Are you a business invested heavily in AS400 systems? If so, you probably understand the difficulties that come with managing these age-old systems. Legacy AS400 systems experience frequent breakdowns. They are susceptible to data breaches. Integrating them with modern systems and technologies is also beset with challenges. The list could go on. In these situations, partnering with an AS400 service provider makes perfect sense.
In this blog, we discuss everything about AS400 support services — why are they important, how businesses benefit from these services, and what could go wrong if timely support isn’t sought.
What Makes AS400 Maintenance and Support Services Important for Your Business
AS400 support services help you navigate a changing business environment with confidence. They help you reap enormous benefits from your AS400 investments.
Imagine you manage an e-commerce portal that depends on AS400 for its operations. Now picture a situation where you notice an unexpected increase in sales orders. Your website shows technical glitches as many users place orders simultaneously. In such a scenario, you will seek a solution that makes sure all the orders are processed smoothly-AS400 support services. AS400 support specialists bring wealth of expertise to the table to resolve issues promptly. Your customers will not face any hiccups while shopping.
Why Businesses Prefer Outsourcing AS400 Support and Maintenance
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Demand-Supply Mismatch: Most of the AS400 veterans have retired or plan to do so very soon. Not many young people are keen to learn AS400 programming. The result? A shortage of AS400 experts. This makes hiring qualified individuals a challenge. Therefore, outsourcing is a great option for companies that continue to use AS400 systems.
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Dedicated Support: Organizations using AS400 continually upgrade their systems in various ways. They migrate them to the cloud or integrate data analytics. But all too often, they struggle to keep pace with these initiatives. This is because they cannot allocate their existing teams to work on these projects—they lack the bandwidth. The solution lies in delegating the job to a trusted AS400 services provider.
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Cost Savings: Maintaining AS400 systems is costly. And that’s why IT leaders look for ways to cut down on these expenses. Outsourcing helps them access AS400 experts who know how to get the work done at highly competitive rates.
How Custom AS400 Support and Maintenance Services Drive Growth
Here are a few compelling reasons to choose custom IBM AS400 support services for your business:
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Critical Applications Run Smoothly: Tailored support for AS400 systems is essential as it helps organizations run critical applications that require high-level expertise. Imagine you are the IT head of a healthcare organization that uses AS400 to handle electronic health records of patients. If your AS400 systems malfunction during peak hours, your operations will be affected. Custom AS400 support ensures access to qualified AS400 experts who will understand your issue and offer a tailored solution. The outcome? Seamless access to healthcare records and hassle-free operations.
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Changing Business Needs are Addressed: Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, customization provides the flexibility required to keep up with change. Let’s say you run a local business supported by AS400 applications. If you plan to scale it to other geographies, you’ll need more servers to handle the increased workload. Customized AS400 services will help you manage the transition seamlessly without impacting your operations or user experience.
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Available Resources are Effectively Utilized: Tailored services allow you to direct resources where they are needed the most. Let’s assume that your organization runs several AS400 applications. By following a tailored approach, applications that handle critical operations are put under constant monitoring and support.
So, you see how AS400 support and maintenance services move your business in the right direction. The absence of custom support may cause unidentified issues, leading to unplanned downtime. It may also hamper user experience and destabilize your applications. Additionally, a lack of timely upgrades and patching may expose your AS400 systems to data breaches and cyberattacks.
How to Choose a Suitable AS400 Support Services Provider
When shortlisting an AS400 services provider, it’s essential to look beyond the cost factor. Try evaluating a potential AS400 partner based on experience and qualifications of their tech experts, past record, client reviews, cultural fit, response time, adherence to security protocols, and more.
Consider asking the following questions to assess their suitability in a more systematic way:
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Can you tailor your support services to meet the specific requirements of my business?
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What is your average response time when it comes to resolving critical AS400 issues? How do you ensure instant resolution for urgent queries?
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Do you have an elaborate disaster recovery and backup plan to safeguard my AS400 systems?
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How do you ensure the security of my business-critical data and assets? What about adherence to regulatory compliance?
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Do you offer a no-frills free trial to help us assess the quality and reliability of your support services?
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Can you provide a detailed breakdown of the costs with a clear distinction between fixed and variable expenses?
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Do I get on-demand access to dedicated experts to support my mission-critical operations?
Additionally, in-depth discussions around your specific challenges and goals will help streamline the selection process.
Conclusion
Investing in custom AS400 support servicesgoes a long way in protecting your legacy applications and addressing concerns related to their performance, security, and stability. And that’s precisely why partnering with a leading AS400 services provider is a prudent move. Outsourcing AS400 support helps you manage large-scale change and run critical applications without a hitch.
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