95% of Companies Move Mainframe Applications to the Cloud or Distributed Platforms

Mainframe modernisation is a strategy shared by many enterprises. Some are taking their first steps in this direction and others hope to accelerate their initiatives in an increasingly competitive world.

Most (90%) see the mainframe as essential to their operations because of its “high levels of security, reliability, and performance”. They also highlight its flexibility to move to cloud platforms.

In fact, 95% of companies have already decided to move some of their mainframe applications to the cloud or distributed platforms, covering an average of 37% of their workloads.

This is according to Kyndryl’s first survey on the state of mainframe modernisation, which interviewed half a thousand technology and business leaders, including professionals working in Spain.

Only 1% of respondents went one step further and said they would move all their workloads to the cloud.

The most prevalent option is a combination of tactics, with a hybrid approach being the most popular. Those looking to upgrade their mission-critical operations are opting to modernise the mainframe, move to the cloud and integrate with hyperscalers.

But regardless of the approach chosen, organisations value cost reduction and increased profitability at rates ranging from 9% to 11%.

Each year, Kyndryl respondents save $12.5 billion. This is the figure for all of them combined. Individually that would be $25 million per company. This leads the experts to state that “mainframe modernisation produces a positive return on investment”.

“Mainframes are increasingly becoming an integral part of hybrid cloud environments and continue to drive business value,” says Petra Goude, Global Practice Leader Core Enterprise & zCloud at Kyndryl.

“However,” she adds, “the lack of skilled manpower to support and protect these mission-critical environments is a major concern for many businesses.”

“Finding a trusted advisor and integrator with extensive knowledge and experience is the key to success,” explains Goude, “regardless of where organisations are in their journey and how they intend to transform themselves.

Kyndryl’s survey, in short, “shows that maintaining the status quo is not a path to modernisation and growth”.

Mainframe skills decline is a challenge for more than half of organisations. Currently, three-quarters rely on external companies for transformation tasks.

Another concern is security. For 49%, it is the most important factor in defining a customer’s transformation strategy.