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Hire New IT Staff, Leverage Your Team, Or Supplement with 3rd Party Tools?

In our last blog post, we focused on preserving your investment in your IBM i legacy system by integrating newer applications that address your organization's need for more mobility. But to meet mobility goals for the future, IT leaders have more on their minds than their system alone. In this blog, we’ll address key considerations for preserving another significant investment; that is, your IT staff.

 

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How to Integrate New Functionalities with Older Legacy Applications

Enterprises know they should be adopting the best that modern technology has to offer to stay competitive and on top of their game. But for many, the thought of having to upgrade their legacy systems in order to “stay modern” is something that feels overwhelming. 

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Disaster Recovery (DR) is no longer about what will it cost you to recover and rebuild your IT systems. With growing business immediacy and complex interdependencies of IT systems, the question has rightly shifted to what will it cost you if you cannot recover your systems. There’s considerable interest in drawing up a Disaster Recovery template for a business, which is effectively a plan to get the business back on its feet in the face of disaster.

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As the technology landscape continues to change and evolve at lightning speed, CIOs and CTOs have more on their plates than ever before. For many, spending time on valuable business drivers—the ones that give your business a competitive advantage—takes the backseat to managing and maintaining an IT environment that’s increasingly complex. This challenge is diverse, with many tech leaders needing to oversee everything from vendor management, to rising cyber security concerns, to the many facets associated with maintaining business continuity. And at the end of the day, these tasks leave little time to focus on innovation. 

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Has your manufacturing company experienced considerable growth through acquisition or other significant changes in recent years? While change can be a positive thing, it can also lead to a lack of centralized IT control, in turn creating an IT environment that feels a bit… well, chaotic. This “hodge-podge” type of environment—one that’s characterized by multiple systems managed in functional silos—is actually quite common. And not just an issue among post-acquisition companies. This scenario applies to any manufacturing organization that lacks a holistic, well-planned IT approach.   

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The new year can be a good time to address head-on those same old IT challenges that have been lingering for too long. So what are YOUR manufacturing company’s IT objectives this year? 

Freeing up internal staffers so they can focus on higher-value projects? Gaining more control over fluctuating IT costs? Tackling the security beast?  

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Whether you embrace new and existing technologies whole-heartedly or with a sense of dread, the need for reliable IT support simply comes with the territory. For some manufacturing and distribution companies, the question then boils down to the type of support you need: in-house staff or remote, outsourced services?

Historically, the decision-making process for SMBs was more difficult, more carefully weighed. That’s been especially true for small firms who have had a hard time making the mental leap from handling everything in-house to having it managed remotely. But today, more companies seem to be accepting the notion that remote managed services are today’s new norm. Here are three significant factors behind this shift—and why they bring about good news for manufacturers.

1 – More Complex, Global IT Environments

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Guest blog by Jonathan Kall, CEO, Vecco International

So you’ve just learned that there’s good news… and there’s bad news. First, the good news: your sales for a specialty item manufactured in-house are through the roof. In fact, they’re way over forecast.  

Now, the bad news. You’re short on production orders. And raw materials. And coordinating your global supply chain in a timely manner to meet your customers’ needs feels like an even taller order. 

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Guest blog by John Hamel, Principal, TurningPoint Systems

Prolonged downtime is every manufacturing firm’s nightmare. Even companies running the highly-reliable IBM i OS recognize they need some sort of disaster recovery plan in place to protect their business from major disruptions. 

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This article has been updated after original publication in 2016.

It’s been close to three decades since IBM launched the AS/400, and in the technology industry, that may just feel like an eternity. But for people wondering about the marketplace for the AS/400’s progenies (Power i and IBM i) — and where things are headed in the future — there’s good news: there are plenty of signs that serve as reminders that IBM ensures this platform truly is built to last, and here to stay.  

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