Global chief information officers concerned about shortage of mainframe computer skills

Chief information officers (CIOs) around the globe are concerned about a retiring maninframe workforce that could expose enterprises to increased costs and business risks, according to a survey for Compuware Corporation (Nasdaq:CPWR).
In the study of 520 CIOs, 71% said they were concerned a looming mainframe skills shortage would hurt their business. Specifically, CIOs expressed concern a mainframe skills shortage would result in increased application risk (58%), reduced productivity (58%) and more project overruns (53%).
“Experienced developers are business-critical assets, which is why nearly half (43%) of mainframe operational expenses goes toward their salaries,” said Kris Manery, senior vice president and general manager of Compuware’s mainframe solutions business unit. “The loss of expertise as they retire will lead to increased costs as inexperienced developers spend more time getting to grips with their mainframe applications.
“Unfortunately, this steep learning curve also means there are more chances for error and ultimately loss of revenue through application outages.”
One minute of a mainframe application outage can cost nearly $14,000 in lost revenue for the average enterprise, according to this study.