Source Data Products

Here’s A Simple Way To Avoid Buying More Than You Need To Spend

Dear Concerned IBM AS400 User:

Most AS400 resellers will try to sell you a new, more-powerful AS400. They focus on the IBM-prescribed upgrade path – instead of ways to save you money.

Further, most AS400 resellers will recommend a server that is far more than you need, so you wind up paying another $5000–$80,000+. Worse yet, you may find yourself in a “killer” lease that is way more expensive than you are lead to believe.

It’s good for them but BAD FOR YOU.

We think there is a better way that is GOOD FOR YOU… REALLY GOOD… Let me explain…

If you are:

	Uncertain that your next POWER i (AS400) is correctly sized or overloaded with hardware and software you don’t need,
	Doubtful for the lack of a comprehensive technology and needs assessment for your next server,
	Uncomfortable that important upgrade considerations may have be overlooked,
	Apprehensive you will be overcharged for migration services, or
	Anxious that you are being guided into a BAD lease,

This may be the most important letter you read all year.

Hi, my name is Bob Losey, President of Source Data Products. What makes us unique is we have been custom-sizing IBM servers since 1979 (and at IBM from 1973 to 1979). We understand how your business software works WITH your IBM hardware so you will get the right configuration – and avoid features, software and capabilities you don’t need that needlessly waste your money. More specifically, we can help your organization by…

Pinpointing your server needs with our proprietary 37-point comprehensive assessment so nothing gets overlooked when recommending the right configuration,
Modeling the right combination of processor speed, memory and disk capacity, disk arms and other factors that influence your server’s overall performance so you get the server to handle your workload needs in the next 5-10 years at the lowest possible cost,
Including solutions assurance reviews and migration planning by at least 3 veteran IBM-certified technicians, each with 20 years of field and technical experience, so you never have to worry that something gets omitted that costs you money or embarrassment when implemented,
Providing application, OS400 version upgrade and migration off-site testing to reduce the dedicated migration downtime from 15-25 hours (the common requirement) to 4 hours or less of dedicated downtime, which save you time and money on migrations. Our unique approach also tests your backup strategy for holes – without costing you a dime.
Offering No-Downtime Migration when you have critical production applications, a huge database, and a 24 x 7 demanding environment that makes a traditional server cutover next to impossible,
Expertly assessing, demonstrating and trial-testing High Availability software and replication in your environment and under your control before you ever have to commit to buy any replication software.
Crafting the proper lease without unpleasant surprises or dirty tricks.

Which ultimately means you get just what you need – no more – and no surprises — with BIG SAVINGS.

I claim that we can save you $5,000 on your next IBM POWER i. How can I make such a bold claim? Because we generally save our clients more – way more:

"We Saved Over $46,000 On Our New IBM Power i, Got The Easiest Migration In My IT Career, And Our Peak-Load Web Response Time Dropped From 5 Seconds To Instantaneous."

"SDP makes a point of understanding what our business needs are. I believe this is the first time I was handed a questionnaire in order to determine what I was looking for. I think that shows the extra mile that Source Data goes to determine what our needs are and not sell us a pre-configured server that makes the seller the most profit.”

Harold Schlaifer, Chief Operating Officer, The Screening Pros

“We saved $44,950 on System i POWER 6 8203-E4A and $10,389 on System i POWER 6 CBU. Source Data proposal for these two 8203-E4A 2-core servers provided the most expandability and the least expensive approach compared to the two other AS400 resellers’ proposals we considered. The CFO is very happy with the nearly seamless transition! In addition, I especially appreciate how Source Data untangled some of the IBM bureaucratic issues, like our software licensing and support billing. With Source Data, it is so much easier than trying to work directly with IBM.”

Betsy Hobson, Garratt-Callahan’s ERP Consultant

“Source Data gave me the best value POWER i – I avoided $42,100 extra printer costs and reduced our IBM support costs $7,763 per year.”

Jerome Stillions, IS Manager, T.I.S. Group

“My gosh, Source Data saved me over $21,891 per year in IBM support and maintenance! We went to the new IBM POWER i – all the hardware, software, and support is built into the lease – the payback was in less than 28 months.”

Richard Givens, Director of Information Technology, Apex Bulk Logistics

“We saved $159,000 on our System i Power5 (AS400), $76,000 on High Availability Software, $35,000 by retaining legacy peripherals, and migrated from 9406-800 with V5R3 to 9406-520 with V5R4 with NO downtime.“

Armand Page, VP of Operations and IT, Jake’s Finer Food

Source Data Products Got Us The Right Balance Of Price/Performance That Also Saved Us $30,000

“When we were evaluating our Power 6 i 8203-E4A options, SDP helped me understand the right balance between performance and lowest cost. Source Data helped me right-size our IBM server so we would get our best value.”

“SDP saved us $30,000 by not over-selling us on concurrent users. We got enough concurrent users to support our user base without over paying for seats we would not use.”

Kathleen Creamer, MIS Manager Hi-Temp Insulation, Inc.

“I have always enjoyed working with Source Data – We have worked with them since 1994. They have always had a good knowledge of what IBM and other IBM Business Partners have to meet our needs. I have found Source Data solutions are competitively priced. Our business is competitive and the bottom-line is always closely examined so getting our best value for IT dollar is important. We get that from SDP. I have recommended Source Data Products many times.

Dave Rasmussen, Director, Information Technologies, Kenworth Sales Company

To help you get to know us better, I’d like to send you a FREE BOOK I have written entitled, “The Ultimate Guide To Buying Your Next IBM iSeries / AS400.”

Click Here to Get Your FREE BOOK

This free book will reveal the common errors — even dirty tricks — as well as arm you with 17 revealing subjects you should investigate for any configuration suggested by any IBM reseller before giving them your trust.

Even if you aren’t ready to upgrade to a new IBM POWER i (AS400) server or make a change from who you are using now, this report will give you the right information and questions to ask when the time comes. And if you have a sneaking suspicion that your current IT person is not delivering the level of expertise and support you need, this book will quickly help you determine if your suspicions are correct – AND what you can do about it.

Why am I giving this book away for free? Because the IBM POWER i server industry, unlike many others, is NOT regulated. That means anyone who can hang out a shingle can promote themselves as an IBM POWER i computer expert.

Knowing Hardware Does Not Mean They Know Software…Knowing Software Does Not Mean They Know The Hardware…And That’s The Problem.

In fact, most of the businesses in this industry started because the owner used to sell hardware and does not understand software – or knows how to program but does not understand the hardware complexities. That means many of the so-called experts have no idea how all the technology really works together. Some even make the sleazy auto repair shops look like the pinnacle of virtue and competence – which is why it’s so important for you to arm yourself with the information contained in this report and one of the main reasons we developed it.

To claim your free copy now, just fill out the form on the right and I will send you my book, pronto.

Click Here To Get Instant Access To Your FREE Book

If you prefer, you can also email me at blosey@source-data.com or call me. I would love to hear from you.

To your success!

Bob Losey

P.S. My Iron-Clad, 100% “You-Can’t Lose” Guarantee: I am so confident our approach will provide you the right POWER i server for you at the best value that if you are not head-over-heels thrilled with your new server in the first 30 days, I insist we fix your server at our cost or we take it back. No hassles, No problems.

Even With That On The Table, You May Still Be Trying To Talk Yourself Out Of Requesting This FREE Book OR Taking Me Up On My Guarantee.

There really aren’t any good excuses for not jumping on this opportunity right now, but I’ll play along…

Excuse #1: “I work with a large national POWER i (AS400) reseller.”

Clearly, the largest resellers have tremendous resources and expertise particularly well-suited for large, sophisticated IBM customers with 500-10,000+ users, multi-processor servers, blade servers and virtualized storage.

In my experience, most small-to-medium AS400 customers with 200 users or less rarely if ever get access to their best and brightest. Instead small-to-medium AS400 customers are relegated to the new hires and less technically capable.

As a result, you can get neglected, you often get misinformation about IBM promotions for smaller servers, your proposed configuration includes costly features you don’t need, and the professional servers are way over-priced.

Over the years, clients have shared proposals with us from these BIG resellers – I am horrified at the configuration errors, software and services that are included as standard.

I can safely say that these proposals are really wonderful for the reseller — but I know the buyer is not better off by a long shot. Caveat Emptor.

Excuse #2: “I work with my software vendor for my POWER i (AS400).”

Your software vendor has developed a great system and has a lot of operations expertise for your business.

However, I generally see software vendors oversize the POWER i hardware and often recommend the wrong lease. In my experience, programmers know how to program but very few truly understand how their software works within the server.

With the exception of JD Edwards, I have rarely seen one of them develop a software modeling tool to project how their software will work now or over the next 5 years for your environment. Instead, they follow the IBM prescribed upgrade path to sell you a bigger server or suggest a “minimum needs” list of requirements – not the right server for you.

Further, most all software vendors are clueless about the financial implications of the leases they are proposing.

Recently a smaller naïve POWER i user showed me his proposal from his software vendor. This supplier is a multi-billion dollar, international company with a household name. I was shocked to see he had been sold an imbalanced AS400 to start with a bad fair-market value lease that locked him into their next upgrade. Next, they proposed a super-big POWER i server, with outrageous migration fees into another bad fair-market value lease. He had NO IDEA had badly his software vendor had been treating him.

Excuse #3: “I pit several IBM resellers to slug it out – that way I get the best configuration and the lowest price.”

I have experienced this approach first-hand over the years. Purchasing agents and shrewd business owners may think this will get them their best deal. Wrong.

Lowest cost perhaps, but not the best deal. Here’s why.

Resellers are motivated to push their excess inventory that has not sold or get the deal at any cost. I understand that.

But most AS400 resellers are clueless about how your software works or how to get IBM software keys so your OS400 operating will continue to run after the first 70 days. (A few honest ones may even confess that without IBM software keys, your IBM program products come to a complete halt without IBM software keys – and that they give you an email to request them. Unfortunately for you, getting IBM software keys is way more complicated than just submitting an email to IBM.)

I have encountered countless stories about how the server was undersized, was missing features, or took 3-6 months of chasing after the reseller fulfill his promises and navigating through IBM bureaucracy to get the OS400 software keys so the system would work.

With IBM’s new user-based pricing, PowerVM, and After License Fee, this process has become even more complex.

Click Here To Get Your FREE Book RIGHT NOW

Let’s Not Forget That Any POWER i (AS400) Requires Planning For Your Best Outcome

Once a POWER i users makes up their mind to upgrade their server, I generally find it takes a client about 60-90 days to settle on their final server configuration and migration plan. And that’s when they have a pretty good idea of what they want.

These same clients generally spent as much as 1-2 years assessing their needs and researching their options before they started their final assessment. In fact, in some cases, I have worked with clients over 4 years for the right time to get the right server.

What really helped them were our templates and processes so they focus their energies to get their best POWER i server results without needless distractions while dealing with all the other demands of their job.

So here’s the point: to get your best results, start your research and planning early — before you really need to upgrade – to avoid a hasty decision or getting sucked into a “killer promotion” you may regret.

You Simply Can’t Make A Mistake By Requesting For This FREE Book Now

P.P.S. As an added Bonus, my book has a special section to protect you from leasing dirty tricks. This section “8 Most Common Sneaky Leasing Tricks” will help you avoid the wrong kind of lease that can cost you $10,000 – $100,000+.

Click Here To Instantly Get Your FREE Book RIGHT NOW