No Mainframes by 2024 - FedEx
FedEx is not only getting out of the business of running Mainframes but is also looking to get out of the data center by 2024.
The headline is clickbaity and worthy of some further commentary. FedEx is not only exiting using the Mainframe but also the data center by 2024. But you might notice that FedEx signed a 10-year deal with Switch, the data center company, back in 2019. If my math is as good now as in 5th grade, there are another 5-years left on the agreement. What gives?
We can look to my favorite poster children for infrastructure transformations - Walmart and JP Morgan Chase. Both companies have announced significant investments in moving workloads interchangeably between the public cloud and private data centers. As a result, I believe the days of “all-in” the public cloud are over.
Companies want the financial and technical flexibility to place workloads where ever they decide best for the application. However, for major corporations to achieve this capability today, they must invest billions in the ability. I assume that FedEx is pursuing a similar cloud capability.
While at HPE Discover last week, HPE Executives made the case that only the top 50 companies worldwide can do this at scale. According to HPE, OEM’s such as HPE must help the remaining 1,950 top companies achieve similar capabilities.
What about the mid-market and small businesses? According to HPE executives, small businesses are better suited for the public cloud. System integrators and managed service providers (the channel) will serve the balance.
What are your thoughts? What’s the future of enterprise IT?