Mainframes still provide the data and computational backbone of many financial institutions but some organisations are encountering challenges as they try to integrate them with newer architectures.
Many are incompatible with cloud and server-based architectures as well as APIs. Work-arounds can be achieved but they require middleware that can be costly and time consuming to implement efficiently and securely.
Nevertheless, there are elegant solutions that institutions can leverage to make put their mainframe-based data to value-creating use. These will be discussed in A-Team Group’s next Data Management Insight webinar held on June 17. The gathering of data leaders under the heading “Are you making the most of the business-critical structured data stored in your mainframes?” will cast an expert eye over the challenges of integrating modern data systems with mainframes and examine the benefits of doings so.
“Mainframes are heavily restricted in terms of ‘ease of access’ and a modern data stack alongside can be a game changer to leverage the value of the structured data in the mainframe systems,” Sunny Jaisinghani, Head of Data and Global Custody Product at State Street Bank & Trust Company, told Data Management Insight.
Multiple Benefits
There are many benefits to retaining a mainframe strategy within organisations. They are highly reliable and designed to run without hitch. They have massive processing power and storage capabilities that can support multiple tasks and uses. And their centralised architecture offers security and long-term data integrity.These attributes can also work against them. They are difficult to modernise and migration to modern, more agile systems can be tricky.
A recent survey conducted by Rocket Software and Foundry indicated that three-quarters of IT decision makers experienced difficulties in accessing mainframe data. It also found that two-thirds of decision makers identified integrating mainframe data with cloud infrastructure as the issue with which they struggled most.
Getting the best of both worlds is possible, however. Rocket, for instance offers structured data tool that brings cloud applications and mainframes together in a hybrid architecture.
“Mainframes inherently are limited on data publishing capabilities across channels like APIs and so and surrounding the mainframes with an integration layer can exponentially increase the value that can be derived from the data in terms of ease of access, history, data archives and analytics,” said Jaisinghani.
“Interoperability of data within the mainframes can be enabled by surfacing the data from the mainframes into a shared data eco-system to enable better analytics, reporting, and integration with fintechs.”
Discussion Points
The A-Team Group webinar will take in such innovations as it discusses best-practice processes for bridging the gap between mainframes and modern data architectures.
Joining Jaisinghani on the panel, will be Duncan Cooper, Chief Data Officer at Northern Trust and Michael Curry, President of Data Modernisation at Rocket Software. A-Team Group editor Sarah Underwood will moderate.
Among other topics to be discussed will be:
- Regulatory and business requirements for data integration
- Approaches to enable complete, accurate and accessible enterprise data
- Helpful strategies, tools, techniques and solutions
- Benefits of getting it right and the penalties of getting it wrong
The “Are you making the most of the business-critical structured data stored in your mainframes?” webinar will be held on June 17 at 10:00am ET/3:00pm London/4:00pm CET. Register your attendance here.
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