Despite the global number of mainframes going down, the amount of data stored on the existing ones is going up. As a result, activity in the mainframe data management and services space is increasing.
Now we have ibi, a scalable data and analytics software platform, making some noise in this segment. It has unveiled its Open Data Hub for Mainframe, a “breakthrough solution for organisations struggling with data retrieval from legacy data environments”.
It enables mainframe data to be used by web-based business analytics systems on-demand. The likes of IBM, BMC and Hitachi Vantara are already active in this services market.
“The launch of the ibi Open Data Hub solution marks a significant milestone for ibi customers and mainframe users across industries, as it provides real-time access to static mainframe data, which to date has been difficult to access directly by BI [business intelligence] analytics solutions,” said Dan Ortolani, vice president, support engineering, ibi, a business unit of Cloud Software Group.
“This innovative offering democratises access to the full power of mainframe data while maintaining its security and compliance. The implications for business users, developers, and data scientists are unparalleled, as it can be used in virtually any BI client.”
The solution can be used by existing ibi WebFOCUS users, for instance, who can extend their efforts to mainframe data.
Data scientists and developers can use an “intuitive” GUI interface to generate data queries without creating custom SQL queries, while providing “seamless access” to multiple databases, boosting productivity and software quality, says ibi.
The technology is a potential opportunity for service providers and system integrators.
