The AS400 Remains a ‘POWER’ to be reckoned with
The AS400 Remains a POWER to be reckoned with
Yes, since being rebranded in 2000, todays IBM i Power systems are still commonly referred to as AS400’s by a vast number of enthusiasts.
It’s still the platform of choice by top financial, gaming, health-care and insurance companies.
More than 100,000 companies still use the AS400 for critical applications, including banking, hospitals, manufacturing, distribution, retail, and government agencies.
The AS400 is a very appealing business model for companies such as Costco. It enables them to secure vendor purchasing power in volume. With their large warehouse facilities this enables them to distribute products on their floors efficiently while being able to store any leftover in house.
Many organizations have built their critical business applications on the AS400. It’s a challenge migrating to another platform, and transitioning can be complex and costly. Many have planned migrating for years but only few come to fruition. Then there are the companies that migrated only to return to the IBM i Power platform. The reasons for its enduring popularity are as multifaceted as the system itself.
Companies still use the IBM iSeries AS400 for several reasons:
• It is a highly reliable and stable platform with a long-standing reputation for robustness.
• The system is renowned for its strong security capabilities, providing comprehensive tools and features to protect against internal and external threats, which is crucial in today’s cybersecurity landscape.
• The AS400 has an extensive installed base, and there is a significant amount of legacy software and expertise associated with it, which makes it economically viable for companies to continue utilization.
• The platform also supports a wide range of programming languages and tools, making it versatile for different business needs. Native as well as open-source languages like Java, PHP, C++ and more are supported.
• Even though the AS400 system has been operating for the past few decades the emergence of newer technologies, it is constantly evolving, using modern technologies and satisfying all modern business requirements.
• The system its upward compatibility, ensuring that applications developed on earlier AS400 systems can still run on the latest IBM Power Systems servers with minimal modifications.
• The system features built-in encryption, auditing, and compliance tools, making it a trusted platform for sensitive data processing.
• It is scalable, reliable, and provides the ability to quickly process large amounts of data. This makes it indispensable today. A lot of companies widely use it for working with resource-intensive applications such as ERP, banking, or medical information systems.
The world’s leading banking institutions continue to favor AS400 and IBM banking solutions for their critical operations. Around 16,000 banks around the world rely on the IBM AS400 system. It is helping banks of all sizes to maintain their complex business demands within a streamlined business environment.
In addition to the reasons above, the banking implications are numerous:
• AS400 banking solutions streamline operations by providing a secure, scalable platform that leverages a high-performance relational database with integrated database design tools that allow you optimize data storage and retrieval, streamline data structuring, and reduce data redundancy.
• The AS400 ensures stringent data protection with its innate security capabilities like object-level security, advanced encryption, role-based access, and audit trails.
• It optimizes data management, integrates legacy systems, ensures compliance, and accelerates batch processing.
• With efficient disaster recovery and performance optimization, AS400 enhances customer service, minimizes downtime, and supports seamless, efficient banking processes.
• AS400 banking solutions support a wide range of banking operations inclusive of banking functions, customer relationship management, transaction processing, account management, regulatory compliances, loan management, financial reporting, and much more.
• What makes it indispensable is its reliability, scalability, and robust security features, adapting to changing business needs.
• For AS400 banking software, you can avail maintenance and support for regular software upgrades, security-health checks and upgrades, bug and patch fixes, and round-the-clock technical support.
• It leverages built-in redundancy mechanisms to offer high availability while reducing downtime incidents.
• You can utilize a vast array of consulting services for performance optimization, disaster recovery strategies, and compliance needs.
• You can expect comprehensive support for your AS400 banking software from reliable consulting/support ISV partners.
Despite the perception of being outdated, the IBM AS400/Power system continues to evolve, integrating modern features and technology with each hardware and software update. Its processing power and capabilities have significantly expanded, demonstrating IBM’s commitment to modernizing the platform. This evolution ensures AS400 remains a viable solution for enterprises where its reliability and performance are unmatched.
Businesses that run their major processes on the AS400 are in a better position to flourish and keep their revenues steady and/or earn profits. Experienced ERP professionals can go a long way with the successful implementation of the IBM AS400 system to optimize organizational functioning.
The future of AS/400 (IBM i Power Systems) involves a continued focus on modernization to adapt to changing technological landscapes. Integration with emerging technologies, cloud services, and modern development practices is expected to be a key aspect.
inFORM Decisions has been a Independent Software Vendor (ISV) specializing in state of the art Document Automation solutions for the IBM i – AS/400 arena since 1994. We believe that the IBM i / Power Systems will be relevant for a long time offering the stability and security that you’ve come to expect from IBM. inFORM Decisions experts can show you how to unleash your systems power and recoup countless hours of productivity! inFORM Decisions is committed to the IBM i platform forever!
Call (800) 858-5544 / (949) 709-5838 or visit us at www.informdecisions.com for more information about our acclaimed iDocs suite of IBM i products.
Additional resources of interest:
So you’re using an IBM i server
The IBM i server platform
What is the difference between IBM i and AS400?
Tags: AS 400 iSeries, as/400, as400, AS400 iSeries, AS400 system, AS400/i-Series, IBM AS/400, IBM i, IBM iSeries, IBM System i, iSeries AS400