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 z/OS middleware with the latest CICS TS collection delivered a mix of insightful discussions and live demonstrations, all centered on how Ansible is transforming mainframe automation.
I had the pleasure of hosting the session, and it was clear from the start that automation is a game-changer for CICS environments. Drew and Andrew began by walking us through Ansible basics, covering its role in configuration management and system provisioning. They explained the fundamentals of Ansible playbooks, tasks, and the concept of idempotency—a crucial feature ensuring automation delivers consistent results every time. But the real power of automation became clear when we explored the CICS Ansible Collection, which allows teams to automate everything from creating and managing CICS resources to generating startup JCL.
One of the biggest highlights was the live demo, where Andrew showcased how Ansible can automate CICS operations. He started with the basics—creating files and data sets on z/OS using Ansible—and quickly moved into more advanced territory, demonstrating how to provision an entire CICS region using pre-defined Ansible playbooks. Seeing Ansible interact seamlessly with CICS resources in real time really drove home the value of automation.
“The biggest winner is its configuration as code actually realized. If you want to store your infrastructure as code and your configuration as code in some source control like Git, Ansible allows you to do that.”
— Andrew Twydell, IBM
This quote from Andrew sums up one of the most significant advantages of using Ansible for CICS automation. By treating infrastructure as code, organizations can integrate Ansible with Git and other version control systems to track changes, enforce best practices, and streamline deployments.
We also explored Ansible Automation Platform (AAP), Red Hat’s enterprise solution for managing automation at scale. AAP provides role-based access control, allowing organizations to securely manage automation processes across teams. We saw firsthand how AAP can be used to build COBOL applications, provision CICS regions, and deploy application updates—all with minimal manual intervention. Additionally, we discussed how GitHub can be integrated with AAP for source control and automated deployments.
For those new to CICS automation, the session provided a clear path to getting started. Drew and Andrew recommended beginning with the CMCI reporting sample, which requires minimal setup and serves as an easy introduction to using Ansible for CICS tasks. From there, attendees were encouraged to explore additional samples, documentation, and hands-on exercises to expand their automation skills.
This session reinforced what many of us already knew: automation isn’t just the future of mainframe operations—it’s the present. By automating routine tasks, freeing up valuable resources, and improving system reliability, Ansible is helping organizations modernize their CICS environments in a way that makes sense.
If you missed the session, check out the recording and try some of the demos yourself.
Amanda Hendley is the Managing Editor of Planet Mainframe and host of the Virtual Mainframe User Groups. With a career rooted in the technology community, she has held leadership roles at the Technology Association of Georgia, Computer Measurement Group (CMG), and Planet Mainframe. A proud Georgia Tech graduate, Amanda spends her free time renovating homes and volunteering with SEGSPrescue.org in Atlanta, Georgia.