Research reveals that the UK's mainframe users are increasingly
using their big boxes for application control in an attempt to make
IT work harder for less expense
There has been a revolution in the way mainframe computers are used
by UK businesses over the past five years.
A study of large UK IBM mainframe users, exclusive to Computer
Weekly, has revealed that most companies have moved from using
their mainframe servers for batch processing and are now using them
to deliver real-time information feeds.
Batch processing is where data is stored up and processed in batch
jobs - for example, the way credit card companies process
billing.
The report found that, of the 21 large organisations surveyed,
three-quarters are using real-time information feeds from their
mainframes, and about a quarter said all their applications require
real-time data.
Nine organisations said they had extended the use of their
mainframe and were setting up new applications that required
mainframe access. Some were doing this on a daily basis, others on
a monthly or between two and six times a year.
The applications that required real-time access to data were mainly
core to the business. They included billing, claims, customer
information, despatch, financial data, ATMs, loans and credit,
reservations, e-commerce and web applications.
Research firm Market Clarity carried out the study for mainframe
integration specialist Neon Systems.
The research found that six firms had implemented a
service-oriented architecture (which uses reusable chunks of code);
five were using web services (a standards-based way of integrating
web applications); and one used an event-driven architecture (where
the system responds to user or system activities).
Five companies used all three types of architecture and the rest
were shifting from one set-up to another. Most of the companies
said these architectures extended to their mainframes.
Ian Clarke, enterprise solutions director at IT services firm
Compuware, said, "What this research confirms is that modernisation
is well on the way. In the past three or four years, everyone
concentrated on [mainframe] cost reduction. They are now
concentrating on cost management and agility in IT."
Clarke added that the main driver was the need for firms to give
customers real-time access via the internet to data held in
back-office systems. Three to five years ago call centres handled
the requests customers are now making online, he said.
Phil Payne, principal at Isham Research, said mainframes have
steadily been moving towards real-time data processing over a
number of years.
"Mainframes are the only way to do large-scale real-time data
processing. People are very fond of saying Google can do everything
with 10,000 PCs, but they have also got 10,000 different versions
of their database. Centralised systems are essential," he
said.
"Customers are increasingly familiar with instant gratification,
and are using mobile devices to access mainframe data and, in many
ways, bypassing the desktop PC. Within five years, every banking
customer will have a banking terminal in their pocket, drawing on
the mainframe."
IBM has invested heavily in its zSeries mainframe servers,
developing high-availability operating systems such as
z/Transaction Processing Facility Enterprise Edition; and a host of
Linux and Java tools and applications to assist real-time
processing.
It has also introduced architectural features, such as on-demand
processing, where the server ships with free processors that are
activated as required; and clustering technology for dynamically
managing and mirroring critical storage, processor and networking
resources.
How the research was conducted
Research firm Market Clarity surveyed 21 large UK organisations
that use IBM mainframes. (Between 220 and 250 companies run IBM
z/OS mainframes in the UK.)
Respondents came from a range of industries, including banking,
finance and retail. They were all involved in mainframe integration
or application development projects.
The research was commissioned by mainframe integration specialist
Neon Systems.
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