Mainframe
COBOL to Java, C#
& Cloud
Many financial institutions still rely on IBM mainframes for core banking and transaction systems. These platforms are stable and proven, but they carry high annual operating costs driven by licensing, MIPS based billing, and hardware support.
As modernization becomes a priority, organizations usually compare two main paths:
AWS provides a managed runtime with lower on premise infrastructure costs, but long term expenses depend on cloud usage. SoftwareMining provides a fully automated COBOL to Java (or optional C#) translation path with infrastructure flexibility. Clients can deploy the translated system on premise or in any cloud, reducing lock in and keeping annual support predictable.
The table below compares cost and operational factors for IBM mainframes, AWS Mainframe Modernization, and SoftwareMining for a typical 2 million line COBOL and IMS application.
| Category | IBM Mainframe (CICS-based) | SoftwareMining - COBOL to Java Modernization | AWS Mainframe Modernization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Translation / Modernization Fee | N/A | ~$0.26 to $0.30/LOC (2M LOC example) | ~$0.15-$0.22/LOC |
| Typical Annual Runtime Cost | $800K-$1.2M per year (typical CICS and MIPS based range) | $40K-$80K per year (ASM only; client managed hosting) | $300K-$700K per year (representative AWS runtime and cloud services range) |
| Cloud Hosting and Runtime Flexibility | Fixed mainframe infrastructure | On premise or any cloud | AWS hosted, pay per use |
| Support Model | Vendor managed SLAs | Annual SLA based support | Tiered AWS and partner support |
| Cost Predictability | High fixed cost | Fixed tiers based on translated LOC | Variable usage based billing |
The values shown are approximate industry ranges provided for comparison purposes only. Actual IBM and AWS pricing depends on licensing agreements, workload volume, and usage patterns.
Stability is critical when migrating core applications. The most expensive part of modernization is often not translation but testing. Regression testing for a medium size system can exceed the modernization fee by a factor of five to ten.
For this reason, high translation accuracy and predictable runtime behavior matter more than small differences in per line pricing. Any change in generated code, libraries, or runtime components can force additional testing cycles.
SoftwareMining minimizes this risk by keeping translation rules and runtime libraries stable and changing them infrequently. This reduces repeated regression cycles and supports long term operational confidence.
In short, modernization success depends not only on cost per line but on confidence per line.
COBOL modernization costs depend on the chosen path. IBM mainframes keep high annual runtime and licensing charges, AWS Mainframe Modernization introduces usage based cloud costs, and automated COBOL to Java with SoftwareMining is priced mainly on lines of code. For a medium size system, the total cost profile differs across these options.
For a medium size system, IBM mainframe runtime and licensing can still reach the high six to low seven figure range per year. AWS Mainframe Modernization often lowers on premise costs, but annual cloud runtime, storage, and related services typically fall into the mid six figure range, depending on workload and usage patterns.
SoftwareMining prices automated COBOL to Java migration on a per line basis. For a medium size system, modernization fees are usually calculated at about 0.26 to 0.29 US dollars per line, with the modernized system then running on the client selected platform.
In many modernization projects the largest cost is regression testing rather than translation. A medium size system can include many integrated business processes, and proving that behavior is unchanged may require several cycles of testing whose effort can exceed the translation fee by a factor of five to ten.
SoftwareMining focuses on stable, automated COBOL to Java translation and tightly controlled runtime libraries. This reduces repeated regression testing and allows the modernized system to run on the most cost effective platform, instead of being tied to a single mainframe or cloud provider.
