DEVOPSdigest

The industry is revealing increasingly optimistic attitudes towards mainframes, with 93% of executives and 92% of all respondents viewing the mainframe as a strong long-term platform – the highest level in five years – according to the 2018 Mainframe Research Report from BMC.

"Digitization and mobility are placing incredible pressure on both IT and mainframes to manage a greater volume, variety, and velocity of transactions and data, with workloads becoming more volatile and unpredictable," said Bill Miller, President of ZSolutions at BMC. "The 2018 BMC Mainframe Research Report shows a bright future in which the mainframe shines due to its strengths in scalability, availability, and security.”

Organizations are working more diligently than ever to modernize and optimize their mainframe applications and operations, and they are exploiting automation to help transform the digital enterprise. Application and operations teams report taking advantage of new practices and technologies to modernize their mainframe environments:

■ 82% are using Java on the mainframe.

■ 48% are using agile/DevOps practices in their mainframe environment.

■ 42% ranked application modernization as one of their top four priorities.

■ 20% ranked AIOps and operational analytics as one of their top four priorities.

Changing demographics contribute to the mainframe’s positive future. While staffing and skill shortages are still challenges for organizations as experienced mainframe talent retires, organizations are continuing to hire and invest in the next generation of employees.

■ 63% of respondents reported they were under the age of 50, up from 53% in the previous year.

■ 95% of millennials are positive about the mainframe’s long-term prospects for supporting new and legacy applications.

“Today's digital economy presents complex challenges for the mainframe at a time when operational skills are pivoting to younger staff with less experience. Ongoing research is important to understand the evolving state and direction of the mainframe. Such studies can provide a valuable perspective to help mainframe organizations evaluate customer attitudes and expectations,” Tim Grieser, Research VP, Enterprise System Management Software at IDC.

To further unleash the power and value of the mainframe, BMC recommends evangelizing the mainframe within organizations as the hub of today’s digital business, embracing the new workforce, and engaging in new techniques and technologies to optimize the mainframe.

Methodology: 1,122 surveys were completed between May 15 and June 1, 2018. The survey was sent worldwide and offered in six languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Portuguese. 66% percent of the respondents were technical professionals and managers, 31% were executives, and 3% were other.