The Syntra Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive product. Parquet on cloud object storage (S3 / GCS / Azure / OCI), tiered Hot → Warm → Cold, hash-signed audit evidence, SQL self-serve via Athena / BigQuery / Snowflake / Trino, FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliant. Retire the IBM i, save 50–500× on storage cost.
Object storage by itself is not an archive. An Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive is the combination of object storage, columnar data format, EBCDIC-aware extraction, hash-signed evidence, semantic-layer query and tiered lifecycle policy — packaged as one product.
Many organisations approach BPCS retention by uploading raw IBM i save files (.savf) or DB2 for i export dumps to S3 or Glacier and calling it an archive. The result is technically stored — but functionally inert. Reading the data back requires restoring it to an IBM i LPAR (which means keeping IBM i hardware alive somewhere, defeating the cost-saving point), the data is opaque to modern BI tools (no semantic layer, no SQL access), there is no auditable trace from a journal line back to a transaction, and there is no proof of data integrity beyond whatever S3 happens to provide.
The Syntra Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive is the opposite: structured Apache Parquet on cloud object storage (4–10× compressed vs raw DB2 for i pages), EBCDIC characters translated to UTF-8 with the CCSID preserved as metadata for round-trip proof, COMP-3 packed-decimal numerics unpacked to full-precision decimal, CYYMMDD dates normalised to ISO 8601, BPCS audit-trail files (GLAT, APAT, RAAT, IIAT, MHAT) captured alongside the converted form, IBM i database journals (QSQJRN) captured per period, SHA-256 hash signatures on every Parquet file, and KMS-controlled access logging shipping to your SIEM.
On top of that, a pre-built semantic layer (Athena / BigQuery / Snowflake / Trino views) hides the BPCS field-naming quirks, pre-built BI dashboards cover the common reporting use cases (trial balance, aging, traceability), and lifecycle policies auto-transition data Hot → Warm → Cold across the 7–30+ year retention window so the storage cost drops 95–99% over time. The IBM i Power LPAR can be powered down. The Infor LX licence can be non-renewed. The RPG developer role can transition.
The six layers that make up the product.
DB2 for i JDBC extractor with EBCDIC-to-UTF-8 translation, COMP-3 packed-decimal unpacking, CYYMMDD date normalisation. Multi-million-row partitioned-parallel throughput at 2–10M rows/hour per worker.
Apache Parquet on S3 / GCS / Azure Blob / OCI Object Storage. 4–10× compression vs raw DB2 for i pages. Partitioned by fiscal year and company for query pruning.
Hash-signed JSON manifests per partition (SHA-256 of every Parquet file plus record counts and sum totals). BPCS audit-trail files captured alongside converted form. IBM i journal captured per period.
Lifecycle policies auto-transition data Hot → Warm → Cold (S3 Standard → IA → Glacier Deep Archive). Storage cost drops 95–99% over the retention window.
Athena / BigQuery / Snowflake / Trino on top of the Parquet. Pre-built semantic-layer views translate BPCS field names to business-friendly entities. Standard JDBC / ODBC for BI tools.
WORM lockable via S3 Object Lock / Azure Blob Immutability in compliance mode. KMS-managed encryption with customer-controlled keys. SOC 2 / FDA / SOX audit-log integration to SIEM.
From scoping to first auditor query, typically 8–14 weeks for a 5–50 TB BPCS instance.
Inventory BPCS libraries, identify files in retention scope, classify per-domain retention horizon (SOX 7yr, IRS 4–7yr, FDA 10–30+yr), confirm WORM lockability requirement, choose cloud target (AWS / GCP / Azure / OCI).
Storage bucket layout, IAM and KMS key design, audit-log SIEM integration, IBM i user profile and read-only object authority, network connectivity (VPN / Direct Connect / Express Route from IBM i to cloud), tiering lifecycle policy.
DB2 for i extractor pulls every BPCS file in retention scope to Parquet with COMP-3 unpacking and EBCDIC translation. IBM i database journals captured in parallel. Multi-TB GLT, ITH, MHM extracts scheduled to off-peak windows.
Athena / BigQuery / Snowflake / Trino views deployed implementing the BPCS semantic layer. Pre-built Tableau / Power BI / OAS dashboards published. Sample queries validated against IBM i source results for byte-level correctness.
Final delta capture via IBM i journal. WORM lock applied if required. Analyst access provisioned via read-only IAM roles. IBM i Power LPAR moves to read-only and ultimately powers down. Infor LX licence non-renewal, IBM Software Maintenance contract termination.
What customers actually pay before and after.
Before: ~$60K/year (Power LPAR + IBM SW Maint + Infor support + ops). After: ~$1K/year for 5 TB Glacier Deep Archive plus query / restore activity. 60× cost reduction.
Before: ~$140K/year (refresh-capex amortised). After: ~$3K/year for 20 TB cold-tier plus activity. 45× cost reduction with full SOX / FDA evidence preserved.
Before: ~$250K/year. After: ~$8K/year for 50 TB cold-tier. 30× cost reduction. Multi-LPAR consolidation possible for multi-site customers.
An IBM Power LPAR typically draws 1–5 kW continuous; rack space, cooling and fire suppression overhead all avoided. Material for on-prem / colocation customers, sustainability-reporting positive.
Most Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive projects pay back in 8–14 months from IBM i decommissioning. Beyond payback the savings compound across the full 7–30+ year retention window.
Aging IBM i hardware failure risk eliminated. RPG / AS/400 skills cliff irrelevant. IBM i security patching cycle no longer required. Compliance posture upgraded to modern cloud baseline.
The Syntra Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive is a turnkey product that takes a live BPCS instance, extracts every file in retention scope from DB2 for i, normalises it (EBCDIC → UTF-8, COMP-3 unpacked, CYYMMDD dates standardised), stores it as columnar Parquet on cloud object storage (S3 / GCS / Azure Blob) with hash-signed audit evidence, and exposes it via a queryable SQL layer (Athena / BigQuery / Snowflake / Trino) plus a pre-built semantic layer. The result: an audit-grade, queryable, tiered-storage replacement for keeping a dormant IBM i alive. Compatible with SOX 7-year retention, IRS 4–7 year retention, FDA 21 CFR Part 11 (10–30+ year batch records), and any state-specific retention requirement. WORM-lockable for regulatory enforcement.
Cloud object storage offers three tiers that the Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive uses by default. Hot tier (S3 Standard / Azure Hot, $20–25 per TB per month, queryable in seconds) holds the current FY and prior FY where ad-hoc analyst queries are common. Warm tier (S3 IA / Azure Cool, $10–13 per TB per month, queryable in seconds with slight retrieval cost) auto-transitions records 2–7 years old where access is occasional. Cold tier (S3 Glacier Deep Archive / Azure Archive, $1–4 per TB per month, queryable in hours via restore) holds 7+ year FDA / SOX retention data where access is rare but legally required. Lifecycle policies auto-transition between tiers so the storage cost drops 95–99% over the life of the archive.
Yes when configured to compliance mode. SOX 404 requires 7-year retention with auditable trace from any reported number back to the originating transaction; the archive preserves the full chain via BPCS audit-trail files (GLAT, APAT, RAAT, IIAT, MHAT) and IBM i database journals, with SHA-256 hash signatures on every Parquet file and KMS-controlled access logging that ships to your SIEM. FDA 21 CFR Part 11 requires audit-trail, electronic-signature and WORM properties for pharma batch records — typically 10–30+ years; the archive supports S3 Object Lock / Azure Blob Immutability in compliance mode for true write-once-read-many enforcement, captures every analyst query in the audit log, and preserves the RPG source-code snapshot alongside the data for batch-record forensic reconstruction.
Primary storage format is Apache Parquet — columnar, compressed (typical 4–10× compression vs raw DB2 for i pages), partitioned by fiscal year and company, queryable by every modern SQL engine. Alongside the Parquet, the archive holds: hash-signed JSON manifests per partition (record counts, sum totals, SHA-256 hashes), the original BPCS audit-trail files in EBCDIC binary form (for round-trip provability), the IBM i database journal captures (QSQJRN extracts) for the period in retention, the BPCS field-metadata catalogue (source CCSID, COMP-3 precision, CYYMMDD field flags) so any field can be re-rendered in its original BPCS form for audit walkthrough. Optional: RPG source-code snapshot for FDA 21 CFR Part 11 customers.
AWS (S3 + Athena + Glacier Deep Archive), Google Cloud (GCS + BigQuery + Coldline / Archive), Azure (Blob Storage + Synapse / Trino + Archive tier), Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (Object Storage + Autonomous Database). The architecture is cloud-portable so a multi-cloud or cross-cloud deployment is straightforward. Customers often pair the archive with their existing data warehouse choice (Snowflake on AWS, BigQuery on GCP) for unified BI access alongside their other data sources. KMS-managed encryption at rest uses the cloud provider's native key management (AWS KMS, GCP KMS, Azure Key Vault, OCI Vault).
Cleanly. Multi-TB BPCS databases (10–50+ TB is not unusual for customers with 20 years of GLT, ITH and MHM history) are extracted in parallel using SQL key-range partitioning across multiple worker pods, with throughput typically 2–10 million rows per hour per worker pod and 8–24 hours wall-clock for the initial bulk load. After bulk load, the Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive runs steady-state delta extraction via the IBM i database journal so only incremental change is processed. Storage tier transitions are automated via S3 / GCS / Azure lifecycle policies, so a 50 TB archive on Hot tier in year 1 transitions to ~$50/month on cold-tier by year 7 — no manual intervention required.
Yes. Common scenario: BPCS Financials moves to Oracle Fusion now, but BPCS Manufacturing / Shop Floor stays live for another 18 months because the Fusion Manufacturing cutover is complex. During that interim, the Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive runs nightly delta extracts from BPCS Manufacturing (MHM / MHD / HRM / MHAT) so the archive stays current with live operations, while the Financials archive (GLT / APH / RAH) is treated as the historical-reporting layer for the post-migration GL. When the Manufacturing cutover eventually happens, the same archive seamlessly absorbs the final Manufacturing data without any restructuring — and the IBM i / BPCS can finally retire.
Three primary access patterns. SQL self-serve: analysts connect Tableau, Power BI, Looker or Oracle OAS to the Athena / BigQuery / Snowflake / Trino query layer via standard JDBC / ODBC. They query the pre-built semantic layer in business terms (Finance.JournalLine, Item.Master) — never raw BPCS field names. Pre-built BI dashboards: trial balance, AR / AP aging, inventory aging, work-order traceability, sales / shipment history dashboards ship with the archive and run on cold-tier data with the storage-restore overhead absorbed transparently. Auditor packs: on-demand evidence packs for tax / FDA / SOX inspection — signed PDF / Excel exports of the requested data range plus a chain-of-custody log proving data integrity.
30-minute call. Walk through your BPCS volumes, retention horizons (SOX / IRS / FDA), IBM i landscape and preferred cloud platform — leave with a concrete Infor LX (BPCS) cloud archive plan and a credible business case showing 30–60× cost reduction vs keeping the IBM i alive.