CICS Month
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...
CICS at 55: The Evolution of Mainframe Transaction Processing
Globally, 1969 was a noteworthy year - socially, politically, and technologically. Significant moments included: First humans landed and walked on the Moon, catapulting space exploration forward Beatles released the Abbey Road album, a landmark and final album First...
Exploring the Virtual CICS User Group Session
Our first Virtual CICS User Group session of 2025 was an exciting deep dive into CICS modernization and automation, featuring IBM experts Drew Hughes and Andrew Twydell. With Broadcom and DataKinetics as sponsors, Ansible Automation Platform in action, provisioning...
The Many Charms of COBOL
During my studies in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), also known as East Germany, I immersed myself in the world of programming languages. My first companions on this journey were PL/1 and the ubiquitous assembler ASM370. Why these two? Well, the...
Navigating the Complexities of CICS Recovery, Two-Phase Commit, and Log Management
Andy Wright, an IBM Senior Software Engineer and Master Inventor with over 35 years of experience, recently shared his profound knowledge in a session at the Virtual CICS User Group meeting on November 14th. His expertise in the CICS (Customer Information Control...
Recap from Empowering CICS Performance Analysis with Advanced Tools
Recently, the Virtual CICS User Group hosted Ezriel Gross, a Principal Solutions Advisor at Rocket Software, specializing in IBM CICS tools. With a wealth of experience as a gold consultant and IBM champion, Gross co-architected the C\Prof product, a revolutionary...
CICS Programming Best Practices
ASRA Abend Code In discussing aspects of CICS Command level Programming, have you ever wondered why a Program Interrupt (S0C4, S0C7) results in an ASRA Abend code? Firstly, it is important to remember that the middle 2 characters of every Abend code tells us who...
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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Virtual IMS User Group: Modernizing IMS Backup and Recovery – The Strategic Shift to Cloud Storage
Zoom - Virtual Meeting📅 July 14, 2026 🕦 11:30 AM ET As enterprise data volumes continue to grow and cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, organizations are rethinking how IMS backup and recovery environments are designed, secured, and maintained. In this session, Sujata Mane of BMC Software explores the architectural and operational shift from traditional tape-based backup strategies toward […]
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Virtual Db2 User Group | Mastering Access Path Management in Db2 for z/OS – Simplify, Optimize, Succeed
Zoom - Virtual MeetingThis session explores strategies for simplifying and optimizing access path management in Db2 for z/OS environments. Attendees will gain insight into techniques for improving query performance, reducing operational complexity, and […]
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Accelerating Mainframe Efficiency: Training and Onboarding Webinar
FeaturedReady to transform your mainframe training strategy? Join the second installment of the PopUp Mainframe Persona Webinar series for a dynamic exploration of cutting-edge mainframe training, featuring renowned industry experts […]
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SHARE Pittsburgh 2026
FeaturedSHARE Pittsburgh brings together mainframe IT professionals for five days of education, networking, and knowledge sharing. The conference program features expert-led sessions, hands-on learning, and forward-looking insights designed to help […]
❓Windows Meets the Mainframe
When Microsoft Windows emerged in the 1980s, it represented a very different vision of computing from the centralized, highly structured world of the mainframe. Windows powered the rise of personal computers and client-server systems, while mainframes continued...
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...
❓The Unix Legacy Trivia
Like so many transformative innovations, the creation of UNIX was the unintentional outcome of a failed experiment—specifically with a time-sharing operating system called Multics for the GE-645 mainframe. While it was originally developed as a side project with...
News – AI, Modernization, and Mainframe Momentum: This Week’s Industry News
BMC Expands AI-Powered Mainframe Solutions IBM Introduces IBM Bob Premium Package for Z Kyndryl to modernize systems for North Carolina DMV AI Helped a Company Transition Off the Mainframe - and the Project Won an Award Kyndryl named a Leader in 2026 ISG Provider...
❓Linux: Tux in the Data Center
Our quiz today focuses on Linux, which Linus Torvalds originally created in the early 90s for x86 desktop hardware—about as far from a mainframe as you can get. But its life on mainframes has proved remarkably powerful. Through the mid-to-late 90s, Linux gradually...
NEWS – AI to Mainframe Modernization, Shaping the Future of Enterprise Computing, and more
U.S. Public Sector Applies AI to Mainframe Modernization IBM Announces Strategic Collaboration with Arm to Shape the Future of Enterprise Computing 21CS Establishes Strategic Partnership with Interskill Learning IBM Expands FedRAMP Portfolio with Authorization of 11...