Is the Cloud really a Mainframe?

IBM recently announced its new z13 mainframe.  Pretty amazing in the new world order of cloud everything.  It seems as if cloud is the great elixir.  I hear it all the time – “just put it in the cloud” or “just back this data up to the cloud”.  Poof, it’s done!  Magic!  

IBM has been marketing the mainframe since the 1960s.  It is a large environment that shares CPU, Memory and Disk resources with many, varying users.  When one user no longer is need of a resource, that resource is then available for another user to consume.  Access is typically via terminals that are dumb, with all the work done on the mainframe.  It is mysterious. Users don’t know how or why this complex machine works, it just does.  The mainframe has control programs and provides security.

Sounds much like cloud, doesn’t it?   Users have programs that run somewhere, with CPU, memory and disk available when they need it.  Their PC’s and laptops are being replaced by iPads (like a terminal).  They get a bill at the end of the month for what they have used.  Cloud providers take care of security and automation. 

I guess companies can “put it in the cloud”, but they are utilizing the same methodology IBM created with the mainframe over 60 years ago.  Luckily at First National Technology Solutions (FNTS), we can offer you the option of cloud or mainframe technologies.