* Mainframes get the SOA treatment
There was a time when mainframe computers were the only players on the block. These platforms are rock solid, dependable and, once deployed, pretty much run forever. Maintenance is a breeze, since most of them phone home when something goes wrong, and upgrades up to and including forklift replacements are done by vendor service engineers.
In today’s IT environment, where security has emerged as a specialization in and of itself, where Patch Tuesday has become part of the lexicon, and where the reboot has become the problem management solution of choice, this simplicity is almost unimaginable. But if we are to believe IBM, the mainframe is undergoing a resurgence of popularity and indications are that IBM may well be correct.
IBM has stated that it anticipates twice as many mainframe transactions by 2010 as are running today. The expectation that this will be due in large part to service-oriented architecture (SOA) as underlined by multiple announcements throughout 2006, the most recent of which include mainframe-related Tivoli announcements and the recent acquisition of Webify, a vendor of reusable SOA software components for the healthcare and insurance industries.
In terms of execution, SOA services are essentially virtualized, discoverable, distributed applications on steroids. Distributed applications, which run over multiple devices and are typically network intensive, aren’t known for their high performance. So what would happen if you re-engineer mainframe applications to expose interfaces via Web Services Descriptive Language (WSDL), add a registry to enable discovery and, even better, put your database on the mainframe as well? The short answer is that you eliminate a lot of problems. Patch Tuesday is just like any other day, security is robust since the skills of most hackers don’t go far beyond devices designed for end-user consumers, and performance is likely to be world-class – mainframes aren’t nicknamed “big iron” for nothing.
Apparently, the industry agrees. On Aug. 14, SOA Software announced the release of SOLA 5.1, an upgrade to the 5.0 version, which was introduced in March of this year. The SOLA product was initially developed by an internal Merrill-Lynch technology group charged with exposing Merrill-Lynch’s mainframe applications as Web services-enabled components. Both the product and the team responsible for creating it were acquired from Merrill-Lynch in September, 2005, bringing SOA Software into direct competition with larger rivals, including IBM, that are developing similar applications.
Currently, Merrill-Lynch is running 2.5 million transactions per day across its SOA, and has implemented more than 600 Web services. Apparently, this has been persuasive evidence to potential buyers, since SOLA 5.0’s introduction has resulted in “multiple” seven-figure deals in the five months since its release. This is another indication that the mainframe is alive and well.
Two factors in making this a reality will be cost and skills. IBM announced a mainframe aimed at the mid-market back in April starting at about $100,000, but licensing and maintenance costs will have to be in line for the product to be seriously considered by smaller businesses. In addition, we’re already reading about lack of mainframe skills, and the retirement of baby boomers will only make this worse. The jury is still out on the final outcome, but this will definitely be an interesting development to watch.
