The reason given is it's getting difficult to find COBOL programmers and the platform isn't as agile as other platforms. I have to admit that IBM is working to make the platform more agile and you can do more than run COBOL - you can run Java and Linux on Z. I've been in IBM training sessions where I've been running Linux on Z and then running Docker on top of that and unless you had told me otherwise the experience was normal: you're running bash, running Docker and everything runs as you'd expect.
BUT - the problem is the core of our system is written in COBOL. There's still CICS, JCL, Copybooks and DB/2 and those who can work with those technologies are now within 10 years of retiring and the new generation doesn't know them or have much of a desire to learn them. Heck, I'm part of the first generation of PC developers from the mid-1980's and I've never done any mainframe development!
The thinking then is we'd better jump off before all these people retire and you end up having to pay $300+/hr for resources capable of working with these legacy technologies. Pay now and buy yourself a new technology set and new capabilities or pay later and just keep the system running.
The reason given is it's getting difficult to find COBOL programmers and the platform isn't as agile as other platforms. I have to admit that IBM is working to make the platform more agile and you can do more than run COBOL - you can run Java and Linux on Z. I've been in IBM training sessions where I've been running Linux on Z and then running Docker on top of that and unless you had told me otherwise the experience was normal: you're running bash, running Docker and everything runs as you'd expect.
BUT - the problem is the core of our system is written in COBOL. There's still CICS, JCL, Copybooks and DB/2 and those who can work with those technologies are now within 10 years of retiring and the new generation doesn't know them or have much of a desire to learn them. Heck, I'm part of the first generation of PC developers from the mid-1980's and I've never done any mainframe development!
The thinking then is we'd better jump off before all these people retire and you end up having to pay $300+/hr for resources capable of working with these legacy technologies. Pay now and buy yourself a new technology set and new capabilities or pay later and just keep the system running.