9 Mainframe Statistics That May Surprise You

Are mainframes still relevant today? You bet!  The following ten statistics paint a picture that shows mainframes are still going strong, with no signs of slowing. 1.  The Mainframe Turns 60: A Milestone in Computing History.  60 years can really fly by! On April 7, 2024, the Mainframe turned 60. At this milestone, we should […]

Mainframe History: How Mainframe Computers Have Changed Over the Years

Mainframes have one of the longest histories of any kind of computing technology that is still used today.  In fact, mainframe history shows the fast-evolving landscape of technology, few innovations have left as profound a mark as mainframe computers. From their inception to the sophisticated systems of today, mainframes have continuously adapted to meet the […]

5 Things Everyone Should Know about Mainframes

What comes to mind when you hear the word mainframe? If it’s a computer from the 1950s, you probably don’t know as much about mainframes as you could. Keep reading for five little-known mainframe facts. If you work in the mainframe industry or have a strong background in technology, these mainframe facts may not be […]

Mainframes vs Midrange Servers: What’s the Difference, Anyway?

Mainframe and midrange servers are probably among the least understood systems among today’s IT professionals. in IT, due in part to the fact that many people just lump them into a single category, unclear about the distinctions between them. Unless you work with mainframes or midrange servers specifically, you probably think of them as old-school systems with very […]

Why Mainframes Matter in the Age of Cloud Computing

It’s easy enough to understand why one might think that mainframes are no longer relevant in the present age of “cloud-native” everything. Today, moving to and operating in the cloud is a top priority for organizations. Public and private cloud computing platforms like AWS and Azure are more popular than ever. You may think that, […]

Linux vs. z/OS: Which Is the Best Fit for Your Mainframe?

If you run an IBM mainframe today, you have to choose between two great operating systems options to power it:  Linux vs. z/OS. How do you decide? Here’s a guide to choosing the right operating system for your IBM mainframe. A (very) brief history of mainframe operating systems If you have worked in the mainframe […]

6 Industries Where Mainframes are Still King

Ever wonder why companies like IBM are still selling mainframes? Hint: It’s not because they’re living in the past. It’s because the mainframe is still crucial in a number of industries. It’s telling that mainframes are important not only because some companies are still using the mainframe systems they bought years ago and have yet […]

Mainframe Real-time and Streaming Analytics

If you analyze data as soon as it is created – in other words, if you perform real-time analytics – you get much more value out of it than if you wait until the data is a bit older. Sure, data analytics are still useful if the data is a day or a week old. If […]

5 of the Hottest IT Trends (and How Mainframes Play a Role)

Mainframes were developed long before anyone was thinking about the trends and technologies that define modern computing. Concepts like open source software were decades away from emerging when the first mainframes were deployed in the 1950s. Other modern IT trends and technologies, such as Docker, continuous delivery, and DevOps, did not emerge until more than […]

Your Mainframe Is the Original Cloud

Cloud computing did not become a tech buzzword until about a decade ago. But in effect, lots of organizations were deploying infrastructure that provided the same benefits as the cloud long before that. How, you ask? By using mainframes. In many respects, mainframes were doing the things that the cloud does long before anyone was […]

Why IBM Wants to Marry Your Blockchain and Your Mainframe

Blockchain is one of the hottest tech buzzwords. Mainframes, although still very much alive and well, ceased to be a hot topic decades ago. You might not think, then, that blockchain and mainframes have much to do with each other. But you’d be wrong. There are some interesting potential use cases involving blockchain on mainframe […]

Mainframes for Dummies: What Non-Technical Folks Should Know about Mainframes

What do you think when you hear the word mainframe? If you imagine gigantic, outdated machines, then it’s time to educate yourself about what today’s mainframes are like and what they can do. Mainframes in the popular imagination The mainframe suffers from an image problem. Presumably, because mainframes were the first type of computer to enter […]