Mainframes still command a loyal following

IBM System z10 is the latest of IBM's mainframe lines

Mainframes are still going strong with customers that operate such 'big iron' systems, according to a survey to be published next week by management firm BMC. The company found that customers are looking to modernise applications and make more efficient use of their mainframes in preparation for an expected recovery in the economic situation.

BMC's annual worldwide survey of mainframe users found that the top priorities for customers are application modernisation, followed by elimination of unplanned outage events and server virtualisation. Many customers are now looking to reduce the ongoing growth in their mainframe capacity and increase cost efficiencies.

"The takeaway is that people generally still feel good about the mainframe. Their reliability, availability and security are still serving customers well," said Bill Miller, president of BMC's Mainframe Service Management unit.

However, the mainframe world is still largely restricted to large organisations that have probably been operating their systems for a long time.

"We're not seeing a ton of brand new mainframe shops," conceded Miller, "but then we're not seeing too many people turn away from them either, because they're still doing a good job."

Ovum analyst Roy Illsley agreed, saying that the mainframe is likely to still be with us for some time to come.

"If you want to run a high-compute intensive workload, mainframes have a low management overhead, so they are relatively cheap to run, and are very secure," he said.

The picture that emerges is of the mainframe still holding its own in transaction-oriented applications that involve large volumes of data, with customers spread across industries such as banking and insurance, telecommunications, manufacturing and healthcare, as well as government agencies.

But there are changes happening. BMC's survey found increasing use of Linux, for example.

"IBM is pushing z/Linux and we're finally seeing a big upswing in interest. Some customers are even using their entire mainframe as one giant Linux box," said Miller.

Illsley went further, saying, "The fact that mainframes can run Linux has breathed a bit of new life into this sector."

Customers are also looking for ways to optimise workloads, so as to minimise the growth in mainframe MIPS (millions of instructions per second) used.

BMC said it is helping customers by tuning DB2 applications, which tend to be the most resource-intensive workloads running.

"Some customers have reported reduction in CPU usage of up to 90 per cent, but we haven’t publicised that figure because it looks unbelievable. The typical figure is about 50 per cent," said John McKenny, vice president of marketing for Mainframe Service Management.

Another route organisations are choosing is to use so-called specialty processors, adjuncts to the core mainframe processor designed to handle specific workloads. This saves money as they are typically a one-time cost and not included in capacity-based software licence charges.

The survey also found that mainframe users are focused on extending the life span of their system, and looking to create more capacity for future growth.

"Customers are saying they know the economy is going to recover, and they need to be ready for it," said McKenny.

BMC's recently launched Capacity Trending Advisor is designed to address this requirement, allowing customers to predict their business requirements and provision their IT accordingly, McKenny said.

Another customer concern noted by BMC is a growing shortage of skilled staff, as workers with mainframe experience approach retirement and few younger people are learning the relevant skills anymore.

However, Illsley said that the biggest issue for mainframe users is that IBM is effectively the only vendor left in the game, and there are few software companies other than BMC and CA providing services.

"Many CIOs are worried about this situation, and some customers are likely to leave because the ecosystem is so limited," he said.

But other approaches, such as building 'software mainframes' using large numbers of much smaller x86 servers, are still relatively unproven, according to Illsley.

"VMware with its vSphere approach will take time to convince these large customers that connecting lots of x86 servers together can be as reliable. The mindset may start to change over the next five to 10 years, but it is premature at the moment," he said.

The mainframe has "been to the bottom and bounced back", according to Illsley, and remains proven technology as far as customers are concerned.

"If you buy a Land Rover, you run it for a couple of hundred thousand miles and for at least 10 to 15 years, while most family saloons last just a few years. You could use the same analogy for the mainframe," he said.