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Java at 25: Celebrating Milestones, Mainframe Interoperability and More

It can be said that one sign of a healthy long-term relationship is that there’s still room for small, pleasant surprises. Such is the case with the IBM mainframe and Java. Even though Java’s availability on the mainframe predates the introduction of z/Architecture, IBM’s Skyla Loomis continues to encounter application developers who don’t realize that […]

How to Position Your Organization for Successful IT Modernization

As IT environments evolve, so do security and modernization strategies. And while there are not any “one-size-fits-all” modernization solutions, there are certainly ways to position your organization for a successful IT environment modernization plan poised to meet business needs.   According to Ensono’s Oliver Presland, for example, successfully laying out your modernization plan begins with […]

A New Resource for Open-Source Communities

It’s estimated that around 70% of the world’s Fortune 500 companies use IBM mainframes. Of course this comes as no surprise to mainframers who have long been exposed to these factoids. But for the mainframe to continue to grow—and specifically, to attract the next generation of technologists to the platform—its presence must expand beyond the […]

Ciara Mejia Recounts Her IT Development Learning Experiences

Charlie Guarino: Hi everybody. This is Charlie Guarino. Welcome to another edition of TechTalk SMB. In today’s podcast, I’m very happy to be sitting here with Ciara Mejia. Ciara is a young developer on the IBM i platform. She’s been a software engineer for over seven years, working at King III Solutions [K3S], which is […]

Enable Rapid Ransomware Recovery With IM Software

Many people work on the principle that their mainframe is safe from catastrophic attacks because it is different from Linux and Windows platforms. Hackers don’t understand how it works—what they used to call security by obscurity. Unfortunately, mainframes are generally high-value targets with plenty of critical data residing on them. That makes them an enticing […]

Women of COBOL Episode 5: COBOL Is for Anyone – Transitioning to IT From Alternate Career Paths

Misty Decker: Hi and welcome to Episode 5 of of Women of COBOL. I’m delighted to have this conversation. Today we’re going to chat with two young women who have just launched their COBOL careers, about two years each, and we’re going to compare notes of what it’s like learning COBOL and launching a COBOL […]

The Evolution of Mainframe Education

The average age of a mainframer is 58 years old. Yes, most of us have gray hair and wear Aerosmith tee shirts to work. The task at hand is how do we pass the baton of mainframe knowledge to the next class of mainframers that will support the massive mainframe ecosystem that runs our world […]

Mainframe Security and Pervasive Encryption With John Connors and Milt Rosberg

Reg Harbeck: Hi, I’m Reg Harbeck, and today I’m here with John Connors and Milt Rosberg of Vanguard for the second in a series of podcasts that is about the Vanguard people, the team, the context, the company and what they’ve been up to. There has been some interesting events and activities since the last podcast […]

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Navigator Tidbits: Exploring New Features

I spent some time exploring new features of Navigator for i and this post reviews just a few cool things I found. Security Configuration Information Under the Security tasks, there is a new task called Security Configuration Info. This returns all the information available from the QSYS2.SECURITY_INFO service, which is a really nice way to […]

IBM Announces Diamondback Tape Library

Today, IBM announced its latest archival storage solution: IBM Diamondback Tape Library. An extension of IBM’s comprehensive portfolio of data resilience solutions, IBM Diamondback is designed for organizations seeking to store hundreds of petabytes (PB) of data both securely and sustainably. This cost-effective storage solution enhances sustainability with its energy-efficient infrastructure and reduced environmental impact. […]

Rob McNelly on ‘Lights-Out Data Center’ Issues, the Latest IBM Announcements and More

Though I’ve heard about lights-out data centers for years, I truly don’t envision a future where humans will never set foot on the raised floor. We’ll always need hands and eyes in the room to perform tasks on our systems. Case in point: Recently I serviced a customer that had three of their four fibre […]

Making the Mainframe More Accessible to New Technologists

When high schooler Enzo Damato had the chance to buy a used mainframe for $100 in 2020, his parents weren’t exactly ready to set up an electric substation at their house and give up their garage. But fast-forward to 2022: Damato has gotten his wish—the garage is home to a z114 mainframe. Starting the Mainframe […]

Identifying Top Cloud Security Issues

Trevor Eddolls highlights key takeaways from four industry-leading research reports on the current state of cloud security

The VM Workshop Celebrates VM’s 50th Anniversary

This year’s VM Workshop was special in several ways. First, this is the first face-to-face workshop since the world went virtual due to COVID-19 in 2020. And second, we were able to celebrate VM’s 50th anniversary in Binghamton, New York—the home of IBM’s VM development team, and where I had the pleasure of working with […]

Meet the 2022 TechChannel Mainframe Rising Stars

TechChannel is pleased to acknowledge our class of 2022 Rising Stars in the mainframe community–recognizing those who have worked on the platform for five years or less, but are already pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Our Rising Stars initiative is designed to recognize and bring visibility to the next generation of aspiring innovators […]

Meet the 2022 TechChannel Power Systems Rising Stars

For the second year in a row, TechChannel is acknowledging Rising Stars in the Power Systems community–recognizing those who have worked on the platform for five years or less, but are already pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Formerly known as IBM Fresh Faces, our Rising Stars initiative is designed to recognize and bring […]

Announcing IBM i 7.5 TR1, 7.4 TR7 and More

It’s time to announce technology refreshes again. On October 11, 2022, we announced IBM i 7.5 TR1 and 7.4 TR7. And, as always, in addition to those specific “technology refresh” delivery vehicles, there are updates for Db2, Navigator, RPG and more. But First: Power10 Scale-Out But before I get to the TRs, I owe it […]

Anna Murray on the Value of Collaboration in an Automated World

Reg Harbeck: Hi. I’m Reg Harbeck, and today I’m here with Anna Murray, who is product management director at Rocket Software. Welcome, Anna. Maybe we can start by getting the sense of how did you end up in the mainframe space and at Rocket Software? Anna Murray: Well thanks, Reg, for having me. I really […]

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Beth Granger on LinkedIn and Social Etiquette

Charlie Guarino: Hi everybody. This is Charlie Guarino. Welcome to another edition of TechTalk SMB. In today’s podcast, I am so happy to be sitting here with a very good friend who is also a trainer, consultant, and a speaker who works with organizations and individuals to help them grow their businesses through referrals and […]

Enzo Damato’s Mainframe Journey Is Just Getting Started

Reg Harbeck: Hi. I’m Reg Harbeck and today I’m here with Enzo Damato, who is in his senior year of high school and has his own mainframe: a z114—or as I like to say, zed 114. Enzo, tell us how did you end up with your own mainframe? Enzo Damato: Well I first got interested […]

Alternate Subsystem Routing in Navigator

Navigator for i allows you to configure and manage subsystems. It also provides several options to set up subsystem routing. This post reviews these features in Navigator, along with the newest one—alternate subsystem routing. Managing subsystems with Navigator has been around for quite some time. You can create and manage subsystem descriptions with the tasks […]

Recognizing and Fostering Greatness in the Power Systems Ecosystem

Spotlighting influential women in the IBM i community; plus, Pete Massiello on how mentorship and IBM i education can close the Power Systems skills gap

How to Approach Advanced IT Automation

When it comes to advanced IT automation, technology leaders should become familiar with both current as well as future trends that may affect your organization. It is a fundamental task to make an appraisal of one’s data center infrastructure and to analyze what is being done now and what needs to be done in the […]

Calling All Mainframers, Students, Open-Source Developers and DEI Advocates

On September 21-22, Philadelphia, PA, will become the hub for open source, mainframes and Linux on Z as students, engineers, developers attend the first-ever in-person Open Mainframe Summit. For those global attendees who can’t travel, the hybrid event includes a streaming option for all sessions and keynote presentations. This year will highlight security as it […]

The Costs of Data Breaches in 2022

Every year, mainframers are waiting to see what’s in the IBM’s annual Cost of a Data Breach Report, which features research by the Ponemon Institute. This year, the headline figures were that breaches are costing more, and their impact is greater than ever before. The current average cost of a data breach is $4.35 million—that’s […]