Mainframe-related business accounts for over 40% of Compuware`s turnover in SA, says the company, indicating that the mainframe is still an important part of local business IT.
"Our findings are consistent with those of the Gartner research group, which stated in its 2004 management update that the mainframe endures and is even more critical in many enterprises than it was 10 years ago," says Jorge Borralho, Compuware regional sales manager.
Borralho concedes that the growing popularity of Web-based applications is because these deliver some important business benefits and are less expensive to run, but argues that distributed computing does not deliver the solid, enduring stability of a mainframe platform.
"Large corporations, particularly in the financial services sector and government, that have attempted to switch to the 'more modern` platform, have found this to their cost," he comments, adding that many mainframes that were retired are being put back into use.
"Today, as companies draw up plans for service-oriented architectures that treat applications as reusable services, legacy applications hosted on the mainframe have a central role to play," he says.
There is also a reversal of the trend of corporations that outsource mainframe requirements because of the perceived lack of mainframe skills and the high cost of maintenance, according to Borralho.
"The mainframe is now regarded as offering such a competitive-edge, that corporations are once again taking direct control of their mainframes and spending more on developing the skills required to operate these systems," he says.
Borralho observes that customer service levels are often the only key differentiator between competitors in the current business climate.
"The stability of computer systems can make the difference between being an industry leader, and an 'also-ran`," he emphasises.
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