Have you pigeonholed your mainframe apps? The January/February issue of IBM Systems Magazine that highlights the System Z Influence is an excellent presentation of what is available in the IBM System Z today. The mainframe has always reigned supreme in reliability and performance and now in flexibility and openness as well.

Citing IBM software licensing costs and the lack of trained mainframe resources, companies are spending a lot of time and money migrating from the mainframe, and in the end, they’re just replicating what they already had (functionally). As they grow and demands become greater, the mainframe is where they want to be.

New(er) technologies are extending the mainframe-based enterprise to the Web and to mobile devices. Customers should talk with their current vendors (especially the ISVs) to determine what they have to offer that adds value to the investment they have already made on their mainframes.

Gartner says that people are migrating off of the mainframe because of cost and skills availability in the younger workforce.  The IBM VM Operating System supports Linux as well as MVS and VSE clients, thus opening the power of the System Z to more options and a large pool of talent.

Look into everything your vendor has to offer—are you taking full advantage? Talk to your vendor; you may be surprised about what they can offer you.