Latest Articles
❓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...
Zowe, DB2, and the Open-Source Future of the Mainframe
In the world of enterprise computing, the Great Divide between the mainframe (z/OS) and Linux (Distributed) has long been defined by proprietary silos and unique interfaces. However, as Amanda Hendley of Planet Mainframe highlighted in a virtual user group session...
Sharing VSAM Between CICS and Batch: How the Routing Model Works
A look at how some z/OS shops have closed their batch windows by pushing batch I/O through the owning CICS region.Most CICS shops I have worked in carry the same operational habit: keep a nightly window open so that batch can update VSAM files without colliding with...
Clunky or funky: Unix System Services vs mainframe Linux
POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface) is a great differentiator between UNIX-like operating systems. Who knew it would also correlate with clunkiness? Of course, POSIX is a family of standards specified by the IEEE Computer Society that endeavored to standardize...
❓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...
Beyond the Horizon: Running Db2 Tools from a Unix Shell
(aka “Linuxification” of Db2 Tools)Broadcom Database Management Solutions for Db2 (Db2 Tools) are traditionally used from the z/OS ISPF interface or from batch. While this interface is familiar and efficient for some, for others, especially new audiences coming from...
Expertise in a Hoodie: Uwe Graf is The Modern Mainframe Nerd
Uwe Graf Head of ConsultingEasiRun Europa GmbH Hesse, GermanyThis profile features Uwe Graf, one of the top four 2026 Influential Mainframers in the class of 2026.If you ask Uwe Graf to describe himself, he won’t start with a list of certifications or corporate...
Guiding Open Innovation: Rose Sakach and the Evolution of the Modern Mainframe
Rose Sakach Offering Manager, Open Mainframe, Broadcom Burlington, Massachusetts, USAThis piece is part of the 2026 Planet Mainframe Influential Mainframers series.For Rose Sakach, the mainframe’s future is being built in the open. With more than four decades in the...
From New to Z to SME in Under a Year: Meet Stephen Johnston
Stephen K. Johnson Systems EngineerTrident Services, Inc. Chehalis, Washington, USAThis piece is part of the 2026 Planet Mainframe Influential Mainframers series.For over 20 years, Stephen Johnston’s professional world was defined by the fast-moving landscape of...
