Big iron -- mainframes -- can be a powerful platform for managing BI data. Many organizations run their data warehouses on mainframes. However, many mainframes still lock data away into silos, requiring a lot of effort to extract information into systems running BI and analytic tools.
That's some of the findings of a new survey of 430 members of the SHARE, which is primarily the IBM mainframe user group. I conducted and published the study as part of my work with Unisphere Research, which manages surveys for many user groups.
The new SHARE study reveals that many mainframe systems are at the center of efforts to achieve enterprise data integration, as well as to extend applications into service-oriented architectures. Mainframes are evolving into a leading role both as a source of mission-critical data, as well as key services.
However, the survey also revealed that most mainframe data is still locked up, and most integration efforts are still done with hand-coded scripting. There are proactive efforts underway to better integrate mainframe data with more distributed data environments, and to be able to deliver this data in real time, meaning within seconds. In addition, many organizations are showing an interest in service-oriented architecture (SOA) as a way to better leverage mainframe resources.
The study found that at least half of the surveyed sites still use hand-coded scripts to move data from their mainframes to other platforms or databases. Mainframes store and manage much of an organization's enterprise data. However, most of this data remains inaccessible in these environments. In addition, most mainframe sites share only a small portion of their data across enterprise systems. A majority, however, do need to make what data is available viewable on a real-time basis.
SOA is also an important initiative at many SHARE member sites. Close to one out of four respondents' companies have SOA efforts now in progress, and another one-third are planning or considering SOA. At least half of these efforts will employ mainframes in a central role. Most SOA efforts do not yet have an enterprise reach. However, many companies are preparing SOA to meet real-time requirements. Approximately 40 percent of companies are deploying or considering event-driven architecture-seen as a real-time adapting of SOA.
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