Ensure the continuity and modernization of your business-critical IBM Power Systems and RPG applications

IBM Power Systems are since several decades a popular choice of platform for critical line-of-business applications and the running of (container) workloads.

Many companies still operate their own server hardware, and run bespoke code developed using the RPG language. We notice however that the pool of qualified IT operatives is shrinking as the industry shifts to public cloud and modern open programming languages. Yet these business critical applications still need infrastructure management and development updates. And businesses need a way to avoid the headaches and costs of maintaining the infrastructure and applications, without sacrificing availability and support. 

The challenge of IBM Power Systems and RPG applications

IBM Power Systems have been around for several years, and RPG is still the most used language on the IBM i platform. Many businesses rely on this infrastructure and its custom applications in areas such as financial calculations and planning. These businesses now face a series of challenges.

Finding support
Like all software, RPG applications require ongoing support. They need to work reliably while other parts of your IT infrastructure grow and change, and they need to evolve to meet the developing needs of your business.

Unfortunately, the necessary expertise is hard to find. New applications are rarely written in RPG, and developers entering the industry are rarely familiar with it. It’s also hard to find qualified engineers with experience of Power Systems hardware.

Flexible scaling – both up and down
As business needs change and evolve, it’s often necessary to scale infrastructure up or down. For companies managing their own infrastructure and applications, this means a costly investment in new hardware – or mothballing perfectly good systems. That applies to IT teams too. Since there’s no guarantee that qualified personnel will be available when you need them, upsizing can be risky, and downsizing is not a decision to be taken lightly.

Integration
In a dynamic business, new applications are continually coming into play – not only those created by an in-house development team, but SaaS solutions, low-code projects and other composable building-blocks. Integrating RPG applications with these new services goes beyond regular maintenance and development. It requires all-round expertise in software engineering, to make potentially complex changes to critical legacy code.

Understanding the risks
If companies can’t find the right staff to manage their Power infrastructure and RPG software, they can’t guarantee the resilience or availability of critical apps. They can’t update the software as required by the business, or integrate it into new workflows. Nor can they patch bugs, or respond to emerging security or legal requirements.

Even if suitable staff can be recruited, the need to retain a team of specialists makes the IT function more complex and expensive than it would otherwise be.

The solution (part 1): Application management services

Placing RPG applications in the care of a trusted application management services (AMS) provider allows businesses to stop worrying about these issues. With the confidence that key services are available and properly maintained, resources can be focused on more productive endeavours.

The solution (part 2): Integration services / iPaaS

As businesses adopt new technologies and applications – which might be SaaS solutions, low-code or cloud-native projects – an IT provider can takes care of integrating them with existing RPG applications, in a flexible, reliable and secure way.

An iPaaS connects all your applications, processes and data, which empowers you to deliver new business value quickly and cost-effectively while ensuring continuity.

The solution (part 3): Cloud solutions

Outsourcing allows businesses to migrate IBM Power Systems out of the company offices and into the cloud. While public cloud services are an option, private cloud offerings such as Cegeka Power Cloud have several advantages. Cegeka’s high-availability datacenters guarantee that up or down scaling is no longer a burden and that critical workloads remain fast and responsive, with all sensitive data kept within the EU and processed in compliance with the GDPR.

For those who prefer to keep systems on their own premises, remote managed services are another option. The IT provider can manage and maintain your own hardware over a network connection, and can even develop and update applications – meaning there’s minimal need to keep specialist expertise in-house.

If you’re not sure which arrangement is right for your business, a trusted AMS and cloud partner can assess your business and technological needs, provide advice – and take care of implementing whichever solution you choose.

Advantages of outsourcing

The AMS and cloud provider doesn’t simply take over the functions of an in-house IT group. It offers benefits that would be hard for a smaller team to provide.

Removing uncertainty
A management contract provides stability in several areas. Companies keep full control of their budgets, paying an agreed fee rather than having to manage the ever-changing demands of an internal team.

Since AMS and cloud services represent operating expenditure rather than capital expenditure, businesses gain flexibility to control and optimise their costs. As the in-house IT team will spend less time on the IBM Power Systems and applications, the total cost of ownership will be lowered while the IT provider continues to deliver guaranteed service levels and 24/7 support.

Expert monitoring and analysis pre-emptively identify errors and performance issues, which the provider can then resolve to provide the best possible service to the business.

Ongoing improvements
The provider can recommend and implement optimisations to improve performance or reduce costs, and assist with the ongoing development roadmap. Whether the business intends to build new functionality for the future, rearchitect a service or wind it down, the expertise and manpower are on hand.

Increased security and compliance
Since the IT provider handles platform security updates and general upgrades, the burden on businesses is further reduced. Moreover, infrastructure can be dynamically scaled to accommodate periods of high demand – find out more about how Cegeka Cloud has helped financial institutions deal with peak trading periods.

Lightening the load
Even where there is no plan to retire RPG applications, the business no longer needs to operate its own server hardware, freeing up space, reducing the maintenance requirement and simplifying the network infrastructure. With fewer systems left in the building, there’s less to manage and fewer occasions for faults and configuration errors to occur.

Consistency and value
Many businesses have already moved other services to the cloud, or invested in third-party SaaS solutions, so migrating RPG applications is a natural fit. And as always, right-sizing the resources required for individual software services can drastically reduce ongoing costs.

Sovereignty
The Cegeka Cloud datacenters are located in Belgium and the Netherlands. As a result, all data storage and processing complies with local regulations, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Get going with Cegeka

Many IBM Power Systems and RPG applications were originally put together decades ago. Businesses may have struggled since then to find the opportunity or the expertise to keep the software and hardware up to date with the needs of the business.

If that applies to you, it’s time to act. Entrusting your RPG software to an AMS provider and migrating your infrastructure to the cloud unlocks long-term benefits. Any outstanding updates can be applied at once, to ensure stability and security. Bugs or performance issues can be quickly identified and remedied by experts with wide-ranging experience. State-of-the-art integration platforms enable flexible and cost-efficient integrations with other services, without complex changes to legacy code.

Your organisation meanwhile will be simpler and leaner, with more predictable and manageable costs. And you’ll know that the expertise you need is continually there to address any issues arising, and ensure that your business keeps running smoothly.