Welcome to this week’s Planet Mainframe trivia quiz! On the heels of the 2026 Arcati Survey Results release, this round of trivia focuses on changes underway. Workforce demographics are shifting, new generations are entering mainframe computing fields (and through...
Six talking points for 2026 and beyond A decade ago, who could have predicted we’d be living in a golden age for the mainframe, with major investment and the platform acting as the backbone of today’s hybrid IT strategies? This article summarizes some of the issues...
The 2026 Arcati Mainframe User Survey reinforces a consistent picture of IBM Z as a durable system-of-record platform operating inside mature hybrid environments. Across business dependence, platform currency, workforce structure, tooling investment, security posture,...
AI as an Integration Catalyst Across the 2026 Arcati Mainframe User Survey, AI is not described as a force that displaces the mainframe. Instead, respondents most frequently associate AI adoption with expanded hybrid integration. When asked how AI will impact IBM Z...
Purpose: How organizations justify investment In the 2026 Arcati Mainframe User Survey, economic considerations appear to be a boundary condition rather than a primary driver of platform change. Cost influences timing and scope, but it does not dominate strategy...
Security and risk management remain central to how organizations operate and evolve their mainframe environments. In the 2026 Arcati Mainframe User Survey, respondents describe security as an embedded operational discipline that shapes priorities, tooling, and...
The 2025 Arcati report established that hybrid architecture had become the dominant model for organizations running IBM Z. The new 2026 survey reinforces that conclusion and advances it. Across the 2026 responses, the mainframe is consistently described as operating...
Mainframe modernization, upgrade cadence, and tooling decisions are shaped as much by workforce structure as by technology. The 2026 survey reflects a notable shift in respondent mix while reinforcing continuity in operating models. Importantly, the 2026 workforce...
How is mainframe usage changing — and what does that tell us? Across the 2026 survey, respondents report moderate growth or stable mainframe usage, with a smaller group indicating declines. Several forward-looking questions were introduced in 2025 to enhance...
Maintaining and Modernizing Core Mainframe Platforms Continuing with questions introduced in 2025, the 2026 survey indicates that organizations deliberately maintain platform currency. Most respondents report operating on current or near-current versions of z/OS;...
