I would say that there is no expectation for the Data Center or Mainframe to slide into the sunset. The processes on the Mainframe are more robust than the open systems. Yes, open systems will catch up, but they are now where we were 15 years ago. And there are many processes that just perform better on the mainframe.
>From an article in 2010 on Saas and the mainframe http://dancingdinosaur.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/saas-and-the-ibm-system-z/ IBM's mainframe SaaS strategy envisions the mainframe as the center of SaaS offerings based on mainframe functionality delivered as sets of services. The goal is to enable IT to provide selected mainframe capabilities as online services and generate new revenue for the company. In effect, IT becomes what IBM refers to as rainmakers, using mainframe assets delivered as SaaS. Are mainframe managers ready to think this way? Some certainly are. What mainframe data or functionality will your organization's customers or new customers be willing to pay for? In truth, the System z is well positioned to capitalize on the as-a-service phenomenon. The System z is multi-tenant to the max, which is critical to play the as-a-service game. Not only can it deliver SaaS data and functionality but also PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service). And it doesn't take much to do this if you already have a z in place. Linux on z, WebSphere on z, and z/VM get you started. And from Share in March 2009 Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is garnering a lot of attention these days, and for good reason - increased operational efficiency, reduced operating expenses, and extensive market reach is always a good thing. SaaS is most often associated with commodity servers and open source software environments, but this session will show how the mainframe is actually the best platform for your SaaS solutions. The mainframes' 40+ year heritage is built on the motto LESS IS MORE and it shows. The mainframe is Green. A new z10 EC can consume 1/24th the energy and 1/5th the floor space of equivalent x86 Blade environments. Mainframes, as consolidation systems, are uniquely designed to virtualize and share everything - hardware, network, I/O, you name it- it's shared, consuming the equivalent of 100s or even 1000s of servers' workload. By default multi-tenancy, a core SaaS requirement, is baked into the DNA of the platform, which is valuable for the many customers who are rearchitecting existing applications to provide as a service. Lizette -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jake anderson Sent: Friday, September 13, 2013 11:30 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Mainframe On Cloud Hello All, I am really new to the mainframe on Cloud concept. Just going through some white papers on mainframe on cloud. I was just curious to know about the future of current Mainframe sites, Like is it expected to see Mainframe DC getting shutdown slowly ? Any thoughts are much appreciated. If my query does not makes any sense,please do feel free to comment, so that I can put in more precise way. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
