In the Age of AI, Mainframe Modernization Crucial for European Firms
Information Services Group (ISG) reports that European enterprises are increasingly focusing on mainframe modernization to drive AI innovation, despite economic challenges. The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ study reveals companies are preferring smaller, ROI-focused modernization projects while integrating mainframes with cloud platforms.
Key challenges include:
- 28% of mainframe clients lack in-house modernization skills
- Up to 30% of Europe's IT workforce retiring by 2030
- Strict GDPR and sector-specific regulations
The report highlights the growing role of Generative AI in mainframe environments, particularly in banking, insurance, and public administration. While GenAI assists in code dependencies discovery and knowledge transfer, it requires domain-specific tuning and expert validation. The study evaluates 46 providers across five quadrants, with Atos, DXC Technology, and TCS emerging as leaders in four quadrants each.
Information Services Group (ISG) riporta che le imprese europee stanno sempre più concentrandosi sulla modernizzazione dei mainframe per promuovere l'innovazione nell'IA, nonostante le sfide economiche. Lo studio ISG Provider Lens™ 2025 rivela che le aziende preferiscono progetti di modernizzazione più piccoli e focalizzati sul ROI, integrando i mainframe con le piattaforme cloud.
Le principali sfide includono:
- Il 28% dei clienti di mainframe non dispone di competenze interne per la modernizzazione
- Fino al 30% della forza lavoro IT in Europa andrà in pensione entro il 2030
- Regole rigorose del GDPR e normative specifiche di settore
Il rapporto evidenzia il crescente ruolo dell'IA Generativa negli ambienti mainframe, in particolare nel settore bancario, assicurativo e nella pubblica amministrazione. Sebbene GenAI assista nella scoperta delle dipendenze del codice e nel trasferimento delle conoscenze, richiede una messa a punto specifica per il dominio e la validazione da parte di esperti. Lo studio valuta 46 fornitori in cinque quadranti, con Atos, DXC Technology e TCS che emergono come leader in quattro quadranti ciascuno.
Information Services Group (ISG) informa que las empresas europeas están cada vez más enfocadas en la modernización de mainframes para impulsar la innovación en IA, a pesar de los desafíos económicos. El estudio ISG Provider Lens™ 2025 revela que las empresas prefieren proyectos de modernización más pequeños y centrados en el ROI, integrando mainframes con plataformas en la nube.
Los principales desafíos incluyen:
- El 28% de los clientes de mainframe carecen de habilidades internas de modernización
- Hasta el 30% de la fuerza laboral de TI en Europa se jubilará para 2030
- Regulaciones estrictas de GDPR y específicas del sector
El informe destaca el creciente papel de la IA Generativa en los entornos de mainframe, particularmente en la banca, los seguros y la administración pública. Si bien GenAI ayuda en el descubrimiento de dependencias de código y en la transferencia de conocimientos, requiere ajustes específicos del dominio y validación por parte de expertos. El estudio evalúa a 46 proveedores en cinco cuadrantes, con Atos, DXC Technology y TCS emergiendo como líderes en cuatro cuadrantes cada uno.
정보 서비스 그룹(ISG)는 유럽 기업들이 경제적 도전에도 불구하고 AI 혁신을 추진하기 위해 메인프레임 현대화에 점점 더 집중하고 있다고 보고합니다. 2025년 ISG 공급자 렌즈™ 연구에 따르면, 기업들은 ROI에 초점을 맞춘 더 작은 현대화 프로젝트를 선호하며 메인프레임과 클라우드 플랫폼을 통합하고 있습니다.
주요 도전 과제는 다음과 같습니다:
- 메인프레임 고객의 28%가 내부 현대화 기술 부족
- 2030년까지 유럽 IT 인력의 최대 30%가 은퇴
- 엄격한 GDPR 및 산업별 규정
보고서는 메인프레임 환경에서 생성적 AI의 역할이 증가하고 있음을 강조하며, 특히 은행, 보험 및 공공 행정 분야에서 두드러집니다. GenAI는 코드 의존성 발견 및 지식 전이에서 도움을 주지만, 도메인별 조정과 전문가 검증이 필요합니다. 이 연구는 46개 공급자를 다섯 개의 사분면에서 평가하며, Atos, DXC Technology 및 TCS가 각각 네 개의 사분면에서 리더로 부상했습니다.
Information Services Group (ISG) rapporte que les entreprises européennes se concentrent de plus en plus sur la modernisation des mainframes pour stimuler l'innovation en IA, malgré les défis économiques. L'étude ISG Provider Lens™ 2025 révèle que les entreprises préfèrent des projets de modernisation plus petits, axés sur le retour sur investissement, tout en intégrant les mainframes aux plateformes cloud.
Les principaux défis incluent:
- 28 % des clients de mainframe manquent de compétences internes en modernisation
- Jusqu'à 30 % de la main-d'œuvre IT en Europe partira à la retraite d'ici 2030
- Règlements stricts du GDPR et réglementations spécifiques au secteur
Le rapport souligne le rôle croissant de l'IA Générative dans les environnements mainframe, notamment dans les secteurs bancaire, des assurances et de l'administration publique. Bien que GenAI aide à la découverte des dépendances de code et au transfert de connaissances, elle nécessite un ajustement spécifique au domaine et une validation par des experts. L'étude évalue 46 fournisseurs dans cinq quadrants, avec Atos, DXC Technology et TCS émergeant comme leaders dans quatre quadrants chacun.
Information Services Group (ISG) berichtet, dass europäische Unternehmen zunehmend auf die Modernisierung von Mainframes setzen, um Innovationen im Bereich KI voranzutreiben, trotz wirtschaftlicher Herausforderungen. Die ISG Provider Lens™-Studie 2025 zeigt, dass Unternehmen kleinere, ROI-orientierte Modernisierungsprojekte bevorzugen und Mainframes mit Cloud-Plattformen integrieren.
Wesentliche Herausforderungen sind:
- 28% der Mainframe-Kunden verfügen nicht über interne Modernisierungsfähigkeiten
- Bis zu 30% der IT-Arbeitskräfte in Europa werden bis 2030 in den Ruhestand gehen
- Strenge GDPR- und branchenspezifische Vorschriften
Der Bericht hebt die wachsende Rolle der Generativen KI in Mainframe-Umgebungen hervor, insbesondere im Bankwesen, in der Versicherungswirtschaft und in der öffentlichen Verwaltung. Während GenAI bei der Entdeckung von Codeabhängigkeiten und dem Wissenstransfer hilft, erfordert es eine domänenspezifische Anpassung und Expertenvalidierung. Die Studie bewertet 46 Anbieter in fünf Quadranten, wobei Atos, DXC Technology und TCS in jeweils vier Quadranten als führend hervorgehen.
- Growing adoption of GenAI in mainframe environments indicates technological advancement
- Service providers developing new tools for incremental, service-based modernization approaches
- Significant skills shortage with 28% lacking in-house modernization capabilities
- availability of Mainframe as a Service options in Europe
- Economic slowdown causing cautious IT investment approach
Amid slower economic growth, Europe’s enterprises favoring smaller modernization projects that demonstrate clear ROI, ISG Provider Lens™ report says
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Mainframe – Services and Solutions report for
Meanwhile, the need for innovation is spurring more companies to invest in upgrading their mainframes and adopting hybrid models that blend the reliability of mainframes with the agility and scalability of the cloud. Companies, in particular, are looking to harness data across platforms for AI and analytics.
Service providers in
“Some 28 percent of mainframe clients tell us they lack the in-house skills to be able to modernize their mainframe systems effectively,” said Dr. Matthias Paletta, director and ISG lead for technology modernization in EMEA. “With up to 30 percent of Europe’s IT workforce retiring by 2030, and with universities having already transitioned to teaching cloud-native and web-based development, the talent pool for mainframe positions is shallower than ever before.”
Over the past 18 months, the use of GenAI in mainframe environments has progressed from niche pilot tests to structured deployments, particularly in industries like banking, insurance and public administration that rely heavily on mainframes, the report says. Providers say GenAI is enabling faster discovery of code dependencies and helping bridge knowledge gaps for younger developers. Yet it still requires domain-specific tuning and subject-matter experts to validate output.
Strict European data protection laws add complexity to mainframe modernization, as organizations must handle code and correlated data carefully to avoid breaching GDPR or sector-specific regulations, the report says.
Expected improvements in the use of GenAI in mainframe modernization include the development of more precise domain-focused models to handle COBOL variants and legacy data structures, integrated compliance features that log and audit AI use, and deeper ties to DevOps pipelines for automated testing. Many providers, the report says, are working on capabilities supporting hybrid cloud architectures, where modern and legacy systems interconnect seamlessly.
“Enterprises’ mainframe teams are shrinking,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “So, more and more, they’re turning to outsourced and managed services to maintain their mission-critical systems. This frees those teams from having to constantly monitor their systems and respond to incidents, so they can focus on innovation.”
The report also explores other trends, including the continuingly low availability of Mainframe as a Service (MFaaS) options for
For more insights into the landscape for Europe’s mainframe service providers, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Mainframe – Services and Solutions report for
The report names Atos, DXC Technology and TCS as Leaders in four quadrants each. Capgemini, HCLTech, Infosys and Kyndryl are named Leaders in three quadrants each. Cognizant and Wipro are named Leaders in two quadrants each. Accenture, Avanade, AWS, Google, Heirloom Computing, LTIMindtree, Rocket Software, TmaxSoft and TSRI are named Leaders in one quadrant each.
In addition, Kyndryl and NTT DATA are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.
In the area of customer experience, UST is named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2025 among mainframe services and solutions providers. UST earned the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG's Voice of the Customer survey, part of the ISG Star of Excellence™ program, the premier quality recognition for the technology and business services industry.
A customized version of the report is available from TSRI.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ Mainframe – Services and Solutions report for
About ISG Provider Lens™ Research
The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across
About ISG
ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
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Press Contacts:
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Source: Information Services Group, Inc.
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