Tassie retailer sticks faithfully with IT it knows
TASMANIAN retailer Coogans has bucked the trend towards cloud computing and upgraded its Unisys mainframe systems for its mission-critical applications and online infrastructure.
The retailer is one of only a half-dozen organisations in Australia to use Unisys' mainframe systems and has been a loyal client of the IT provider and its predecessor, Burroughs, since before 1965.
Over one weekend recently, Coogans deployed one mainframe - the latest Unisys Libra 460s - at each of its Hobart and Moonah locations in Tasmania and migrated its real-time custom production application, called COSFAR (or Coogans Online Stock, Financial And Rental System), which was written in 1992 and is the centrepiece of the retailer's IT architecture.
"As the whole company is run using a real-time application - every aspect of the company is fed into this application - should we have a disastrous crash of our production machine, we can actually switch, probably within about one hour, to our DR [disaster recovery] environment and carry on going," said IT manager Peter Jandera. "Because they are completely separate we also have an offline backup of our entire environment."
While globally, mainframe market share is in gradual decline and many in the IT market believe mainframe computers are dying out and either virtualised environments on x86 servers or a cloud computing service is the way of the future, mainframe market presence from the likes of IBM and Unisys, and Fujitsu in Japan, remain strong and a viable platform for many industries.
After IBM updated its mainframe line in 2010, mainframe vendors in Australia exceeded their highest yearly revenues in the six months to March 2011 to more than $115 million, according to IDC data.
In Australia there are about 60 mainframe users among large banks, government departments, retailers and airlines.
Internationally, retailers such as Sears and Tesco still use mainframes.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Coogans upgraded and deployed Unisys mainframe systems—specifically the Unisys Libra 460s—at its Hobart and Moonah sites and migrated its real-time COSFAR application rather than shifting to a cloud-based platform.
COSFAR (Coogans Online Stock, Financial And Rental System) is a custom real-time production application written in 1992 that feeds every aspect of Coogans’ operations, making it the centrepiece of the retailer’s IT architecture.
Coogans maintains a separate disaster recovery (DR) environment and an offline backup of its entire environment, allowing the company to switch to DR and resume operations—probably within about one hour—if a production machine fails.
Yes—while global mainframe market share has gradually declined, the article notes mainframes from vendors such as Unisys, IBM and Fujitsu remain a strong and viable platform for many industries, including some retailers.
The article says there are about 60 mainframe users in Australia, typically among large banks, government departments, retailers and airlines.
The article mentions Unisys (and its Libra 460s), IBM and Fujitsu, and notes Coogans has been a long-time client of Unisys and its predecessor Burroughs since before 1965.
According to IDC data cited in the article, after IBM updated its mainframe line in 2010, mainframe vendors in Australia exceeded their highest yearly revenues in the six months to March 2011, totaling more than $115 million.
Yes—international retailers such as Sears and Tesco are mentioned in the article as examples of retailers that continue to use mainframes.
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