Here again, the software can help. Some vendors offer a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that gives your new people a familiar format in which to manage and resolve mainframe problems. Without a GUI, no single human being could keep up with the volume of alerts and exceptions that occur in a typical day. But with a GUI, you can boost staff efficiency, minimize errors and groom new expertise.

The right technology can dramatically improve the efficiency of your processes, improve system performance, support 24/7 availability—and even fix things on the fly. You can do much more with the same people.

When people and expertise can be automated to this level, it makes mainframe operations much more adaptable to business change. With increased adaptability in IT, the business can rapidly introduce new services and generate new revenue.

(For more on mainframes, see Mainframes Under Fire, also by Ralph Crosby.)

Ralph Crosby is the chief technology officer for the Mainframe Service Management Business Unit at BMC Software, responsible for setting the strategic direction for the entire portfolio of IBM Mainframe products. Prior to assuming the CTO role, Crosby was DB2 architect responsible for technology directions across the full line of DB2 products. He has authored several products in the DB2 product line and also worked as an architect in the storage management area. Prior to joining BMC Software, he worked as a database administrator, applications architect and systems programmer in a variety of environments centered on the IBM mainframe, but including Windows and UNIX platforms. Crosby holds a BS in computer science from the California Polytechnic State University and an MBA degree from Fordham University.