This is a very trying time for many of our clients. Some are struggling to serve massive and unpredictable spikes in transaction volumes, while others are in industries that have suffered severe reductions in business volumes. The one thing they nearly all have in common is that the IT teams are under extreme pressure from senior management to reduce costs and do it with smaller staffs.
Not only that, but technical support managers know that many of the people that have kept their businesses ticking over smoothly for the last 40+ years will soon be doing something other than babysitting an IPL at 03:00 on a Sunday morning. If they are smart, they have placed some bright, enthusiastic, young mainframers on their team. But travel and education budgets are tight, or non-existent, and even the smartest newbie will take a while to catch up. In an attempt to have a period of stability as the old guard start heading into retirement, clients have been coming to us, asking for performance health checks – they want to be sure that everything is ‘ship-shape’ and running optimally. If there are any opportunities for enhancement, they want to turn that into a learning opportunity, so the next generation can make the changes under the watchful eyes of their mentors.
