Are mainframe systems living on borrowed time?
David Chalmers: I think they are, there are two problems, one is the cost of the software. IBM talks a great deal about the hardware costs, but nobody cares, because the monthly mainframe software charges that people pay are so high. But the second and more fundamental reason why I think firms will move away from mainframes concerns the people who deal with the software used by such systems. Those are the people who know, run, develop, maintain and put new functionality into the applications and business solutions that run on mainframes. They’re in their late 50’s and 60’s, and are retiring. Would firms having these employees upgrade their terms of employment to keep them there for longer? You certainly see some of that going on, but these people are the tail-end of the ‘golden pension’ generation, and most have final salary pensions. I think they’re the last of the generation who can afford to say – “nah, I don’t need to do that.” But even if they do get financial ‘upgrades’, that jus
