Today, we celebrate someone who is shaping the future of the mainframe workforce—one hire and one automation project at a time.
Kannan Subbarayan
Vice President, Ensono
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
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View the entire 2025 Influential Mainframers group here.
As Vice President at Ensono, Kannan blends deep technical expertise with a commitment to people development. His influence spans from driving large-scale modernization projects to personally training and mentoring the next generation of mainframers. “If you want mainframes to thrive,” he says, “you have to invest in the people behind the platform.”
Kannan leads by doing. Over the past year alone, he launched a Mainframe Community of Practice within Ensono, designed to foster knowledge sharing, peer learning, and career growth. He’s onboarded college hires, championed upskilling programs with training partners, and helped new professionals see as an opportunity.
Inside the enterprise, he’s a driving force for innovation. Kanna n has collaborated closely with IBM to implement and promote z/OSMF, zAssist, Ansible, and automation-first strategies for OS and ISV upgrades. He’s led phased upgrade projects, DB2 schema migrations, Parallel Sysplex IPL automation, and integrated ServiceNow into mainframe workflows—proving the platform can evolve as fast as the business needs it to.
“Mainframe automation isn’t optional—it’s expected,” Kannan explains. “We have to show what’s possible through hands-on results.”
His advocacy goes beyond internal transformation. On social media and in national media like The Hindu and Express Computer, Kannan speaks directly to the importance of mainframe careers in hybrid IT.
A recognized mentor in the IBM Z ecosystem, Kannan’s sessions for students and professionals alike focus on long-term growth. He’s a visible force in India’s mainframe education movement, helping shape the conversation around upskilling, modernization, and strategic hiring.
From classroom to codebase, Kannan’s message is consistent: mainframes are relevant, rewarding, and ready for the next generation.
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