cloud

IBM Power Disaster Recovery Story: From V5R3 to V7R4 in 36 Hours

Earlier this year, I wrote an article entitled The IBM Power Trap that described how a series of decisions related to how youshutterstock_526662913 manage your applications and IBM Power can leave you stuck. A few people reached out to me with questions so I thought it might be appropriate to share a real-life story about one of our customers, we will call them Glass Corp International (GCI), that got caught in this trap and had to be rescued.

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The IBM Power Trap: 3 Mistakes that Leave you Stuck

Jason Hardy on Jan 30, 2023 1:48:26 PM IBM Power, Cloud

IBM it jungle articlePower has long been known as a stable, reliable hardware platform and as a result companies have leveraged it to run their most critical business applications. For many, it has become so ingrained in their business that they would never choose to migrate away from it. But for some, IBM Power has become a trap from which they can’t escape. This is not a malicious trap that suddenly jumps up and grabs you but rather a trap that is triggered by a series of decisions made over time with each compounded by the previous. So, what are these decisions that create the trap? At Racksquared Data Centers, we have classified them into three categories, application neglect, operating system ambivalence, and hardware apathy. Let’s look at each of these.

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IBM Power: How Strong Is Your Backup Game?

Jason Hardy on Jun 16, 2022 9:32:06 AM IBM Power, Disaster Recovery, Backup, Cloud

Your business runs on IT and chances are if your systems are down, your business is down. Have you contemplated the shutterstock_1126481693 most common reasons for data loss and whether your strategy can protect you in the event of natural disaster, hardware failure, fire, ransomware, human error or theft? Depending on the reason for your outage, you may experience data loss and need to leverage your backups to recover. Are you confident in your backup and recovery strategy?

One of the simplest tests you can do to assess your backup strategy is to see how you stack up against the 3-2-1 best practices for backups. This requires that you have 3 copies of your data on 2 different media with 1 of them being offsite. When I visit companies and talk to them about their backup strategies, very few are meeting the 3-2-1 best practices.

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POWER10: A simple and smooth migration to the cloud

Jason Hardy on May 11, 2022 10:45:52 AM IBM Power, Cloud

Why haven’t you made the move to IBM Power in the cloud?

Is it because you like the big upfront capital expense and the depreciating asset? Is it because installing PTFs and doing OSshutterstock_422798644 upgrades gives your IT team something to do during slow times? Or maybe it’s because the thought of migration and downtime is just completely overwhelming to you? While I don’t have an answer to the first two reasons above, I’m here to tell you that a migration does not have to be difficult, and downtime can be practically nonexistent.

I recently spent some time with an IBM reseller, and he walked me through the steps of migrating to one of the “big IBM Power in the cloud service providers”. To say that it was complex, and self-service would be an understatement. I know there are many companies that like the self-service cloud model. Give them an interface and they are happy to configure, manage and tweak the environment on their own but I talk to companies every day that want to walk away from hardware management and don’t want the added burden of planning and executing a migration to the cloud. With their limited iSeries expertise on staff, they are happy to offload the project to someone else.

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Moving Time: Why Your IBM i (iSeries) Belongs in the Cloud

Carl Miller on Mar 9, 2022 11:16:09 AM IBM Power, Cloud

shutterstock_1006224250What if you could do one thing to save money, gain time for new projects, and protect your business operations?

That’s what many companies gained when they moved their IBM i to the cloud. After weighing the pros and cons, the reasons to migrate to the cloud are too compelling to ignore. See why the cloud is the best environment for your IBM i, and start planning your move today. You’ll be on your way to cost savings, freed-up staff time, and more protection for your business.

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The IBM i skills shortage isn’t going away

Jason Hardy on Mar 18, 2021 9:03:57 AM IBM Power, Cloud
blog2The IBM i skills shortage isn’t going away
Here’s what you should do about it

 

A shrinking IBM i talent pool has been a major concern for years. 

Back in 2015, dwindling access to IBM i professionals was blamed by IBM’s own top brass on revenue shortfalls. A system that had been around for nearly three decades, it was only a matter of time until the veterans left for greener pastures. The problem was, and continues to be, that fewer young professionals have been eager to master the same set of skills.

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Prepping for Cyber Disasters: 3 Steps and Custom IT Solutions

blog_img2_0719_2Is your business prepared in the event of a cyber threat? Worse yet, would you know how to react if something catastrophic were to happen to your company’s data. It’s a scary thought, however it’s important to have a plan in place to protect your business’s information. Thankfully, there are specific steps and custom IT solutions that you can implement to ensure your company’s data is as safe as possible. To get started, explore the 3 helpful tips below to better guard your data this year.

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ABCs of Disaster Recovery

Carl Miller on Sep 3, 2019 8:59:00 AM Disaster Recovery, Backup, Cloud

racksquared_blog_img2_0819_2Picture this: you walk into the office on Monday morning after enjoying a great weekend, and login to your company’s computer system. Instantly, you can tell something is wrong. Several of the files you frequently use for your job are gone!

Although it’s normal to feel a sense of panic when this happens, try to remain calm. Data disaster recovery, while overwhelming, doesn’t have to mean the end of the world for your business. In the event of a cyber threat, an internal mishap with your business’s data, or a natural disaster, there are several steps you can take to get your company back on track and operating smoothly again.

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What to look for in a proactive data center partner

Carl Miller on Aug 1, 2019 10:42:00 AM Managed IT Services, Colocation, Cloud

blog_img1_0719If you’re considering outsourcing some of your company’s IT responsibilities, we understand that the process of finding the ideal proactive data center partner can seem a little daunting. You may be wondering which specific elements to look for in a data center partner, or how to get started in your search. The good news is that we can help.

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Racksquared: A HIPAA Compliant Data Center

Carl Miller on Jul 8, 2019 10:51:00 AM Cloud, HIPAA, Data Center

racksquared_HIPAA_blog_img_0619_2In today’s modern world, digital innovations are enabling healthcare organizations across the globe to reduce cost, boost competitiveness, while also allowing quick access to data in real-time. With the introduction of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, we’ve seen a complete shift in the past decade with more and more healthcare organizations investing in technology and services to protect their company’s data.

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