Mainframe Modernization: Why is it so relevant?

In the last few years there is a lot of focus around “Mainframe Modernization” … and there are multiple reasons for this focus and great benefit for the enterprises that will embrace this journey. In the journey to Cloud, the market is entering in a new chapter, while in the initial phase, that we call chapter 1, the focus and the plan was to migrate existing workload and application to Cloud, with a modernization of the IT and build new application as Cloud-ready, in the new chapter (Chapter 2) the focus on “migration “ was strongly reduced for multiple reasons.

​Some part of workload and applications will continue to run in on-premise environments, mainly due to the cost and risk of migrating them. Side-effect of this is the up to 94% of the enterprises will have heterogeneous IT environment supporting their business applications, including multiple kind of clouds (public, private, dedicated) as well as on-premise traditional IT environment. Due to this changed approach, the possibility to integrate hybrid cloud application with application running on-premise is becoming more and more important. It includes the possibility to integrate hybrid cloud applications with mainframe applications and data in an easy and standard way. 
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Mainframe is perceived quite frequently as a “black box”, that requires deep skill to interact with and it is hard to integrate with applications running on other platforms. While it is not completely true, for sure enterprises leveraging Z are even facing with a generational shift that is triggering the challenge to on-board quickly young talent. 

To summarize, journey to Cloud with a growing need for integration and the generational shift are challenging Z IT leaders in the current era. In order to overcome these challenges, brilliant IT leaders need to modernize their Z environment. Specific opportunities for Z IT leaders are:  

• Enable easy integration of hybrid cloud applications with Z applications and tools through a standard and open interface, like REST APIs 
• Adopt modern and user-friendly interfaces to Z products and tools to enable a faster on-boarding of new talent in the enterprise 
• Adopt tools that allow a homogeneous management of a heterogeneous environment  
• IBM Z Workload Scheduler v 9.5, that was announced in February 2019, is providing the solution to these challenges and needs for scheduling area.  

More in detail, IBM Z Workload Scheduler 

• Provides a powerful set of REST API to interact with the product, get information, add job dynamically to the plan and so on 
• Provides a modern and user-friendly Web based User Interface (Dynamic Workload Console) continuously improved to reduce the Time To Value (easy installation through Docker images and reduced prerequisite SW stack) as well as improved look and feel and customization capabilities 
• Provide E2E support to manage in homogeneous way batch running on Z, distributed platforms, Clouds and Containers through the “z-Centric agent” from a single point of control (Dynamic Workload Console). 
  
  

Domenico D’Alterio
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IBM Offering Manager focused on IBM Z Automation and Scheduling products. He is responsible for product strategy and direction as well as market success of IBM Z System Automation, IBM Z NetView, IBM Service Management Unite, IBM Z Service Automation Suite, IBM Service Management Suite and IBM Z Workload Scheduler offerings.
Prior to his current role, Domenico covered different managerial positions in IBM Development and Customer support organization as well as the role of Offering Manager of Z Analytics products, Domenico joined IBM in 1999. Starting as designer, moved to a managerial role in 2006, acting as Development and Customer Support manager in the former Tivoli division of IBM. He graduated in Electronic Engineering, in Italy.
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