With few exceptions, CIOs are either considering or are in the midst of downsizing their mainframes. You often see references to mainframes in the press, claiming they are obsolete, expensive and doomed to extinction in the near future. Because of this negativity, there is much talk about downsizing from mainframes to smaller systems.
Downsizing makes it possible to migrate legacy applications from an expensive technology platform such as a mainframe to a cheaper one – like an Intel-based platform, for instance – while at the same time maintaining at least the same level of performance and security.