Performance & Tuning Month
CICS. Db2. IPL. The Latest Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter
The Latest Tuning Letter issue is out now! Subscribers to Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter will find the newest issue, 2026 No.1, on our Tuning Letter website. If you are not a current subscriber yet, sign up today! This subscription-only resource is available to both...
Why Ongoing Education Matters for the Mainframe Skills Gap
I graduated virtually with my Master’s degree in 2020, about two months after COVID-19 shut down much of the world. Behind the scenes, I had been working for Enterprise Performance Strategies, Inc. (EPS) since 2017, so I had a supportive professional environment while...
The Mainframe’s Martini Moment
The mainframe is a must-have for enterprise IT, but for many development teams, ready access to it can feel frustratingly out of reach. Now, fresh innovation aims to change that, offering a “Martini moment” for mainframe delivery teams. The Inspiration Behind...
Runtime Fees: The Hidden Tax in Your Tech Stack
In COBOL environments, runtime-based licensing imposes recurring costs each time an application is executed—costs that persist well beyond the initial compiler purchase. While initially tolerable in controlled, limited use environments, runtime-based licensing fees...
Pivoting to Optimal Mainframe Performance with Actual Intelligence
Enterprise Performance Strategies, Inc. (EPS) has a long and deep history with all things mainframe performance and capacity planning. EPS experts have worked extensively in z/OS design, development, and measurement architecture, as well as having worked with hundreds...
How the Right Tech Platform Mix Can Maximize Value Amid Rising IT Costs
It finally happened: IT inflation has hit 4.8%, exceeding GDP growth, the consumer price index, and both U.S and global inflation rates. IT inflation is even outpacing the rate of increase in IT spending for most organizations. Businesses are stretching...
The Cost of Not Investing in Technology
Technical debt costs US companies an estimated $2.41 trillion annually. This is part one in a four-part series exploring the consequences of not investing in technology. As CFO of DataKinetics, my role extends beyond adding and subtracting figures in a ledger. When...
Revolutionizing Mainframe Optimization: Prioritize Business Impact Over IT Resource Management
The backbone of global business operations runs through mainframes—which handle a staggering 30 billion transactions daily, hold 80% of the world’s business data, and process 90% of credit card transactions. Mainframes are not relics of the past but are integral...
Performance & Tuning Month
The Cost of Not Investing in Technology
Technical debt costs US companies an estimated $2.41 trillion annually. This is part one in a four-part series exploring the consequences of not investing in technology. As CFO of DataKinetics, my role extends beyond adding and subtracting figures in a ledger. When...
Revolutionizing Mainframe Optimization: Prioritize Business Impact Over IT Resource Management
The backbone of global business operations runs through mainframes—which handle a staggering 30 billion transactions daily, hold 80% of the world’s business data, and process 90% of credit card transactions. Mainframes are not relics of the past but are integral...
Performance management and capacity planning on IBM Z in a hybrid cloud world
Organizations are drawn to the promise of AIOps to leverage AI-driven Intelligence and automation to make quick and accurate decisions to maintain resiliency. AIOps uses artificial intelligence to simplify IT operations management and accelerate and automate problem...
The 5 Key Factors for Database Performance
IT organizations are always chasing better performance. This involves monitoring, tuning, and improving all aspects of the IT infrastructure, encompassing servers, networks, applications, desktops, and databases. But let’s focus on the database, shall we? Five factors...
Lightning Fast I/O via zHyperLink and Db2 for z/OS Exploitation – Part 2
Last week we ended with Db2 Performance of zHyperLink Read. Now let’s look at the CPU cost of zHyperLink read. As explained last week, I/O operation is now synchronous to CPU with zHyperLink and SQL processing spins while waiting for the I/O to complete. At the same...
Lightning Fast I/O via zHyperLink and Db2 for z/OS Exploitation
As the size of database and the volume of transactions increase, many of Db2 transactions tend to spend significant amount of wait time in database read and log write I/Os. zHyperLink is introduced to help reduce b2 transaction latency. zHyperLink is a new short...
Getting a Client in Trouble Out of Trouble
Recently, we helped one of our clients – a large investment bank of America – to “find” 30 million dollars per year – money that they weren’t able to obtain for technical reasons – when we helped them get it, it was like found money to them. Before our association,...
Part II: Six ways to improve datacenter performance while saving on costs
Last week we looked at some of the most common reactions to the need for improved mainframe performance in the datacenter. Not all are great solutions, but this week we look at six truly great mainframe performance optimization solutions. Smart Technology Solutions...
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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 […]
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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 […]
❓Everything CICS Trivia
While most people you know probably haven’t even heard of CICS, anyone that banks, travels, or does business in the modern world has benefited from this cornerstone of enterprise transaction processing. Evolving alongside changes in hardware, operating systems,...
A New AWS Deployment, Project Glasswing, and more
IBM installs €11.5m Mainframe at South East Technological University to Mark 70th Anniversary in Ireland Precisely Powers Customer Communications with AWS Deployment IBM Brings Its Most Advanced AI-Powered Security Portfolio to Clients, and is Strengthened by Ongoing...
❓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...