Definition
AS400 software is a broad buyer phrase. It can mean the IBM i operating system itself, the RPG and COBOL applications running on it, packaged ERP software, or the tools used to secure, back up, integrate, modernize, automate, and report on IBM i data.
For buying decisions, the phrase should be narrowed into a software category. Security software, backup software, reporting tools, OS upgrade planning, and modernization platforms solve different problems and should not be compared as if they were one product.