AI Month
❓ROI, Business Case, and Tuning for Value: Round Two
This month at Planet Mainframe Trivia, we've been exploring how organizations maximize the value of their mainframe investments. Creating value doesn't end once a project is approved. Organizations continually look for ways to improve performance, optimize resources,...
The bill for technical debt just came due
“It still runs" no longer means "it’s still safe." Here is why AI-driven exploit discovery is turning decades of unpatched technical debt, legacy frameworks, and hidden API flaws into an immediate target list.This topic has been nagging at me for months, because it...
Accelerate Agent-Drive Transformation, a New AWS Transform Integration, and more
Kyndryl Launches AI Orchestration for Business to Accelerate Agent-Driven Transformation Rocket Software Joins HPE Unleash AI Partner Program to Accelerate AI Adoption IBM Launches Global AI Builders Challenge With IBM Bob for University Students, Expanding...
5 Practical Steps for Integrating AI into CICS Applications on VSEn
If you want to use AI with VSEn, you do not have to replace your OLTP/CICS applications first. You have to make it accessible. That is exactly where VSEn Connectors become strategic: they connect proven host transactions with REST, SOAP, MQ, Java, database access, and...
Five Steps to Add AI-Powered Decision Making to CICS
Organizations increasingly want faster, more intelligent business decisions. For enterprises running critical workloads on CICS, artificial intelligence (AI) offers a practical way to improve transaction processing, automate decisions, and uncover patterns hidden...
Exploring the Latest Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter: Practical Guidance for Modern Mainframe Shops
What happens when an IMS logger fills up in production? How do you prepare for z/OS 3.2? Is Coupling Facility encryption worth the effort? And what does AI really mean for the future of the mainframe workforce? The latest issue of Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter tackles...
Think 2026, Vertica Acquisition, and more
Think 2026: IBM Positions Mainframe Environments as Governed AI Infrastructure Rocket Software Completes Acquisition of Vertica®, Expanding High-Performance Analytics and AI for Mission-Critical Systems Kyndryl unveils agentic AI capability that proactively prevents...
z/OS UNIX Tuning: What New USS Practitioners Should Know
This article offers a practical USS tuning primer for new mainframers, developers moving into z/OS UNIX, and technical leaders who need to understand the basics before changing system settings.z/OS UNIX tuning can feel familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. USS...
Performance & Tuning Month
Actual Intelligence in z/OS Performance and Capacity Planning
It is exciting to be part of the world of computer performance at the dawn of AI. Many companies are heavily investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) with only a few crude implementations having materialized thus far. As a performance guy, I can say it is important...
IBM z17 Time Synchronization Resiliency Enhancements
Most likely, you have heard the generic acronym RAS, which typically stands for Resiliency, Availability, and Serviceability. However, in the world of time synchronization at IBM, we changed RAS to mean Resiliency, Accuracy, and Security. From RAS to IBMz17 Timing,...
Don’t Buy More MIPS – Do This Instead
The Cost of the Wrong Choice The adage says, “You’ve got to spend money to make money.” But in the world of mainframes, that’s not always true. You can often spend the same amount and still save money. For example, a 1% increase in your mainframe IT budget can yield...
A Breakthrough in Mainframe Storage Efficiency
Broadcom has delivered a first in mainframe storage with the Virtual Storage Adapter (VSA) enhancement to CA 1™ Flexible Storage™. This new feature lets you have your cake and eat it too – achieve high-performance virtual tape storage without the traditionally higher...
Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter Delivers z/OS Tuning, Hardware Picks, and Performance Tips
We are delighted to announce that Cheryl Watson's Tuning Letter 2025 No.2 is now available. If you haven't already subscribed, now is your chance to discover the most comprehensive body of practical and impartial z/OS, and MVS tuning and measurement advice ever...
The Evolution of IBM OMEGAMON for CICS: AI Insights, DB2 Correlation, and zIIP Optimization
Sign up today! CICS Virtual User Group – Tomorrow, July 29, 2025 Join us on Tuesday, July 29, for the next installment of the CICS User Group series. Colin Pearce, z/OS and CICS Systems Programmer at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, will present. Register for the...
Understanding and overcoming common CICS challenges
IT environments are increasingly complex to manage, and overburdened administrators are tasked with refining them, keeping them secure, and preventing downtime.Mainframes are critical to that infrastructure, as they process and store billions of transactions worth of...
Mainframe Security Isn’t What It Used to Be – How CICS and LE Are Fighting Back
This article updates a 2022 piece in Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter, “LE Non-Executable HEAPS and CICS User Experiences” by Mario Bezzi. Current Tuning Letter subscribers can read the original article online. Think your mainframe is immune to modern cyber threats?...
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Upcoming Events
Events
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Vanguard Security & Compliance
For 40 years, Vanguard Security & Compliance has brought together global cybersecurity leaders from both private industry and government agencies to deliver the most complete knowledge-based training for securing and […]
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Accelerating Mainframe Efficiency: Development and Testing Webinar
Zoom - Virtual MeetingUnlock the power of instantly available mainframe resources to revolutionize mainframe delivery. The third session in the PopUp Persona Webinar series reveals how application developers, software engineers, and QA teams […]
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Virtual IMS User Group | Data Gravity and IBM Z: Bringing Processing to the Data
Zoom - Virtual MeetingAs data volumes grow, they naturally attract applications, services, and processing toward them—a concept commonly referred to as data gravity. In hybrid cloud environments, understanding data gravity has become increasingly […]
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Virtual CICS User Group | Latest Update on Security in CICS TS 6.3: The Journey to Zero Trust
Zoom - Virtual MeetingCICS has been advocating zero trust principles and introducing security-focused enhancements since CICS TS 6.1. This session will explore the latest security capabilities available in CICS TS 6.3 and how […]
AI Ranked as Top Priority, Lightwell at No Cost to Universities, and more
Rocket Software Study Reveals 94% of Financial Services Leaders Rank AI as a Top IT Priority IBM Study: One in Four Malicious Breaches are AI-Enabled, Costing Companies $6 Million on Average IBM and Red Hat Offer Lightwell at No Cost to Universities, NGOs and Think...
❓Mainframes at the Movies
With summer blockbuster season upon us, it’s time to turn our attention away from the workaday world of the datacenter to its fictional representation. Mainframes have made memorable appearances on both the big and small screen for decades—sometimes portrayed as...
Izzi Software Launches Z/XDC on Visual Studio Code to Speed Adoption and Boost Mainframe Debugging for the Future
New expansion to top debugging now available, integrating seamlessly into existing workflows and supporting young programmers by improving accessibility MINNEAPOLIS, August 3, 2026 — Izzi Software, owner of ColeSoft, the leading provider of debugging solutions for IBM...
What to Expect at SHARE Pittsburgh
With SHARE Pittsburgh approaching, SHARE President Art Gutowski joined Planet Mainframe to talk about what attendees can expect—and why the conference remains valuable for both newcomers and longtime mainframe professionals. Gutowski is nearing the end of his...
Real-Time Mainframe Software Visibility, SHARE Pittsburgh 2026, and more
BMC Brings Governed AI Agents to Enterprise Workflows and Mainframe Operations Precisely Delivers Real-Time Mainframe Software Visibility to the ServiceNow AI Platform IBM Reports Infrastructure Revenue Down 7 Percent SHARE Pittsburgh 2026BMC Brings Governed AI Agents...
What the New IBM z17 Rack-Mount Systems Bring to the Table
The z17 goes small, and I think that’s rather clever. On July 7, 2026, IBM announced new configurations of the z17, and for the first time ever, you can now get a rack-mount option right across the Z and LinuxONE portfolio. Not a new processor, not a new architecture,...