This month, Planet Mainframe celebrates influential mainframers nominated by the community. Today, we recognize a lifelong educator, community advocate, and global mentor whose mission has been to prepare the next generation of mainframe professionals for meaningful, resilient careers.
Uday Prasad
Director and Co-Founder, ZedInfotech Inc.
Paharashta, India
Connect with Uday on:
View the entire 2025 Influential Mainframers group here.
For over 30 years, Uday Prasad has dedicated himself to mastering and teaching the core disciplines that keep critical enterprise systems running. As co-founder of ZedInfotech Inc., Uday leads a COBOL Excellence Centre focused on delivering high-quality mainframe training in five foundational areas: COBOL, CICS, JCL, DB2, and VSAM on z/OS.
ZedInfotech provides hands-on online training and has developed a curriculum to produce job-ready professionals capable of stepping directly into high-stakes corporate environments. Uday’s training materials—entirely self-created—are known for blending technical rigor with real-world context. Through partnerships with mainframe vendors, his students gain access to live lab environments that simulate the complexities of enterprise IT.
“Uday inspires others in the mainframe community by sharing his experience and actively mentoring the next generation,” shared one nominator. “His structured mentorship programs pair seasoned veterans with newcomers to guide them not only technically, but also in career development.
A former IBMer and passionate advocate for the platform, Uday published over 20 articles in 2024 alone, raising awareness about mainframe’s ongoing relevance. He frequently challenges assumptions about abandoning COBOL or migrating to the cloud, emphasizing the proven stability, performance, and scalability of mainframe systems.
Uday also leads monthly mentorship sessions, coaches students through career transitions, and hosts webinars focused on modernization, cloud integration, and AI. His influence spans beyond India and Canada—reaching learners and professionals across the globe.
As a vocal proponent for diversity and inclusion, Uday champions opportunities for underrepresented groups in tech, helping broaden the mainframe talent pipeline.
Whether mentoring a student, publishing thought leadership, or presenting a real-world case study, Uday brings an unwavering commitment to the platform—and the people behind it. Through his efforts, hundreds of aspiring technologists have not only entered the mainframe space but are thriving in it.
His legacy is one of empowerment, education, and deep technical excellence.
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.