The News: Kyndryl added a suite of services to support the Amazon Web Services (AWS) mainframe modernization service, including cloud native services and application replatforming and refactoring. Read the full announcement on the Kyndryl website.
AWS re:Invent: Kyndryl, AWS build Bridge to Mainframe Modernization
Analyst Take: Kyndryl took the opportunity presented by the industry buzz around AWS re:Invent to announce a strategic collaboration that we believe will become a template for other hyperscale integrations. The AWS Mainframe Modernization service allows customers to migrate and modernize their on-premises mainframe applications to a cloud-native fully managed runtime environment on AWS. Managed service provider Kyndryl is adding the following services to automate provisioning and management of AWS Mainframe Modernization customer deployments:
- Kyndryl Cloud Native Services (KCNS) for mainframe modernization will help streamline provisioning, backup, and compliance application monitoring and management across platforms. KCNS will help automate operations, track runtime performance, and help ensure system health. These capabilities were previously managed by AWS but can now be managed by Kyndryl.
- Application replatforming/refactoring via integrated DevSecOps provides application platform engineering on the mainframe and AWS.
- Application refactoring for migration from the mainframe to AWS is supported by Kyndryl migration experts and helps customers optimize mainframe applications as microservices in a cloud-native environment.
- Near-real-time data replication between the mainframe and AWS using Kyndryl Consult to tune and manage third-party products to replicate data with Change Data Capture (CDC) between the mainframe and AWS.
Kyndryl Bridge Integration
The services will also integrate the AI-powered Kyndryl Bridge open integration platform into AWS. Kyndryl Bridge provides real-time visibility and actionable insights into operational data for mainframe applications and data in the public cloud.
Applications refactored or replatformed with Mainframe Modernization can use other AWS services, including compute, database, messaging, security, and storage. When replatforming an application, Mainframe Modernization recompiles the app and deploys it as an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)–based runtime environment.
Looking Ahead
This is a big step forward in moving workloads across cloud and mainframes, as organizations continue to adopt a hybrid strategy. And it is just the start. Kyndryl executives that we met with at the show, including Petra Goude and Richard Baird, say they have a strong roadmap to continue to expand their services around AWS Mainframe Modernization in 2024, and we fully expect tighter integrations and more customer stories to be forthcoming.
The goal is to help customers place the right workload on the right platform by seamlessly managing and migrating workloads both on-premises and in the public cloud. Kyndryl’s capabilities and the AWS Mainframe Modernization service can help create an end-to-end mainframe transformation factory to integrate and migrate mainframe applications and data to AWS.
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:
Kyndryl Announces Strategic Alliance with Palo Alto Networks
Mainframe Modernization: A Deep Dive into Real Strategies and Success Stories – Futurum Tech Webcast
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.
Dave’s focus within The Futurum Group is concentrated in the rapidly evolving integrated infrastructure and cloud storage markets. Before joining the Evaluator Group, Dave spent 25 years as a technology journalist and covered enterprise storage for more than 15 years. He most recently worked for 13 years at TechTarget as Editorial Director and Executive News Editor for storage, data protection and converged infrastructure. In 2020, Dave won an American Society of Business Professional Editors (ASBPE) national award for column writing.
His previous jobs covering technology include news editor at Byte and Switch, managing editor of EdTech Magazine, and features and new products editor at Windows Magazine. Before turning to technology, he was an editor and sports reporter for United Press International in New York for 12 years. A New Jersey native, Dave currently lives in northern Virginia.
Dave holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Journalism from William Patterson University.
