Sometimes, old technology gets a new life. Even if you are purchasing newer software and hardware, remember that some old tools can have a second life. That's the case with the IBM mainframe. It remains a mainstay in much of the global trade economy. IBM has retooled the technology, cut prices and revamped its strategy. Although mainframes are a tiny piece of IBM's market these days, the technology still exists and is being used.
The mainframe stands as a telling case in the larger story of survivor technologies and markets, the New York Times reports. "The demise of the old technology is confidently predicted, and indeed it may lose ground to the insurgent, as mainframes did to the personal computer. But the old technology or business often finds a sustainable, profitable life.'' So, as you start retiring your old tools, keep in mind that some of them may come back for a second life.
For more on the old technology that getting a new life:
- See this New York Times article [1]
Links:
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/technology/23digi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin