As you read this page, consider that my research is actually based on on-site visits to mainframe customers (see the "Case Studies" Web page for more details about these customers).
If you read research/analysis reports from companies such as Gartner (for instance, Garnter's "Impact of Generational IT Skill Shift on Legacy Applications") you may come to believe that there is a major, forthcoming, disasterous shortage of IT professional skills that will tumble the mainframe. In fact, in this research note, Gartner actually suggests that moving off of the mainframe might be necessary due to this forthcoming, alleged skills shortage. Clabby Analytics is apalled by this advice (see our counter opinion here). Does Gartner not know that most of the world's banking and financial systems (and many of the world's retail systems) run on mainframes? Do they really think that these institutions that are running technologically superior mainframes in an age where power, cooling, footprint, and processing efficiency is becoming paramount are really going to ditch out of mainframes because of an alleged skills shortage? (The mainframe customers that I talk to are finding creative ways to fill mainframe skills gaps; and vendors such as IBM and CA are agressively working to simplify mainframe management. Gartner's mainframe skills shortage theory is "OVERBLOWN").
When you read Gartner anti-mainframe opinions, ask yourself two questions:
Where's the proof that this whopping mainframe skills shortage is about to occur?
And what, pray tell, is Gartner recommending that you move to?
Other "Skills Shortage" Resources At Clabby Analytics, we've talked our only son into pursuing a career in mainframe computing. Check out how Billy's move into mainframe management is going (here).
TO BE PUBLISHED SHORTLY: A Critique of CA Technologies' new CA Mainframe Chorus environment -- a major change in how mainframes can now be managed that yields ease of use and great increases in productivity.
