Does your IBM i specialist or operator (AS/400, iSeries, or Power Systems) spend too much time performing manual and repetitive tasks such as data loading, user provisioning, blogging, completing checklists, or monitoring through multiple screens?
Automating tasks and processes on IBM i can relieve your team of this burden, so you can focus on higher business-value tasks and avoid errors caused by manual execution.
More benefits of automating your IBM i
Enable IT managers to reassign IBM i expertise to more valuable and motivating projects
Improve efficiency by optimizing execution times and eliminating errors caused by manual operation
Maximize the performance of your Power Systems servers by eliminating downtime
Help with data security and regulatory compliance by automating confidential data operations and preventing employees from accessing them
With many IBM i specialists nearing retirement age and newer staff starting to work on IBM i, automation can help make the transition smooth and easy
Automating tasks and processes is one way to modernize your IBM i, as recommended by IBM i experts. And it’s simpler and more cost-effective than you might think.
Examples of automation on IBM i
Here are a few concrete examples of tasks and processes that you can automate on IBM i to achieve results and ROI quickly:
Planning cross-platform processes with interdependencies (job scheduling)
Planning cross-platform processes with interdependencies (job scheduling)
Automating the planning of complex processes ensures that your jobs will always be executed on time, without errors, and in the correct order.
Plan workflows based on simple conditions (such as dates and times) and situations with more complex prerequisites (such as having received a certain file, whether a server is on, and that it is later than 10 a.m.).
If your processes include components that run outside of IBM i, don't worry. Our automation solutions can help you schedule across all operating systems.
Learn more about Robot Schedule
Nightly processes daily, weekly, and more
Nightly processes daily, weekly, and more
Automate the execution of night processes for the end of the day, the weekend, the end of the month, and the end of the year (or the period you need), such as:
- Balance of balances
- Opening and / or closing of the day
- Transfer of information to third parties
- Bank clearing
- And more
Our software recognizes different business events and starts the corresponding processes. It sends notification in case of an unexpected failure and maintains a detailed record of all the processes executed in order to comply with audits such as PCI-SDD, SOX, and more.
Save your IBM i expert from wasting time completing a manual log!
File transfers to and from IBM i, with encryption and format conversion (EBCDIC to ASCII and more)
File transfers to and from IBM i, with encryption and format conversion (EBCDIC to ASCII and more)
The exchange of information with customers, suppliers, and third parties is increasingly intense and in greater volume, making it more difficult for companies to protect their information.
Automating the delivery of files to and from IBM i is a more secure way to send information, preventing human manipulation and generating audit trails of all activity in order to comply with regulations and standards.
Use the best encryption algorithms and automatically convert the file format according to your business requirements or those of your customers and suppliers (for example, from EBCDIC to ASCII or vice versa). You can also automate other file operations such as emailing, moving to another folder, and more.
Our automation solutions are cross-platform and run on all operating systems, so you can integrate automated file transfer into larger workflows, even outside of IBM i.
Interaction with 5250 applications (green screen)
Interaction with 5250 applications (green screen)
There is no longer a need for an IBM i specialist to be in person entering commands on the green screen for your processes to run. Let a software robot take care of it!
Robots can execute commands 24 hours a day and make no mistakes, so you gain efficiency and agility.
Maintenance, cleaning, and safekeeping tasks
Maintenance, cleaning, and safegarding tasks
Some of the most time-consuming tasks for your IBM i operator are those related to maintenance, cleaning, and safeguarding, which are very necessary for proper operation.
Automate tasks like deleting temporary files, compressing files, generating backups, and others in order to free your staff from these routine tasks and optimize server performance. It will be more profitable for your company to have a robot take care of them, and for your IBM i specialist to be able to do more valuable and complex tasks.
Cybersecurity and compliance processes
Cybersecurity and compliance processes
Protect the security of your IBM i data and comply with the standards and regulations applicable to your industry or geographic region. Automate cybersecurity and compliance tasks, such as:
- Update antivirus signatures
- Generation of backups and data replication
- Security policy verification
- User settings
- Permission settings validation
- Early detection of threats on the network and on your servers
- Generation of audit reports for regulations such as PCI, GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX
- And more!
Learn more about our cybersecurity and compliance solutions for IBM i
And much more!
And much more!
Due to the flexibility of IBM i and automation solutions, the number of tasks and processes that a robot can perform on IBM i is virtually unlimited. Some more examples of what you can automate on IBM i include:
- Core banking operations
- Operations in ERP such as processing of purchase orders, shipments, inventory, and financial information
- Generation and sending of daily, weekly, or monthly reports
- IBM i AJS and Windows task scheduling
- User provisioning
- Data loading / extraction
Learn how to automate your IBM i
Do you need to automate a process on your Power Systems server running IBM i? Get in touch with one of our IBM i automation experts to discuss your specific case free of charge and without obligation.
Fortra automation solutions
Fortra software solutions solve all your IT and business automation needs: from repetitive administrative tasks to complex and mission-critical operations for your company, both on IBM i and all operating systems.
The intuitive, web-based interface and ease-of-use of our products means that users can create their own automation rules very quickly, regardless of their level of technical knowledge. Best of all, you can start automating slowly and scale your automation as your business needs it, always ensuring a quick return on investment. Plus, our products were developed with safety in mind, so you can rest assured that automated processes will pass audits and comply with regulations.
We know that your environment is complex and diverse—with a variety of users, regions, applications, and operating systems to manage. If you want to simplify, save money, reduce operational errors, and save your team time, automation is the solution. And Fortra is the leading provider of software for exceptional automation.
Request a meeting with our automation experts to discuss your particular environment and determine how automation can add real value to your business.
Fortra, your IBM i experts
Our products for IBM i are designed and developed with operators in mind, and their modern interfaces and world-class functionality allow even teams with little IBM i experience to manage the system by exception, freeing up their time to focus on IT initiatives that add more value.
Fortra has a strategic R&D alliance with IBM. Our team includes experienced IBM i professionals who have been recognized as IBM Champions who know Power Systems servers very well. Every day, we help hundreds of users around the world to automate and protect their Power Systems servers.