Transforming the Core: a Blueprint for AI-powered Mainframe Modernization

Enterprises today stand at a juncture in their mainframe modernization journeys, influenced by escalating operational costs, an aging workforce, compliance requirements, and the demand for digital agility. While traditional mainframes remain important, the modernization landscape is rapidly shifting from addressing foundational operational inefficiencies in early modernization efforts toward leveraging technology as a strategic enabler of innovation and business agility in the next phase of transformation, which we refer to as Modernization 2.0. Enterprises increasingly recognize that modernization is not merely a technical upgrade but a strategic transformation, leveraging advanced technologies such as generative and agentic AI to deliver tangible business outcomes and future-ready capabilities.
Key strategies are emerging based on enterprise objectives and workload criticality, including retaining and reinventing core systems, reducing and realigning workloads via hybrid approaches, or fully retiring and replacing mainframes with cloud-native systems. Enterprises must focus on four interconnected strategic pillars: talent transformation, operational excellence, technology acceleration, and risk and compliance governance. Successful modernization depends on effectively navigating these strategic priorities, mitigating risks, and aligning modernization initiatives with broader business goals to sustain long-term digital advantage and operational resilience.