Is your credit union considering migrating to the cloud? Consider the following six aspects to help you determine which vendor is the best choice.
Determine your intended server migration list.
Which IBM i servers do you want to migrate to the cloud production, development, test, quality assurance, web, etc.? What other servers besides IBM i will you migrate to the cloud AIX, Linux, Windows?
Each server might not be immediately migrated, but you will want to create a long-term migration list to ensure you are selecting a cloud vendor that can handle all your servers. You will want to host your servers in only one vendor’s cloud environment rather than in multiple clouds.
Which cloud providers can handle your intended migrated server list?
Some vendors might only host Windows servers in the cloud and not offer hosting for IBM Power servers. Others might specialize in the Power system area and not deal with planned Windows server migrations. Research and find cloud vendors who can host all the servers in your intended migration plan.
What services do you need for your migrated servers?
Which cloud services will you need for each hosted IBM i system SaaS, IaaS, Cloud backup, High Availability, DRaaS, Monitoring? Migration is the ideal time to implement DRaaS. List all the services you want to contract for each migrated server.
Inventory your IBM i versions, CPU, memory, and disk needed for each migrated IBM i server.
You need this to build your cloud servers.
Inventory your IBM i licensed programs and third-party software.
Survey each vendor to determine what IBM i versions their software runs on. This inventory will ensure all of your critical software will be compatible with the IBM i OS version running on your cloud servers. Some vendors might require you to upgrade their software so it will work under the IBM i OS the cloud vendor will use.
Interview your target vendors, get quotes, evaluate, and make a decision.
Select a vendor through your usual vendor selection process. Create and issue RFPs and other necessary documents. Involve your purchasing department or project management office (PMO) in the contracting process.
Make sure your cloud vendor candidates perform a pre-migration audit and workload sizing for any IBM i servers to be migrated. Check their references. See if you can talk to other customers the vendor is hosting IBM i servers for.
Considering cloud? DSC provides state-of-the-art IT solutions for credit unions. Contact usto learn more.
