M81
M81 is a Lyon-based Independent Software Vendor developing three system management products — Flash for i, Control for i, and Recover for i — for organizations running IBM i (AS/400) workloads. The company sells exclusively through 57 channel partners to 800+ enterprise customers across 26 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLyon, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What M81 does
M81 is a French Independent Software Vendor founded in 2015 and headquartered in Lyon that develops system software exclusively for the IBM i platform (formerly AS/400, i5/OS). The company's three core products — Flash for i, Control for i, and Recover for i — address backup, monitoring, and data recovery for organizations running IBM i workloads on Power Systems servers with external enterprise storage. Flash for i orchestrates FlashCopy/SnapShot operations on IBM, EMC, and PureStorage arrays to deliver instant partition cloning in under two minutes, including full Save21 backups without impacting production. Control for i exposes 180+ pre-built IBM i monitoring checks that plug directly into enterprise monitoring platforms such as Nagios, PRTG, Zabbix, CheckMK, Pandora FMS, and SolarWinds without requiring custom development. Recover for i, launched in 2020, leverages native DB2 for i journaling to enable point-in-time recovery with data loss measured in minutes. IBM SafeGuarded Copy support was added in November 2022, positioning the portfolio for cyber-resilience use cases.
M81 sells 100% indirectly through a channel of 57 partners — resellers, system integrators, cloud providers, and managed service providers — operating across 26 countries in EMEA, the Americas, and Australia. Pricing is quote-based, per-LPAR/per-partition, with annual maintenance contracts that include 3-4 product updates per year. The company has deployed its products on more than 1,700 IBM i logical partitions across 800+ end-customer organizations in industries including logistics, retail, agriculture, manufacturing, insurance, and banking. Named customers include Geodis Logistics, La Redoute, and a New York life insurer. The organization remains founder-led (Pascal Ruckebusch), bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, and operates with a small headcount supplemented by regional sales and partner managers covering EMEA, the Americas, and the DACH region.
M81 firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- M81
- Legal name
- M81
- Website
- https://m81.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- M81 is a Lyon-based Independent Software Vendor developing three system management products — Flash for i, Control for i, and Recover for i — for organizations running IBM i (AS/400) workloads. The company sells exclusively through 57 channel partners to 800+ enterprise customers across 26 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
M81 industry classification
Industry- Product category
- IBM i System Management Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Backup & Recovery Software (HDABAEAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Backup & DR Software Implementation & Managed Platforms (BPAEALAI)
Keywords
Where M81 is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lyon
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
M81 business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licenses: M81 generates revenue through software licensing of its three products (Flash for i, Control for i, Recover for i) sold exclusively through channel partners. Products are licensed per LPAR/partition with annual maintenance contracts. Updates released 3-4 times per year are included in maintenance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Per partition/LPAR licensing with annual maintenance |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
M81 product offering
Product offeringCore offering
M81 develops and licenses three software products for IBM i (formerly AS/400, i5/OS) environments: Flash for i automates FlashCopy/SnapShot operations on external storage to create instant IBM i partition clones; Control for i delivers 180+ plug-and-play monitoring checks that integrate IBM i into enterprise monitoring suites; and Recover for i provides point-in-time DB2 data recovery via journal-based incremental backups sent to FTP/NFS servers.
Product overview
M81 is a specialized Independent Software Vendor (ISV) dedicated to developing IBM i system and technology products, sold exclusively through partners (resellers, integrators, Cloud providers, MSP). The product portfolio consists of three core system products: Flash for i (backup and instant copy management using external storage FlashCopy/SnapShot), Control for i (enterprise IBM i monitoring integration with 180+ plug-and-play checks), and Recover for i (data recovery through journal-based incremental backups). These products work together to provide comprehensive IBM i data protection: Flash for i creates instant partition clones, Control for i monitors all IBM i operations, and Recover for i provides point-in-time database recovery. The company serves 800+ end customers running products on 1700+ LPARs across 26 countries through 57 partner organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FLASH for i: IBM i backup and recovery solution using FlashCopy/SnapShot technology to create instant copies of production partitions with minimal disruption.
- CONTROL for i
- RECOVER for i
Products and services
- Flash for i System software that manages, automates, controls, and reports FlashCopy/SnapShot operations on external storage from IBM i LPARs. Enables instant partition clones for daily backups including Save21, test environment creation, and multiple recovery copies without impacting production. Supports IBM storage (Storwize, SVC, FlashSystem, DS8000), EMC (VMax, PowerMax, Unity), and PureStorage arrays.
- Control for i IBM i monitoring solution providing 180+ plug-and-play probes/checks that integrate IBM i monitoring into enterprise tools such as Nagios, PRTG, Pandora FMS, Zabbix, CheckMK, Centreon, Icinga, SolarWinds, and others. Enables proactive monitoring of applications, system, messages, HA, backups, batches, ERP, databases, and logs without any development work.
- Recover for i Data recovery software that reduces data loss to within minutes by detaching DB2 for i journals every N minutes (minimum 5 minutes), sending them to external FTP or NFS servers on-site, off-site, or in the cloud, and applying journal changes to a restored or cloned database after an incident.
Quantifiable outcome
- Flash for i performs full Save21 backups in under 2 minutes without impacting production
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use M81
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
M81 technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration22 records
Feature3 records
M81 partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- IBMcoreIBM is a core technology partner whose IBM i operating system and Power Systems servers M81 products are built on and optimize. M81 products support IBM storage solutions including Storwize, SVC, FlashSystem, and DS8000. M81 is an IBM Business Partner.
- TTNL (Netherlands)coreTTNL became exclusive distributor for M81 in the Netherlands as of May 2024, distributing M81 products throughout the Dutch market.
- Blue Consult (Germany)coreBlue Consult distributes M81 products in Germany as announced in November 2023, strengthening M81's presence in the DACH region.
- Sysbase 400 (South America)minorSysbase 400 is a new M81 partner in South America as of December 2023, expanding M81's presence in the Latin American market.
- Inco Soluciones (Latin America)minorInco Soluciones is a new M81 partnership in Latin America as of January 2026, representing continued expansion in the Americas region.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
M81 competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
M81 social profiles
Digital presenceM81 financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
M81 leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
M81 funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
M81 M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about M81
What does M81 do?
M81 develops and licenses three software products for IBM i (formerly AS/400, i5/OS) environments: Flash for i automates FlashCopy/SnapShot operations on external storage to create instant IBM i partition clones; Control for i delivers 180+ plug-and-play monitoring checks that integrate IBM i into enterprise monitoring suites; and Recover for i provides point-in-time DB2 data recovery via journal-based incremental backups sent to FTP/NFS servers.
Is M81 a public or private company?
M81 is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was M81 founded?
M81 was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is M81 based?
M81 is headquartered in Lyon, France, in the Europe region.
How does M81 make money?
One revenue line is on record: software Licenses.
Does M81 have an API?
No public API is recorded for M81.
What industry is M81 in?
M81's product category is IBM i System Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAEAD, Backup & Recovery Software, with a secondary code of BPAEALAI, Backup & DR Software Implementation & Managed Platforms. Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7372.