The mainframe, long the backbone of enterprise computing, is enjoying a surge of support as modernization projects bear fruit, according to BMC Software Inc.’s 20th annual mainframe survey.

It found that 97% of respondents – all of whom are mainframe professionals — see the platform as a long-term part of information technology infrastructure that’s poised to attract new workloads. BMC said it was the highest level of optimism users have shown in the survey’s history.

The survey revealed that the mainframe is gaining fans for its reputation as a stable and secure utility and is becoming a hub for modernization, automation and artificial intelligence workloads. The transformation is being propelled by a significant generational shift in the mainframe workforce, rising workloads and rapid adoption of generative AI and artificial intelligence for IT operations.

Two-thirds of mainframe professionals now identify as Millennials or Generation Z, up from 37% seven years ago. Surprisingly, younger professionals are more likely than their elders to view the mainframe as a growth platform, especially for new applications and cloud workloads. Among Gen Z respondents, 73% said the mainframe will grow and attract new workloads compared to just 51% of Baby Boomers, many of whom grew up with mainframes.

Workload growth on the mainframe continues unabated. Seventy-two percent of organizations report increasing general-purpose capacity, with 35% attributing that growth to new or a combination of new and legacy applications.

Application modernization initiatives are also on the rise; 42% consider such programs a priority this year compared to 37% in 2024. In the largest mainframe environments — those exceeding 50,000 million instructions per second — 49% cite modernization as a top priority.

Cup o’ joe

Java may have it origins in consumer electronics, but it’s now mainstream in the data center. Sixty percent of surveyed organizations list Java among their most frequently used programming languages, with nearly half reporting increased Java use over the past two years.

Mainframe adoption of DevOps, a set of practices that combines software development and IT operations to speed up application delivery, grew from 63% last year to 67% in 2025, with one-quarter of organizations saying they have realized value from DevOps initiatives within six months.

Use of AIOps rose to 72% from 61% two years ago, probably reflecting organizations’ increasing focus on compliance and security. Both ranked as top priorities for mainframe teams for the sixth consecutive year. AI use is also growing; 65% of respondents already use generative AI in their mainframe environments, with 74% calling it critical to their strategy over the next two years.

The mainframe is also seen as a reliable platform for deploying autonomous and semi-autonomous AI agents. Two-thirds of respondents expressed openness to letting mainframes host agents for operational tasks.

Given that one influential industry editor predicted the last mainframe would be switched off nearly 30 years ago, the platform’s longevity continues to defy the critics.

The narrative around the mainframe has fundamentally changed, said John McKenny, senior vice president and general manager of intelligent Z optimization and transformation at BMC. “Twenty years ago, the conversation around the mainframe was often about its longevity,” he said. “This year’s survey shows the mainframe is not just enduring but thriving to power a new wave of applications and resilience.”

Photo: IBM