Survey: Mainframe resurgence opens fresh opportunities for partners

The mainframe is central to cloud and AI ambitions — and partners must bring the strategy, skills and cost discipline customers need.

As mainframe usage is set to grow, partners have a critical role in supporting organisations to build stronger and more resilient businesses.

Partners that build capability will be able to capitalise on this opportunity, said Michael Vincetic, practice leader, cloud and core enterprise/zCloud for Kyndryl Australia and New Zealand.

Cloud, AI and API integration, business growth and new applications and data are driving the growth of mainframe usage, according to Kyndryl’s 2025 State of Mainframe Modernisation Survey.

While the mainframe has been seen as a legacy piece of infrastructure, a paradigm shift is needed, and partners must understand that the mainframe is a critical piece of the hybrid cloud.

Four out of five (80%) ANZ respondents have shifted their mainframe modernisation strategies in the past year, Kyndryl’s survey found.

“Between its reliability and the sheer amount of data it holds, in the age of AI it steps back into its role as the digital backbone of any large enterprise,” Vincetic told CRN Australia.

Partners need to have the breadth of skills and experience to offer advice as well as execution. But they need to avoid siloing skills as either mainframe, cloud or AI.

“Integrated expertise is necessary if organisations want to truly get value out of their IT estate and AI projects,” said Vincetic.

“When it comes to AI, partners need to help customers cut through the hype and understand the full picture in the organisation’s specific case,” he added.

Partners need to focus on strategy, cost and skills

Almost half (46%) of ANZ respondents are modernising more on the mainframe and two-thirds (66%) are turning to external firms to help, according to the survey.

However, given the central importance of mainframes, there’s significant risk and real costs associated with modernisation projects.

To reduce these risks, it’s important partners help identify the right strategy and have deep skills in both the modernisation element and the mission-critical element.

“Organisations must ensure they work with partners that have the depth and breadth of skills, experience and capabilities to guide them along this path,” Vincetic said.

Partners also need to understand the true costs and help customers pick the right strategy. They need to use FinOps-type capability to assess and identify resource optimisation, model the business impact and feasibility and improve TCO visibility.

“FinOps is not always the first thing people think of when embarking on a mainframe modernisation project, but it’s essential in order to understand and optimise mainframe and hybrid cloud costs and build a pragmatic business case,” he said.

While mainframe modernisation can deliver substantial return, the momentum is tempered by a growing skills gap, the survey found.

“Australia has been experiencing a digital skills shortage for a number of years, and this is especially pronounced when it comes to mainframe skills,” he said.

Vincetic urged partners to tap into providers like Kyndryl, which work with both hyperscalers and specialists to tailor strategies rather than defaulting to a one-size-fits-all approach.

“For partners, there’s a lot of value in leveraging the strength of your ecosystem to ensure you have that broad range of deep expertise,” he said.