Enterprises relying on legacy systems like AS400 (IBM i) are faced with the challenge of modernizing their IT infrastructure to stay competitive. One of the most effective solutions available is migrating AS400 workloads to the cloud, specifically to Amazon Web Services (AWS). This migration offers the dual benefits of reducing costs and enhancing flexibility and performance, helping businesses optimize their operations while ensuring they remain future-ready.

In this blog, we’ll explore the nuances of AS400 migration to AWS, how it can reduce costs, increase operational agility, and boost system performance. We’ll also discuss the challenges, strategies, and best practices involved in this critical transition.

Why Migrate AS400 to AWS?

For decades, AS400 has been a reliable and robust platform for running mission-critical applications across various industries. However, as businesses grow and evolve, on-premise AS400 systems can become restrictive due to high maintenance costs, lack of scalability, and the difficulty of integrating modern technologies.

Migrating to AWS provides an opportunity to overcome these challenges and future-proof the system. AWS offers a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure that can support legacy AS400 applications while giving businesses the agility to innovate.

Key Benefits of AS400 Migration to AWS

Here are some compelling reasons why migrating AS400 workloads to AWS makes sense for modern enterprises:

1. Cost Savings

One of the most significant reasons for migrating AS400 to AWS is the potential for cost savings. On-premise AS400 systems require significant capital investments in hardware, maintenance, software licenses, and IT staff. With AWS, these costs are dramatically reduced or even eliminated.

Reduced Infrastructure Costs: AWS operates on a pay-as-you-go model, which means you only pay for the resources you use. This eliminates the need to invest in expensive hardware or pay for unused capacity.
Lower Maintenance Overheads: AWS takes care of infrastructure management, freeing up your internal IT team from time-consuming hardware maintenance tasks.
Optimized Resource Allocation: AWS allows you to scale up or down depending on your business needs, meaning you’re not overpaying for resources when demand is low.

2. Improved Flexibility

Migrating to AWS provides organizations with enhanced flexibility that is difficult to achieve with traditional AS400 setups. AWS enables businesses to quickly adapt to changing demands and scale operations without the constraints of legacy hardware.

On-Demand Scalability: With AWS, you can instantly scale your AS400 workloads up or down based on demand. This allows businesses to handle seasonal spikes or growth without over-provisioning resources.
Global Reach: AWS offers data centers across the globe, allowing businesses to deploy AS400 workloads in regions closer to their customers, improving application performance and reducing latency.
Hybrid Cloud Options: AWS provides hybrid cloud models, allowing businesses to maintain part of their AS400 environment on-premise while moving other workloads to the cloud. This offers flexibility for businesses not ready to fully embrace the cloud.

3. Enhanced Performance

AWS is designed to deliver high performance, even for the most demanding workloads. Migrating AS400 applications to AWS helps organizations benefit from improved system performance through:

Faster Processing Power: AWS's scalable infrastructure ensures that businesses can run AS400 applications faster than on traditional on-premise systems, thanks to modern hardware and optimized cloud environments.
Latency: AWS has numerous data centers worldwide, reducing latency for global users and ensuring that AS400 applications run smoothly, even in remote locations.
Automated Updates: AWS takes care of software and infrastructure updates, ensuring your systems are always running on the latest versions, without impacting performance.

Also read: Things to Consider Before You Migrate Your AS400

Cost Reduction Strategies for AS400 Migration to AWS

Migrating AS400 workloads to AWS can bring significant cost reductions, but to fully realize these savings, businesses need to adopt the right strategies. Here are some approaches to help minimize costs during and after migration.

Rightsizing AWS Resources

One of the key advantages of AWS is the ability to adjust your resources to match your exact needs, which is known as rightsizing. AWS provides a range of options for compute power, storage, and networking, and by selecting the appropriate level for each component, businesses can avoid over-provisioning and underutilization.

Best Practices for Rightsizing:

  • Start Small: Begin by deploying AS400 workloads on a smaller set of AWS resources. Monitor the system's performance and gradually scale up as needed.
  • Utilize AWS Cost Management Tools: AWS provides cost management tools that can help identify areas where you're over-allocating resources and suggest optimizations to reduce expenses.
  • Optimize Storage: AWS offers various storage tiers with different performance levels and pricing. Choose the storage type that fits your AS400 workload requirements while balancing cost and performance.

Use of AWS Reserved Instances and Spot Instances

AWS offers several pricing models, including Reserved Instances and Spot Instances, which can provide additional cost savings.

Reserved Instances (RI):

Reserved Instances allow businesses to commit to using a specific amount of AWS resources over a one- or three-year term at a reduced cost. For predictable AS400 workloads, RIs can offer significant discounts compared to on-demand pricing.

Spot Instances:

For non-critical AS400 workloads or batch jobs, Spot Instances are a cost-effective option. Spot Instances allow you to use AWS resources at a lower price, based on availability. While they can be terminated by AWS if demand spikes, they are ideal for workloads that can tolerate interruptions.

Leverage AWS Auto Scaling

AWS Auto Scaling is a service that automatically adjusts the number of compute resources allocated to your AS400 workloads based on real-time demand. This prevents businesses from over-provisioning resources and paying for unused capacity, while still ensuring that sufficient resources are available during peak times.

Key Benefits of Auto Scaling:

  • Cost Efficiency: By scaling resources dynamically, you avoid paying for idle compute power or storage.
  • Performance Optimization: Auto Scaling ensures that your AS400 workloads always have the necessary resources, ensuring smooth performance during high traffic periods.

Migrating to AWS Serverless Architecture

Serverless architecture allows businesses to run AS400 workloads without managing the underlying infrastructure. With AWS Lambda or AWS Fargate, businesses only pay for the actual compute time consumed by their AS400 applications, rather than maintaining an always-on server.

Advantages of Serverless for AS400:

  • Reduced Infrastructure Costs: Serverless models eliminate the need for dedicated servers, reducing hardware and maintenance expenses.
  • Efficient Billing: You are only charged for the exact amount of time your AS400 applications are running, optimizing cost savings during low-usage periods.

Also read: How to prepare your AS400 for migration?

Enhancing Flexibility with AWS Services

AWS offers a variety of services and tools that can further enhance the flexibility of your AS400 system. By leveraging these services, businesses can create a more agile and adaptable environment for AS400 workloads.

AWS Elastic Beanstalk for Simplified Management

AWS Elastic Beanstalk provides an easy-to-use service for deploying and scaling AS400 applications. It automatically handles the deployment, scaling, and management of your applications, allowing businesses to focus on development and innovation rather than infrastructure management.

Benefits of Elastic Beanstalk:

  • Automatic Scaling: Elastic Beanstalk dynamically scales your AS400 workloads based on traffic, ensuring your applications can handle increased demand without manual intervention.
  • Simplified Management: Elastic Beanstalk abstracts away much of the infrastructure management, giving businesses more time to focus on enhancing AS400 application functionality.

AWS CloudFormation for Automated Resource Management

AWS CloudFormation allows businesses to model and automate the deployment of infrastructure resources. This is particularly useful for AS400 migrations, as it simplifies the provisioning and management of AWS resources.

Benefits of CloudFormation:

  • Automated Infrastructure: CloudFormation lets businesses define and provision AWS resources automatically, reducing the time and effort required to manually manage infrastructure.
  • Consistency: Ensures that your AS400 environments are consistently deployed and managed across development, testing, and production stages.

Multi-Region Deployment for Global Accessibility

By migrating AS400 workloads to AWS, businesses can take advantage of multi-region deployment, enabling AS400 applications to be deployed across various AWS regions globally.

Benefits of Multi-Region Deployment:

  • Improved Availability: Distributing AS400 workloads across multiple regions ensures higher availability and redundancy, reducing the risk of downtime.
  • Faster Performance for Global Users: Deploying in multiple regions allows businesses to serve global customers faster by reducing latency and improving overall application performance.

Optimizing AS400 Performance on AWS

Migrating AS400 workloads to AWS doesn’t just enhance flexibility; it also unlocks opportunities to optimize performance through modern cloud technologies.

Utilizing AWS High-Performance Compute (HPC) Resources

AWS offers high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities that can significantly boost the processing power of AS400 workloads. This is particularly beneficial for businesses with demanding workloads that require intensive processing.

Benefits of AWS HPC for AS400:

  • Faster Data Processing: HPC resources are optimized for running large, complex AS400 applications that require high-speed data processing.
  • Improved Efficiency: HPC services can handle resource-intensive tasks more efficiently, ensuring faster outcomes for AS400 applications.

Leveraging AWS Database Services for Improved Data Handling

For businesses handling large volumes of data on AS400, migrating to AWS opens up new possibilities for optimized data management using AWS database services like Amazon RDS or Amazon Aurora.

Benefits of AWS Database Services:

  • Automated Backups: AWS database services provide automated backups and recovery options, reducing the risk of data loss.
  • Scalability: AWS databases can scale seamlessly to handle growing data volumes without impacting AS400 application performance.

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Conclusion: AS400 Migration to AWS - A Strategic Move for Cost Efficiency and Flexibility

Migrating AS400 workloads to AWS offers substantial benefits for businesses looking to reduce costs, enhance flexibility, and boost system performance. AWS’s pay-as-you-go pricing model, scalability, and global infrastructure provide a compelling alternative to the limitations of legacy AS400 systems. By carefully planning the migration, leveraging AWS tools, and adopting cost optimization strategies, businesses can future-proof their AS400 systems while significantly improving their bottom line.

The journey to the cloud can be complex, but the long-term rewards of modernizing your AS400 environment with AWS make it a strategic move for any forward-thinking organization. Our team at Nalashaa boasts of AS400 experts who’ve been around for over 2 decades, having worked on projects across industries – so, we can help! Get in touch with us by filling in the form now!