GS | Forge26 to Bring UK Mainframe Community Together in November
The GS | Forge26 conference will take place November 2–5, 2026, at Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire, UK. Organized by GS-UK (formerly GSE UK), the four-day event will bring together mainframe professionals, vendors, and industry experts for technical education, knowledge sharing, and networking.
With a focus on “Mainframe in the Age of AI,” this year’s conference features a packed, multi-track agenda covering AI and agentic technologies, mainframe modernization, security, application development, Db2, CICS, z/OS, performance, and hybrid cloud.
Highlights include sessions exploring AI-driven development and operations, the latest IBM Z technologies, open-source tools, and mainframe security challenges. Attendees can also expect hands-on workshops, technical deep dives, vendor exhibits, and dedicated WAVEZ sessions supporting early-career mainframe professionals.
The event offers opportunities to connect with peers and industry specialists, with evening networking activities rounding out the program.
Visit the GS | Forge26 conference website for the full agenda and registration information.
Rocket Software Announces Acquisition of Geniez AI to Accelerate Agentic AI for Mainframe Modernization
Rocket Software has announced it has acquired Geniez AI, a generative AI company that augments mainframe professionals with expert AI agents operating directly on the mainframe in every domain, monitoring live systems, diagnosing incidents, and executing agentic workflows using natural language.
The acquisition brings Geniez AI’s technical leadership and team to Rocket Software, where they will help accelerate Rocket’s AI initiatives, including new capabilities within Rocket® EVA™, the company’s agentic AI platform for core systems. Together, Rocket Software and the Geniez AI team are working to shift the industry from traditional, expertise-intensive mainframe management to intelligent, AI-assisted operations that make core systems easier to understand, manage, and modernize.
“This is about continuing to transform what is possible on the mainframe,” said Milan Shetti, president and CEO of Rocket Software. “By bringing Geniez AI’s specialized expertise into Rocket, we are accelerating our vision to help enterprises securely apply agentic AI to their systems with speed, confidence, and control.”
“Geniez AI was founded on the belief that GenAI-based business applications can fundamentally change how enterprises understand and operate their mainframe environments,” said Gil Peleg, CEO and co-founder of Geniez AI. “Joining Rocket gives us the scale, customer reach, and deep mainframe expertise to bring that vision to more organizations and help shape the next era of intelligent, mission-critical operations.”
The acquisition supports Rocket’s strategy to help enterprises modernize core systems while safely extending agentic AI to the mission-critical workloads that run on them. By combining Rocket’s mainframe expertise, global customer base, and modernization portfolio with Geniez AI’s technical expertise, Rocket will further enhance its AI-driven capabilities by helping customers apply AI agents that can surface insights, support action, and automate mission-critical workflows with appropriate governance and control.
The acquisition is expected to strengthen Rocket Software’s ability to help enterprises move from manual, expertise-intensive mainframe operations to secure, AI-assisted modernization by:
- Expanding specialized AI and mainframe talent: Bringing Geniez AI’s technical leadership and engineering team into Rocket to help accelerate Rocket’s AI strategy and the development of new EVA capabilities and advance agentic AI for core systems.
- Accelerating Rocket’s agentic AI roadmap: Adding frontline insight into how enterprises evaluate and adopt AI on the mainframe to help Rocket deliver new EVA capabilities with greater speed and focus.
- Closing the mainframe skills gap: Helping enterprises turn institutional knowledge into actionable intelligence, so complex systems become more accessible to experienced teams and newer talent.
- Reducing operational complexity: Supporting AI-assisted operations that help teams surface insights, take action, and automate mission-critical workflows with appropriate governance and control.
- Raising the standard for mission-critical modernization: Advancing a future where enterprises can modernize core systems with greater speed, resilience, security, and operational confidence.
Source: Rocket Software
BMC Announces Tarun Chopra as SVP and GM of Intelligent Z Optimization and Transformation
BMC has announced the appointment of Tarun Chopra as senior vice president and general manager of Intelligent Z Optimization and Transformation, effective October 1, 2026.
When trust and reliability are essential, enterprises start with BMC first. As the leader for Intelligent Z Optimization and Transformation at BMC, Chopra will shape BMC’s approach to agentifying the mainframe, leveraging AI across operations, data, security, and application development to deliver new innovations that help customers achieve their business outcomes – while maintaining the reliability and control these systems demand.
Chopra and his team will continue to advance AI-driven innovation for the award-winning BMC AMI portfolio, which helps customers and partners to transform mainframe operations for the modern era and maximize the value of their most critical systems. He will report to Ayman Sayed, president and chief executive officer.
Chopra brings more than two decades of experience across both hardware and software in the AI and IBM Z ecosystem, along with a strong track record leading global product management, engineering, and business integration efforts.
Recently, he served as the vice president of product management for IBM Data and AI, where he held leadership roles across IBM Z, hybrid cloud, data and AI, product management, engineering, and strategic integration, and led the integration of HashiCorp following IBM’s acquisition.
The appointment of Chopra follows the retirement of John McKenny. Over his three decades with BMC, McKenny has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern Intelligent Z Optimization and Transformation business and accelerating company growth. His leadership fostered a culture of trust, innovation, and partnership with customers, and he played a pivotal role in key acquisitions, including Compuware, Correlog, Model9, and RSM Partners.
“It is an exciting time for BMC as we continue to advance automation and AI innovation across the mission-critical systems our customers depend on,” said Ayman Sayed, president and CEO of BMC. “With Tarun’s unique perspective on the convergence of mainframe, cloud, and enterprise AI, I’m confident his leadership will shape the next era of the mainframe.”
Source: BMC
Marist University and IBM Launch Innovation Incubator with IBM z17, Expanding 50-Year Partnership to Advance AI Research and Student Career Readiness
Marist University and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new Innovation Incubator that will prepare students across fields of study to lead in a rapidly evolving digital economy. The incubator, the latest milestone in IBM and Marist’s more than 50-year partnership, includes an IBM z17 mainframe to provide enormous AI computing power on campus for a variety of research projects involving students and faculty.
The Innovation Incubator is pursuing the following initial projects:
- AI in Marketing and Business – The Schools of Computer Science and Mathematics and Management are planning to run controlled, synthetic marketing campaigns operated by autonomous AI agent teams to stress test whether built-in guardrails remain effective when agents pursue aggressive, deceptive, or unethical tactics and whether those guardrails can contain those failures.
- AI for Financial Management – The Schools of Management and Computer Science and Mathematics are jointly scoping a project that would use quantum optimization algorithms to analyze real-time financial data and generate optimal portfolio allocations.
- AI and Polling/Civic Engagement – A proposed project involving the Marist Poll and School of Computer Science and Mathematics would explore how AI could improve polling methodologies and survey design and better model voter participation trends.
While the partnership originally centered on enterprise computing and computer science education, Marist and IBM are now broadening their collaboration into a university-wide innovation ecosystem focused on artificial intelligence, interdisciplinary research, and experiential learning opportunities for students across majors. The goal is to connect students with faculty researchers and IBM subject matter experts on projects addressing societal, business, and community challenges.
IBM z17 gives Marist students and faculty access to enterprise technology designed to meet the performance, security, and reliability needs of large organizations. IBM provided the system so students can develop and test applications while gaining practical experience they can apply in their careers.
“Academic institutions have long been an important part of the IBM Z ecosystem, bringing new ideas and perspectives to the platform,” said Tina Tarquinio, Chief Product Officer for IBM Z and LinuxONE and IBM’s Senior Location Executive for the Mid-Hudson Valley. “I’m especially excited to see IBM and Marist, two longstanding leaders in the Mid-Hudson Valley community, build on this partnership. By combining IBM’s technology expertise with Marist’s commitment to innovation and student success, we’re creating new pathways for research, learning, and workforce development that prepare students for the future.”
Advancing the Future of AI
Marist’s work with IBM has long proven the value of employer partnerships in helping prepare students with industry skills and hands-on learning so they graduate ready for the workforce. IBM’s leadership in enterprise AI, alongside its pioneering work in quantum computing, provides Marist students and faculty access to technologies shaping the future of business, industry research, and computing. The university announced a comprehensive AI strategy earlier this year with an emphasis on combining technical skills with ethical reflection to ensure students in every major graduate AI-ready, earning Marist recognition as one of The 15 Best Colleges Preparing Students for the AI Economy.
Expanding Opportunity Across All Majors
Together, these initiatives reflect a strategic shift from viewing AI and digital skills as solely a computer science discipline to treating it as a transformational capability relevant to virtually every profession and field of study.
Unlike traditional academic-industry relationships that may focus on individual academic departments, the Marist-IBM collaboration is designed to create impact across the University—from political science, communication, marketing, and business to environmental science, library sciences, and beyond.
As employers increasingly seek graduates with experience applying AI, data, and emerging technologies to real-world challenges, the Marist-IBM partnership provides students with a unique advantage: direct exposure to enterprise-scale technology, applied research, experiential learning opportunities and, where appropriate, IBM expertise relevant to specific projects that help bridge classroom learning with career success.
Source: IBM
IBM Z Day 2026: 18 November 2026
IBM Z Day is a free one-day enterprise computing virtual conference open to all, uniting the IBM Z ecosystem and sharing best practices across this global, vibrant community. Hear the latest about IBM Z and LinuxONE, and join a lineup of global thought leaders who will highlight industry trends and innovation spanning AI, Hybrid Cloud, Quantum-Safe Security, and more!
- Over 80 sessions from 300+ industry experts and global thought leaders across 6 content-rich tracks.
- Celebrate the inclusive, diverse and engaging IBM Z and LinuxONE Community, the front door into IBM Z with 25,000 members today and growing!
- Learn new skills, earn exclusive IBM digital badges and showcase your accomplishments.
- IBM Z Day 2025 set new records for IBM Community 1-day virtual events, with over 50,000 live views across 165 countries. This fall we expect an even bigger and bolder event!
Register at the IBM Z Day event website!
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