Fujitsu has quietly revealed its plans to shutter both its mainframe and Unix server system business by the end of this decade.
In a notice posted to the Japanese IT giant’s website, the company announced its plans to stop selling its mainframes and Unix server systems by 2030 though support systems will continue for an additional five years.
Fujitsu will stop manufacturing and selling its mainframe systems by 2030 as well as discontinue its Unix server systems by the end of 2029. As support services for both portfolios will extend for another five years, 2034 will mark the end of support for its Unix servers while 2035 will be the end of its mainframes.
In its notice, Fujitsu argues that “everything in society will be connected by digital touchpoints” in the near future which will require new, robust digital infrastructure. As such, businesses will need to reevaluate their existing core systems and embrace a fully digital, hybrid IT model to remain competitive and sustainable.
Fujitsu Uvance
Fujitsu’s plan also includes a timetable for shifting its mainframes and Unix servers to the cloud as part of a new business brand called Fujitsu Uvance.
Through this new brand, the company aims to provide businesses access to computing resources such as HPC using an as-a-service model that will give them access to advanced capabilities when needed.
While the move makes sense for the future of Fujitsu, the company’s mainframe customers now have a deadline before which they will need to migrate their mainframe applications to another platform or rebuild them from scratch on modern infrastructure. However, mainframes are a long-term investment for organizations that often handle their most mission-critical applications.
On the Unix server side, customers have things a bit easier as their workloads can be transitioned to Linux without too much of a hassle.
We’ll likely hear more from Fujitsu as the company begins winding down both its mainframe and Unix server businesses.
Via The Register
