Mainframe and Client/Server Environments

The salespeople you deal with from each vendor believe the current mainframe environment costs about $500K a year to maintain from a security standpoint, while a client/server environment would cost about $325K a year. But cost is not the only consideration. No PII or SPII data is contained in this manufacturing platform. It is strictly a final product for sale application. 

Outline and review a typical mainframe enterprise security footprint. Do the same for a possible client/server environment. This could include the use of the cloud for distributed computing, but that would also include unique security concerns. 

Discuss the following: 

• Based on your outline, which of these environments is more secure and why? 
• Does your outline show commonalities that could permit both the mainframe and the client/server environment to coexist from an enterprise security perspective? If so, what are they?