IBM i / OS400 – Managed services

Specialist IBM i Support – On-Premises, Hosted or in the Cloud

Baby Blue provides specialist IBM i systems administration and managed support for organisations running business-critical IBM i workloads.

Whether you know your platform as IBM i, OS400, AS/400, iSeries or System i, our experienced IBM specialists can support and manage your environment wherever it runs.

Your IBM i workload could be:

Running on your own IBM Power System
Located in your own data centre or a co-location facility
Hosted within a managed data centre
Running in IBM Power Virtual Server (PowerVS)
Running in Kyndryl Cloud Uplift (formerly Skytap)

The infrastructure may change, but the requirement for experienced IBM i administration does not.

We can act as your fully managed IBM i team, provide additional specialist skills alongside your existing IT team, or support an IBM i workload as part of a wider managed service.

Request a Free Quotation

IBM i Systems Administration

Our service is designed to keep your IBM i environment stable, secure, supported and performing effectively.

Services can include:

PTF management and IBM i operating system upgrades
OS400 patch governance and version control
System health monitoring and reporting
Storage and ASP management
User profiles, access and security administration
Backup monitoring, validation and restore testing
High Availability (HA) administration and testing
Disaster Recovery planning and testing
Performance monitoring and workload optimisation
Capacity planning
Firmware and system currency planning
Security reviews and remediation
General IBM i housekeeping and operational support
Lifecycle and platform strategy

Support can be provided during standard business hours or, where required, as part of a 24x7 managed support service.

Supporting IBM i Wherever It Runs

Moving an IBM i workload to the cloud does not remove the need for IBM i skills.

Baby Blue can provide the IBM expertise required to manage your operating system and workload whether the underlying infrastructure is physical, hosted or cloud-based.

IBM Power Virtual Server (PowerVS)

For customers using or moving to IBM PowerVS, we can support the IBM i environment running within the IBM Cloud infrastructure.

This allows customers to benefit from cloud-based IBM Power infrastructure while retaining access to experienced IBM i administrators to manage the operating system, security, backups, PTFs, performance and day-to-day operation of the workload.

Kyndryl Cloud Uplift – Formerly Skytap

We can also manage IBM i workloads running within Kyndryl Cloud Uplift, previously known as Skytap.

Whether you are moving an existing IBM i workload into Kyndryl Cloud Uplift or already have an established environment that requires ongoing management, Baby Blue can provide the IBM i skills needed to support it.

This is particularly useful where the wider cloud or managed service provider has strong infrastructure and cloud capabilities but limited specialist IBM i expertise.

Flexible IBM i Support Models

Every IBM i environment is different, so our services can be structured around the level of responsibility you need.

Fully Managed IBM i Administration

We take defined operational responsibility for the day-to-day administration and management of your IBM i environment.

Shared Responsibility

Your internal IT team retains overall control while Baby Blue provides the specialist IBM i knowledge and resources you need.

Flexible Resourcing

Use our IBM i specialists when additional skills or capacity are required, without recruiting permanent IBM i resources.

This can be particularly valuable for projects, upgrades, migrations, holiday cover, skills shortages or periods of increased workload.

Supporting End Users and Service Providers

Our IBM i services are available directly to organisations running IBM i and to managed service providers, outsourcers and other IT service providers that need IBM expertise to support their customers.

Many service providers have extensive Windows, Linux, networking and cloud capabilities but no longer maintain dedicated IBM i skills internally.

Baby Blue can provide that specialist capability as an extension of their existing delivery team, including white-label support where appropriate.

IBM i, iSeries, AS/400 & OS/400 Support

IBM's midrange platform has been known by several names over the years, and many organisations still use the original terminology when describing their systems.

Whether you refer to your environment as IBM i, OS/400, OS400, iSeries, System i or AS/400, Baby Blue can provide the specialist systems administration and technical support you need.

Our experience spans the evolution of the platform from AS/400 and OS/400 through iSeries and System i to today's IBM i running on IBM Power Systems.

Decades of IBM Midrange Experience

IBM i may have changed considerably, but our experience with the platform goes back to its roots.

Our team has worked with IBM midrange technology for more than 30 years, from AS/400 and iSeries through to today's IBM Power Systems and IBM i environments.

Our specialists include former IBM engineers, IBM Champions and professionals who have managed complex IBM i estates containing hundreds of LPARs.

That experience means we understand both modern IBM i environments and the legacy systems that many organisations still depend upon.

Need Help Managing Your IBM i Environment?

Whether your IBM i system is in your server room, in a data centre, hosted on somebody else's infrastructure, running in IBM PowerVS or operating within Kyndryl Cloud Uplift, Baby Blue can provide the specialist IBM skills needed to support it.

You don't need to move your system to us to use our expertise.

Talk to Baby Blue about your current IBM i environment, the skills you need and the level of support you require.