IBM i Systems Administration in a Shrinking Skills Market
4 March 2026 - 2 Minute Read
IBM i remains one of the most stable enterprise platforms in operation today. But while the technology has endured, the depth of specialist knowledge inside organisations has not.
Across many businesses, IBM i expertise now sits with one or two experienced individuals. In some cases, those skills are nearing retirement. In others, the platform is simply no longer attracting new engineers with the same depth of understanding.
This creates risk, not because IBM i is unreliable, but because it is specialist.
PTF governance, firmware alignment, storage configuration, HA testing, security hardening and performance optimisation all require platform-specific knowledge. These are not generic infrastructure tasks.
At the same time, many managed service providers have moved towards automation-led support models. Monitoring dashboards. Alert thresholds. Response by exception.
That is not systems administration.
True IBM i systems administration means:
- Reviewing system configuration proactively
- Identifying lifecycle or patch drift
- Challenging legacy settings
- Making informed recommendations
- Implementing improvements
- Validating backup and HA readiness
- Delivering measurable outcomes
IBM i environments rarely fail dramatically. Risk accumulates quietly through deferred upgrades, untested failover, outdated firmware or informal governance.
Our approach is hands-on and structured. We don’t simply wait for alerts. We assess, recommend and implement.
In a market where IBM i expertise is declining, proactive systems administration is not a luxury, it is operational risk management.
About the Author
Chris Smith
Chris Smith is a sales leader and consultant with over 30 years of experience in IT managed services. With a background in IBM hardware maintenance, he transitioned from field engineer to sales and marketing director, creating the foundations for Blue Chip Cloud, which became the largest IBM Power Cloud globally at the time. Chris played a key role in the 2021 sale of Blue Chip and grew managed services revenue by 50%. He’s passionate about building customer relationships and has implemented Gap Selling by Keenan to drive sales performance. Now, Chris helps managed service providers and third-party maintenance businesses with growth planning and operational improvement.
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