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According to Compuware's ANZ & Japan services director, Brett Lightfoot, the study revealed that 'one minute of a mainframe application outage can cost nearly $14,000 in lost revenue for the average enterprise.'
'The research also confirms that these already high costs - and the associated business risks - are poised to increase because of looming skills shortages.
'Experienced developers are business-critical assets, which is why nearly half (44 percent) of mainframe operational expenses goes toward their salaries. The loss of expertise as they retire will lead to increased costs as inexperienced developers spend more time getting to grips with their mainframe applications. Unfortunately, this steep learning curve also means that there are more chances for error and ultimately loss of revenue through application outages,' Lightfoot said.
Some 79 percent of CIOs globally and 83 percent in Australia confirm that mainframe application outages pose a significant business risk, yet 78 percent (83 percent in Australia) say these applications will remain a key business asset over the next decade. However, while the study identified rising costs resulting from developer shortages, 70 percent of CIOs (80 percent in Australia) agree that cost cutting will expose more risks than rewards.
Lightfoot says that businesses must act quickly to address the problem of 'mainframe brain drain' or suffer a cycle of spiralling costs and mainframe outages. 'The overall challenge for CIOs here is resource management. Savvy CIOs will streamline mainframe investments by improving the productivity of the remaining experienced developers and new entrants, as well as increasing IT efficiency,' Lightfoot adds.
