IT cost reduction opportunities are being actively promoted within the market. Rapid, low-risk mainframe migrations to distributed environments are taking place more frequently, with thousands of MIPS being moved to Windows, Unix and Linux through six to 12 month migration projects. So, what’s the catch? Doing it right.
Here are some tips for migrating mainframes
1. Consider all 10 components of migration: Ensure ownership for delivery of each. These include primary programming languages, data infrastructure, batch and online infrastructure and security and so on.
2. Apply the right advice to solution design: Ensure expert advice is applied to the technical design to fit your unique requirements and target environment.
3. Manage it right: Respect your modernisation project. Don’t underestimate the importance of strong project management for your migration.
4. Get the experts in: Assign internal subject matter experts to champion and support the solution to ensure success.
5. Be prepared: Use the right tools from the start and train a core technical team in problem resolution, to avoid wasted time in post-migration testing and production support.
6. Leverage existing testing processes: Thoroughly prepare test data and scripts to leverage any existing testing assets and processes.
7. Track it right: Adopt an internal incident tracking solution from the start of your project to improve accountability, avoid ‘lost’ issues and speed up resolution time.
8. Organise support processes early: Address internal support processes during project planning and solution design to ensure a realistic delivery schedule and minimise rework or unexpected delays.
9. Minimise data conversion: Only ‘input’ files require conversion, so do a thorough job of segregating those from other file types. Data migration can be a significant part of the project, so effort up front saves on budget and schedule.
10. Plan for cost savings and track achievements: Quantify your ROI opportunity and measure results. IT cost reduction in excess of 50 percent or 60 percent is common.
The author is the country general manager for Micro Focus Australia.
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