You Can Now Carry a Teaching Mainframe in Your Bag

You Can Now Carry a Teaching Mainframe in Your Bag

For years I have told mainframe security newcomers the same thing: If you want to learn how to attack and defend a system, you need to use that system. Unfortunately, z/OS is not something you spin up on a laptop over lunch or throw into your home lab. Mainframe...

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Observations on Observability

Observations on Observability

Observability is the vehicle for delivering the next generation of tools to help us regain control. About 15 years ago, I participated in a meeting with customer IT executives to discuss their biggest challenges. I remember one of them describing difficulties in...

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The mainframe outsourcer’s cost structure

The mainframe outsourcer’s cost structure

Part 4: The outsourcer’s cost structure This is the fourth in a series of blogs about how to follow up on your mainframe outsourcer. Previously I’ve discussed why it is important to follow up on your outsourcer, understanding MIPS and MSU, and the pitfalls of MIPS. In...

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Mainframe Outsourcing Transparency

Mainframe Outsourcing Transparency

Outsourced mainframe customers often lack a clear understanding of how well their outsourcer is managing the mainframe capacity and performance relative to what is optimal for the customer. The customer seldom has access to the data needed to really understand their...

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