Provider Profile
Connectria for IBM Power: Independent Profile
Connectria built one of the best-known IBM i and AIX hosting and managed services businesses in North America, and has operated as a Lightedge company since April 2024. Here's what the company publishes, and what to confirm yourself.
Independent profile, not sponsored by, affiliated with, or endorsed by this provider.
What is Connectria?
Connectria is a St. Louis-founded IBM Power hosting and managed services provider that has operated as Connectria, a Lightedge Company since Lightedge acquired it in April 2024. It hosts and remotely manages IBM i and AIX workloads, and its signature architecture places IBM Power systems in data centers adjacent to AWS regions, with sub-2ms Direct Connect latency that AWS itself has documented on its Partner Network blog. Connectria calls itself North America's largest IBM Power managed services and cloud hosting provider; that is the vendor's claim, though IT Jungle's independent framing puts the combined Lightedge business among the largest IBM i private clouds. Current pricing and contract terms are not published, so confirm scope, service levels, and attestations with the provider directly.
At a Glance
Connectria Specifications
Everything below is drawn from what Connectria publishes. Items marked vendor-stated are the provider's claims, not independently verified figures: treat them as questions to raise, not as confirmed specifications.
- IBM i
- AIX
| Provider type | Managed IBM Power cloud hosting and hybrid cloud integration, operated under Lightedge |
|---|---|
| Ownership | Founded in St. Louis in 1996, took Bregal Sagemount investment in 2017, acquired by Lightedge in April 2024. Lightedge is majority-owned by GI Partners |
| Footprint (as reported) | Four US data centers pre-acquisition per IT Jungle (St. Louis, Dallas, San Jose, and Ashburn VA), now part of a combined footprint Lightedge puts at 18 facilities. Connectria has also published material on Singapore sites; their current status is unverified |
| AWS connectivity (vendor-stated, corroborated by AWS) | Sub-2ms latency between hosted Power systems and AWS over Direct Connect, from facilities near the us-east-1 and us-west-1 Availability Zones, with VGW, Direct Connect gateway, and transit gateway options |
| Other cloud connectivity (vendor-stated) | Under-2ms connections claimed to Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud as well; only the AWS figure has third-party corroboration |
| Managed services (vendor-stated) | 24x7x365 monitoring and administration, OS updates and PTF management, backups and restores, batch job processing, and change and vendor management, for hosted and customer-premises systems |
| Replication and DR (vendor-stated) | IBM i disaster recovery options including MIMIX-based logical replication (Precisely Assure MIMIX), implemented by an in-house MIMIX team |
| Hardware and releases (vendor-stated) | POWER6 through Power10 hardware and older IBM i releases. Parts of the published release range look stale, so verify the exact floor |
| Compliance claims | HIPAA/HITECH, SSAE 18 SOC 1 and SOC 2, and PCI DSS audits, plus stated support for HITRUST, ISO 27000-family, GDPR, CCPA, FISMA, and FERPA. Request current reports |
| Scale (vendor-stated) | Roughly 1,000 IBM i LPARs and over 1,000 customers, about 80 percent IBM i and 20 percent AIX, per figures Connectria supplied to IT Jungle |
Vendor pages last checked August 2026. Providers change offerings without notice: confirm current details directly.
Visit the provider's IBM Power page →Where It Is Strong
What Connectria Does Well
Points that genuinely differentiate this provider, based on what it publishes and how it is positioned in the IBM Power market.
An AWS architecture AWS itself documents
The sub-2ms Direct Connect latency between hosted Power systems and AWS appears on AWS's own Partner Network blog, not just in Connectria's marketing. Very few hybrid latency claims in this market carry that kind of third-party corroboration.
Scale in the IBM i installed base
Connectria told IT Jungle it managed roughly 1,000 IBM i LPARs before the acquisition, and IT Jungle judges the combined Lightedge business one of the largest private cloud providers in the IBM i community, if not the largest. The superlative is the vendor's, but even read skeptically the installed base is large.
Managed services that reach your own machine room
Remote administration covers customer-premises IBM i and AIX systems as well as hosted ones, so you can buy operations first and move hardware later. That matches the phased assess, migrate, manage, modernize path the company markets.
A long compliance record, as the company tells it
Connectria dates its HIPAA hosting work to a 2007 EMR engagement for the State of Maine and claims to have been the first HIPAA-compliant managed hosting company. Those are its own claims, but the audit list it publishes today is the right shape for regulated workloads.
Fit Check
Is Connectria a Good Fit?
Best fit
Good fit signals
IBM i and AIX shops in compliance-heavy industries (Connectria names banking and financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, retail, and the public sector) that want managed hosting or remote administration rather than self-managed infrastructure, especially where Power workloads need low-latency integration with AWS or Azure.
Use caution
Proceed with caution if
Connectria calls itself North America's largest provider of IBM Power managed services and cloud hosting, and states it houses more IBM i and AIX workloads than any provider outside IBM. Since the April 2024 acquisition, Lightedge makes the same claim for the combined company, so what once looked like two rival superlatives is now a single vendor claim. No independent audit of this market exists: IT Jungle's hedged view is that the combined business is one of the largest IBM i private clouds, if not the largest. Judge the proposal on named engineers, response times, and references rather than the superlative.
Key decision
Decision point
Connectria and LightEdge stopped being alternatives to each other in April 2024, so compare the combined business against genuinely separate providers. IT Jungle also reported in June 2026 that Lightedge will sell and manage IBM Power Virtual Server alongside its own Power cloud, so ask whether a proposal lands you on the provider's private platform or on PowerVS, and price both paths before signing.
Due Diligence
What to Verify Before You Sign
Take these to the provider in writing. Anything that only exists in a slide deck is not a commitment.
Which entity holds the contract
Connectria operates as a Lightedge company, and IT Jungle's 2026 coverage refers to the combined business simply as Lightedge. Confirm the contracting entity, whether support and billing systems have merged, and what the brand transition means for your account.
The IBM i release floor, in writing
Marketing copy cites support for old IBM i releases, but parts of it look stale. Get the exact supported release range and any third-party software constraints confirmed before planning a move.
Compliance report scope
The HITRUST CSF announcement covered dedicated customer hosting environments, and the published list mixes completed audits with supported frameworks. Request current SOC 2 and HITRUST documents covering the exact environment your LPARs will run in.
Latency commitments beyond AWS
The sub-2ms figure is corroborated by AWS for AWS. For Azure, Google Cloud, or Oracle Cloud, ask for measured latency to your target region and whether any number is contractually committed.
Contract terms, minimums, and exit
Nothing current is published. The month-to-month structure Connectria advertised at its 2012 IBM i cloud launch is historical context, not an offer. Get terms, minimums, exit costs, and data egress in writing, and note that AWS Marketplace private offers exist as a purchasing channel.
Connectria FAQ
Is Connectria still an independent company?
No. Lightedge acquired Connectria in April 2024 and it now operates as Connectria, a Lightedge Company. Lightedge itself has been majority-owned by the private investment firm GI Partners since September 2021. Before the sale, Connectria was founder-led from its 1996 St. Louis start and took growth investment from Bregal Sagemount in 2017. As of mid-2026, IT Jungle's coverage refers to the combined business simply as Lightedge, though the Connectria brand and website remain in use.
Is Connectria really the largest IBM Power MSP in North America?
That is Connectria's own wording ('North America's largest provider of IBM Power (IBM i and AIX) managed services and cloud hosting'), and Lightedge now makes the same claim for the combined company. There is no independent audit of this market. The most neutral outside framing comes from IT Jungle, which called the combined business one of the largest private cloud providers in the IBM i community, if not the largest, adding that Lightedge says it is the largest by LPAR count. Attribute the superlative to the vendor and judge proposals on named engineers, response times, and references.
Can Connectria connect IBM i and AIX workloads to AWS?
Yes, this is its signature architecture. Per AWS's own Partner Network blog, Connectria hosts IBM Power systems in data centers close to AWS Availability Zones in us-east-1 and us-west-1, with sub-2ms latency over AWS Direct Connect and a choice of VGW, Direct Connect gateway, and transit gateway connections. Connectria signed a Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS in November 2023 (IT Jungle reported it as a $10 million deal) and lists the offering on AWS Marketplace. It also claims under-2ms connectivity to Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud, but only the AWS figure has third-party corroboration.
What compliance certifications does Connectria claim?
Connectria states it undergoes independent audits including HIPAA/HITECH, SSAE 18 SOC 1 and SOC 2, and PCI DSS, and supports HITRUST, ISO 27000-family, GDPR, CCPA, FISMA, and FERPA requirements. It has announced HITRUST CSF certification for dedicated customer hosting environments and claims to have been the first HIPAA-compliant managed hosting company, dating that work to a 2007 State of Maine EMR engagement. Treat all of these as the provider's claims and request current reports and certification letters directly.
What does Connectria cost and what are the contract terms?
Current pricing and minimum commitments are not published. The only public data point is historical: at its 2012 IBM i cloud launch, Connectria advertised month-to-month contracts plus discounted one-, two-, and three-year terms starting at $495 per month. That shows a history of flexible terms but says nothing about current pricing. Purchasing through AWS Marketplace private offers is also possible. Verify all terms, minimums, and exit provisions with the provider.
How does Connectria relate to LightEdge's own IBM Power offering now?
They are one business. Lightedge's IBM Power capability is substantially the former Connectria operation: IT Jungle put the pre-acquisition base at over 1,000 customers, roughly 80 percent IBM i and 20 percent AIX. In June 2026, IT Jungle reported Lightedge will also sell and manage IBM Power Virtual Server, so customers can choose on-premises hardware, the provider's private Power cloud, or PowerVS under one management umbrella. Any comparison that treats Connectria and LightEdge as competing bidders is out of date.
Sources
- Connectria: IBM Power Systems services (vendor)
- Connectria: IBM on-net with AWS (vendor)
- Connectria: security and compliance (vendor)
- AWS APN Blog: hosting IBM i and AIX systems with low-latency connectivity to AWS with Connectria
- Lightedge: Lightedge completes acquisition of Connectria
- IT Jungle: LightEdge acquires Connectria to round out each other's Power play (April 2024)
- IT Jungle: Lightedge to start selling IBM PowerVS to IBM i customers (June 2026)
- PR Newswire: Lightedge to acquire Connectria (2024)
- Contract terms, SLAs, and current audit reports. Request directly from Connectria
Independent Advisory Notice
Power Systems Advisors is an independent advisory resource and is not IBM. IBM, IBM Power, IBM i, AIX, PowerVM, Power Virtual Server, and other marks belong to their respective owners. Product availability, compatibility, pricing, and support should be verified with IBM or the relevant provider. Recommendations depend on the customer's specific environment.
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