Microsoft courts mainframe shops, pushes Windows use - Computerworld

Microsoft courts mainframe shops, pushes Windows use - Computerworld: "Some mainframe users were ripe to make a change, though. For example, Glen MacGregor, assistant vice president of business systems at Lombard Canada Ltd. in Toronto, said the firm's IT department proposed replacing its IBM mainframe at budget time last year. Lombard's analysis showed that IBM's z/OS operating system and various mainframe tools would cost about $1 million per year more than running a Windows-based environment would, he said.
So the company hired Cratos Technology Solutions Inc. in Oakville, Ontario, to migrate 4,800 programs running on the mainframe to Windows. Cratos CEO Andrew Wickett said 92.3% of the Cobol code remained intact when the first application was migrated using Micro Focus tools. "