Why Companies Choose IBM i Hosting
IBM i platforms remain the backbone for many businesses of all sizes and industries. Known for their uptime, transaction speed, and application stability, these systems continue to power essential operations across industries. But maintaining them introduces risks. Hardware failure, rising support costs, and staffing shortages can all increase downtime risk and complexity.
RPE’s U.S.-based hosting provides a reliable alternative. Companies gain access to secure, scalable environments specifically built for IBM i workloads. No migration is needed—just peace of mind, faster recovery, and long-term sustainability. RPE has partnered with IBM for more than 25 years and offers a full range of experience working with IBMi Power 7, 8, 9, and 10, and even older versions. Power 8 and earlier are no longer supported by IBM services. This can open up security vulnerabilities, a lack of compatibility with other systems, an increase in legal and compliance issues, and reduce reliability.
The Hidden Costs of Aging IBM i
Even stable systems can come with hidden risks. Aging hardware, limited patch cycles, and irregular backup processes make unplanned downtime more likely. On average, a company will lose $9,000 per minute of downtime. Skilled IBM i specialists are also becoming harder to find, which adds further pressure to internal teams. Older systems struggle to communicate with newer software platforms adding additional stress and challenges to IT teams. Many companies using other platforms are switching over to IBM i servers due to constant increases in support fees.
Hosted IBM i services solve these pain points. Our infrastructure includes 24/7 monitoring, performance tuning, and enterprise-grade hardware—all of which are maintained by IBM i professionals.
For example, a regional hospital using a 15-year-old AS/400 server may appear stable but is one failed backup away from a critical disruption. Hosting adds resilience.
Built-in High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HA/DR)
RPE consistently encounters companies that do not have a disaster recovery plan, yet enterprises can’t afford downtime. That’s why high availability and disaster recovery are central to our hosting model. Systems are replicated and backed up across redundant environments, minimizing failover windows and preserving transactional integrity.
Our HA/DR design aligns with your recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO), ensuring that your operations keep moving even in worst-case scenarios.
Hosted environments also improve data protection. Companies benefit from offsite replication and recovery checkpoints that help defend against ransomware or local hardware failures. Compliance-oriented teams also benefit from automated backups and simplified audit preparation. RPE works with 40 data centers strategically positioned across the US to work with geographically diverse companies.
Bridging the Talent Gap in IBM i Support
One of the emerging challenges in the IBM i space is staffing. Skilled AS/400 and IBM i professionals are retiring, and younger technologists are less likely to specialize in the platform.
RPE helps bridge that gap. Our teams have extensive experience in IBM i operations, and our hosted environments include full administrative support. That means fewer internal fire drills and more confidence in day-to-day performance.
For both large and small companies, trying to maintain lean IT teams, this expertise is invaluable.
What Sets RPE Apart
Not all hosting partners are equal. RPE’s difference is in how we tailor services to every business’ unique IT environments.
Here’s what makes us unique:
- Fully U.S.-based infrastructure and support teams
- Dedicated IBM i focus
- Customized hosting models that grow with your business
- Direct consultant access—no offshore handoffs
- Proven partnerships with IBM
- Pre-migration planning, testing, and validation support
- 40 data centers strategically located across the country
Getting Started
Interested in improving your IBM i uptime, reducing support overhead, or improving disaster recovery? RPE can help.
We start with an environmental assessment and risk analysis. From there, we design hosting solutions that match your retail footprint and operational needs.
Let’s talk. Hosting doesn’t mean giving up control. It means gaining a strategic partner who understands your stack.
