A NEW MAINFRAME OF MIND

CHRIS O'LEARY

Many retailers and wholesalers no longer regard the mainframe computer as a monolithic fixture of the past but instead as a valuable link in today's new-generation information networks.

A growing number of companies are redefining the role of the mainframe, configuring it as a data warehouse and

exploiting the massive storage capacity and undisputed security features.

Technology upgrades and declining costs of mainframes also are blurring some of the lines between legacy systems and client-server networks, further enhancing the mainframe's attractiveness for distributors.

"Five years ago my opinion was that client-server was a replacement for the mainframe," said Larry Elias, senior vice president of management information systems at Pueblo Xtra International, Pompano Beach, Fla.

"Today I see the mainframe as an adjunct to a total network of computers with different capabilities for different things," he said.

Using mainframes as the repository for large volumes of daily, companywide data crucial for initiatives like frequent shopper programs allows distributors to free up their client-server systems for more analysis-oriented programs like decision support.

"We see the mainframe as a large data engine," said Michael Bowman, manager of management information systems at United Grocers, Portland, Ore.

While the wholesaler has moved applications like decision support and financial analysis to its client-server network, "we have no final plans for knocking the mainframe out of here," he added.

"We have [to maintain] a lot of retail and demographic information about the customer, as well as internal sales data, labor management and promotional activity," Bowman said.

The mainframe's changing role in networked computing goes beyond data warehousing, said retailers who are using the platform for applications that are not time-sensitive. Certified Grocers Midwest, Hodgkins, Ill., is using its mainframe as the engine for large-scale initiatives driven off its data base.

"The mainframe is still going to be a crucial part of our operations," said Thomas Kulak, director of systems administration and development.

"It will be used for generating large-volume output: our price books, shelf-tags and store-support type of services," he said.

Such duties will complement the mainframe's primary role as the data-base repository in Certified's new client-server architecture. "The mainframe is going to be our query data-base server," Kulak said.

Another factor encouraging retailers to turn their mainframes into data warehouses is the cost and effort of moving such data to client-server systems.

"The mainframe holds all of our large data bases, and for many of our applications today it is still the best transaction processing platform," Pueblo's Elias said.

"There's very little payback in converting some of our larger data bases [to client-server] because they're transaction-based," he added. "The software is extremely stable, the costs have been incurred and there's no incremental value in moving them."

K.E. McKay's of Coos Bay, a 13-store chain based in Coos Bay, Ore., said converting data bases to its PC network would be a grueling task.

"We would have to totally restructure," said Shireda Jensen, director of PC-related MIS. "This is where I feel we will stay [with our mainframe], because of the costs involved."

The decline in maintenance costs for mainframes in the last few years has further enhanced the value of mainframes for some distributors.

"When we started out, our mainframe costs were very high," said Bowman of United Grocers. "In the last two years we've seen almost a 60% drop in our mainframe costs.

"Now the rush to get off [our mainframe] just isn't there," he added. "The benefits don't outweigh the loss of security and control" in moving to a client-server based system.

While mainframes are a natural for data warehousing, distributors cautioned that they are not ready-made. United said some programming and upgrades may be needed on its mainframe to make information more easily accessible.

"The information is there now but it's not in a state where it can be pulled out easily by our decision-support systems," Bowman said. "We're going to have to do some true warehousing and really look at how we store our data."

The security structure of mainframes, however, is emerging as a key strength for housing store-specific and customer-specific data. "The mainframe's been around for a long time," Bowman said. "It's been beat on. People have tried to break into it and it's been proved to be a good castle."

By contrast, client-server has not proven itself, he added. "The tools are evolving quickly but it doesn't have the long-term history," Bowman said. "We're not willing to take a risk on the promise that it's going to work."

"Client-server needs a robust network," added Jerry Singh, managing partner of The Partnering Group, Cincinnati. "It requires new security procedures that are already part of the mainframe."

The mainframe's new role has emerged as many MIS officials realize that client-server may not be the answer to all their information needs.

"I'm not sure what a mainframe is anymore," Pueblo's Elias said. "But I know tomorrow there will be a processor whose role will be predominantly transaction processing and whose strength will be batch processing. That will continue, whatever you want to call it."