Responsibility for running a mainframe does not always
lie with the IT department, according to a study of large IBM
mainframe users by Market Clarity.
Once the preserve of datacentre managers, control of the mainframe
could lie with a business unit or an outsourcing specialist.
Overall responsibility for the mainframe within business divisions
was found to reside with directors, head office, planning
personnel, enterprise managers, and strategy managers.
Within IT, control resides with central data departments, IT
directors, architecture and design experts, mainframe teams and
internal technical services.
Of the 21 organisations surveyed, responsibility for mainframe
integration budgets was split equally between business units,
central IT, or a combination of the two.
Stephen Martin, managing director of Market Clarity, said, "In the
past the mainframe would have been owned by finance people. Now
mainframes are acting as vast repositories for data, things have
changed.
"If you are a finance organisation, the finance department may
still own it. If the company believes IT is a key part of its
business, it is likely to be an IT person who manages the
mainframe. In companies where marketing and sales lead, it will be
a combination of the two."
Compuware enterprise solutions director Ian Clarke said, "The more
you see your mainframe as core to your business, the more it moves
into the network and architecture side of your business."
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