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Flogas Ireland, part of the DCC group, is a top energy provider offering LPG, Natural Gas, and Electricity across Ireland. They serve a wide range of industries, from homes and businesses to agriculture and automotive, all while focusing on delivering reliable energy solutions that meet their customers’ changing needs.
Flogas was among the organizations still leveraging the robust IBM iSeries technology, which has long been known for its reliability and scalability.
The IBM iSeries, originally known as the AS/400 and now part of the IBM Power Systems range, is a midrange mainframe technology designed for business applications. It combines robust hardware with the IBM i operating system to deliver a stable, scalable, and secure environment for a wide range of enterprise computing needs.
For over two decades Flogas has been using the IBM iSeries platform to run a critical financial application. The backups were saved to tape and securely sent to a local IBM tape storage facility for safekeeping. While tape backups have historically been a common method for the IBM iSeries (AS/400) due to their reliability and long-term storage capabilities, Flogas recognized the need to move to more modern disk-based backup solution.
Historically, tape backup was the only disaster recovery solution available for IBM iSeries systems, which posed challenges in terms of speed, reliability, and scalability. Recognizing these limitations, DNA IT Solutions leveraged the expertise of its in-house consultants and the strength of its IBM partner ecosystem to modernize Flogas’ disaster recovery strategy. By implementing a Cloud-based solution, DNA IT was able to provide a reliable, scalable, and efficient backup and disaster recovery process, ensuring operational continuity and addressing the constraints of the legacy system.
Recognizing the need for a more reliable and efficient solution, Debbie Monerawela, system administrator of the iSeries system in Flogas, proactively reached out to DNA IT Solutions after hearing about our expertise through a radio advertisement. This marked the beginning of a partnership aimed at modernizing Flogas’ IT infrastructure and ensuring the resilience and continuity of their operations.
Project Description
As already mentioned, many IT professionals were uncertain if solutions existed to provide Cloud backup for their legacy IBM iSeries server, running version 7.1 of the OS — an older, unsupported version of the OS.
As one of the leading IBM partners in Ireland, DNA IT Solutions stepped in with confidence and expertise, committing to explore and implement a tailored solution to meet Flogas’ needs. This partnership exemplifies DNA’s dedication to tackling complex IT challenges and delivering innovative results.
Collaborating with IBM, DNA IT Solutions developed and implemented a Cloud backup solution for Flogas, securely transferring their backups to the Cloud.
To ensure reliability, DNA’s team provides daily reports detailing the status of the backups, promptly addressing any issues that arise. Additionally, regular disaster recovery tests are conducted in partnership with Flogas to validate the integrity of the backups and confirm that the data performs as expected, providing peace of mind and operational continuity.
With the expertise of DNA IT Solutions and the support of our trusted IBM partner, a comprehensive backup solution was implemented using IBM’s robust Cloud ecosystem. This collaboration allowed us to securely backup Flogas’ data and create a virtual machine running a mirrored cope of their application, specifically designed for disaster recovery scenarios.
What sets this solution apart is the unique expertise of DNA’s IBM partner, who possessed the specialized knowledge required to work with such an outdated version of the IBM iSeries system. This capability ensured Flogas’ critical finance application was safeguarded and recoverable, providing unparalleled reliability and peace of mind.
Outcome
Through collaboration with our IBM partner, DNA IT Solutions successfully implemented a modern Cloud backup solution for Flogas, addressing the challenges of Floga’s legacy IBM iSeries system. The solution has provided Flogas with reliable daily backups, comprehensive reporting, and confidence in having a fully tested Cloud based DR solution.
Adrian Kelly, Sales and Marketing Director of DNA IT Solutions said “Legacy systems like the IBM iSeries were never originally designed for the Cloud, making it challenging to modernize backup and disaster recovery capabilities. However, thanks to the strength of our team of expert consultants and our trusted IBM partner ecosystem, we were able to deliver a robust, forward-looking solution for Flogas. This project highlights our ability to bridge the gap between traditional systems and modern IT demands, ensuring resilience and efficiency for our clients.”
Debbie Monerawela, system administrator of the iSeries system in Flogas said: “Modernizing our critical finance application was a key part of our digital transformation strategy, and DNA IT helped us bring it up to modern standards. The entire experience was seamless, with the project delivered on time and within budget. Thanks to their expertise, we’ve significantly lowered our business risk and now have complete peace of mind knowing our production system is fully supported in the Cloud with a modern backup and DR solution. It’s been a pleasure working with DNA IT Solutions.”