The call for digital transformation has led many CIOs at large enterprises to assume they can imitate the archetypal startup path to stardom and embrace a model centered on the delivery of products and services via web and mobile applications. This assumption is only half accurate.

Most corporate business processes and customer information still reside in large, complex COBOL applications and databases running on mainframe computers. These are often the forgotten systems of record in a datacenter — forgotten because they are so reliable, efficient and secure that many people take them for granted.

These strengths are also why mainframe applications power the global economy and feed an increasing number of web and mobile applications (aka systems of engagement). For example, when a customer cashes a check with a mobile device, a mainframe is called upon to ultimately complete the transaction.

Now CIOs are realizing this symbiotic relationship can be leveraged for more progressive innovation. A Forrester survey we at Compuware Corporation commissioned found 96% of new business initiatives at large organizations involve mainframes.

But the progress of those initiatives is suffering because mainframe development teams often struggle to keep pace with web and mobile teams, ultimately reducing their ability to deliver the digital innovation customers crave.

What’s Constraining The Mainframe?

The struggle is unrelated to system hardware. The mainframe is one of the most modern IT systems available. The newest model, the z14, arrived in the latter half of 2017, and it drove IBM’s year-over-year mainframe hardware revenue up 71% last quarter.

The mainframe’s struggle is also unrelated to COBOL, the mainframe’s primary programming language. While some COBOL applications were written decades ago, these applications contain business processes that have been honed and perfected over time.