AS400 to Cloud Migration

AS400 to cloud migration has been a topic of interest for many organizations as they seek to modernize their IT infrastructure and take advantage of the numerous benefits of cloud computing. The AS400, also known as the IBM iSeries, is a legacy IBM platform that has been widely used to run mission-critical applications in many industries, such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. However, the AS400 is now facing several challenges, including hardware and software obsolescence and high maintenance costs.

To address these issues, many companies are considering AS400 to cloud migration, which involves moving their AS400 applications and data from on-premises servers to the public cloud. An AS400 cloud migration extends the life and value of legacy applications while allowing for increased agility, scalability, availability, and security for these mission critical workloads. It also helps businesses reduce their infrastructure and maintenance costs.

Cloud Computing

Before taking a close look at AS400 cloud migration, it is worth taking a step back and discussing cloud computing in general. Cloud computing has become a popular option for many companies to run their business-critical applications, including IBM Power Systems (AS400, IBM i, AIX and Linux on Power). Most notably, cloud computing provides many benefits that make it an attractive option for companies looking to move away from traditional on-premises data centers. In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards data center exit, with many companies migrating their workloads to the cloud to take advantage of these benefits.

One of the main cloud benefits is scalability. Cloud computing allows companies to easily scale up or down their infrastructure based on their needs, without the need for costly hardware upgrades or maintenance. This is particularly important for business-critical applications that require high availability and performance. Cloud scalability means that companies can easily add or remove computing resources to meet their changing demands.

Another key advantage of cloud computing is cost savings. By moving applications to the cloud, companies can reduce costs associated with maintaining on-premises data centers. Cloud computing providers, such as Microsoft Azure, offer pay-as-you-go pricing models that allow companies to only pay for the computing resources they use. This can result in significant cost savings over time, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses that may not have the resources to invest in their own data centers.

For example, Skytap on Azure is infrastructure-as-a-service that allows enterprises to migrate and run legacy IBM Power Systems applications natively in Azure. Skytap was purpose-built to run IBM Power Systems in the cloud and workloads can be migrated without rewriting, refactoring or replatforming applications. This allows organizations to continue to leverage the benefits of running existing IBM Power workloads while enjoying the benefits of cloud computing. Skytap on Azure provides the same performance and reliability as on-premises data centers, but with the added benefits of cloud computing. In this way, companies can take advantage of cloud computing benefits without sacrificing the performance and reliability of their business-critical applications.

In addition to scalability and cost savings, cloud computing provides greater flexibility and agility for companies. With cloud computing, organizations can easily experiment with new technologies and services without the need for significant upfront investment or lengthy deployment times. Cloud computing also enables greater collaboration and innovation, as businesses can easily share data and applications with their partners and customers, regardless of their location or device.

Ultimately, more and more companies are switching to cloud computing because it offers a range of benefits that traditional on-premises infrastructure simply cannot match. With the cloud, businesses can access a wide variety of computing resources on-demand. They have the freedom to pay only for what they use, and benefit from automatic updates and maintenance. 

This enables them to innovate faster and respond quickly to changing business needs. As a result, cloud computing has become an essential tool for businesses that wish to remain competitive in the digital age.

AS400 Cloud Migration with Skytap 

Skytap offers a simple, low-risk way for enterprises to migrate their AS400 workloads and applications to the public cloud. Doing so reduces capital expenditures. Skytap on Azure provides a fully-managed and integrated environment that includes hardware, software, network resources, and more. Skytap on Azure also supports various programming languages and tools, allowing customers to leverage their existing skills and investments.

Migrating AS400 applications and workloads also enables customers to integrate their AS400 applications with modern technologies, such as APIs, microservices, and DevOps tools. This can help improve their productivity and innovation. Skytap on Azure provides a cloud-based AS400 infrastructure that is fully compatible with IBM iSeries, including the operating system, database, middleware, and applications. 

Skytap on Azure also offers advanced features, such as cloning, snapshotting, and collaboration. By taking advantage of these, organizations can streamline the development, testing, and deployment of AS400 applications. Skytap on Azure is particularly suitable for customers who want to migrate their AS400 workloads to the cloud without modifying their existing code or architecture.

Here are some of the benefits of using Skytap on Azure:

• Software-defined data centers: This service allows users to replicate on-premise environments, accounting for everything from infrastructure to applications.
• Dynamic environments: With Skytap on Azure, you can create the environments that your applications require to run.
• Automation: Another key benefit of the service is that it enables seamless CI/CD automation. This will allow you to easily create and deliver software environments.
• Management and control: Skytap on Azure allows users to maintain control of user roles, usage quotas, and more. 
• Reliability: The service has a 99%+ availability SLA.

Skytap makes it easy for users to migrate their IBM Power estates and achieve an AS400 to cloud migration. In doing so, businesses can achieve greater efficiency with their workloads.

AIX Cloud Migration with Skytap

AIX, short for Advanced Interactive eXecutive, is another operating system developed by IBM for its Power Systems servers. It has been widely used in enterprises for many years, and there are many legacy applications that still run on AIX today. However, as technology evolves, many organizations are looking for ways to modernize their legacy AIX applications and move them to the cloud. 

AIX on cloud refers to the ability to run AIX workloads on a cloud platform. Once organizations migrate their AIX workloads to the cloud, they can take advantage of the scalability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of the cloud while still running their legacy AIX applications. Legacy application modernization is another key benefit of running AIX in the public cloud.

One solution for running AIX in the public cloud is Skytap on Azure. Skytap is a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service  that allows organizations to migrate and run AIX applications natively in Azure.  

Even with such services, there’s no doubt about it—AIX cloud migration can be a complex process, especially for legacy applications that have been in use for many years. However, with the right tools and expertise, organizations can successfully migrate their AIX workloads to the cloud. Businesses can help ensure a smooth migration process by building a thorough cloud migration plan and project team. A comprehensive cloud migration supported by the proper internal and external stakeholders will help support a smooth transition to the cloud for these workloads. 

Here are some additional tips to make running AIX workloads in the cloud easier:

• Choose the right cloud provider: Choose a cloud provider that supports AIX workloads and has experience running them on the cloud.
• Optimize your AIX workloads: You need to optimize your AIX workloads for the cloud environment. This might involve the use of cloud-native features such as containers and microservices to make your applications more flexible and scalable.
• Monitor performance: Continuously monitor the performance of your AIX workloads in the cloud to ensure that they are running efficiently and effectively.
• Implement robust security measures: Put effective security measures in place to protect your AIX workloads and data in the cloud. This includes encrypting data both in transit and at rest, implementing access controls to prevent unauthorized access, and regularly reviewing security policies and procedures.
• Back up your data: Regularly back up your data in the cloud to ensure that you can recover it in case of data loss or system failure. Some cloud providers offer automated backup and recovery services that can simplify this process.

By following these tips, you can run AIX on the cloud more effectively. It’s important to carefully plan and execute your AS400 to cloud migration to minimize downtime, avoid unexpected issues, and ensure that your AIX workloads are fully functional in the cloud environment.

Learn more about Skytap on Azure and how it can make your IBM Power Systems cloud migration possible.