Proof is in the Pudding: Why Mainframe Partners are Better than Vendors

Not long ago, one of the nation’s largest financial institutions looked at the mainframe computer humming along in the back of their building. Business was booming as record numbers of consumers clicked their phones and computers during the pandemic. Now more than ever, the machine was at the core of keeping the institution’s most critical applications and data up and running. “But what else could it do?” someone wondered.

After hearing about all the ways Broadcom is investing in client success with the platform, that someone took a leap of faith on several new mainframe initiatives. First, they signed up for the Vitality Program, a new Broadcom initiative that helps to hire, train, and place the next generation of mainframe talent. 

Next, that someone took advantage of Broadcom’s Win No Fee program to rationalize and simplify their mainframe software portfolio and accelerate the return on investment without incurring the migration costs. 

Lastly, they switched to Mainframe Consumption Licensing to modernize their software bill and lower costs of uncapped growth associated with their dev and test efforts. In addition to only paying for what they use, the company is no longer billed for development on the mainframe—only for production applications.

Of course, there are other examples that demonstrate Broadcom’s “Beyond Code” line of strategic partnerships. One of the nation’s largest retailers recently asked us to help vet, train, and staff the new director of their mainframe division. “In the competitive world of Information Technology, it can be difficult to recruit and keep good people around,” the data center manager told us. “Our collaboration with Broadcom brought nothing but success, and losing this resource partnership would have been a serious blow to my team and the company.”

Although we specialize in mainframe software, we understand the importance of going above and beyond to help our customers get the most from their investments in the platform. When COVID lockdowns first started, we reached out to all of our customers. “What do you need from us? Please ask.” One client, a major financial services firm, came back and asked for help in setting up an IBM z/OSMF. You might think that helping a customer with another company’s solution would be a bit outside our preferred wheelhouse, but knowing what they were trying to accomplish, we said, “Ya know what, this is in both of our best interests.” So we helped them. Two weeks later, they were well on their way in deploying several new customer-facing applications.

That approach is what causes many of our customers to say things like this: “We see Broadcom as being core to our strategy in delivering the business outcomes we need both now and in the future,” says Jorge Motter, executive manager at Banrisul, one of the largest banks in southern Brazil with over 50% market share and $16 billion in assets. 

When a shift in company strategy occurs or a global crisis hits, relationships are tested. In the past months, Broadcom has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to our customers, partnering actively to support their ability to achieve growth and maintain business continuity. Whether in times of need or times of plenty, we firmly believe that mainframe partnering is better than mainframe vending. 

In another example, one of the nation’s largest insurers needed to modernize nearly 300 of their mainframe applications. To do this, the company needed more than a product. They needed a committed partner, so they turned to Broadcom for strategic advice and tools. With our help, they’ve successfully updated over 25% of their apps so far and have already reduced the turnaround time of one application in particular from 20 minutes to mere seconds.

I’ve spent my career between engineering and product strategy. When I first joined Broadcom five years ago, I was tasked with looking at the mainframe market with a fresh perspective. From that experience, I’ve learned two things. First, the mainframe is alive and well—thriving, in fact—despite its predicted demise over a decade ago. Second, most of our customers' unmet needs are not technology related.   

Obviously, many technical questions must be answered to modernize mainframes and ready them for an unprecedented number of transactions, which many of our financial, insurance, and government customers have experienced during COVID. But these and other industries are overwhelmingly looking for a strategic partner – one that’s investing with them in the future. And no one is investing in, supporting, or leveraging the mainframe as a strategic asset as much as Broadcom. 

Since completing our acquisition of CA, Inc. two years ago, we’ve expanded our ranks, regularly posting and closing reqs, and onboarding hundreds of new mainframe employees. We’ve opened the platform to a new world of possibilities and are championing its integration as a valuable component of modern hybrid cloud environments. But we’re not done. We look forward to continuing to invest in, innovate on, and modernize this powerful platform. As we do so, we’re committed to doubling down even further on our role as a strategic partner in what we know is a bright future.