The Price of Legacy: How Mainframe Maintenance Costs are Straining IT Budgets By Hari Candadai hanks to their unparalleled stability and reliability, mainframes still power the world’s leading businesses, including banks, airlines, retailers, and healthcare, who need to manage billions of secure transactions every day. In fact, the mainframe is still the platform of choice for most of the world’s Fortune 500 companies. Despite all the promises you hear about cloud computing, mainframes are hard to beat in terms of speed, security, uptime, and processing power. They can also last for more than 10 years, run multiple operating systems at once, and offer 32 • Enterprise Tech Journal T compatibility for both new and legacy applications. These crucial core systems are inherently reliable, stable, and secure. But if something does go wrong, they require immediate attention. Even a few minutes of downtime can lead to devastating financial compliance risks for companies and their customers. Businesses recognize the importance of keeping these systems in good shape and maximizing the value of their existing investment. However, most IT departments do not have the required expertise in-house. So, they turn to external support. • 2023: Issue 3