Mainframe makeovers
Toby Sucharov · Information Professional · 2007
It seems that the mention of SOA (service-oriented architecture) alone is enough to release the funds needed for IT departments to modernise mainframes. But should departments use SOA to drive traditional legacy mainframe upgrades under the guise of making systems SOA compliant? The IT industry has been at a loss when it comes to legacy mainframe systems. 'To modernise, or not to modernise?' has been the unanswered question of recent years. Legacy mainframe managed systems and associated maintenance costs are a considerable drain on IT department budgets. The costs are high because of interactions between the obsolete platforms and non-mainstream languages on which these legacy systems are built. Adoption of SOA has allowed IT departments to sneak in funding for modernisation programs. The underlying question to this trend is whether SOA should be used as a tool for driving forwards traditional legacy mainframe modernisation programmes under the guise of making systems SOA compliant? It appears the SOA name alone can release the funds required for IT departments to modernise their mainframes. What problem is a little white lie if it gets the job done?