CICS Month
CICS. Db2. IPL. The Latest Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter
The Latest Tuning Letter issue is out now! Subscribers to Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter will find the newest issue, 2026 No.1, on our Tuning Letter website. If you are not a current subscriber yet, sign up today! This subscription-only resource is available to both...
CICS and AI in Practice What Is Shipping and What Matters Now
Artificial intelligence (AI)is no longer something CICS teams discuss in the abstract. In a recent Planet Mainframe CICS Virtual User Group, the AI conversation focused on three points: What is already available? What is already running in production? How is AI being...
CICS at 55: The Evolution of Mainframe Transaction Processing
Globally, 1969 was a noteworthy year - socially, politically, and technologically. Significant moments included: First humans landed and walked on the Moon, catapulting space exploration forward Beatles released the Abbey Road album, a landmark and final album First...
Exploring the Virtual CICS User Group Session
Our first Virtual CICS User Group session of 2025 was an exciting deep dive into CICS modernization and automation, featuring IBM experts Drew Hughes and Andrew Twydell. With Broadcom and DataKinetics as sponsors, Ansible Automation Platform in action, provisioning...
The Many Charms of COBOL
During my studies in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), also known as East Germany, I immersed myself in the world of programming languages. My first companions on this journey were PL/1 and the ubiquitous assembler ASM370. Why these two? Well, the...
Navigating the Complexities of CICS Recovery, Two-Phase Commit, and Log Management
Andy Wright, an IBM Senior Software Engineer and Master Inventor with over 35 years of experience, recently shared his profound knowledge in a session at the Virtual CICS User Group meeting on November 14th. His expertise in the CICS (Customer Information Control...
Recap from Empowering CICS Performance Analysis with Advanced Tools
Recently, the Virtual CICS User Group hosted Ezriel Gross, a Principal Solutions Advisor at Rocket Software, specializing in IBM CICS tools. With a wealth of experience as a gold consultant and IBM champion, Gross co-architected the C\Prof product, a revolutionary...
CICS Programming Best Practices
ASRA Abend Code In discussing aspects of CICS Command level Programming, have you ever wondered why a Program Interrupt (S0C4, S0C7) results in an ASRA Abend code? Firstly, it is important to remember that the middle 2 characters of every Abend code tells us who...
Latest
Kev Milne Brings Mainframe Pen Testing to Life with open-source Gibson
In the second episode of The Mainframe Book Club, host Andrew (Andy) McCandless talks with Kev Milne, Cyber Threat Intelligence Manager at NatWest Bank, and one of the few professionals focused on mainframe penetration (pen) testing.A Platform Born from Missing Skills...
Simplifying Mainframe Security in 2025, featuring Ravi Patil ▶️
Simplifying Mainframe Security with Broadcom As hybrid IT environments expand, so do the risks. In this video, Broadcom’s mainframe security expert, Ravi Patil, Director of Cybersecurity and Compliance, breaks down how compliance, continuous monitoring, and smarter...
Mainframe Data on the Move: A Security-Centric Perspective, featuring Colin Knight
At the September Virtual Db2 User Group, we hosted Colin Knight, longtime mainframer and Db2 Systems Programming Tech Lead at NatWest. With over 40 years in the field—36 of them working with Db2—Colin cut through the hype to focus on what matters most: security when...
TRIVIA – Cybersecurity Month
For many of us, October is about falling leaves, shorter days, and cooler weather. It also happens to be Cybersecurity month, the time when we dial in on the never-ending (and ever-evolving) task of securing the mainframe. Mainframes have a reputation for being...
The Paradox of Mainframe Security: Most Secure Yet Still Vulnerable
The most secure system in the world is also vulnerable. Mainframes remain the backbone of critical infrastructure—but they are not immune to modern threats. Some still see mainframes as unbreakable fortresses, while others view them as legacy systems lagging in modern...
Future-Proof Your Mainframe: Highlights from Vanguard 2025 and Enhancing Security with ACF2 TM and Top Secret®
At the recent Vanguard Security & Compliance 2025 event (VSC 2025), security leaders came together to address today’s toughest mainframe security challenges, ranging from credential theft to Zero Trust adoption. As a Platinum Sponsor, Broadcom highlighted how...
The Hidden Cybersecurity Battle Inside the Mainframe 🎧
Mainframes remain the backbone of enterprise IT—but as cyber threats evolve, so must the defenses. In this podcast, Ken Chism, Head of Worldwide Cybersecurity Sales at BMC Software, shares an inside look at the changing landscape of mainframe security. Ken discusses...
Mainframe Penetration Testing: Why It Matters More Than Ever
The goal is not disruption but discovery. For decades, mainframes have been at the heart of critical industries such as finance, healthcare, government, and retail. Since IBM introduced the System/360 in 1964, these systems have earned a reputation for being reliable,...
Sign up to receive the latest mainframe information
Upcoming Events
Events
-
-
Virtual CICS User Group: Unlocking Mainframe Knowledge: Using AI to Support CICS Professionals
Zoom - Virtual MeetingMany organizations rely on large CICS applications where critical knowledge is buried in legacy code and documentation. This session explores how AI can help MF CICS professionals quickly understand applications, […]
-
Virtual IMS User Group: No Data Left Behind: The Complete Guide to IMS Database Recovery
Zoom - Virtual Meeting📅 June 16, 2026 🕦 11:30 AM ET When an IMS database fails, there is no time to learn recovery on the fly. In this practical and technically grounded session, […]
-
Quantum Readiness: Preparing for the Next Era of Cybersecurity
Content by Broadcom Mainframe Software Quantum computing is moving from theory to reality, creating urgent challenges for the cryptographic systems that protect today’s digital environment. This session explores what organizations […]
-
Virtual Mainframe Technical Exchange – June 23 – 25, 2026
Virtual MeetingSave the Date! Learn more about the North American and Virtual Mainframe Technical Exchanges here.
Free
Think 2026, Vertica Acquisition, and more
Think 2026: IBM Positions Mainframe Environments as Governed AI Infrastructure Rocket Software Completes Acquisition of Vertica®, Expanding High-Performance Analytics and AI for Mission-Critical Systems Kyndryl unveils agentic AI capability that proactively prevents...
❓The Unix Legacy Trivia
Like so many transformative innovations, the creation of UNIX was the unintentional outcome of a failed experiment—specifically with a time-sharing operating system called Multics for the GE-645 mainframe. While it was originally developed as a side project with...
News – AI, Modernization, and Mainframe Momentum: This Week’s Industry News
BMC Expands AI-Powered Mainframe Solutions IBM Introduces IBM Bob Premium Package for Z Kyndryl to modernize systems for North Carolina DMV AI Helped a Company Transition Off the Mainframe - and the Project Won an Award Kyndryl named a Leader in 2026 ISG Provider...
❓Linux: Tux in the Data Center
Our quiz today focuses on Linux, which Linus Torvalds originally created in the early 90s for x86 desktop hardware—about as far from a mainframe as you can get. But its life on mainframes has proved remarkably powerful. Through the mid-to-late 90s, Linux gradually...
NEWS – AI to Mainframe Modernization, Shaping the Future of Enterprise Computing, and more
U.S. Public Sector Applies AI to Mainframe Modernization IBM Announces Strategic Collaboration with Arm to Shape the Future of Enterprise Computing 21CS Establishes Strategic Partnership with Interskill Learning IBM Expands FedRAMP Portfolio with Authorization of 11...
❓ Influential Mainframer Trivia: Eleanor Kolchin
For the month of April, Planet Mainframe puts the spotlight on influential mainframers, and this week our trivia quiz is all about mainframe trailblazer Eleanor Kolchin. Kolchin built her career at a pivotal moment in computing, when computing machines were...