Cloud Infrastructure
If you are researching cloud infrastructure, first identify what kind of workload you are trying to move, host, protect, or modernize. IBM i, AS400, iSeries, AIX, VMware, Windows, Linux, ERP, and backup workloads do not all belong on the same cloud option.
What You Need to Sort First
- You may not need generic public cloud. You may need IBM i cloud, AIX cloud, AS400 hosting, managed Power infrastructure, disaster recovery, or a hybrid step between old and new.
- A legacy workload cloud move needs more than hosting. It needs operating system support, backup, licensing, connectivity, security, and application dependency planning.
- Hybrid cloud can mean public cloud, private cloud, managed hosting, Power Virtual Server, disaster recovery, or a stepped migration. Sort the options before comparing partners.
- The right partner is usually the one who understands both the old workload and the target platform.
This Page Helps You With...
- Cloud migration
- Hybrid cloud design
- Cloud-native workloads
- Disaster recovery in cloud
- Multi-cloud management
What You Need to Know Before You Choose a Cloud Infrastructure Partner
Use these questions to keep the cloud conversation grounded. The right cloud option depends on the workload, operating system, support level, application dependencies, data movement, security rules, and what you want the business to stop carrying internally.
What cloud platform is right for my workload?
Start with the workload
Do not start with a cloud brand. Start with the workload: IBM i, AS400, iSeries, AIX, SAP, Oracle, Windows, Linux, VMware, backup, disaster recovery, analytics, or web applications. Each workload has different operating system, licensing, storage, network, and support needs.
IBM i and AIX need Power-aware cloud
If the workload runs on IBM i or AIX, you need a cloud option that understands IBM Power. IBM Power Virtual Server supports AIX, IBM i, and Linux operating systems, and IBM's migration documentation makes support levels part of the planning conversation. That is a different decision from moving a standard web application to commodity cloud.
Use public cloud where it fits
AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud can be excellent fits for web apps, analytics, modern data services, collaboration, backup targets, and cloud-native workloads. They may not be the simple answer for IBM i, AIX, older ERP, latency-sensitive applications, or systems with unusual device, licensing, or integration dependencies.
Managed hosting can be the practical answer
Sometimes the right cloud option is not hyperscale cloud. It is managed hosting, IBM Power hosting, private cloud, disaster recovery, or a provider who can operate the system for you. If the business wants less infrastructure burden, managed responsibility may matter more than the logo on the platform.
How do I migrate from on-premise to cloud?
Inventory before migration
A cloud migration starts with an inventory: servers, operating systems, applications, databases, storage, backups, integrations, users, printers, scheduled jobs, security rules, licensing, and any unsupported components. If the inventory is weak, the migration plan will be weak.
Confirm supported operating system levels
For IBM Power Virtual Server migrations, IBM documentation calls out supported AIX and IBM i levels as part of the migration plan. If the current system is too old, you may need an operating system upgrade before the cloud move. That can change budget, timeline, testing, and risk.
Plan data movement and cutover
Ask how data will move, how long the final sync takes, where backups live during the move, how users connect after cutover, and what rollback looks like. Migration is not complete until the application runs, users can work, backups are valid, and the support plan is active.
Test with the people who use the system
Technical testing is not enough. Business users need to confirm that orders, reports, integrations, printers, batch jobs, approvals, and daily workflows behave correctly. A clean infrastructure migration can still fail if the business process was not tested.
What does a hybrid cloud architecture look like for my industry?
Hybrid means shared responsibility
Hybrid cloud usually means some systems stay on-premises, some move to cloud, and some services connect both. The architecture is only good if responsibility is clear: who owns security, backups, monitoring, network, identity, data movement, and application support.
Regulated workloads need control points
If your industry has compliance, audit, data residency, privacy, uptime, or retention rules, hybrid design needs clear control points. Ask where data lives, how it is encrypted, how access is logged, how recovery is tested, and who can prove the design during an audit.
Latency decides where systems live
Some applications can move easily. Others depend on nearby databases, file shares, printers, shop-floor systems, EDI partners, or low-latency integrations. A hybrid plan should map application dependencies before deciding what moves and what stays.
Disaster recovery is often the first hybrid use case
If a full cloud migration feels too risky, disaster recovery, test environments, development capacity, backup targets, or short-term hosted capacity can be the first hybrid step. That gives you cloud value without forcing every production workload to move at once.
How do I control cloud costs over time?
Cloud cost is more than compute
Cloud cost includes compute, storage, backup, network, software licensing, support, monitoring, security, migration labor, managed services, and sometimes data transfer. A cheap instance price does not mean the full environment is cheap.
Right-size before and after migration
Do not copy every on-premises assumption into cloud. Right-size the starting environment, then review usage after real workloads run. Cloud waste often comes from oversized compute, unused storage, duplicate backups, idle test systems, and services nobody owns.
Put ownership on every service
Every cloud service should have an owner, purpose, budget expectation, and review cadence. If nobody owns it, nobody will shut it down, tune it, or explain why the bill changed.
Compare cost to risk removed
Cloud may cost more or less than the old environment depending on support, labor, uptime, backup, facilities, and refresh cycles. Compare cloud cost to the risk and work it removes, not just to the old server invoice.