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Who’ll mind the mainframes?
By Martin English | August 29, 2005
The Boston Globe has a running a story about the maintainers of the mainframes getting older and facing retirement. One of the problems is that many computer science programs don’t include mainframes in their curricula anymore. From the article:
“Amid concerns that America doesn’t produce enough technically trained young people, mainframe computer users and developers are especially concerned. Most computer science students concentrate on small-computer technology, such as Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating systems, or the popular alternatives Unix and Linux. Few have been trained on zOS, the operating system that runs IBM Corp.’s massive mainframes.”
According to Forrester Research in Cambridge, the actual number of companies and organizations that use mainframes has declined.
”But the user organizations are increasingly large. The largest organizations are the ones that are most loyal to the platform.”
For an Australian perspective on the issue and how it is being dealt with, look here.
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