Infosys And MongoDB Expand Business Transformation Partnership With Joint Mainframe Solution

Next-generation database developer MongoDB is extending its alliance with IT services giant Infosys by co-developing a mainframe off-loading solution designed to help businesses migrate critical business processes away from legacy systems.

The move expands a global application modernization partnership the two companies launched in December 2016.

"Companies are looking to cut costs and be innovative" and legacy mainframe systems can hinder both efforts, said Alan Chhabra, senior vice president of worldwide partners at MongoDB, in an interview with CRN.

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Infosys provides consulting and systems integration services for businesses and organizations that are modernizing their legacy applications – often as part of a digital transformation project or a migration to cloud computing.

Under the partnership established in December Infosys is using the MongoDB as a key component of that practice, which already has some 1,000 consultants with MongoDB expertise, Chhabra said. The two companies also established a joint innovation lab in Bangalore, India.

Infosys will offer the new MongoDB-based solution to businesses that want to offload specific workloads from mainframes: Chhabra used the example of a bank that uses a mainframe to maintain financial records, but wants to utilize more lower cost distributed systems to run the applications that consumers use for online account access.

"Mainframe offloading" is frequently a key step in IT system modernization initiatives. In some cases workloads will be migrated off the mainframe altogether onto MongoDB systems. Sometimes businesses will run MongoDB on the mainframe as a way to reduce costs and be more agile, Chhabra said.

"Infosys is focused on helping our clients improve their performance while reducing

costs through mainframe offloading, which is one of the key modernization initiatives," said Ravi Kumar S, Infosys president and deputy chief operating officer, in a statement. "Our endeavor is to recreate the success we have seen in accelerating digital transformation for our clients through our earlier partnership with MongoDB, mainframe offloading will bring forth the significant benefits of flexibility, scale and performance."

Aging mainframes are also often unable to handle huge volumes of data or run today's more complex applications.

MongoDB has been building up a stable of channel partners that includes systems integrators, resellers, ISVs and OEMs. While Chhabra said MongoDB deems the partnership with Infosys to be "very strategic," it is not an exclusive relationship.