mLogica Thought Leaders: Mainframe-dependent Businesses Face the Challenges of a Graying Workforce

It’s not a surprise to most of us that the tribal knowledge of mainframe applications is being lost. Companies with mainframe-based applications continue to face the existential challenge of an aging support workforce.

This challenge stems from the fact that their mainframe applications have been in operation for decades, and the individuals who possess the necessary knowledge of the source systems and the workflows, and the expertise to maintain these business-critical systems, are nearing retirement age or have already retired. The oldest mainframe application I’ve encountered that’s still in production is at a major capital market firm. The application was developed in 1969—and is supported by only two part-time experts, the younger of whom is seventy years old!

Additionally, mainframe technologies such as COBOL, Assembler, Telon, Easytrieve, IMS, IDMS, etc., are no longer “in vogue” and newer IT professionals lack exposure to and expertise in these legacy technologies. This loss of experienced personnel has significant implications for the health of the entire organization.

Moreover, relying on IT professionals to solve the problems of a legacy system puts companies at high risk, especially when an application is the core of their business, containing critical data and processes. The truth is kicking the can down the road is no longer a viable option, and outsourcing your operations to others is risky since the outsourced organization will face similar challenges supporting the legacy system with their resources.

Legislators at state and federal levels, CEOs and board members of private and public organizations are becoming increasingly alarmed about continuing to use legacy mainframe technology. Training and re-tooling resources are only short-term fixes. Migrating your mainframe applications and workload to the cloud is the most prudent solution. This is definitely the time to act.

As a leading provider of software to modernize and migrate mainframes to the cloud, mLogica is well aware of the challenges faced by mainframe clients seeking resources to support their mainframes. That’s why we continue to enhance our automation software and tooling to provide organizations a seamless and efficient transition from legacy technology to our clients’ choice of cloud platform.