ISG to Evaluate Mainframe Application Service Providers for the U.S. Public Sector

Upcoming ISG Provider Lens™ report will assess providers that help public sector mainframe systems meet digital business requirements

ISG to Evaluate Mainframe Application Service Providers for the U.S. Public Sector

Will Thoretz, ISG
+1 203 517 3119
will.thoretz@isg-one.com

Julianna Sheridan, Matter Communications for ISG
+1 978 518 4520
isg@matternow.com

Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, has launched a research study examining providers and vendors of mainframe computing system modernization services to U.S. public sector organizations.

The study results will be published in a comprehensive ISG Provider Lens™ report, called Mainframes – Services and Solutions 2025, scheduled for release in March 2025. The report will cover providers and software vendors that enable the modernization of mainframe systems, software environments and business applications to meet current and next-generation digital requirements.

Buyers in the U.S. public sector, including state, local, municipal and educational (SLED) agencies, will be able to use information from the report to evaluate their current vendor relationships, potential new engagements and available offerings. ISG advisors will use this information to recommend providers to their buy-side clients.

U.S. public sector organizations are looking to modernize and leverage the legacy mainframe environments that have been supporting their IT operations for decades to meet availability, interoperability and cost requirements in today’s digital world.

“While mainframes are based on legacy programming languages and architectures, modern approaches can enable them to deliver next-generation digital business services,” said Heiko Henkes, managing director, ISG Provider Lens. “Resilient mainframe environments can leverage high-performance hardware and software tools for continuous modernization, enabling mainframe applications to integrate with new technologies and computing platforms.”

ISG has distributed surveys to more than 60 vendors and providers serving the U.S. public sector market. Working in collaboration with ISG’s global advisors, the research team will produce four quadrants representing the mainframe application services the typical enterprise buys based on ISG’s experience working with its clients. The four quadrants are:

Mainframe Optimization Services – Evaluating service providers that offer legacy application modernization services that are less disruptive to the mainframe operation, enabling organizations to better leverage contemporary technologies and practices.

Application Modernization Services – Assessing application development and maintenance services providers with new application modernization methodologies to assess and rewrite legacy programming language applications.

Mainframe-as-a-Service (MFaaS) – Covering infrastructure service providers that offer shared IBM Z mainframes under a pay-per-use contract model.

Mainframe Operations – Evaluating traditional outsourcing providers with extensive experience in offering mainframe services.

Geographically focused reports from the study will cover the global mainframe application support and services market and examine products and services available in the United States. ISG U.S. public sector analyst Peter Crocker will serve as lead analyst for the report.

A list of identified providers and vendors and further details on the study are available in this digital brochure. Companies not listed as mainframe application service providers can contact ISG and ask to be included in the study.

All 2024 ISG Provider Lens™ evaluations feature expanded customer experience (CX) data that measures actual enterprise experience with specific provider services and solutions, based on ISG’s continuous CX research. U.S. public sector customers wishing to share their experience about a specific provider or vendor are encouraged to register here to receive a personalized survey URL. Participants will receive a copy of this report in return for their feedback.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including AI and automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.