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2026 X-Force Threat Index, Expanded Data Integrity Suite, and more
IBM 2026 X-Force Threat Index: AI-Driven Attacks are Escalating as Basic Security Gaps Leave Enterprises Exposed Precisely Expands Data Integrity Suite with New AI Agents for Enhanced Data Quality, Data Enrichment, and Location Intelligence BMC Signs Five-Year...
The Real Opportunity for AI on the Mainframe Isn’t Code
AI for the Mainframe: Turning System Data Into Answers For the past year, nearly every conversation about artificial intelligence and the mainframe has centered on one question: What will AI do to COBOL? Will it modernize legacy applications? Generate new programs?...
❓Python Programming Trivia
We often describe Python as a “modern” language, but its story spans decades of technological change, cultural shifts, and unexpected platforms. What began as a small side project in the Netherlands evolved into one of the most widely used programming languages in the...
CICS and AI in Practice What Is Shipping and What Matters Now
Artificial intelligence (AI)is no longer something CICS teams discuss in the abstract. In a recent Planet Mainframe CICS Virtual User Group, the AI conversation focused on three points: What is already available? What is already running in production? How is AI being...
Beyond the Demo: Testing IBM Bob AI with COBOL, PL/I, Assembler, and JCL
IBM introduced IBM Project BOB at TechXchange 2025 as “an AI software development partner that understands your intent, repository, and security standards.” Positioned as an agentic AI tool, Bob aims to bring modernization expertise directly into developers’ daily...
Building What’s Next: A Journey Through Mainframe Vitality Training
I’ve always been a bit obsessed with computers—especially niche hardware. Growing up, I recall my dad having a collection of old systems from companies that no longer existed. They were different from the standard beige DOS and Windows boxes that had taken over, and I...
Rocket Software and K2view Partnership, 2025 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice, and more
IBM Introduces New Software to Address Growing Digital Sovereignty Imperative Rocket Software and K2view Partner to Accelerate Mainframe Modernization with Governed, AI-Ready Test Data for Testing, Analytics, and AI BMC is recognized as a 2025 Gartner® Peer Insights™...
Inside EMMA: How a Mainframe Apprenticeship Scaled in Its First Year
Mainframe careers don’t suffer from a lack of interest, but a lack of pathways. EMMA was built to remove barriers to training, scaling, and hiring mainframe apprentices. This update revisits the program one year later, with results that tell a more nuanced workforce...
Latest
The Top Four Infrastructure Capabilities for Enterprise Security and Compliance
Rising Stakes of Data Protection As our modern world becomes increasingly digital, data’s value has never been higher—and the challenge of protecting it has never been so great. While the global average cost of a data breach dipped 9% in the past year due to advances...
Australia Gains First Real-Time Mainframe Ransomware Defense with Vertali APAC and MainTegrity CSF
Australian organizations running IBM z/OS systems can now access a new defense for mainframes in the Asia-Pacific(APAC) region. In news welcomed by all enterprises battling cybersecurity threats – which is all of them – MainTegrity Inc. appointed Vertali APAC as its...
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...
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?...
Time to Rethink Db2 Disaster Recovery
For a long time, disaster recovery (DR) in Db2 z/OS environments was mostly about getting systems back online after a major outage. Whether it was a hardware failure, a data center problem, or a natural disaster, the focus was on full system recovery, bringing the...
You May Know More About Security and IAM on the Mainframe Than You Think
For many, the mainframe can be a daunting subject – with misguided initial reactions of the platform as "legacy” technology that may be replaced by the cloud. Part of this angst and dismissiveness is because not everyone fully understands the true value of the...
From Poolside Code to Mainframe Maven – Influential Mainframer Felix Scott
Felix Scott, a trainee in the New to Z (NTZ) program at Vertali in the UK, doesn’t fit the usual mental picture of a mainframer. At 27, he’s a younger voice in a field dominated by veterans. But Felix isn’t afraid to admit what he doesn’t know. "Being publicly wrong...
Strengthening Enterprise Security with IBM Multi-Factor Authentication
Why MFA is Crucial in Today’s Security Landscape Traditionally, user authentication has relied heavily on passwords or passphrases. However, passwords alone have become a weak point in cybersecurity. They are often easy to guess, reused across systems, or written...
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Upcoming Events
Events
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Essential z/OS Performance Tuning Workshop – Registration Deadline: March 16, 2026.
The 4-day z/OS Performance Tuning Essentials Workshop introduces the foundational terminology, metrics, and practices necessary to measure, understand, and improve z/OS system performance. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of […]
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You’ve never mainframed like this : Navigating the BMC AMI DevX Platform to Understand Code Faster Using AI
FeaturedVirtual MeetingMarch 31 | 2:30 PM(UTC+11:00) Sydney REGISTER Mainframe development is evolving - and you deserve tools that empower you, not hold you back. Join us for a technical workshop and […]
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Virtual IMS User Group | April 14, 2026
Zoom - Virtual Meeting -
European Mainframe Technical Exchange – Prague – April 21-23
Prague, Czech Republic Prague, Czech RepublicRegistration is open for the 2026 European Broadcom Mainframe Technical Exchange! This year’s event will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, from April 21 - 23. Register today to reserve […]
Free
New Survey Findings, New FlashSystem Portfolio, and more
New Rocket Software Survey Finds 69% of IT Leaders Report Data Security Keeps Them Up at Night Kyndryl Named a Leader in 2025–2026 IDC MarketScape for Mainframe Modernization IBM Introduces Autonomous Storage with New FlashSystem Portfolio Powered by Agentic AI...
2026 Arcati Survey Results Trivia
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...
Business-Driven Automation, AI Confidence Outpaces Readiness, and more
BMC Advances Business-Driven Automation and Mainframe Transformation with AI-Powered Innovations Precisely’s State of Data Integrity and AI Readiness Study: AI Confidence Outpaces Readiness Rocket Software to Acquire Vertica Analytics Database Platform from OpenText...
❓Python Programming Trivia
We often describe Python as a “modern” language, but its story spans decades of technological change, cultural shifts, and unexpected platforms. What began as a small side project in the Netherlands evolved into one of the most widely used programming languages in the...
Rocket Software and K2view Partnership, 2025 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice, and more
IBM Introduces New Software to Address Growing Digital Sovereignty Imperative Rocket Software and K2view Partner to Accelerate Mainframe Modernization with Governed, AI-Ready Test Data for Testing, Analytics, and AI BMC is recognized as a 2025 Gartner® Peer Insights™...
❓Mainframe Professional Skills Trivia
Our last trivia quiz explored the legacy of mainframe pioneers, and this week we’re going to continue looking into the lineage of skills in mainframe professional practice, examining how early design and operational decisions shaped the way mainframe expertise is...