A joint initiative between Premier Business Partner and System i tools vendor LANSA and Avnet Partner Solutions, IBM’s largest distributor, is intended to remove barriers to System i modernisation. Together with three UK Business Partners -- Campbell Lee, Northdoor and Quattro Consulting -- the consortium aims to give gives systems a new “Lease of Life”.

Lease of Life is a bundle of new System i hardware, software and consulting services that makes it possible to modernise an entire legacy environment in a single action. The initiative is a hardware and application modernisation solution targeted at existing customers of legacy System i platforms (AS/400 or iSeries) running green screen 5250 applications.

The bundled configurations based around a System i515 Express qualify for what are described as attractive leasing terms offered by IBM Global Financing. This financing arrangement means running costs may be no more than for the current system, in effect giving a no cost option for those sites struggling to find the capital or justify the investment for modernising their system. 

For now, this initiative covers the UK but plans are to roll out across Europe once activity in October, November and December has been analysed.

Martin Fincham, LANSA’s EMEA general manager says: “We encounter many System i shops running OS/400 or i5/OS that are dependent on so-called green screen applications. These legacy assets are both a help and a hindrance; their contribution to daily operations is significant and yet they also inhibit change and restrict growth. Decision-makers need to reduce the perceived risk of upgrading such critical systems, so we formed a consortium with three of the leading System i vendors to gain their confidence.”

“By bundling the latest value-for-money System i servers with LANSA’s Rapid Application Modernisation Process (RAMP), all delivered through the trusted Business Partner network, we’ve created the most compelling path to complete System i modernisation,” he claims.

The consortium says that older hardware can more expensive to support and maintain than new hardware, and green screen applications can also be perceived as not being user-friendly. Failure to modernise could be apparent in a business’s inability to innovate, adapt and compete effectively in its chosen markets. But modernising takes time, effort, money and skills -- which may not be readily available to a company. That’s why Lease of Life could be the solution many have been seeking, reckon the consortium members. They say that considering existing costs of running, maintaining or leasing existing systems, for a similar quarterly payment, a company could have a completely modernised environment.

LANSA and Avnet have pooled their System i expertise to develop an ROI Calculator at the Lease for Life website that helps managers to determine which modernisation approach offers the best return and shortest payback period. The ROI Calculator is an Excel spreadsheet that identifies the costs and prospective savings from a modernisation project. The default data model, culled from past projects, can be tweaked to visualise the impact of various options: do nothing, modernise with RAMP, or replace the legacy system. The ROI Calculator is accompanied by an eight minute video that explains the ROI of a modernisation project to a non-technical, senior executive audience.

Mike Mernagh, business unit director at Avnet Partner Solutions says: “The ROI Calculator is an excellent example of how Avnet works closely with partners to add value to their initiatives. It illustrates the benefit of being part of our distribution network which means we can introduce interested parties to each other. Avnet will continue to support System i modernisation and its partners in this way.”

Three ‘Service Packs’ are available to choose from: Service Pack 1 -- Refacing (the simplest form of application modernisation and a path that some businesses follow because it’s quick and simple); Service Pack 2 -- Rich User Interface (defined as one that provides enhancements to an application that profoundly increases user productivity; whereas refacing can sometimes meet aesthetic preferences, a rich user interface is one that is aligned with the way the end user works); and Service Pack 3 – Application Extension (building on the principles in Service Pack 2, application extension is about looking at what’s missing from the original application, which would be the enhancements that will again see user productivity benefits, e.g. inclusion of document management functionality, postcode/address look-up and Google Mapping) .

Frank Booty, industry reporter.