Guiding Open Innovation: Rose Sakach and the Evolution of the Modern Mainframe

This piece is part of the 2026 Planet Mainframe Influential Mainframers series.

For Rose Sakach, the mainframe’s future is being built in the open.

With more than four decades in the industry, Sakach has seen the platform evolve through multiple eras of computing. Today, her work is centered on one of the most important shifts in that evolution: the rise of open collaboration and standardized tooling through initiatives like Zowe.

As an Offering Manager at Broadcom, Sakach focuses on solutions that integrate IBM Z with modern enterprise tools, helping organizations bring automation, observability, and standardized development practices into their mainframe environments. Her work reflects a broader goal of making the platform easier to adopt, easier to extend, and more aligned with the rest of the enterprise.

That same focus defines her leadership within the Open Mainframe Project.

Sakach remains deeply involved in the Zowe ecosystem as a Squad Lead, Technical Steering Committee member, and former Advisory Council Chair. In these roles, she has helped shape the direction of one of the most significant modernization efforts in the mainframe space. Her contributions have supported major milestones, including the rollout of long-term support releases and the expansion of educational initiatives designed to help organizations adopt and extend Zowe with confidence.

Her impact is not limited to governance. Sakach has played a key role in reducing barriers to adoption, helping introduce enterprise support models and aligning Zowe more closely with real-world enterprise needs. These efforts have strengthened trust in open source solutions within traditionally risk-sensitive environments and accelerated modernization efforts across the ecosystem.

She continues to share that work through speaking engagements at events such as SHARE, IBM TechXchange, and Open Mainframe Project webinars. Her sessions focus on practical implementation, helping both experienced practitioners and new contributors understand how open source and modern tooling fit into the mainframe landscape.

Her perspective is shaped by experience, but grounded in what comes next.

“Spending four decades in the mainframe world has been an extraordinary privilege, witnessing the platform underpin world economies and evolve through open initiatives like the Open Mainframe Project Zowe. It has been an honor to be a part of the community guiding the mainframe’s transition into the modern era, ensuring its continued role as the backbone of global processing power.”

Through her leadership, Sakach represents a critical link between the platform’s history and its future. Her work demonstrates how open source, community collaboration, and enterprise integration are redefining what the mainframe can be.

As a 2026 Planet Mainframe Influential Mainframer, Rose Sakach is helping guide the mainframe’s evolution into an open, collaborative, and modern platform.