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| Mainframe/Migration/Legacy |
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Mainframe/Migration/Legacy
Return on Investment PerspectiveMainframes Have Use in Modern Age Cheap little servers handle so much of the Internet's dirty work that giant computers known as mainframes which debuted 50 years ago and often cost more than $1 million are supposed to be passe. When Hoplon Infotainment a startup video-game company in Brazil let it be known that it uses a mainframe to operate its signature online game People would actually take a step back and say 'What? Did I hear correctly?' said Tarquinio Teles Hoplon's CEO. Yet mainframes are inspiring new ways of doing things at organizations like Hoplon. The trend is driven by and anxiously watched at IBM Corp. which makes the vast majority of the world's remaining mainframes and continues to be hugely reliant on them. more > Defining the mainframe's role in next-gen application workloads As a result of recent specialty processors such as zIIP zAAP and zIFL the mainframe has shown itself capable of handling new transaction mixes and workloads. Moreover Linux support and support for service oriented architecture (SOA) ensures that most applications traditionally outside the mainframe can access or run on the mainframe. Conceptually then the mainframe can handle a new breed of applications . On the other hand the new standards-based openness of the mainframe makes it easier for some applications to not only move to the mainframe but also to move from the mainframe. Thus should mainframe applications move to a distributed or non-mainframe model; if so to what extent? more > Look who’s updating those data dinosaurs? Unwieldy mainframe systems have been the electronic backbone of states’ social services programs for decades. Now those outdated systems are lumbering toward the scrap heap of technology. Eager to improve the delivery of health and human services states are replacing their mainframes with more powerful more nimble systems that incorporate sophisticated service-oriented architecture (SOA). The transition is akin to replacing a two-toed sloth with an ocelot — the DNA is fundamentally different. Bridging the gap between technological obsolescence and best-of-breed information technology is made more challenging because demands on states’ resources often require social services programs to do more with less. more > The mainframe rolls on Though it dominated the computing world until the 1970s the proprietary mainframe computer has been the subject of an on-again/off-again death watch ever since. Yet IBM Corp.'s venerable 360 architecture is still around in the form of the company's System Z server line. And large organizations are still using it and even buying new machines. Case in point IBM Canada has just announced that the University of Toronto purchased a new System z9 Business Class mainframe. more > IP Australia sticks with big iron Two years after announcing it will migrate off the mainframe in favour of mid-range Unix systems national patent and trademark administrator IP Australia will now keep its big iron for at least another five years. IP Australia had planned to move off the mainframe by June next year as it was only using 30 MIPS and could not justify the perceived transaction cost according to CIO Paul Ayers. Ayers said IP Australia has invested a lot into its mid-range environment with the promise of reduced complexity and TCO but when it was implemented there were maturity issues and the TCO ended up being higher than anticipated. As it stands at the moment our mainframe is more cost-effective than the mid-range environment but I think it's only a matter of time before our mid-range will have a lower TCO Ayers said. more > Legacy value restoration in the financial sector Despite the risk and cost of migrating to a new technology from legacy systems in the long run it pays to have responsive integrated and market-oriented IT systems says Daljeet Saran. There’s no doubt that the fag end of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st have been challenging for financial institutions. This economic uncertainty political unrest business slowdown and growing recovery coupled with changing customer expectations and demands has caused financial institutions large and small to take a hard look at all aspects of their operations and processes. These companies are faced with conflicting priorities—widen capabilities to exploit increasing business potential but avoid committing too much in case the recovery stalls. more > |
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