The Four Major Trends for Mainframe Replacement Essay Example for Free

The Four Major Trends for Mainframe Replacement Essay As software trends change with the time so will the technologies that they run off of and the platforms they use to operate on. One of those technologies is mainframes and the cost to operate these in the traditional sense comes at a very high cost. The solution is to migrate to a Linux/Unix solution; this can potentially drop total cost of ownership by 77%. Since money is the driving factor in nearly all business decisions it is not hard to see the benefit of migrating to the open source solutions. One of the many advantages to Linux/Unix running on the mainframe is that organizations can significantly reduce the time-to-market of new IT solutions and services through application modernization projects and, in particular, through application migration projects (Pedgen, 2010). Being able to update on the fly is a huge advantage to companies that rely on the data network to successfully operate there day to day operations, this is due in large part to it minimizing down time. Linux/Unix can come in a variety of iterations so it is important to fully inspect the needs and goals of the company when making the decision on which to use. Many companies find solace in the fact that the cost to of ownership is low but they need to take in to account the lack of support that comes with such open source solutions but the fact is that most companies will benefit financially even after implementation. Retail is a good example of how Linux can be used on many different levels throughout an organization. The different levels associated can be anything from warehouse logistics to in store daily operations like inventory. Also having the ability to cusotmize programs for each level of the organization creates a more efficient flow of operations by exploited redundancies in typical off the shelf softwares that are available. Linux Tools Support iOS 4.2.1 The growing cell phone world has been dominated for the last few years by Apple’s iPhone and more so in the market of unlocking those phones to be used on other carriers or just to customize the device beyond Apple and ATT’s manufacturers guidelines. Traditionally consumers would use applications like Pwnage, Yellowsn0w and more recently Blacksn0w to infiltrate these devices. ibimobiledevice provides mechanisms that allow Linux programs to communicate with iPhones, iPod Touchs and iPads via USB without the need to jailbreak the Apple device (h-online.com, 2010). There are many benefits to this, one of which is offering synchronization between many different applications instead of being restricted to just iTunes. When you don’t have to use iTunes you don’t have to activate the phone thus you can jailbreak it and do what you will. Applications like this speak to the flexibility of Linux by making itself useful on nearly every medium of technology available today. Linux can offer backdoor access to many different systems to allow for customization or just backing up important data for storage or migration purposes. Who Builds Linux? These Days, More and More Mobile Devs The increase of Linux in the world of mobile devs is a growing trend due to its flexibility and also its lack of compatibility with large name tech companies like Google and Microsoft. Linux does become very useful in the development of mobile applications as well as mobile OS’s, some of the companies that support and make use of Linux are Nokia and Qualcomm. As Linux continues to grow in the mobile world there will be a shift in the iterations of Linux to support more mobile platforms. When large tech companies don’t take the compatibility issue with Linux as high priority it hurts the platform and drives devs to use a more limited set of tools and thus causes a decrease in use amongst those people. The exception to this increase in Linux by use of mobile devs is the continued support of software developers like Oracle and IBM. A lot of the support of this open source software depends on large companies like the aforementioned to build upon its kernal and continue to drive innovation within the software to keep it relevant. References http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Linux-tools-support-iOS-4-2-1-1143629.html http://mashable.com/2010/11/30/who-builds-linux/