Sponsored by Broadcom

At Broadcom, we’ve seen first-hand how leading organizations are continuing to invest in the mainframe, its people, its technology, and how it integrates with the rest of the hybrid cloud world. And amid these new advancements, deciding which investments will pay the biggest dividends isn't easy. But there are a few obvious payoffs.

In working with leading organizations around the world, here are the five biggest areas of focus for mainframe users today:

1. HEIGHTENED SECURITY: Fortifying the mainframe against new risks and increasing cyberattacks. Yes, mainframes are the most secure computers on earth — which is why the majority of financial institutions, Fortune 500 companies, and governments rely on them. But that level of security isn’t automatic and doesn’t just come with the flip of a switch. You have to work on and invest in it with the right tools and security professionals. This has led to atrophied mainframe security in some cases, as many organizations turned their focus on cloud or distributed security, instead of securing their entire technology stack, which includes their mainframe. With the recent rise in cyberattacks, however, modernizing mainframe security has thankfully become a priority again. Better access to controls, immutable backups, ransomware protection, encryption, and software bill of materials (SBOM) are all high on mainframers’ layered to-do lists. Either way, the need to secure your most crucial data has never been greater.

2. THINKING MACHINES: Better business with robotic process automation. While artificial intelligence (AI) has been a talking point for the last 20 years, it recently went mainstream after the release of smart speakers and text generators that behave like humans. At Broadcom, we’ve seen a real acceleration in the use of AI and machine learning to cope with the explosion of operational data. The desire to find the snowflake of importance in the blizzard of data is a key driver of AI adoption. But so are automated cost reductions. Not to replace workers, mind you — but to free them of repetitive manual tasks so they can focus on money-making endeavors. Over the past year, many of our customers have condensed their five-year automation roadmaps down to just nine months. They’re doing this with AIOps. More specifically, they’re opening data access to every element of their hybrid cloud, shifting to proactive avoidance, and reducing manual efforts by 40%. You should too.

3. COMPATIBILITY: Hybrid cloud adoption shows no sign of stopping. The mainframe does some things better than the cloud (especially high-volume transaction processing that our customers depend on). The cloud is more cost-efficient when it comes to simple applications, like checking your balance (which many of those same customers depend on). As a greater share of companies recognize this, according to a recent EMA study, many organizations are combining on-premise mainframes and distributed servers with cloud services to get the “best of both worlds.” How are they doing this? Incorporating more APIs, container technologies, and the latest integration tools to name a few. Either way, there’s no better platform than mainframe when it comes to processing and securing the high-volume transactions that hybrid cloud and the digital world increasingly demands. But like mainframe security, this isn't a “push button” strategy either. You have to plan for it.

4. OPEN TOOLS: Greater use of open tech for interoperability. Since the mid ‘90s, enterprise and consumer computing have increasingly become more open. At the same time, the idea of combining software development with operations (DevOps) for better collaboration and more responsibility has rapidly increased. Indeed, open source and DevOps tools are fueling modern mainframe development. For example, up to 70% of companies have already adopted Zowe or will within the next year, according to Arcati research. Thanks to VS Code, Git, and familiar DevOps toolchains, a cloud developer can code on a mainframe now without any prior experience. That’s an exciting advancement for mainframers around the world and opens doors to new, younger developers with modern tools they know and love.

5. UNIFIED DATA: Establishing a “data fabric” over “data mesh.” While it’s true that “data mesh” can work for lighter, domain-specific applications, when it comes to heavy lifting, bigger data, and high-volume complexity, mainframe users prefer the single source of truth that “data fabric” aggregates across disparate sources. That’s why many organizations are moving their analytics closer to the data being stored on mainframes. This centralized and unified approach not only ensures data quality, consistency, and security, but also allows different teams to access and manage the centralized data. On top of that, data fabric allows for smarter governance, AI applications, and real-time insights as transactions happen, resulting in better purchase recommendations and fraud detections.

Mainframe AND Cloud

While some trends are clearly heating up, one in particular – cloud first – is cooling down. At Broadcom, we’ve observed a dramatic pullback from the idea that everything should be done on the cloud. Instead, a focus on hybrid cloud investment is dominating across all sectors. Consequently, we’ve also seen a reduction in mainframe migration and cost-cutting and repartition.

With the promise of the cloud, many companies rushed to migrate as much as they could. As the ROI of moving workloads has become murky and hard to demonstrate, however, leading organizations are re-evaluating their tech choices now. In terms of mainframe use, these businesses have returned to a growth mindset. They understand that modernizing and optimizing mainframe environments can lead to better long-term efficiency and cost savings.

All in all, we’ve observed growing investment in mainframes from leading organizations around the world. In fact, 91% of businesses and IT decision makers are expanding their mainframe footprint, according to a recent Broadcom survey. Over the long haul, 95% of respondents view the mainframe as a growth platform and 74% as a long-term strategic platform. And mainframe’s use in hybrid cloud environments is expected to double over the next three years.

We haven’t seen this much collective investment in mainframes in years. With all that’s at stake, leading organizations are investing in the 5 hot trends above, upskilling their workforce, and prioritizing security, dev tools, data, AI and observability. As you consider these important trends, we hope you’ll consider us as an equal partner in your mainframe future and leverage the incredible perks from Broadcom every mainframe shop should take advantage of.