Ensono has just
published a survey – Ensono Cloud Clarity: A Snapshot of the
Cloud in 2021 – of 500
UK and US-based IT decision makers and their use of cloud. They found that hybrid
cloud environments dominate, with 71% of IT decision makers in the public
sector using public and private cloud platforms, 9% used only public cloud, and
14% used only private cloud platforms. One-third of the survey respondents use
mainframes in their IT stacks. The survey also found that nearly three out of
four respondents vetted and onboarded a new cloud provider during 2020.
What was their favourite cloud provider? Microsoft Azure was the most-used public cloud provider followed by Google Cloud, IBM, and Amazon Web Services. The biggest reasons for moving to cloud were security and compliance (52%), then technical capabilities (42%) and pricing (35%).
IBM is focusing a lot of its attention on cloud. Their website says that “flexibility, responsiveness, and cost” are fuelling your journey to cloud. They go on to say that “Red Hat® OpenShift® and IBM Cloud Paks® on IBM Z® enables more innovation without limitation on a platform open to any app, team, or infrastructure, plus containerized software that enables your workloads and data to run anywhere.”
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a ‘Mainframe Migration’ category as part of its AWS Competency Program that allows partners to offer their expertise to potential customers. Some partners offer technology tools for easing mainframe-to-cloud migration, like Advanced Computer Software Group Ltd, Blu Age Corp, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, TSRI Inc, and Micro Focus International plc. The tools available automate some of the steps involved in moving mainframe applications to the cloud. Other companies offer consulting services. Including Deloitte, TCS, Wipro Ltd, NTT Data Corp, Infosys Ltd, DXC Technology Co, and HCL Technologies Ltd. New companies are joining all the time.
Similarly, Google Cloud acquired Cornerstone Technology to help mainframe users migrate their workloads to Google Cloud.
So, you’re probably asking yourself, why would you want to move off the mainframe to the cloud? Bearing in mind that mainframes are probably the most secure platform around – see the z15 features – and the recently-announced Telum chips (coming next year) offer the best AI features on a chip anywhere. There are a number of reasons that are offered. Firstly, there is an ageing mainframe workforce, which means there are fewer people with the talents needed to maximize the efficiency and minimize the costs associated with running a mainframe. Of course, migrating to the cloud isn’t the only solution. Apart from Zowe, there are any number of mainframe applications that people with distributed computing experience can sit down and pretty much use straight away.
One big feature of cloud computing is cost. Let’s suppose that for a short period of time an application needs to be scaled up and then down to accommodate the increased usage – that’s more people using the application requiring more data storage and more processing capacity. People who have been worried about the rolling 4 hours average (R4HA) on mainframes will shrink at the thought of that scenario, whereas in a cloud environment, people typically only pay for what they use, so a rapid increase in usage has a one-time cost and no knock-on issues.
Other reasons for migrating to cloud often don’t apply to all sites. For example, moving to the cloud is often associated with new applications and flexibility. Companies can only stay in business if they are quick to exploit new market opportunities, and cloud provides that kind of opportunity. That thinking is not wrong, but it ignores the fact that DevOps (or, better, DevSecOps) has been around on mainframes for a while now, and provides a way to develop new applications quickly – and updates them as needed equally quickly.
It's suggested that business continuity planning is better in a cloud environment because disaster recovery is nearly instantaneous. That is true, but mainframes have been working on disaster recovery for many years. Most major financial institutions rely on mainframes, so they need to make sure that financial transactions aren’t lost during a crash. And they are still using mainframes at the core of their IT stack.
Mainframes have lots of data – maybe stored in a variety of IMS databases – that is unavailable to other applications. These days, customer data can help make business decisions that support and enhance the growth of many company. The suggestion is that putting the data into the cloud allows it to be analysed, allows artificial intelligence and machine learning applications to be run against it, and useful information to be produced. That certainly seems like a very good reason to use cloud computing in addition to the mainframe.
And I think this highlights the nub of the issue. For people who don’t understand the power and the capabilities of a mainframe, the idea of migrating all their applications and data off it and on to the cloud seems like a sensible idea. For people who do understand what a mainframe is capable of, it makes sense to use the mainframe for what it does best AND use a cloud environment for those things that it does best. Every mainframer I know uses a laptop – indicating that they have embraced distributed computing. I assume that, similarly, they will make the most of cloud environments.
It's just that people talk about ‘modernizing the mainframe’ as if it hasn’t changed in the past neatly 60 years – and it has. I feel very strongly that decision makers need to recognize the opportunities that come with a mainframe and not take a ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ approach to getting everything off the mainframe and on to the cloud as soon as possible.
From my point of view, I like the opportunities available with cloud computing. I just don’t want organizations to ignore the opportunities they already have with the mainframe. And that’s why I’m not surprised that the Ensono survey found so many respondents were moving to a hybrid environment.
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