The News: BMC has recently acquired Mainframe startup Model9 and has incorporated this solution set into a newly announced AMI Cloud solutions portfolio. For full details of the announcement, click here.

BMC: Empowering Mainframe Data Management in the Hybrid Cloud Era

Analyst Take: Mainframes are still the backbone of many businesses, with the latest IBM z16 being the most successful launch ever when measured by processing capacity. While mainframes are the backbone of many enterprises and government agencies in today’s data-driven era, businesses face significant challenges in managing data in their data centers. The obstacles are substantial, from limited scalability to high costs and complexity to technological obsolescence. Customers need help with limited scalability, infrastructure constraints, and growing data volumes. Setting up and maintaining on-premises data centers can be costly, with upfront investments and ongoing maintenance expenses. Complex management and specialized skills pose additional hurdles. Ensuring data resilience and business continuity requires investments in disaster recovery measures. Limited accessibility and collaboration hinder productivity, while technological obsolescence remains a constant concern.

Despite these challenges, options exist that leverage cloud-based storage and hybrid cloud architectures. These solutions offer scalability, cost effectiveness, simplified management, and enhanced accessibility. Embracing these alternatives can help organizations overcome on-premises data management challenges and unlock their data’s full potential.

As I said in the BMC press release, “As enterprises double down on hybrid cloud deployments, mission-critical data is a key component of any strategy. The ability to leverage cloud storage and data protection for system resilience, backup, archiving, and enhancing cybersecurity posture is therefore crucial… BMC’s launch of the BMC AMI Cloud portfolio today represents their commitment to helping their clients embrace a hybrid cloud approach for mainframe-based data and is a seminal moment in the storied history of the mainframe.”

Challenges with Traditional/On-Premises Infrastructure for Mainframe Data

Managing mainframe data with traditional tape and virtual tape library (VTL) solutions presents numerous challenges. Backup, restore, and data retrieval processes become complex and time-consuming when relying on physical tapes and manual handling. The limited access to data stored on tapes or VTLs hampers the quick and efficient utilization of mainframe data. Moreover, maintaining and managing on-premises infrastructure, including physical storage media and associated hardware, can strain enterprise budgets. The need for scalability and resilience of on-premises infrastructure also poses risks to business continuity and data integrity.

The Power of Hybrid Cloud Strategy

A hybrid cloud approach provides a powerful solution to overcome the challenges associated with traditional mainframe data storage. Organizations can unlock numerous benefits by leveraging the cloud for tape and VTL replacement. Cloud-based solutions offer greater accessibility to mainframe data, enabling faster and more efficient data retrieval and utilization. The scalability of the cloud allows enterprises to seamlessly accommodate growing data volumes and changing business needs without large upfront investments. Additionally, a hybrid cloud strategy enhances disaster recovery capabilities and improves data accessibility and team collaboration.

The Aging Workforce and Mainframe Skillset Concerns

One pressing issue in the mainframe data management landscape is the aging workforce and the potential loss of mainframe skillsets. As experienced personnel transition out of the workforce, organizations face a skills gap that threatens the effective management of on-premises mainframe infrastructure. However, leveraging modern mainframe data management solutions like BMC AMI Cloud, a hybrid cloud strategy, helps mitigate these concerns. Organizations can onboard new talent more easily and ensure continuity in managing mainframe data by adopting solutions that don’t heavily rely on legacy skillsets. The cloud-based tools and interfaces offered by modern solutions simplify operations, streamline workflows, and enable efficient collaboration across teams.

Benefits of Data Protection and Management in a Hybrid Cloud Strategy

Hybrid cloud strategies offer compelling advantages for companies implementing data protection and management solutions. By leveraging advanced security measures provided by cloud service providers, organizations can reduce their risk of data breaches and unauthorized access. The cloud also enables operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness through automation and orchestration tools, reducing administrative overheads, improving data availability, and minimizing downtime. The pay-as-you-go pricing model optimizes costs, eliminating the need for upfront capital expenditures. Embracing a hybrid cloud strategy empowers organizations to enhance security, efficiency, and cost effectiveness in their mainframe data operations.

Looking Ahead

While the announcements last week are indeed a seminal moment for the evolution of BMCs mainframe business, hard work is still ahead. The solutions today are installed in a handful of clients, and while Model9 was gaining traction, BMC will have to enable the sales teams globally and take this solution to market at scale. I am optimistic about BMC’s ability to execute the sales go-to-market effort, and I am confident that John McKenny and his team within the AMI division will be able to take the Model9 code base and continue to develop the solutions and expand the use cases.

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.