The News: Software vendor BMC announces its intention to buy mainframe cloud storage vendor Model9. See the Press Release from BMC here.
BMC to Acquire Model9: What It Means for Mainframe Data Management
Analyst Take: Earlier this week, BMC Software announced its intention to acquire the rapidly growing and arguably market-leading cloud object storage vendor Model9, I had the opportunity to speak with April Hickel, Vice President of Strategy, Intelligent Z Optimization and Transformation, to discuss the news and quiz her on the long-term implications for BMC and the wider mainframe space. She stated: “Together, BMC and Model9 will enable hybrid IT from the mainframe to the cloud, adding modern data management, protection, and analytics to our comprehensive portfolio of application development, operations, and security solutions. Model9 solutions will bring the flexibility, scalability, and price benefits of cloud computing to our mainframe customers.”
The key takeaway from our discussion was a palpable excitement to welcome this solution into the BMC portfolio. The announcement was timed to coincide with BMC’s Sales Kickoff, and then a pragmatic positioning of Model9 as a tenant in BMC’s positioning as the company enabling mainframe customers to further transition to the cloud and modernize applications without having to undertake a risky refactoring and re-platforming project.
Why is The BMC Model9 Acquisition Important for Mainframe Customers?
Mainframes, despite many in the analyst community and IT press staging the opposite, are still widely used by large enterprises for mission-critical applications that require high transactional performance, availability, and security. However, mainframe data management is often complex, costly, and inefficient, often relying on legacy tape systems and proprietary on-premises storage array.
Our team at The Futurum Group has been tracking the evolution of Model9 for the last couple of years and the innovative Israel-based team has made rapid progress over that time. Since Eddie Ciliendo joined the company, the use cases have been clarified and the execution has accelerated. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Eddie at SHARE in Atlanta and the clarity of focus in our discussion is evident.
Model9 offers a modern alternative to traditional mainframe data management solutions. Model9 leverages cloud-native technologies to enable mainframe data access, transformation, and movement across any cloud platform. Model9 also eliminates the need for tape systems and appliances, reducing costs and complexity, while improving data availability and recovery.
By acquiring Model9, BMC will be able to integrate its leading mainframe software solutions with Model9’s cloud data management capabilities. This will create a unified platform for mainframe customers to manage their data across hybrid cloud environments, with benefits such as:
- Enhanced data protection and compliance with cloud-based backup and recovery
- Improved data agility and accessibility with cloud-based data transformation and movement
- Reduced data management costs and complexity with cloud-based storage and archiving
- Increased data value and insights with cloud-based analytics and AI
How This Acquisition Will Benefit BMC and Model9
The BMC acquisition of Model9 will strengthen BMC’s position as the third largest player in the mainframe software solutions space, behind IBM and Broadcom. BMC has a long history of innovation and customer focus in the mainframe market, with products such as BMC Automated Mainframe Intelligence (AMI), BMC Compuware, and BMC MainView, with the company being acquisitive of late. By adding Model9’s cloud data management capabilities to its portfolio, BMC will be able to offer a more complete and differentiated solution for mainframe customers, especially in the fast-growing storage space.
Model9 will also benefit from joining forces with BMC, as it will gain access to BMC’s global customer base, sales force, partner network, and R&D resources. The key factor here is the access to a global and established sales team that has existing relationships and the right multi-year contracts already in place.
What Are the Next Steps for the BMC Model9 Acquisition?
According to Hickel, the BMC Model9 acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. Until then, both companies will continue to operate independently and serve their customers as usual.
Once the acquisition is completed, Model9 will become part of BMC’s AMI business unit under the leadership of veteran John McKenny, Senior Vice President and General Manager, which focuses on mainframe software solutions. Model9’s co-founders and employees will join BMC and continue to develop and support Model9’s products.
According to Hickel’s responses to my inquiries BMC and Model9 are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for their customers, partners, and employees. I expect BMC to leverage the SHARE conference in August to provide more details and updates on the integration process, as this would represent the perfect time to inform the key U.S.-installed base of mainframe customers on the company’s plans.
Looking Ahead
The BMC acquisition of Model9 is a strategic move that will benefit both companies and the wider installed base of mainframe customers. It will enable BMC to offer a comprehensive solution for mainframe data management across hybrid cloud environments while allowing Model9 to scale its growth through access to the BMC go-to-market engine. More crucially, I see the acquisition creating new opportunities for mainframe customers to optimize their data management costs, performance, availability, and value.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
The Value and Future of AIOps for Mainframe Environments
BMC Reimagines Mainframe Portfolio
How Model9 Helps Mainframe Users Revitalize Data
Author Information
Regarded as a luminary at the intersection of technology and business transformation, Steven Dickens is the Vice President and Practice Leader for Hybrid Cloud, Infrastructure, and Operations at The Futurum Group. With a distinguished track record as a Forbes contributor and a ranking among the Top 10 Analysts by ARInsights, Steven's unique vantage point enables him to chart the nexus between emergent technologies and disruptive innovation, offering unparalleled insights for global enterprises.
Steven's expertise spans a broad spectrum of technologies that drive modern enterprises. Notable among these are open source, hybrid cloud, mission-critical infrastructure, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and FinTech innovation. His work is foundational in aligning the strategic imperatives of C-suite executives with the practical needs of end users and technology practitioners, serving as a catalyst for optimizing the return on technology investments.
Over the years, Steven has been an integral part of industry behemoths including Broadcom, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and IBM. His exceptional ability to pioneer multi-hundred-million-dollar products and to lead global sales teams with revenues in the same echelon has consistently demonstrated his capability for high-impact leadership.
Steven serves as a thought leader in various technology consortiums. He was a founding board member and former Chairperson of the Open Mainframe Project, under the aegis of the Linux Foundation. His role as a Board Advisor continues to shape the advocacy for open source implementations of mainframe technologies.
