Mainframes And RISC Server Trends For IT Infrastructure Consolidation

In a recent Forrester survey, more than half of the respondents who are consolidating servers as part of an IT infrastructure consolidation strategy are focusing on their mainframe environment. Long thought of as separate and largely untouchable, the big iron systems are on the table just like their x86 counterparts. This report looks primarily at the segment of firms focusing their consolidation efforts on reduced instruction set computer (RISC), Itanium, and/or mainframe systems, but not x86. These firms are driven to consolidate for operational efficiency and for opportunities to address application workload consolidation. IT consultancies provide guidance to a majority of these firms, and in the end it's important for mainframe and RISC professionals to make sure they have a seat at the table when broad-ranging consolidation decisions are being made.