The role that modernization holds in the business world today is more important than ever. It’s no longer an aspirational project—or for some, a necessary evil—that is tasked to IT teams by organizational leaders looking to carve out a competitive edge. Modernization is imperative, and directly tied to business success in the current market landscape, regardless of industry.
With the explosion in popularity of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), rising infrastructure costs, and uncertain economic realities, the existing systems that fuel the vast majority of businesses out there need to be adaptable and ready to support the changes that are sure to come in the future.
As this reality looms large, mainframe modernization has proven to be equally as critical in the broader digital transformation discussion. From our point of view at Rocket Software, our goal is to help businesses reach their modernization goals while ensuring the solid foundation that has been built on the mainframe is strengthened for a future of innovation.
Transforming the Mainframe Modernization Journey
Recently, Rocket Software took a significant step to support mainframe modernization across the entire continuum by acquiring the Application Modernization and Connectivity (AMC) business of OpenText (formerly Micro Focus) for $2.275B. This acquisition signals a major commitment from Rocket Software and an equally significant advancement in the level of solutions and offerings available from the organization.
With the addition of AMC, Rocket Software’s already expansive list of capabilities has grown stronger, incorporating more mainframe connectivity and modernization solutions into the mix. Uniquely, the additions also fold in tools that enable customers to use both COBOL and PL/I applications on cloud and cloud servers. The result: a much simpler path to follow from more traditional architectures to a modern, cloud-based environment.
This news is about much more than just the pure acquisition, and integration, of modernization tools and capabilities. As modernization continues to climb in prioritization for businesses, the level of advancement varies from organization to organization—no two mainframe operations are the same, and likewise, no two modernization journeys play out the same way either. With the completion of this deal, Rocket Software is now even more equipped to meet organizations wherever they may find themselves on the path to modernization. The spectrum of possibilities comprehensively spans from the mainframe all the way to the cloud to ensure that, no matter what stage a business finds itself, our offerings are poised to support digital transformation from start to finish.
Building with an Eye on the Future
Perceptions of the mainframe don’t reflect the reality of our space as it stands. Its reputation as outdated or assumptions around a lack of innovation could not be any further from the truth—there’s a reason the mainframe has stuck around as long as it has. The security, reliability, and flexibility of mainframe infrastructure make it just as important as any emerging technology. So, as more businesses begin their modernization journey, it’s important to never lose sight of the fact that modernization should be just that—a journey.
It’s something that demands an always-on approach, and as modernization initiatives accelerate, the need is much larger than simply searching for a particular vendor. Businesses need a partner they can trust to both guide them through the complexity of modernization and understand their unique IT systems, enabling them to properly evolve with the future while building off their existing mainframe infrastructure.
President of Infrastructure Modernization at Rocket Software