges, and their enterprise storage often integrates into their Power System without issues.

For reporting we use BusinessObjects Enterprise that uses the iSeries database, and that’s a pretty big integration. We have data integrator for data mining and there are some Web tools that we could have used on the 400 itself, but we decided not to use them and just keep the old fashion datamarts on the 400. So I don’t have any problems with integration to the i.

- David Fritzke, YMCA Milwaukee

• 84% of survey respondents agree that IBM i on Power Systems integrate well with their enterprise storage strategy. Similarly, in interviews with clients and ISVs, data and application integration was not reported as an issue.

• The lack of integration issues is partly due to a tendency to run iSeries/IBM i systems as standalone environments, and also due to changes made in POWER6 to make the platform more open. For example, adding the ability to write programs in newer and more popular languages – e.g. C++ and Java – and use standards like XML and SQL commands with DB2.

• Legacy systems can present integration challenges, since the IBM i OS prior to V6 was more restrictive. For example, storage integration was limited primarily to IBM SANs, whereas POWER6/7 systems support a much wider range of non-proprietary SAN devices.

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Case Study: Developers unfamiliar with otherlanguages cannot come together

• A mid-sized firm is currently running disparate ERP and CRM solutions with no integration. This makes gaining additional insight into the data difficult.

• They are looking to deploy a business intelligence solution for better reporting and insight into enterprise data, but need integration between their ERP and CRM solutions first.

The integration software is crucial for us. We’ll be able to pull data and correlate it in our BI solution once we’re done. And we’re also going to start cross-training the developers so that we don’t run into the type of problem again, where the left hand doesn’t understand what the right hand does.

- Director of Applications• A quick online search yielded several tools for integrating disparate software

solutions, enabling single transactions to be sent to multiple systems.

• The business has shortlisted solutions from looksoftware and iWay Software, and has begun on-site demonstrations of both solutions.

Solution

• The ERP solution is currently running on a Power 740 Express running IBM i 7.1. The codebase is in RPG IV and the in-house staff isn’t familiar with any other languages.

• The CRM solution is currently on top of HP servers running Windows Server 2008. The in-house staff maintaining it are not familiar with RPG.

Challenges

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Mid-size enterprise, Consulting,

2,500 employees


Legacy systems required forking out hundredsof thousands of dollars, but not anymore

Power System prices continue to drop. Comparing computing power and scale to other platforms, IBM i on Power Systems is actually less expensive.• 89% of survey respondents disagree that Power Systems are

costly relative to the computing power available in commodity x86 servers. Respondents feel they get good value for the cost relative to the equivalent computing power in the form of commodity x86 servers.

• Power Systems start out relatively inexpensive, with a starting list price of $8,847 for a Power 710 Express running IBM i and DB2. That includes a POWER7 4-core 3.0GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, two 146 GB 2.5" hot-swappable disk drives, WAN and quad 10/100/1000Mbps integrated Ethernet ports.

• A comparable system from HP costs $15,552 (including Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Standard), and from Oracle costs $28,706 (including Solaris 10 and Oracle Database Standard 11g).

• Not everyone needs 256 CPU cores and 8 TB of RAM; therefore, not everyone spends six figures on a midrange system. Purchasing a midrange system still requires a right-sizing exercise, just like any other hardware purchase.

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Software, support, and maintenance must befactored in, but the big picture looks good

65% of survey respondents feel that IBM i software licensing costs are reasonable or very reasonable, likely due to the inclusion of DB2.• The inclusion of DB2 in IBM i’s basic license dramatically reduces

software costs, especially when compared with HP and Oracle systems. DB2 is not included with AIX or Linux either, still pushing licensing costs in favor of IBM i.

• Info-Tech Research Group clients consistently stated that support and maintenance costs, either from IBM or a third party, were reasonable. Clients that were unhappy with software maintenance costs referred to the software vendor’s maintenance contract (i.e. ERP or CRM software), not IBM’s.

• Staffing costs is where myth begins to catch up with reality. One Info-Tech Research Group client was paying a developer $150,000 a year to maintain their core software, which they now outsource to a third party firm at $180 per hour. However, according to PayScale.com, the average salary for a Senior Programmer Analyst with RPG skills is $77,090. This client was overpaying.

• Look for alternative ways to gain developers with RPG skills, like bringing in PHP and Java, who can be trained to code in RPG with very few issues.

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Case Study: Small company found IBM iprovided lowest TCO over five years

• Require a new CRM solution that scales better, and provides better uptime and performance than existing solution.

• Currently running their CRM software, which manages 50,000 records, across multiple Windows 2003 Servers. A review of platform choices found that the IBM Power 710 Express provided a lower TCO.

• An RFP process yielded a cross-platform CRM solution that will scale better, and runs on several mission critical platforms.

• A cost analysis revealed that two IBM Power 710 Express systems, running IBM i 7.1, would yield the lowest TCO over five years.

Solution

• The new system is proprietary, custom coded by a local development firm at a time when the business felt no commercial CRM solutions would meet its needs.

• The development firm has gone out of business, leading the company to bring in developers to extend and maintain the software.

• CRM software is having scaling issues with occasional, unexplainable downtime.

Challenges

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Small business,

Logistics, 300 employees


Track your iSeries/IBM i TCO so youare well armed when it comes time to upgrade

High capex compared to commodity servers makes the iSeries/IBM i an easy target for CEOs and budget cuts.

• Use Info-Tech’s Power Systems TCO Comparison Tool to calculate the full scope of costs for an accurate total cost of ownership comparison over a five-year period.

• The TCO tool will help you calculate the following potential costs:◦ Hardware◦ Software◦ Support◦ Energy Costs◦ IT Staff

The hardware and licensing is exponentially higher now after migrating to Windows because, instead of having one iSeries doing the whole thing, we’ve got two blade centers, we’ve got SANs, we’ve got racks, and more to do the same job.


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Already using an iSeries/IBM i? Decide the Future of this Platform in Your Organization


• When to freeze/migrate off the platform• When to host/use a managed services provider• When to stay the course


Use a decision framework to justify whatever course of action is best for the business

Does the platform still support business

products or processes?

Analyze the costs and risks of moving your hardware to a managed services provider.

Continue to invest in the platform. Purchase new hardware, upgrade the OS, and upgrade software.

Analyze costs and risks of migratingto another platform. Freeze the platform to new apps and investments until a migration is possible.

Are there in-house system admin and

software development skills?

Is the TCO comparable or less than alternatives?

Technical challenges (e.g.

integration issues, failures, etc.)?

Workaround(e.g. OS upgrade, add-on, new code,

application upgrade, etc.)?

Could it support the business (e.g. if you

reinvested in the platform)?

Are the skills attainable (e.g.

through in-house training, community

colleges, etc.)?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No No

No No

Yes

No

NoNo

Yes

Yes

Deciding whether or not to stay on your IBM Power System requires addressing all perceived challenges. There are valid reasons for migrating off, despite how reliable the platform may be today.

Address your platform decision in an objective manner so that any, and all, justifications provided to leadership are backed up with hard data.


• You have exhausted your resources looking for staff to perform system administration duties.

• There is a managed services provider within your region that can host your platform and provide managed services.

• The TCO for the existing platform is comparable or lower than competing platforms, and moving the system will make sure this stays true.

When to Consider Migrating to a Managed Services Provider

A managed service provider will eliminate your challenges in finding administration staff, but not developers

When Rochester runs out of system administrators, only the system administrators will know.

• A full assessment of the existing platform that shows that it meets existing business requirements of all kinds, and will continue to for the foreseeable future.

• Getting into contact with, and assessing, potential co-location/managed services providers that will manage the platform.

• A plan to deal with any downtime resulting from the move, as with any other move involving hardware.

• In-house development staff, or an outsourced development firm, to maintain applications.

Requirements to Proceed

The company that we have our development with, does hosting also and we’ve really considered it. Just consolidating everything there, consolidating the hardware so we don’t have to deal with it. It’s a similar cost, probably a little bit more, and they’re going to do a better job than us.

- David M. Fritzke, Business Technology Executive, YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee


Case Study: Non-profit organization lacks the capital to upgrade or migrate; exploring hosting

• YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee.• Its core application runs on a System i

platform and is used for all key activities from managing memberships to day camp registration.

For the last seven or eight years, we haven’t had anyone on staff that really can support it.

We’re having to rely on a Managed Services vendor for software changes and maintenance. It’s uncomfortable having a core system that you aren’t very familiar with.

- David M. Fritzke,Business Technology Executive,YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee• Migrating doesn’t make sense from a cost or functionality perspective, but

day-to-day maintenance is still a challenge due to lack of internal resources.

• Expects to eventually contract their Managed Services vendor to host and manage the system full time.

Platform Decision

• Core application is 20-years old, written in RPG, and uses green screens.

• There is internal pressure to modernize the application, but staff can’t find an equivalent modern off-the-shelf software package that can do all of the same tasks in one application.

• Similarly, there is no in-house system administrator or developer for their System i platform, and a limited budget makes it difficult to hire an experienced developer to help modernize the application.

• Estimated cost to convert the code or migrate to a different platform: $2M.

Challenges

Use managed services provider Freeze/migrate off

Continue to invest in the platform

Platform Decision


• You have in-house IBM i expertise to manage the migration. Using a third party increases risk unless they know your business and how you are using the platform.

• There is a viable alternative platform/solution; compare TCO of alternative solution to confirm it is a cost saver.

• The software is supported on a competing platforms, or there is a viable alternative application and a migration path.

When to Consider Migrating to a Power System

Migration costs typically force organizations to first freeze the platform until an opportunity arises to justify the expenditure

Freezing a platform isn’t free, though. It can result in lost opportunities, reduced agility, and there is a cost to maintaining the platform and migrating.

• The ability to freeze the existing platform without an adverse affect on the company’s day-to-day business.

• An alternative hardware platform, software, and the skills to complete a migration.


What we’re quite frequently doing is coming in and recommending that we bring some new people in, and we look at alternatives depending on what they’re doing, we’ll look at alternative software vendors on other platforms. Oracle is one of the ones that I’ve been looking at, and recommending strongly for many companies. We’re also looking, at for smaller companies, cloud technology, outsourcing and a move away from a traditional IT model.

- Bob Cancilla, Owner/Consultant, R.J. Cancilla and Associates


Case Study: Municipality migrating to Windows is now encountering higher TCO

• Running two iSeries systems: one for financial applications, one for public safety software.

• Migrated the public safety system to Windows; expect to migrate the financial system within 5 years.

At that time, it was like, well, if you guys are going to invest in modernizing, why don’t we just look at a new platform? That opened the door, and multimillion dollars later, we now have a system that kind of works.

On the iSeries, in eight years we had one unplanned downtime. That was just because somebody hit a power pole.


• Migrated to Windows. Multiple systems were required to replace the iSeries that hosted the public safety software (e.g. two blade centers, SAN, etc.).

• New hardware and licensing costs exceed what had been the projected cost of staying with the iSeries and modernizing the platform.

• Staffing requirements increased from 1.25 people administering and maintaining the public safety system to 2 fulltime application administrators plus a project manager, at a total cost of $225-250K/yr.

• Downtime has increased significantly.

Platform Decision

• Pressure to update applications from green screen to Web-based; explored modernization products.

• Due to concerns that the platform is outdated, the Public Safety System Board preferred to spend any new money on migrating off the platform.

Challenges

Use managed services provider

Freeze/migrate off Continue to invest in the platform

Platform DecisionU.S.

municipality, population

approximately 200,000.


• You have a reliable supply of human resources –either from internal staff who are being trained, or nearby educational centers.

• The TCO for the existing platform is comparable or lower than competing platforms.

• You are not encountering any technical challenges that cannot be worked around through new code, commercial-off-the-shelf software, or an OS upgrade.

When to Consider Continuing to Invest in Power Systems

When the only argument for migrating off is that your iSeries/ IBM i “is old,” battle back perceptions and stay the course

Modernize your language around the platform, upgrade the OS if possible, and bring in new tools to manage the “it’s old” argument.

• A full assessment of the existing platform that shows that it meets existing business requirements of all kinds, and will continue to for the foreseeable future.

• A succession plan that makes use of existing staff to train incoming staff on the platform, or a partnership with a nearby educational institution to provide co-op placements and post job listings. This will encourage people, new to the workforce, to learn the platform.

• Call it “IBM i on Power,” not System i or AS/400. Bring in new tools for developers to leverage new languages and build new user interfaces if needed.


We went in there and pitched the IT steering committee on an IBM Power 720 for the new CRM. Someone asked if another word for ‘Power 710’ was ‘AS/400,’ and I said, ‘No, it isn’t.’ I had to explain that she was thinking of legacy hardware and software, while the solution we wanted was only released last year.

- Director of Application, Logistics Firm


Case Study: Recently upgraded to IBM i on POWER7, and evaluating future options

• Delta Dental of Wisconsin (Insurance).• Core application (written in RPG) runs

on a POWER7 system.• Provide IT services to other insurance

companies as well as their own.

Finding RPG programmers is a challenge, and we constantly deal with a perception issue because we’re selling our IT services to other companies.

We could move to a new system that is thought to be more current, but it may be prone to more downtime, less efficient, and cost more overall.


• Plan to review long-term options and strategies for supporting this system.

• Concerned that migrating to a different platform just to address perception may result in a solution that is thought to be more current but may also be more prone to downtime, less efficient, and cost more overall.

• For now, using Seagull Software to provide a point-and-click interface to help address perceptions that the system is outdated. Also on the board of local technical colleges to ensure they continue to offer RPG training.

Platform Decision

• Development staff includes 21 RPG programmers and 4 Web developers. Concerned that the pool of available RPG programmers will eventually disappear as they reach retirement age.

• Prospective IT clients sometimes make an instant judgment that it’s outdated technology, regardless of the actual functionality provided.

Challenges*Will also evaluate migrating off or using a hosting company.

Use managed services provider

Freeze/migrate off

Continue to invest in the platform*

Platform Decision



Not using IBM i? Decide Whether to Migrate to this Platform

• Is IBM i the next OS/2?• When to migrate to IBM i• Case study



Whereas OS/2 never truly competed against Windows, IBM is winning the mid-range/mainframe battle against HP and Oracle.

Evaluate the risk that IBM i will be another OS/2; at this time, IBM i and Power Systems are still going strong

IBM i on Power Systems OS/2

IBM’s best selling platform, with a 19% increase in revenue in 2010 and a 45% market share that is trending upward. Power Systems are following a consistent 3-year cycle of major releases since 2001, with a new major release planned for 2013. ISV market is still very robust, and IBM i is moving toward a more open architecture (e.g. more integration with non-IBM SANs, support for Linux, and support for languages such as C++, Java, and PHP).

Revenue potential for OS/2 was limited by the success of Windows, especially after IBM and Microsoft ended their collaboration.Inconsistent major release schedule, and a shorter history than IBM Power Systems. Never really took off like the AS/400 did.Little or no software available for this platform, especially with OS/2’s inability to successfully run Windows (despite the “better Windows than Windows” tagline).

What’s the canary in the mineshaft for IBM Power Systems? The first sign that Power Systems may be following the path of OS/2 will be when major ISVs stop supporting this platform. At this time, the ISV market is still strong, especially where it matters (i.e. enterprise solutions).


• Your existing platform is not meeting uptime or performance requirements for mission critical applications.

• You have a reliable supply of human resources skilled in Power Systems administration and development –either from internal staff who are being trained, or nearby educational centers.

• There are no technical challenges that cannot be worked around.

• You have the capital required to fund a migration.

When to Consider Migrating to a Power System

Perform a comprehensive platform comparison & needs assessment to ensure migrating is worth the switching costs

As part of your assessment, also evaluate business processes and identify opportunities to improve efficiency as part of the migration project.

• Perform a needs assessment and platform comparison; this will help you validate the migration decision and identify the appropriate Power Systems platform required to meet your needs.

• Perform a cost comparison between Power Systems and other potential solutions (e.g. Managed Services provider or competing platforms).

• Get buy-in from business users and executives. Their support will help smooth over transition rough spots.

• Use this opportunity to review and improve business processes and IT efficiency (e.g. explore consolidation opportunities).


Staff had no faith in our ERP due to frequent downtime. After reviewing our options, we chose Power Systems. Basically we have 100 percent uptime now. Performance and reliability were the drivers for us.

- David Booth, CIO, North American Construction Company


Case Study: Migration to IBM i on Power Systems restored confidence in the company’s ERP system

• North American Construction Group (approx. 3,000 staff, 1,000 workstations).• Migrated ERP system from Dell to Power 570 systems two years ago.• Staff had little confidence in previous ERP implementation due to frequent

downtime.

We had some challenges around failover when we initially set it up. We had some challenges around IO. But we were able to work through those literally within the first 90 days.

Since then, for the past 18 months, we have been running at 100 percent uptime except for occasional middle-of-the-night routine maintenance.

- David Booth, CIO, North American Construction Company

• Reviewed outsourcing, HP offerings, IBM offerings, before deciding on two Power 570 systems: one for Production, and one for testing, training, and as a Business Continuity option.

• The improved reliability increased internal confidence, so staff are using their ERP more, which is streamlining auditing and improving efficiency.

• Robustness of the platform is enabling them to also run business analytics on the same system, which has improved their BI reporting significantly.

Platform Decision

• ERP system was non-robust, which led to frequent downtime.

• As a publically traded company, reliable and efficient auditing was critical, yet staff were using multiple revisions of spreadsheets rather than the ERP due to lack of confidence in the system.

Challenges (Prior to Migrating)


Summary

• Organizations need to look past the myths when determining their iSeries/IBM i strategy. A migration off the platform based on myths, and with no real business purpose behind it, will generally result in higher costs and less uptime.

• The market is stabilizing for IBM i on Power Systems: very few net-new sales, but also very few migrating off the platform.Both legacy and current systems continue to provide a reliable, cost-effective solution that is ideal for mission critical applications.

• Most organizations are reinvesting in the platform, with 64% of survey respondents indicating definite plans to upgrade while only 4% were migrating off the platform.

• Finding IT staff and developers, particularly for legacy systems, is a challenge. Organizations must be proactive in maintaining in-house expertise through succession planning and involvement with local education centers, or, alternatively, use a managed services provider.

• The perceived challenges of finding applications, integration, and cost are either not valid or not impacting the business for most organizations. For example:◦ The ISV market is still strong for IBM i, especially for enterprise applications. Support for multiple programming

languages makes it easier for ISVs to modernize applications and stay healthy.◦ The inability to integrate identity authentication is accepted as a known limitation, and integration with network storage is

generally not required due to the built-in DB2 database for IBM i. Newer releases continue to improve integration capability; storage integration, in particularly, is typically not an issue in newer releases.

◦ Initial capex is higher than other platforms, but the five-year TCO is lower. For example, to achieve the same processing power in a Windows environment as a Power System might require up to 50 servers, plus network storage, racks and so on. On the opex side, you may need five administrators instead of one, in addition to higher energy costs.


Appendix – Survey Demographics


Survey Demographics Continued

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