Survey: Mainframes lose their mojo

A new survey is finding that a sharp drop in mainframe usage is likely among data centers in the United States. The survey, by Afcom, a group representing data center workers, found that 40 percent of the 436 data centers surveyed said they still operate mainframes today. About half of those said they are considering replacing one or two of them in the next two years.

Nearly two-thirds of those data centers plan to get a new mainframe. But another third--33 percent of them--said they are ready to replace the mainframe with a different type of high-end system.

"Does the mainframe decline in the long run? Yeah, probably, but one of the big surprises of the last 10 years to most people outside of IBM is how strong the mainframe has remained," Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff told Computerworld.com.

IBM, the biggest seller of mainframes, saw its revenue drop 26 percent for mainframe sales. But a spokeswoman said Big Blue is optimistic demand will stay strong for mainframes.

For more on mainframes:
- see this Computerworld.com article

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