In the financial sector, mainframes still serve important functions and helps banks process data on a regular basis. As times and software standards change, it is necessary for these institutions to keep up with new technology without losing access to important systems or spending too much money on upgrades with a low ROI.
As they struggle to meet the demands of the current work schedule, IT professionals working for banks can find themselves in conflict. On the one hand, they don't want to discard the speed and high-quality results that mainframes can provide. But neither do they want to stay locked into older styles of working dictated by the standard capabilities of the mainframe.
Writing for Forbes last month, contributor Tom Groenfeldt pointed out the clashes in technology that require banks to continue to update, as more and more processes depend on efficient systems. To combat this, he says that CIOs should think about the way they can update their processes without replacing core legacy systems completely.
"The bank systems were built on mainframes and designed to process transactions overnight, in batches," he said. "Smartphones want to operate in real-time, unless there's something faster. Customers don't like to see one account balance at the bank, another on the ATM, perhaps a third online and a fourth on mobile." He says componetization is giving businesses a chance to work piece by piece to deliver necessary improvements.
Find a solution that works for your firm specifically with the help of a mainframe modernization tool that gives you options for enhancements. You can adapt the necessary aspects of the mainframe environment in the most appropriate method for you and devote special attention to the screens and options that need them.