Mainframe: Engine of Digital Transformation

When people think of mainframes, they typically envision ancient, obsolete technology running arcane spaghetti code – systems that IT management would love to retire if only they could free themselves from the clutches of legacy.

While there is an element of truth in this perspective, mainframes remain to this day the workhorse of core transaction processing within many industries. In many cases the technology in these systems is modern or even surprisingly cutting edge. Furthermore, retiring mainframes may not even appear on the long-term roadmap.

However, while mainframes aren’t going anywhere any time soon, mainframe experts are. As this critical workforce retires, many enterprises are experiencing a skills crunch, requiring creative human resource and technology solutions. Once again, human challenges trump technology issues in enterprise IT – but enterprises that can maintain the workforce for their mainframe systems will find these stalwarts of IT can serve as the transactional backbone of their digital initiatives.

Banking at the Eye of the Storm

Of all the industries that depend upon mainframes, banking is perhaps the most representative. And since digital initiatives have been transforming consumer banking for over a decade, I thought I would speak to an IT leader at a bank to get the inside story on the changing role of the mainframe.

“The mainframe is the best transaction processing platform you can get,” states Maureen Taylor, Vice President and Service Delivery Director at Huntington National Bank. “The mainframe is stable, secure and highly scalable – making it a best in class solution for transaction processing.”

Founded in 1866, Huntington National Bank is a regional bank with branches in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. The bank has more than 700 traditional and in-store branches as well as an array of alternative distribution channels including Internet and mobile banking, telephone banking, and more than 1,500 ATMs, making it a typical example of a midsize bank with a modern digital infrastructure. Huntington National Bank is a division of Huntington Bancshares.

Read the entire article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2014/11/21/mainframe-engine-of-digital-transformation/.

Intellyx advises companies on their digital transformation initiatives and helps vendors communicate their agility stories. Compuware is an Intellyx customer. As of the time of writing, none of the other organizations mentioned in this article are Intellyx customers. Image credit: Erik Pitti.