What happens to decades of order history when an IBM i (AS/400) is retired?

What is at stake when an IBM i (AS/400) system is retired?

The platform often holds the longest unbroken record of how a distributor or manufacturer took orders, shipped goods, handled exceptions and billed customers, sometimes spanning decades. When replacement is approved, the project plan usually migrates master data and open transactions. Closed-order history, exception notes and the reasoning behind overrides are frequently left on the old machine, and the old machine is then powered down.

This page is a trigger playbook for ERP consultants. It shows when to ask about that history, who to ask, what the company should preserve, and how to introduce a qualifying company to SourceX without touching its data. Nothing here assumes you work on IBM i yourself; the same questions apply whatever platform you are replacing.

What does an IBM i system usually hold?

The system names and library layouts differ by company, so ask rather than assume. Common contents in distribution and manufacturing:

Decades of history help, but only when the data is intact and exportable. Old character encodings, custom file layouts and missing documentation are common. Ask the in-house or contract developer who knows the system whether a full export is practical.

What should a consultant ask before retirement?

Work through these in discovery, and again at cutover planning.

• Span: the first and last date of transactions in the system, and any years already purged.
• Neighbors: the other systems that explain the transactions, such as email, a CRM, a warehouse system, EDI logs or a finance package.
• Exportability: whether someone can produce a full export, in what form, and how long it would take.
• Knowledge risk: who understands the file layouts, and whether that person is retiring.
• Rights: whether the records are the company's own, or include customer-supplied data restricted by contract.
• Decision owner: the owner, CEO or CFO who can decide what happens to the old system's data.
• Shutdown date: the planned power-off, and whether a read-only copy will survive it.

The shutdown timeline

Move the licensing conversation early enough to avoid being the reason for a delay; it should never hold up a go-live. The same pattern works for a manufacturing ERP migration, an email archive cancellation and an office move.

Which companies on this platform are worth a screen?

Look for the following combination, which the who qualifies page summarizes:

• 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded).
• Several years of documented operations, ideally ten or more on the platform.
• Records in many systems, not just the order system.
• A company-owned dataset rather than data held on behalf of customers.
• An authorized sponsor willing to consider a one-time payment for an exclusive AI-training license for an agreed term.

The company fit checker provides a preliminary, non-binding screen with no contact details required. For the conversation about wider records, the referral opportunities for ERP consultants page explains where this fits in your practice.

What to say to the CFO or owner

The introduction email builder can turn that into an owner-approved introduction.

How the introduction and reward work

You introduce the company through the referral form or your referral link. SourceX qualifies it, the company completes a data inventory with its own staff, terms are agreed, buyers review, and the deal closes only if the company signs. You never export, upload or describe confidential records.

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. The reward is paid only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; an introduction, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment, and no reward is guaranteed. It is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives. Check your consulting agreements for any disclosure duty, and read the program terms.

Limits and red flags

• The company has fewer than 50 full-time employees at peak.
• Data is mostly consumer personal information or customer-owned.
• The system has already been shut down and the data cannot be exported.
• The records were already licensed for AI training.
• A court, trustee or assignee controls the assets and has not been involved. See winding down a company without losing its records.

Next step

Add an "archive or preserve" line to your next replacement plan. If the history is deep and the sponsor is open, register as a partner and introduce the company, or send the sponsor to sourcex.si/apply with your referral link.