Don’t Be Afraid of the Mainframe
The Missing Introduction for IT Leaders and Professionals
Your mainframe isn’t the problem. The uncertainty is.
CIOs and IT executives regularly face decisions about the mainframe — invest, modernize, migrate, integrate — yet clear, vendor-neutral guidance is hard to find. Most information comes with a vendor agenda, or assumes a level of technical knowledge that most leaders simply don’t have.
This book fills that gap.
Written for IT leaders and professionals who need to understand the mainframe without becoming specialists, it provides the foundation for making informed, confident decisions — about the platform, its future, and its role in your organization.
What This Book Gives You
Don’t Be Afraid of the Mainframe cuts through the noise with 30+ years of hands-on expertise. Whether you’re deciding the platform’s future or defending its present, this book gives you the clarity and confidence to make the right strategic decisions.
You’ll discover:
- Why the mainframe processes 70% of global transactions — and why “legacy” doesn’t mean “obsolete”, and how to modernize it
- The real economics: where costs hide, how licensing works, and what you can actually control
- Modern capabilities you didn’t know existed: AI, containers, REST APIs, DevOps, and cloud integration
- Practical frameworks for assessing your platform, applications, and transformation options
- Honest comparisons: when mainframe makes sense, when cloud is better, and how to integrate both
No sales pitch. No vendor bias. Just clear explanations, real-world case studies, and decision frameworks you can use immediately.
Paperback and ebook coming soon on Amazon, Bol.com, Kobo, Apple Books and Google Play.
For bulk orders of the paperback, please get in touch.
Who This Book Is For
This book is written for leaders and professionals who must make decisions that matter: CIOs, IT executives, enterprise architects, CFOs, technology directors, IT professionals, and consultants.
If you influence technology strategy, this book gives you the clarity you’ve been missing. No prior mainframe experience required.
Bring This Knowledge Into Your Organization
Based on the book, Niek offers tailored workshops for executive teams and IT organizations.
- Executive Briefing: Mainframe Strategy for CIOs — A focused 2-hour session on platform strategy, modernization options, and risk.
- Mainframe Modernization Workshop — Understand your options, trade-offs, and ROI. For chief architects and IT leaders.
- Mainframe Cost Optimization Workshop — For CFOs and IT executives managing mainframe spend.