Mainframe Shutdown Update: Key Changes for Faculty and Staff from the VP, IS&T & CIO

Thursday, July 10th, 2025

Posted in BUworks, General News, Incidents, Info Messages, Uncategorized

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to take a moment to update you on a significant initiative that has been a priority for IS&T and the University for over a decade: the replacement and retirement of our mainframe and legacy application systems.

Our journey began in 2011 with the implementation of SAP for Finance and HR systems, followed by the transition of our PERD/Fitrec systems in 2013, Graduate Admissions and Housing Reservations in 2015, Cashiering in 2016, and Parking Permitting Systems in 2021. We are now at the one-year anniversary of the launch of MyBU Student Information Systems (SIS) along with other important projects like Identity & Access Management and Student Employment. Additionally, we plan to replace the Door Access and Dining Systems in the summer of 2025.

As we move forward, we are also preparing to retire the mainframe. Below, you will find a list of services that will be impacted, which may be familiar to you:

Services Being Shut Down:

  • The Links: Business Link, Faculty, and Faculty/Staff
  • UIS (including ComPlete and Adabas/Natural application services)
  • Galaxy tasks
  • Batch jobs (both scheduled and ad hoc)
  • IRIS end user reporting
  • Access to ERD and EOS reports
  • TSO – access to datasets on the mainframe

Timeline for Access Changes:

  • UPDATE access to database files on the mainframe will be switched to READ-ONLY as we archive them in a database off the mainframe for future access. This process will be occurring from June through September as we archive static mainframe database files, culminating with archiving the final files upon the completion of the final remaining projects that complete the retirement of the mainframe.
  • READ-ONLY access will remain available until December 31, 2025, at which point the mainframe will be completely shut down.
  • As we develop the archive database, we will provide access to a limited amount of data not otherwise provided from system conversion, including faculty teaching history. We are not planning for routine access to this archive data for the campus community. If you have questions or concerns about access to historic data, please contact ithelp@bu.edu.

We appreciate your understanding and support during this transition. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification.

Best regards,


Chris Sedore
VP, IS&T & Chief Information Officer • Information Services & Technology