Maintec Offers Up Colo Optimized for Mainframes

ibm-z9

Maintec specializes in colocation services for mainframes, like this IBM Z9 unit. (Photo: IBM)

Maintec has opened a new 8,000 square foot data center in the Research Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina for Mainframe colocation. Wait, what? Mainframes? Yes, mainframes – the company has found itself an underserved niche in the market.

How does a mainframe colocation facility differ from a standard colo facility? “The knowledgebase,” says Sonny Gupta, President and CEO of Maintec. “The other colocation providers have no comprehension of the mainframes. They measure per square feet, and mainframes don’t fit in that model.”

Instead, mainframe colocation is often measured and charged in MIPS. "Companies with from 20 to 1,000 MIPS find us extremely cost effective,” says Gupta. There is a market for Maintec to tap, one that is a little more hidden from the world than typical colocation customers.

Mainframes Not Going Away

“Some of the larger installations are heavily invested in mainframe and these mainframes aren’t going any time soon,” Gupta said. "Maintec has the complete infrastructure and expert staff for 24/7/365 mainframe support. Depending on your needs, we provide mainframe colocation, mainframe raised floor space and/or mainframe managed services."

Mainframes are large, powerful computing systems that dominated business computing for decades. In recent years, most companies have shifted to rackmount

Who typically requires mainframe colocation? “Operations services – financial institutions, insurance  sector,” said Gupta, listing a few examples. “We’re finding all sorts of other clients, clients who perhaps haven’t upgraded in 5 to 10 years. Their hardware and software is old. “We provide them with a migration path, and usually there’s some type of managed service attached as well.”

The company says there are a lot of companies that are attached to mainframe technology, who want to outsource, but simply can’t find the right solution. So they often remain quiet.

“The problem is that those people are hidden – very few people know about them, and very people are tending to them,” says Gupta. ”The plan long-term is to help these people evolve, but they’re not about migrating to a non-mainframe platform. We want to continue to be there for these folks.

“One client had an almost 20 year old mainframe environment, and they’re afraid to move," said Gupta. "With any of the hardware, if they move, it’s a toss-up. So we told them we’d provide them with a duplicate environment and implement a migration path in 90 days.” .

The new facility is located on the second floor of a brick building at 250 Dominion Drive in Morrisville, N.C. and is primarily targeting companies in the Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Morrisville and Cary Regions. It says it’s equipped to handle workloads from one rack to 4,000 square feet. Maintec has been in Raleigh, N.C since 1998.