Mainframe Innovation: The Pain and Gain of User Interface Transformation

Approaches to modernizing mainframe applications vary widely in scale and scope, with some taking on a total overhaul of existing functionality and code base while others target more specific areas for innovation, like Cloud integration, enhancing security, or adopting DevOps practices.

This article will explore one of the most basic elements of mainframe innovation – improving the user interface (UI) of 3270 mainframe applications to enhance user experience, increase productivity, and reduce costs.

The Pain of TN3270 Green Screens

For anyone who has ever used a character-based, 3270 ‘green screen’ application, the challenges of usability are obvious: non-intuitive descriptions, cryptic text-based data entry fields, extensive keyboarding to navigate within the screen, understanding the use and behavior of PF keys, and other usability obstacles.   Not only can this lead to expensive user training efforts to bring new employees up to speed, but the lack of modern usability features, like point-and-click navigation and drop-down menus, increases user frustration and makes it harder to attract and retain younger talent.

There are other costs associated with the continued use of hard-to-use legacy mainframe applications, including longer processing times, increased error rates, and additional technical and user support costs.  

In short, there are user challenges, operational inefficiencies, and other real costs associated with the continued use of character-based TN3270 green screens.

The Gain of Modernizing Mainframe UIs

Modernizing 3270 user interfaces (UIs) of legacy, mission-critical applications have both user and business implications and benefits as well.

Users are simply more engaged and their work product is more accurate when working with modern, user-friendly interfaces with features such as native language descriptions, drag-and-drop functionality, drop-down selection menus, and point-and-click navigation.

And all this improvement in usability translates into lower costs and improved efficiencies for the organization. Simplified and intuitive interfaces decrease the time and cost associated with training new users and allow for the addition of self-service initiatives for employees, customers, and business partners.  There is improvement in operational efficiency since modern UIs translate into fewer user errors, less re-work, and lower ongoing user support costs. And finally, providing employees with more intuitive, modern UIs reduces user frustration and improves job satisfaction.

Traditional Approaches to Mainframe UI Modernization

There have been a number of approaches to modernizing mainframe 3270 applications over the years. Besides re-writing or wholesale movement of these systems to other platforms, a popular approach was modifying the underlying business application code to create ‘screenless’ or API-enabled transactions, with the intent to create an entirely new GUI (graphical user interface) using separate server-based technologies or building an entirely new Internet/HTML interface to ‘access’ those modified mainframe systems.   This approach is costly and time consuming, requiring teams of mainframe and front-end/web developer specialists over many months or years. In addition, modifying what an enterprise considers a mission-critical or existential application adds a high level of risk to such an undertaking.

An Innovative Alternative

Is there a way to achieve the usability and productivity benefits from modernizing mainframe UIs but not incur all the costs, risks, and organizational disruption? We believe there is.

Innovative, no-code solutions now exist that can transforms legacy green screens into HTML and JavaScript web pages to provide an intuitive web interfaces and dynamic UI. These solutions can seamlessly integrate with your existing systems without requiring changes to the underlying application code thereby allowing uninterrupted use of the mission-critical application; and is typically created by staff familiar with the application, which drastically reduces implementation time.

These advancements not only avoid the costly redevelopment or complete replacement of mainframe applications but also delivers a user-friendly and intuitive experience, improves operational efficiencies, and enhances user satisfaction. Our solution, Virtel Screen Redesigner, does exactly that.

Conclusion

Modernizing the user interfaces of mainframe applications is not just about keeping up with technology, but ultimately about: improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing user satisfaction. By adopting a strategic approach that leverages the investments already made in critical enterprise systems and powerful tools like Virtel Screen Redesigner, organizations can easily and quickly transform their legacy ‘green screens’ into a modern, intuitive web UI. This transformation will ensure these critical mainframe systems continue to deliver value in an evolving digital age for both current and future users.