\u201cYou don\u2019t have to keep it green screen,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe, along with other vendors, supply tools that allow you to modernize those green screen applications, where they don\u2019t look anything like a green screen. You wouldn\u2019t know that it\u2019s not some new software package, but it\u2019s still got all that mission-critical functionality that your customers demand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Albin also touched on the true cost of cloud migration\u2014a reality many organizations only discover after the fact. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some customers who are moving pieces to the cloud, and they\u2019re shocked at how much it\u2019s going to cost them to go to the cloud,\u201d she said. \u201cNow we\u2019re actually seeing more of a hybrid model, and even some of our customers are pulling things back in the shop because it was just not feasible to run it in the cloud for a reasonable price. They found out the mainframe can provide good value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One ongoing challenge is talent. With many experienced mainframe professionals approaching retirement, concerns are growing about who will maintain these systems. But according to Albin, the pipeline isn\u2019t empty. \u201cWe are training up the next generation,\u201d she said. \u201c[Universities are teaching] COBOL. They teach JCL. They teach Assembler. It\u2019s not the only thing they teach. It\u2019s just part of a bigger curriculum. I\u2019ve seen a resurgence in younger people wanting to learn the mainframe because it pays pretty darn good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, successful modernization starts with understanding\u2014not replacement. \u201cUnderstand that it\u2019s an evolution, not a revolution,\u201d Albin observed. \u201cTalk to your mainframe vendors because instead of ripping and replacing, there are tools that make your life so much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To hear the full conversation, listen to Becky Albin on the Gov Tech Today podcast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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