The news that Kyndryl has been recognized in two recently published analyst reports[1] on data center outsourcing and hybrid infrastructure managed services (DCO HIMS)[2] should come as no surprise for our customers. Our customers trust Kyndryl’s distinguished services delivery to complement the unmatched reliability and security of the mainframe for the most critical of their business operations. The mainframe stands alone for its capacity, speed, durability and adaptability. And we believe Kyndryl’s capabilities in mainframe modernization keep our customers at the leading edge of innovation.

Prior to the latest recognition from Gartner®, ISG has also recently named Kyndryl as a Leader in Mainframe Modernization Services, Mainframe as a Service, and Mainframe Operations in its 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Mainframe – Services and Solutions Quadrant report.

We asked Petra Goude, Global Practice Leader, Kyndryl Core Enterprise & zCloud, about why today’s mainframe is more relevant than ever.

Q: The mainframe has been around for decades in an industry that innovates every day. What is the mainframe’s role in the 21st century digital enterprise?

Petra Goude: If I had to use one word to describe the role of the mainframe in today’s digital enterprises, that word would be “foundational.” Much of what we do in enterprise computing – on premises, public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud – has all or part of its foundation in the security and reliability of the mainframe. This is especially true in industries such as banking and financial services, logistics, retail and travel and tourism. These industries are so integral to the way so many things we take for granted function each day, that we cannot imagine not having them. The mainframe enables online and in-person payments; coordinates shipping, rail transport and trucking; and keeps track of travel reservations (and all of the sensitive payment and personal information required for them) reliably and securely.

Q: How does the mainframe help customers run today’s mission-critical workloads?

Petra: Because the mainframe is so adaptable, it can handle both legacy applications on premises, and the most modern cloud-native applications. Kyndryl has clear and tested strategies to help our customers put the right workloads on the right platforms, and make full use of what each platform has to offer. We see a strong trend of customers working to modernize their mainframe applications using three core approaches – modernizing some workloads on the mainframe; integrating with hyperscalers to unlock the value of the mainframe together with a distributed and hybrid cloud environment; and moving selected workloads off the platform. In most cases, we see customers making full use of all three approaches depending on the various workloads they run on their mainframe platform today. Kyndryl’s strategy is to help our customers on this journey by utilizing our full breadth and depth of our experience, in concert with our advisory, consultancy and managed service capabilities.

These recognitions underscore not only the quality and reliability of our mainframe support, but also the continuing essential role that the mainframe plays across the world’s core infrastructure industries.

For more information on Kyndryl’s Core Enterprise & zCloud Services, visit: https://www.kyndryl.com/services/core-enterprise-zcloud

[1] Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Data Center Outsourcing and Hybrid Infrastructure Managed Services, Worldwide, DD Mishra, Stephanie Stoudt-Hansen, Claudio Da Rold, Biswajit Maity, 14 June 2022.


[2] Gartner, Critical Capabilities for Data Center Outsourcing and Hybrid Infrastructure Managed Services, Worldwide, By DD Mishra, Claudio Da Rold, Biswajit Maity, Stephanie Stoudt-Hansen, 14 June 2022.

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