Analyst: Steven Dickens
Publication Date: September 13, 2024
Document #: MCNSD202409
The Kyndryl 2024 State of Mainframe Modernization Survey highlights AI’s growing role, with 86% of businesses deploying or planning to deploy AI tools. Nearly all respondents have adopted hybrid IT strategies, emphasizing security and regulatory compliance, but 77% rely on external providers to address skills gaps. Futurum Group’s research, conducted with IBM, Broadcom, and 21CS, also stresses AI and hybrid IT adoption, noting a 65% increase in mainframe-trained professionals. Both reports highlight the need for targeted training and emphasize AI, security, and hybrid IT as key themes for modernization.
What Is Covered in This Article:
- The Kyndryl survey emphasizes the critical role of AI in mainframe modernization, with 86% of respondents deploying AI tools.
- Both surveys highlight the dominance of hybrid IT strategies, with security and regulatory compliance as key drivers for modernization.
- The Kyndryl study points to significant skills gaps, with 77% of organizations using external providers to address expertise shortages.
- The Futurum research presents a more positive view of the mainframe skills pool, noting a 65% increase in trained professionals but still stressing the need for targeted training programs.
The News: Kyndryl’s 2024 State of Mainframe Modernization Survey reveals that 86% of enterprises are rapidly adopting AI, particularly generative AI, to accelerate mainframe modernization, with up to a 225% return on investment in one year. Despite significant progress, organizations face challenges such as skills shortages, especially in AI and security, and the need for better observability tools to manage their hybrid IT environments effectively.
Are Enterprises Ignoring Mainframe Skills in Their Modernization Push?
Analyst Take: As technology evolves, organizations are continually seeking ways to transform their IT infrastructure, especially core systems such as mainframes. Once considered slow-moving in the innovation landscape, mainframes are now emerging as critical enablers of modernization, particularly in hybrid IT environments. According to Kyndryl’s 2024 State of Mainframe Modernization Survey, the integration of advanced technologies such as generative AI and a focus on security are reshaping how businesses leverage their mainframe systems.
Generative AI: A Key Driver of Transformation
One of the most prominent takeaways from the Kyndryl report is the accelerating adoption of AI, especially generative AI. A staggering 86% of respondents indicated that they are either deploying or planning to deploy AI tools on their mainframe systems. This highlights how mainframes are no longer viewed as outdated or cumbersome but instead as a foundational piece of the broader AI ecosystem. AI-driven insights are transforming operational processes and enabling businesses to unlock the full potential of their mainframe data, which was previously siloed and underutilized.
More than just a modernization tool, AI is becoming central to how businesses derive insights from their core operations. About 71% of respondents are already utilizing AI as part of their ongoing mainframe modernization strategy, showing that the integration of AI is no longer a future objective but a present necessity for competitive enterprises.
The Rise of Hybrid IT Environments
The trend toward hybrid IT is another significant finding. Nearly all respondents (96%) have adopted a hybrid strategy, moving some workloads off their mainframes while still maintaining a critical role for the platform in day-to-day operations. On average, 36% of workloads are being transitioned to cloud environments or other platforms. Despite this shift, 89% of organizations still regard mainframes as essential to their business, reinforcing the platform’s ongoing relevance in an increasingly decentralized IT world. Personally, I question that 36% of workloads are moving to the cloud. Rather core workloads are being cloud connected based on my observations.
Security: A Central Focus
Security is an important theme running through the Kyndryl report. With cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated and regulatory pressures mounting, 66% of respondents identified security as the most critical feature of their mainframe operations. Regulatory compliance is a driving force for modernization efforts, with 92% of businesses noting it as a key concern. As organizations look to modernize, ensuring that their security posture remains robust is crucial, especially as they integrate more complex AI and hybrid systems.
Skills Gaps and External Expertise
The modernization journey is not without challenges. A notable 28% of respondents in the Kyndryl survey are grappling with skills gaps, a result of retiring mainframe experts and a lack of new talent entering the field. To fill this gap, 77% of organizations are turning to external providers to guide their modernization projects. This reliance on external expertise indicates a significant opportunity for service providers specializing in both mainframe and cloud environments.
Observability Challenges in Hybrid IT
A final challenge highlighted in the report is the difficulty organizations face in achieving enterprise-wide observability. While 92% of respondents consider this capability crucial, 85% struggle with implementing it effectively. This highlights the need for better tools to monitor, manage, and orchestrate IT environments that span both mainframe and cloud infrastructure. Kyndryl’s Bridge platform, which integrates AI-powered observability tools, could provide a path forward for enterprises struggling to gain full visibility into their hybrid ecosystems.
Key takeaways from the Kyndryl research:
- AI Adoption on Mainframes: 86% of businesses are embracing generative AI as part of their mainframe modernization strategy, with 71% already using AI to generate insights.
- Hybrid IT is the Norm: 96% of organizations are moving some workloads off the mainframe, yet 89% see it as essential to business operations.
- Security is Paramount: 66% of respondents identified security as the main reason for modernizing their mainframe systems, driven by regulatory demands.
- Skills Gap Persists: 28% face significant skills shortages, with 77% relying on external providers to execute modernization efforts.
- Observability is a Challenge: While 92% view enterprise-wide observability as critical, 85% struggle to achieve it across hybrid IT environments.
The Kyndryl 2024 State of Mainframe Modernization Survey and the Futurum Group’s recent research conducted in collaboration with IBM, Broadcom, and 21CS offer valuable insights into the evolving role of mainframes in modern IT environments, but they do so with different emphases.
Both studies align in their acknowledgment of the enduring importance of mainframe systems in large-scale enterprise environments, but they offer unique perspectives on adoption drivers, skills gaps, and the integration of AI.
Adoption of AI and Hybrid IT Strategies
The Kyndryl report highlights generative AI as a key driver in mainframe modernization, with 86% of respondents deploying or planning to deploy AI tools. This focus on AI’s role in transforming mainframe operations contrasts slightly with the Futurum study, which places a stronger emphasis on AI-enhanced operational efficiency, particularly around automation and security. Both, however, emphasize AI’s transformative potential, whether through generative AI (Kyndryl) or AI-powered automation (Futurum), showing consensus that AI is key to mainframe evolution.
Both reports also agree that the hybrid IT model dominates. Kyndryl notes that 96% of respondents are moving workloads off mainframes, while still considering mainframes essential to their operations. The Futurum research similarly notes that mainframes are increasingly integrated into hybrid and multi-cloud environments, with organizations balancing legacy systems with modern infrastructures. Both reports underscore that while workloads are being distributed, mainframes remain a cornerstone of business operations.
Skills Gap and Education
Where the two reports diverge is in their treatment of the skills gap. The Kyndryl survey indicates a 28% gap in mainframe skills, with 77% of organizations using external providers to modernize. The Futurum study, conversely, shows a 65% increase in mainframe-skilled professionals, reflecting the impact of educational investments and collaborations with major vendors such as IBM and Broadcom. Despite this positive trend, Futurum also identifies a misalignment between academic curricula and industry needs, suggesting that both studies agree that targeted training and specialized education are critical.
Security as a Core Concern
Security emerges as a top priority in both reports, driven by regulatory compliance and growing cyber threats. Kyndryl identifies 66% of respondents citing security as the most critical feature, aligning closely with Futurum’s findings, which stress the need for robust security measures and AI-enhanced monitoring in modernized mainframe environments. This common theme illustrates the evolving role of security as both a driver and a challenge in mainframe modernization.
In summary, both studies align on the core themes of AI adoption, hybrid IT, and security as essential drivers of mainframe modernization. However, they diverge in their assessment of the skills gap, with Kyndryl focusing more on the current lack of expertise and Futurum presenting a more optimistic view of the growing talent pool. Together, these reports provide a comprehensive picture of the state of mainframes in today’s IT landscape, highlighting both the progress and the challenges ahead.
Futurum will continue to track the mainframe skills market closely, particularly as new data emerges from industry reports. We are also anticipating the release of the annual BMC Mainframe Survey, due in a few weeks, which will provide additional insights. With years of data behind it, the BMC report offers valuable trends, making it a key resource for analyzing the long-term shifts in mainframe talent and technology.
Futurum Recommendations
Enterprises assessing their mainframe skills needs should prioritize investing in upskilling and reskilling initiatives to bridge the talent gap and keep pace with modernization. Collaborating with educational institutions and external training providers can help align workforce capabilities with the latest industry demands. Additionally, businesses should focus on retaining mid-career professionals while nurturing early-career talent to maintain a balanced and future-ready mainframe workforce.
From our research, the key recommendations include:
- Enhance Collaboration with Educational Institutions: To address the skills gap, industry-aligned curricula that focus on the specific requirements of modern mainframe environments are critical. Partnerships between businesses and educational institutions should be strengthened to facilitate this alignment.
- Expand and Diversify Training Programs: Companies should increase their investment in comprehensive training programs, including apprenticeships and bootcamps, to develop practical, job-ready skills.
- Adopt Strategic Recruitment Initiatives: Organizations should adopt a balanced recruitment strategy that targets both early-career and mid-career professionals, leveraging the unique strengths of each group to build a resilient mainframe workforce.
- Make Long-Term Investments in Mainframe Technologies: Continued financial commitment to mainframe technologies not only secures operational needs but also signals to potential talent the long-term career opportunities available within the field and the strategic importance of the platform to the enterprise. This investment can also manifest as application modernization and platform currency. Coupled with long-term commitment to admin and developer resources, this approach can help ensure organizations will derive continued value from mainframe platforms for years to come.
- Engage with Vendors Committed to Growing Skills in Their Own Workforce: Vendors need to encourage early-career professionals to be quickly integrated into the mainframe sector through hands-on learning and direct customer engagements, rapidly building confidence, accelerating knowledge retention, and gaining practical experience.
In summary, addressing mainframe skills is crucial for organizations to fully capitalize on AI and hybrid IT modernization. By investing in targeted training and reskilling programs, enterprises can ensure they have the expertise needed to drive long-term success in an evolving IT landscape.
See the complete Kyndryl press release here.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
Innovative Mainframe Solutions: A Deep Dive into Broadcom’s Initiatives
Challenging the Negative Narrative of the Mainframe Skills Landscape
Innovative Mainframe Solutions: A Deep Dive into Broadcom’s Initiatives
Author Information
Regarded as a luminary at the intersection of technology and business transformation, Steven Dickens is the Vice President and Practice Leader for Hybrid Cloud, Infrastructure, and Operations at The Futurum Group. With a distinguished track record as a Forbes contributor and a ranking among the Top 10 Analysts by ARInsights, Steven's unique vantage point enables him to chart the nexus between emergent technologies and disruptive innovation, offering unparalleled insights for global enterprises.
Steven's expertise spans a broad spectrum of technologies that drive modern enterprises. Notable among these are open source, hybrid cloud, mission-critical infrastructure, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and FinTech innovation. His work is foundational in aligning the strategic imperatives of C-suite executives with the practical needs of end users and technology practitioners, serving as a catalyst for optimizing the return on technology investments.
Over the years, Steven has been an integral part of industry behemoths including Broadcom, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and IBM. His exceptional ability to pioneer multi-hundred-million-dollar products and to lead global sales teams with revenues in the same echelon has consistently demonstrated his capability for high-impact leadership.
Steven serves as a thought leader in various technology consortiums. He was a founding board member and former Chairperson of the Open Mainframe Project, under the aegis of the Linux Foundation. His role as a Board Advisor continues to shape the advocacy for open source implementations of mainframe technologies.
