In a lightning-fast digital era where cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications are reshaping business operations, many Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) enterprises find themselves at a crossroads. Tethered to legacy technology which has been the backbone of their day-to-day operations for decades, they also need to integrate with cloud applications to meet evolving business demands. This juxtaposition of old versus new technology platforms presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities for businesses across Australia and New Zealand.
The Legacy Dilemma
Legacy systems, like the venerable IBM iSeries, continue to run significant portions of business operations and are often where mission-critical ERPs or operational applications sit. These systems can’t simply be ripped and replaced, as the transition to newer technologies often requires enormous effort and carries with it inherent risks. Still, clinging to these legacy systems can hinder a business’s agility and its ability to scale and adapt to new market demands.
Challenges of Legacy Systems
Maintaining legacy systems in a cloud-dominated world is fraught with challenges. For one, the cost of replacing hardware in a legacy system can be prohibitively expensive, especially for large organisations. Furthermore, as computing power becomes more affordable over time, businesses risk over-investing in capacity they don’t need when they upgrade their legacy servers.
Disaster recovery presents another significant challenge for legacy systems, often resulting from newer technology solutions not supporting the architecture or platforms which drive these legacy systems. Cloud technology, with its virtually infinite storage capacity and advanced replication software, offers a more reliable and efficient solution for disaster recovery.
Furthermore, the pool of experts familiar with legacy systems is rapidly diminishing as professionals move out of hands-on roles or retire, making it increasingly difficult to find skilled personnel to maintain these systems.
Advent One Managed Services for Legacy Infrastructure: A Comprehensive Approach to Modernisation
In the context of navigating the complexities of cloud migration and the integration of legacy systems with modern cloud solutions, partnering with a Systems Integrator like Advent One emerges as a strategic imperative. Advent One offers a specialised approach to managing and transforming legacy infrastructure, with a particular focus on the IBM AS400 iSeries environment. This comprehensive service encompasses the following critical components:
- Assessment and Planning: The journey begins with Advent One conducting a thorough assessment of the client’s existing iSeries infrastructure. This initial phase is pivotal in understanding the infrastructure’s current state, pinpointing areas ripe for improvement, and setting clear, achievable goals for the managed services engagement. This strategic planning ensures that every action taken aligns with the client’s business objectives and IT requirements.
- Infrastructure Setup and Configuration: Advent One provides expert assistance in setting up and configuring the iSeries environment to meet specific client needs and industry best practices while seeking opportunities to enhance application performance. This process may involve hardware provisioning, operating system installations, and meticulous software configuration, laying a solid foundation for reliable and efficient system operations.
- Continuous Monitoring: Continuous monitoring is crucial for maintaining the health and performance of any environment, but particularly the iSeries infrastructure. Advent One deploys advanced monitoring tools and systems designed to track application & system performance, resource utilisation, and security events. Automated alerts are configured to warn of potential issues, enabling our support team to proactively remediate concerns before they become business-impacting.
- Performance Optimisation: To ensure the iSeries environment operates at peak efficiency, Advent One focuses on performance optimisation. This includes tuning system parameters, optimising database configurations, and applying performance-enhancing techniques to maximise resource utilisation and system responsiveness.
- Security Management: Recognising that legacy systems are equally at risk is critical for maintaining the security of iSeries environments, Advent One implements robust security measures, including access controls, encryption, and vulnerability management protocols. These measures are designed to safeguard the infrastructure against cyber threats and unauthorised access, ensuring data integrity and compliance.
- Backup and Disaster Recovery: Advent One places a strong emphasis on data protection, designing and implementing comprehensive backup and disaster recovery solutions to allow organisations to rapidly recover from a major incident. These solutions are tailored to the client’s specific needs, incorporating regular data backups, offsite replication, and efficient recovery procedures to ensure business continuity in the face of system failures or disasters. All the while, delivering data replication capable of supporting Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) in mere seconds.
- Maintaining Compliance: Keeping the iSeries environment up to date is essential for maintaining security, compliance and system stability. Advent One manages the entire process, coordinating scheduled maintenance windows, managing stakeholder communications and deploying updates, all the while ensuring the infrastructure remains secure and performs optimally.
- 24×7 On-Shore Support: Advent One provides round-the-clock support, offering clients access to a dedicated team of experts ready to respond to any issues which may arise. This comprehensive support includes troubleshooting, incident response, and technical assistance, ensuring uninterrupted system operation.
- Reporting and Performance Analytics: Regular reporting and performance analytics play a crucial role in maintaining the health and efficiency of the iSeries environment. Advent One delivers detailed dashboards displaying key performance metrics and trends, empowering clients with the insights needed to make informed decisions and continually optimise their infrastructure.
- Continuous Improvement: At the heart of Advent One’s managed services model is a commitment to continuous improvement. By constantly seeking ways to enhance the performance, cloud integration, security, and efficiency of the iSeries infrastructure, Advent One ensures that clients’ legacy systems are not only maintained but continuously evolve to meet changing business needs and technological advancements.
By choosing Advent One as their MSP, for what many organisations see as extremely challenging legacy infrastructure, businesses can confidently embark on their cloud or hybrid-cloud migration journey, secure in the knowledge that their legacy systems are in expert hands. This partnership enables organisations to leverage the full potential of their legacy and cloud technologies, driving efficiency, innovation, and growth in the digital age.
To learn more about how Advent One supports Australian teams working with iSeries and other legacy technologies, download our latest case study, or book a meeting with our team to get started today.