Kyndryl and AWS Build Bridge to Mainframe Modernization

The News: Kyndryl added a suite of services to support the Amazon Web Services (AWS) mainframe modernization service, including cloud native services and application replatforming and refactoring. Read the full announcement on the Kyndryl website.

AWS re:Invent: Kyndryl, AWS build Bridge to Mainframe Modernization

Analyst Take: Kyndryl took the opportunity presented by the industry buzz around AWS re:Invent to announce a strategic collaboration that we believe will become a template for other hyperscale integrations. The AWS Mainframe Modernization service allows customers to migrate and modernize their on-premises mainframe applications to a cloud-native fully managed runtime environment on AWS. Managed service provider Kyndryl is adding the following services to automate provisioning and management of AWS Mainframe Modernization customer deployments:

Kyndryl Cloud Native Services (KCNS) for mainframe modernization will help streamline provisioning, backup, and compliance application monitoring and management across platforms. KCNS will help automate operations, track runtime performance, and help ensure system health. These capabilities were previously managed by AWS but can now be managed by Kyndryl.
Application replatforming/refactoring via integrated DevSecOps provides application platform engineering on the mainframe and AWS.
Application refactoring for migration from the mainframe to AWS is supported by Kyndryl migration experts and helps customers optimize mainframe applications as microservices in a cloud-native environment.
Near-real-time data replication between the mainframe and AWS using Kyndryl Consult to tune and manage third-party products to replicate data with Change Data Capture (CDC) between the mainframe and AWS.

Kyndryl Bridge Integration

The services will also integrate the AI-powered Kyndryl Bridge open integration platform into AWS. Kyndryl Bridge provides real-time visibility and actionable insights into operational data for mainframe applications and data in the public cloud.

Applications refactored or replatformed with Mainframe Modernization can use other AWS services, including compute, database, messaging, security, and storage. When replatforming an application, Mainframe Modernization recompiles the app and deploys it as an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)–based runtime environment.

Looking Ahead

This is a big step forward in moving workloads across cloud and mainframes, as organizations continue to adopt a hybrid strategy. And it is just the start. Kyndryl executives that we met with at the show, including Petra Goude and Richard Baird, say they have a strong roadmap to continue to expand their services around AWS Mainframe Modernization in 2024, and we fully expect tighter integrations and more customer stories to be forthcoming.

The goal is to help customers place the right workload on the right platform by seamlessly managing and migrating workloads both on-premises and in the public cloud. Kyndryl’s capabilities and the AWS Mainframe Modernization service can help create an end-to-end mainframe transformation factory to integrate and migrate mainframe applications and data to AWS.

Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.

Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.