This month, Planet Mainframe celebrates influential mainframers nominated by the community.
Today, we recognize a passionate modernizer and self-declared “mainframe fanboy” whose enthusiasm is contagious.
Armin Kramer
Senior Mainframe Architect and Mainframe Evangelist, CROZ DACH
Bavaria, Germany
Connect with Armin on:
View the entire 2025 Influential Mainframers group here.
With a career spanning more than 30 years, Armin Kramer earned a reputation as both a technical authority and a dynamic force for mainframe modernization. He’s an IBM Champion for the third consecutive year, a respected conference speaker, and—most importantly—someone who knows how to bring legacy technology to life with new energy and a modern mindset.
“Armin is a mainframe maestro,” said one nominator. “He has a deep understanding of modernization—and the passion to back it up.”
His career began with Assembly and COBOL, then meandered briefly through Oracle, Java, and SAS—until the pull of the mainframe proved irresistible. Over the last decade, Armin became the face of modernization at DATEV eG, where he helped revolutionize mainframe development by introducing Git and Jenkins pipelines into daily production. His efforts helped make DATEV one of Europe’s most forward-thinking mainframe environments.
At the start of 2025, Armin joined CROZ to share his hard-earned experience and practical strategies for transforming the “old, boring mainframe” into a platform of innovation and pride.
Whether presenting his crowd-favorite talk Mainframe for Muggles, speaking at SHARE, IBM TechXchange, or GSE, or guest lecturing at universities, Armin is widely known for his audience-centric style and authentic delivery. He excels at connecting with both seasoned pros and next-generation technologists—and is committed to doing both.
He continues to advocate for continuous, incremental modernization, focusing on realistic, sustainable shifts—like upgrading development environments, automating workflows, and adopting DevOps and AI tools.
“Modernization is also about mindset,” he reminds audiences. “Small, consistent improvements help keep systems relevant and reduce risk.”
Armin speaks about these ideas, and he creates them. He leads hands-on workshops, mentors students and professionals, and actively contributes to reshaping the perception of the mainframe from outdated to indispensable.
With his deep technical roots and passion for progress, Armin Kramer continues to be an engaging and effective ambassador.
Influential Mainframer
Mainframe technology continues to evolve because of the dedicated professionals, educators, mentors, and innovators who drive it forward. We’re shining a spotlight on the individuals who are making waves—whether they’re advancing technology, mentoring new talent, sharing knowledge, championing modernization, or quietly keeping mission-critical systems running every day. These are the people shaping the future of mainframe. They come from all backgrounds and experience levels, but they all have one thing in common: they’re making a difference.
Check back daily as we reveal a new honoree. Read their stories, celebrate their impact, and be inspired.
Follow @Planet Mainframe and follow #pmfinfluentialmainframers to congratulate this year’s honorees, share your favorite stories, and spread the word.