Robert Seal has long believed that high availability and disaster recovery solutions should be more affordable so that more companies can keep their IBM i, AS/400, and iSeries computers running even following a disaster.

Now he’s doing something about it. At COMMON, Seal, president of iSam Blue, announced BlueCloud HA/DR, a complete solution of hardware, software, hosting and monitoring for IBM i systems, priced from $50 a day. BlueCloud HA/DR provides a recovery point objective (maximum data loss) of minutes or less, and an RTO (maximum system downtime) of four hours or less. The $50 a day price includes the software, hardware, hosting and monitoring, based on an IBM i P-Group 05 with a quarter terabyte of data (250 GB).  Setup, switch, and a few other items have additional fees. iSam Blue demonstrated its high availability and disaster recovery solutions for IBM i, AS/400 and iSeries systems at COMMON in Minneapolis.

At $50 a day, every firm can now afford business continuity protection for IBM i systems and data, according to iSam Blue.

“While more companies are adding business continuity protection as IBM has reduced the cost of hardware and operating systems, the percentage is still low. Too many customers are still exposed to system outages and natural disasters,” he says. 

“Worse, many really do not understand how exposed they are,” says Seal. “Years ago, losing up to 24 hours of data was a problem, but it was recoverable from backup documents. Nowadays, companies have gained efficiencies by reducing or eliminating paper, but haven’t adjusted their disaster plans. They still have a recovery point objective (RPO) of up to 24 hours, but no way to reproduce the lost transactions, since there is no paper trail.”

With BlueCloud HA/DR, the recovery point objective (RPO) is reduced to minutes or less, ensuring minimal data loss even in paperless environments, the company says. Sophisticated software continuously replicates the corporate system and data to a remote server so that the company can continue to operate in case of a disaster. Moreover, BlueCloud HA/DR has a four hour or less recovery time objective (RTO is the maximum time a company can have its system down and still operate its business successfully).

Seal outlined a four-level IBM i business partner program to market the cloud service. “Fewer than one in four companies that rely on the IBM i to run their business have high availability and disaster recovery solutions in place. Too many are still exposed,” says Seal.  "That’s a tremendous opportunity for IBM i independent software vendors (ISVs), value-added resellers (VARs) and consultants to expand their offerings with iSam Blue’s solid software, service and turnkey solutions,” Seal says.

iSam Blue’s program is designed to minimize the business partner’s investment in, and associated risk of, taking on a new product. Partners can start with referrals, and over time, matriculate to full service and support. Business partners are presented with leads generated by iSam Blue through advertising, the website and media relations. Since face-to-face contact is important for the sales process, leads are generally assigned to the closest business partner. However, other criteria such as the partner’s expertise in a vertical industry are also taken into account.

To best accommodate prospects’ needs and budgets, iSam Blue offers several iterations of solutions. The client can purchase a software license outright (typical) or license the software on a monthly basis (including maintenance). Another option is the turnkey solution that iSam Blue or its business partner installs, monitors and maintains, whether on the client’s own equipment (traditional) or outsourced to the “Cloud.”   Upfront services associated with each scenario are shared by the business partner and  iSam Blue, depending on the partner’s level of involvement in the installation and customer training. Seal welcomes inquiries from ISVs, VARs and consultants at www.isamblue.com or by phone at 801-938-3490.