Google looks to simplify mainframe-to-cloud migration
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Dual Run for Google Cloud reduces the risk of transferring mainframe data and applications to the cloud.
Nearly 90% of states still rely on mainframe computers, according to a 2021 survey from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and Accenture.
State and local governments that have considered migrating to the cloud and modernizing their infrastructure to save money have been concerned that testing and application optimization could disrupt high-volume, mission-critical transactions.
To address those concerns, Google is offering a new solution called Dual Run for Google Cloud, which it said will simplify and reduce the risks associated with modernizing mainframe systems used by retailers and manufacturers as well as governments, banks and health care organizations that must comply with privacy, security, and data residency requirements.
With Dual Run, organizations can run workloads simultaneously on their existing mainframes and in the Google Cloud, so they can gather data on an application’s performance and stability in the cloud without affecting current operations. Once IT teams are satisfied that the cloud-based system’s performance is equivalent to the mainframe version, they can switch the system of record to the cloud, and use the mainframe for backup, company officials said.
"Many government agencies still rely on legacy mainframes because of the risk, cost, and time to conduct such migrations and run mission-critical workloads to the cloud,” Nirav Mehta, senior director of product management at Google Cloud, said in an email. “To keep up with ever-evolving needs for scalable, flexible and secure IT infrastructure, government agencies must quickly modernize their mainframe systems.”
Google Cloud's industry, technology and services partners will help customers adopt and implement the new service, which tightly integrates with Micro Focus' enterprise IT modernization platform. Migration playbooks will be developed for specific use cases, the company said.
Hauke Heier, head of Google Cloud practice in Europe for Accenture, said in a statement that Dual Run introduces “a more predictable platform” to aid migration and also can help “address the scarcity of skills needed to modernize and maintain a company's mainframe-based digital core."