Maximum Availability, a leader in IBM System i high availability software, announced this week that it is enhancing the delivery model of its *noMAX suite of products beyond the traditional software-sale format to a new software subscription option.

Customers can now choose *noMAX Subscription Edition products and will no longer need to purchase a software license but will simply pay a quarterly or annual subscription fee. Their subscription fee will cover not only the cost of software use but also software updates and support, as well as Web-based user training and periodic oversight of their *noMAX environment by experienced Maximum Availability technicians ("HA Health-Checks").

Maximum Availability will continue to fully support existing customers who have purchased *noMAX under the traditional model and will continue to provide them with regular software enhancements, upgrades, and software support as usual. New customers wishing to purchase the software outright will still be able to do so.

Whether customers choose to purchase or subscribe under the new *noMAX Subscription Edition model, Maximum Availability will continue to provide a fully warranted implementation and configuration of *noMAX software on the customer's own machine.

The big difference, and the key benefit for those considering moving to support their critical data using *noMAX, is that with the Subscription Edition they no longer will need to purchase the software up front, minimizing any cash flow impact and avoiding the need for capital expenditure approval.

"We are pricing this aggressively and offering flexibility with contract terms to provide even greater savings for extended agreements," said Allan Campbell, CEO of Maximum Availability. "We believe we can provide customers currently using high availability/disaster recovery solutions with a better solution and save them money--in most cases from day one. For those customers we are talking about cutting operational costs without making a capital investment to do it." he said. The Subscription Edition allows even the smallest company to get started with an HA/DR solution since Maximum Availability now has plans beginning at as low as $200 a month, said Simon O'Sullivan, senior vice president, Maximum Availability. An SMB customer with a larger installation, several computers, and more complex setup could pay up to $2,000 per month, he said.

"Risks to critical data do not go away in a financial crisis, in fact, they generally increase," said O'Sullivan. "So we...wanted to ensure that any cash-flow barriers for new users wanting to start using HA/DR software were removed," he said. "We believe our new *noMAX Subscription Edition model removes the final hurdles for all IBM i users to properly protect their organization's vital data in real time," he said. "On the other hand, it can also provide opportunity to an organization that may have doubts over their long term commitment to IBM i," added O'Sullivan. "It really is a fantastic solution to so many relevant customer concerns."O'Sullivan noted that the *noMAX software is highly effective for migrating files from an old to a new computer and vastly reduces downtime as well as IT effort compared with restoring the system from tape. Maximum Availability offers this benefit as a one-time service, which frequently gives users a chance to view all the features and capabilities of the software without further commitment.  

As part of the enhancement of its offerings Maximum Availability also has streamlined its implementation and configuration costs for *noMAX and has reduced these services costs accordingly.

"We fully expect that organizations who have deferred decisions on a high availability purchase will now take the opportunity to re-look at how they are managing their business continuity risks," said Campbell. "We are also confident that those users that have solutions in place, but are struggling with operational issues or high costs, will now appreciate that there is a real alternative to improve their operational environment--and meet demands for budget reductions at the same time," said Campbell.

Simon O’Sullivan is senior vice president of Maxava, the worldwide provider of innovative IBM i high availability and disaster recovery software solutions. He previously worked with IBM for 10 years on international implementation projects in England, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..