Modern companies trust IBM i (AS/400) for stability, world class security, scalability and High Availability (HA/DR). The real question today is whether it can still deliver strong returns in an API-driven, cloud-focused world.
According to the IBM i Marketplace Survey, 96% of users say their IBM i system gives them better ROI than other platforms. Modernizing IBM i is not about replacing it. It is about improving and extending a system that already powers core business operations.
Many organizations have upgraded their IBM i (AS/400) environments by adding APIs, modern interfaces, SQL, and integration layers. These changes helped them boost productivity, avoid large migration costs, and achieve significant efficiency gains.
In short, modernization works best not by tearing everything down, but by updating the existing architecture smartly.
Case Studies About Real-World Success Stories of IBM i Modernization
From distribution, telecommunications, to banking, public sector and education, IBM i has delivered measurable results in different sectors.
Below are industry examples showcasing how modernization, whether through APIs, cloud, GUI updates, or high availability, drives tangible ROI:
#1: Distribution Sector
- JORI
JORI, a Belgian luxury furniture maker founded in 1963, employs 170 people, earns ~€35.8M annually, and exports to 30+ countries.
During COVID-19, they partnered with CD-Invest to build a new production planning system on IBM i. Beyond workflow automation, the modernization included API-based connectors, improved UX/UI over traditional green screens, and real-time order visibility. It reduced delivery time from 10–12 weeks to 4–5 weeks (sometimes as low as 15 days).
Their IBM i platform also powers a 3D configurator and was later expanded with Power10 and Watson Geospatial Analytics to enable store locators and geomarketing. It supports smarter growth and customer reach.
- Selecta Klemm GmbH & Co. KG
Selecta Klemm GmbH & Co. KG is part of the Selecta One Group, a global leader in plant breeding and production. The company operates across multiple continents and values sustainability and quality.
Selecta has used IBM i and Power since 1997, with ERP from 01 Informatica. They adopted IBM Db2 Mirror for i to strengthen disaster recovery and prevent downtime.
The solution mirrors data to another server and supports maintenance without interruptions. Selecta plans to use it for ERP updates and load balancing as usage grows.
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#2: Financial Services Sector
- Alpine Bank
Alpine Bank serves communities across Colorado with personal and business banking. The bank runs core workloads on IBM i and recently upgraded to Power10 and FlashSystem 5200.
After moving to PowerHA, switchover time dropped from hours to under 15 minutes, and daily processes fell from over an hour to 10 minutes.
The bank now has reliable failover, faster backups, and strong disaster recovery for mission-critical operations.
- Kosei Securities
Kosei Securities, founded in 1961 in Osaka, provides financial and derivative trading services and develops the KICS system.
As on-prem Power servers neared the end of support, they moved KICS to IBM Power Virtual Server with OmniScience.
The shift enabled scalability, API integration, lower costs, and cloud-based service delivery with “KICS Cloud,” while preserving existing processes and system reliability.
#3: Industrial Sector
- Honda Logistics North America Inc
Honda Logistics North America supports Honda plants with just-in-time parts delivery. They rely on IBM i across multiple Power environments and need better partition monitoring. After attending COMMON POWERUp, the team shifted to Nagios.
They now monitor all IBM i partitions from one dashboard, cut maintenance costs by 75%, and gained flexible, reliable oversight that supports high availability and smooth production.
#4: Professional Services
- IRIS Financial Services S.A., a Canon Company
IRIS Financial Services, part of the IRIS Group in Europe, launched a legal archiving solution for banks in Luxembourg.
The platform runs on IBM Power with IBM i (AS/400), PowerVM, and Storwize V5000 under an Embedded Solutions Agreement.
It ensures secure, in-country data storage and PSF compliance. Interest from financial institutions grew quickly, and clients appreciate the secure, reliable IBM i-based system.
#5: Public Sector
- Coffee County, Alabama
Coffee County, Alabama, runs all key systems on IBM i and Power. They once used manual tape backups, which required daily handling and off-site storage.
After adopting IBM Cloud Storage Solutions for i with help from The Riley Group, backups became automatic.
The IT team saved 15 – 20 hours weekly, reduced risk, and can restore full data in under five hours during disasters.
#6: Education Sector
- i-UG
i-UG is a UK IBM i user group that supports developers, admins, and enthusiasts through events, webinars, and learning programs.
To grow new talent, they partnered with the University of Wolverhampton and created iGnite, a hands-on IBM i and Power course using Node-RED and IoT devices.
Students work on real IBM i (AS/400) servers from day one and modernize a brewery simulation by course end. Demand is rising, and more universities plan cohorts.
Common ROI Patterns After IBM i Adoption
Across manufacturing, healthcare and retail, similar IBM i ROI patterns appear:
- Perceived ROI
About 95% of IBM i users report better ROI than other servers as per IBM i Marketplace reports.
- Cost vs Benefit
Modernization projects often show returns above 30%. Surveys also note that the average modernization cost fell by almost 20% in the last year.
- Operational Efficiency
Real projects show faster results. Manufacturers report 30% faster order processing. Retail users report batch windows up to 80% faster.
- Inventory and Fulfilment
Modern integration and analytics increase inventory accuracy by up to 35% and reduce fulfilment delays by 30%. AI-based supply chains also show 35% better inventory and 65% better service performance.
- Developer and Decision Productivity
SQL-focused DB2 for i and AI tools cut development and maintenance efforts. AI and analytics on IBM i show an ROI of about 4.3 times higher, while full system replacement shows about 2.1 times ROI.
The Bottom Line
The facts show that IBM i (AS/400) is not the problem. The real challenge is outdated architecture, green-screen interfaces, legacy RPG code structures, and a lack of API-based integration.
IBM i (AS/400) Modernization examples prove that companies can speed up operations, improve compliance, gain real-time visibility, and save millions, without leaving IBM i or the AS/400 Operating System behind.
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