It is becoming increasingly harder to ignore the role smartphones play in many business settings, which means making sure your mainframe-based legacy applications aren't lost as you transition to a more mobile-friendly work model.
Multiple studies show an increase in smartphone use, a trend that could affect not just average users, but the way enterprises access work-related information as well. While the older desktop PC might have been the only device needed to run mainframe apps in the past, the demands of today's workforce could lead mobile devices to grow increasingly necessary and versatile.
Last month, a Pew Research Center report found that 64 percent of Americans own smartphones, and that 15 percent of those between 18 and 29 years old (the Millennial generation) are "heavily dependent" on these devices for internet access. The smartphone is increasingly becoming not just an additional tool but a primary way to access the web, and could influence work habits when employees rely on their own devices for work.
Although newer devices have appeared to challenge traditional smartphones, particularly wearables, another survey, cited by TechCrunch, puts mobile ahead of tablets and other modern computing options. This information comes from GlobalWebIndex, which found that 80 percent of 170,000 adult internet user respondents own a cell phone, more than smartwatches and smart wristbands combined.
With a flexible solution for updating their mainframe, businesses have more support for creating a coherent workplace. Older approaches can be easily replaced with a web based terminal emulator that allows for more diverse device use habits and functionality within the company. For critical functions, hosts such as IBM and UNIX, among others, will be accommodated via screen-based solutions, freeing up staff to address concerns through their mobile devices.