Market Survey – PopUp Mainframe’s press release

Hot off the press! Read the PopUp Mainframe press release regarding our new mainframe market survey.

New Mainframe Market Survey Reveals Fresh Focus on Silos, Strategic Goals, and Specialization

Results Underline Modernization Appetite to Address Topical Challenges While Leveraging New Mainframe Capabilities

PopUp Mainframe Ltd, an enterprise software company dedicated to revolutionizing mainframe system delivery,today announced the findings of its Mainframe Survey, which reveals the latest market trends and 2025 plans for enterprises utilizing IBM mainframe technology.

The survey reveals the continued reliance, investment and perceived value of the mainframe environment across the sector, with ninety-eight percent of respondents saying that rely on the IBM mainframe to run their organization. A further 94% confirm their “potential to leverage additional workload capacity on specialist / Linux environments on Z,” with 97% seeking to make “increased use” of specialist mainframe processors.

The survey also uncovers major strategic challenges facing leaders today, with around eighty percent in each case citing speed of delivery, cost management, flexibility, risk managementand meeting sustainability targetsas important issues, and for which improvements were needed. Operationally, ready access to mainframe environments was given by nearly two thirds of respondents as a hindrance to meeting mainframe delivery needs, while both technical skills and adequate tooling challenges were cited by most respondents.

“As we see the attitudes around mainframe modernization continue to evolve, the platform’s ability to help deliver change rapidly, without risk, and with the right levels of flexibility, remains critical,” said PopUp Mainframe CEO, Gary Thornhill. “With 60 years of success and a brand-newmodel now available, it is no wonder so many organizations see the enduring value of the IBM mainframe. What our survey shows is a reminder that, in an ever-evolving digital world, overcoming important strategic and operational challenges continues to be an imperative for many organizations, and that there remain a variety of difficulties to overcome. The responses suggest to us that how the mainframe is used must evolve to meet these challenges. Essential is the requirement for organizations to innovate through both tooling and process, with emphasis on cultural change,” he added.

Conducted with Vanson Bourne, a global research and analysis company, the survey asked leading practitioners and IT executives from the UK and North America about the strategic importance of the IBM mainframe to their business, current challenges and future needs, as well as their development toolchains and resources.

“This survey allowed for Vanson Bourne to gather valuable data from the mainframe community on the platform’s continued relevance, as well as the forward-looking insights needed forPopUp Mainframe – and the mainframe community at large — to continue shaping the mainframe technology landscape,” said Katie Haslett, Senior Research Consultant at Vanson Bourne.

Other findings of theMainframe Survey include:

  • Material concerns over the availability of mainframe environments (88%),staffing limitations, and tooling (both 79%) were given as hindrances to meeting business objectives
  • Nearly a third of all respondents said 4 or more separate teams were involved in a standard development and delivery process for the mainframe, while 96% reported they experienced development and testing challenges using the IBM mainframe
  • 28% said implementing mainframe change in a shorter timeframe was of critical importance to their organization – and 81% said improvements were needed in that area
  • 36% said improving the flexibility / agility of mainframe deliveries was of critical importance to their organization – and 86% said improvements were needed
  • 37% said the ability to meet regulatory and data compliance requirements was of critical importance to their organization – and 82% said improvements were needed
  • 29% said greater cost efficiency was of critical importance to their organization – and 90% said improvements were needed
  • 30% said the ability to delivery on IT-related sustainability objectives was of critical importance to their organization – and 86% said improvements were needed

“The launch of the z17 underscores the mainframe’s enduring strength, cementing its position in the market,” said Steven Dickens, CEO & Principal Analyst at HyperFRAME Research. “With evolving application needs, organisations are turning to DevOps advancements to enhance performance and maintain a competitive edge, and PopUp Mainframe stands out as a solution worth evaluating in this context.”

Derek Britton, CMO at PopUp Mainframe, commented “These initial findings clearly demonstrate both the commitment of the mainframe market to the platform, and a market that is continuously challenging itself to improve what it can accomplish. The issues uncovered reflect a relentless motivationformainframe-centric modernization and innovation to achieve even greater organizational results”.

Additional Information

The full PopUp Mainframe Market Survey report and related information are now available here.

The Modern Mainframe: A Ready-Made Hybrid? 

The popularity of the Linux platform continues to rise—but does that apply equally to mainframe users? This blog examines the growing hybrid trend in a mainframe context. 

Wait – Linux on a Mainframe? 

Absolutely! Since its inception a generation ago, Linux on IBM Mainframes–such as IBM Z and LinuxONE–has gained significant traction, particularly in enterprise environments.  

By 2006, Linux on IBM Z had already been embraced by over 1,700 customers. Its promise to combine the flexibility of Linux with the reliability and scalability of IBM’s mainframe systems, met with wide acclaim, and organizations adopted it to support a variety of use-cases, including modern applications, cloud computing, databases, and containerized workloads, benefiting from features like advanced data security, high performance, and sustainability.  

For example, the LinuxONE Emperor 4, is popular among financial services organizations such as Citibank, according to sources.  

Facilitating Innovation 

More recently, IBM introduced the Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL), a specialized processor designed specifically to run Linux workloads on IBM Z and LinuxONE systems. The IFL provides high server density, reduced operational costs, and

 enhanced performance capabilities, such as Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) and Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) technologies.  

Additionally, IFLs can be added dynamically to systems and support various capacity-on-demand options. That flexibility means organizations use Integrated Facilities for Linux (IFLs) in a cloud computing context to achieve scalability, security, and efficiency. Beyond cloud computing, IFLs are also leveraged – including to house additional development and testing environments: there’s understandable merit in using a flexible, robust and secure environment to simulate critical workloads, to accelerate delivery while keeping vital z/OS cycles devoted to production. 

From an IT sustainability perspective, there are genuine green credentials associated with the platform. According to IBM, running Linux workloads on an IBM z16 single frame or rack mount – instead of on comparable x86 servers in similar conditions – can reduce energy consumption by 75% and space by 67%. Who knew blue was so green? 

Measuring Success  

In 2020, IBM reported “Linux capacity increasing 55 percent year-over-year,” cementing the strategic nature of its investment commitment.  

Industry analyst, Brent Ellis, of Forrester, more recently explained, “[IBM] has a strategy to enable more modern workloads to run on the hardware and the number of people acquiring mainframe hardware to run on Linux is increasing. Over the next few years, it is likely there will be more capability … coming to [mainframe] Linux to ensure a steady and non-disruptive transition to modern environments within the mainframe.”  

Further quantifying that trend, however, is harder than you might expect. While there is plenty of information about the mainframe market – in the form of reports and surveys – details surrounding mainframe Linux are only lightly pencilled in. How Linux supports a modern mainframe-centric strategy is not well-defined, despite the uniformly accepted wisdom of its huge potential.   

To learn more, PopUp Mainframe included a couple of questions about attitudes towards mainframe usage—and specifically Linux environments—as part of the market survey we commissioned this year with research experts Vanson Bourne. We wanted to hear how Linux matters to mainframe decision-makers.  

The survey is still ongoing, so we’re not going to share the numbers yet. But early indications are worth mentioning. Firstly—no great surprise for a mainframe market survey, perhaps—we see an overwhelming loyalty to the mainframe platform, both today and into the foreseeable future.  

What’s perhaps more illuminating, however, is that the initial findings suggest a huge appetite – an overwhelming majority of respondents (we will give you the precise number when the survey is closed) – for using Linux-based mainframe environments in their various forms. Simply put, many who hold the mainframe in high regard see the potential and value of Linux as part of that equation.  

Make the Most of your Modern Mainframe 

Of course, potential is one thing and practical solutions are quite another. Our study therefore also digs into the bottlenecks facing mainframe teams today, and where they most want to improve their capabilities to support the business. 

We look forward to being able to report the full results in the coming weeks – revealing key findings, spotlighting challenges, and offering practical steps towards an even more efficient mainframe environment.  

Check back soon for the results of our survey, and if you would like to learn more about our plans to run PopUp Mainframe on a mainframe IFL, please get in touch.  

Reducing the Risk of Change, Driven by Data

Validating new releases in the mainframe SDLC isn’t just a technical step—it’s a critical risk management process. But without the right data, testing can become a major bottleneck. From regulatory requirements like ISO 27701 to the real-world challenges of building secure, production-like test data, our latest blog explores why effective test data management is essential—and how automation and data masking can modernize and accelerate the process.

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