Mainframe computers continue to play a critical role in enterprise computing, have a key role in many companies' cloud-connected enterprise strategies, and the availability and development of critical mainframe skills remains a concern, according to a survey.
A significant majority (80 percent) of respondents named the mainframe as an important part of their current business strategy, and as part of their cloud plans (73 percent), and cited concerns about proficiency levels of recent college graduates as cause for concern when looking at sourcing the next generation of mainframe personnel.
The need for skilled mainframe workers becomes even more critical as companies look to leverage the mainframe as a key component of evolving plans for cloud adoption. More than two-thirds (73 percent) of respondents confirmed that the mainframe is -- or will be -- part of their organization's cloud computing strategy.
Among the survey's other significant findings:
1) Increased Mainframe Investment
-- A majority (80 percent) responded they will be maintaining or increasing spend on mainframe staff in the next 12-18 months.
-- More than three-fourths (76 percent) will maintain or increase their investment in mainframe software during the next 12-18 months.
-- Nearly half of respondents (46 percent) are looking for industry leadership from vendors on the evolving role of the mainframe in the enterprise.
2) Difficulty in Sourcing and Training Mainframe Talent
-- Nearly the same percentage of respondents (61 percent) don't believe the IT industry does enough to promote mainframe career opportunities to recent graduates.
-- 35 percent believe that recent graduates are not as proficient in mainframe technology as their counterparts that entered the workforce 10-years ago.
-- 61 percent said that hiring either took much longer than expected, took long enough to negatively impact their IT operation or are still looking for talent after more than six months.
3) Leveraging Social Media in Hiring
-- As the industry seeks to bolster mainframe education and careers in technology, companies will continue to hire. More than half (52 percent) of those surveyed cited social media networking platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn as the most effective recruiting tools. Fifty six percent indicated that they would like IT vendors to provide insights on the next generation of mainframe personnel, as they too, are feeling the staffing squeeze.
Comment from Dayton Semerjian, general manager, Mainframe, CA Technologies: With the resurgence of the mainframe underway and the recent release of IBM's zEnterprise hardware, it's clear that the mainframe is here to stay and will remain a critical component of enterprise data center as companies develop cloud strategies.
About the survey: The survey "Mainframe as a Mainstay" was conducted by Decipher Research, a marketing research services provider based in the U.S. Decipher surveyed 200 U.S. mainframe executives during September and October 2010.
Contact: http://www.ca.com
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