IT pros predict a long term future for the mainframe

In spite of trends towards decentralization and the cloud, the mainframe remains a relevant and growing data center hub for many businesses according to a new report.

In the 12th annual Mainframe Research Report from IT solutions company BMC 91 percent of respondents predict mainframe workloads will continue to grow, and 51 percent say more than half of their data resides on a mainframe.

"Results from the 2017 BMC Mainframe Research Report provide a good indicator on the future health and viability of the mainframe," says Bill Miller, president of ZSolutions at BMC. "The survey shatters a prevailing variety of myths and highlights the strategic importance of the mainframe. Overwhelmingly, it is clear that the mainframe is a critical core IT platform that is the backbone of digital business. As businesses make the shift to become digital, BMC helps customers address their challenges, priorities, and growth initiatives, to unleash the power and value of the mainframe."

The report shows that, far from being legacy technology, mainframe operations are being actively modernized. 66 percent of respondents indicate that they will focus on planned outages to increase availability, dispelling the myth that organizations have fully optimized their mainframes. The top applications running on the mainframe are transactional systems, big data, and analytics, and organizations continue to focus on increasing availability.

Attitudes to the mainframe also continue to evolve. Contrary to the perception that executives want to replace mainframes, many recognize that they are a critical core IT platform. In this year's results, 47 percent of executives indicate their mainframes will grow and attract new workloads.

The survey dispels some myths about the mainframe workforce too, including the perception that mainframe professionals are all older, while younger IT professionals are pessimistic about the mainframe industry's prospects. In fact 53 percent of respondents are under the age of 50, and many of these have a positive view of the mainframe.

69 percent of those in the mid-career group (ages 30 to 49 with one to 10 years  experience), see growth in their mainframe workloads and view the mainframe as having a strong position of growth in the industry overall. Millennials under the age of 30 are very enthusiastic about the future of the mainframe too.

The full report is available to download from the BMC website and you can register for a webinar to discuss the results being held on November 15th.

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