Modernization Carries Varied Meanings for Different People
March 23, 2020
When the IBM z15 was announced I couldn’t wait to read the information about the advancements and changes that we would all see. I quickly read about System Recovery Boost, integrated zEDC compression, standard rack space frame, double cache density on each chip, etc. The modern mainframe; the fastest, most resilient and high availability, commercially-available […]
ArticlesClosing the COBOL Programming Skills Gap
October 25, 2019
The backbone of today’s electronic commerce is COBOL on an IBM Z computing platform. There are 240 billion lines of COBOL in operation, and another 5 billion new lines are added each year. $3 trillion of commercial transactions are processed by COBOL applications each day. COBOL is what business runs on. Some reports indicate that […]
ArticlesApplication Performance and Tuning
May 14, 2019
As the original author of “CICS Performance Bulletin” published by IBM Dallas System Center, and co-author of the subsequent IBM “CICS TS Performance Guide” in conjunction with IBM Hursley CICS TS Development, performance and tuning has been a big part of my job. I’ve performed more CICS performance studies than I can count, and almost […]
ArticlesCOBOL Turns 60
May 1, 2019
On April 8, 1959, a team led by Grace Hopper met for the first time to begin developing the specifications for the COBOL programming language. A day short of five years later, on April 7, 1964, the computer platform that would come to be most closely associated with this great programming language was announced: the […]
ArticlesA Closer Look at the 2018 Master the Mainframe Winners
May 1, 2019
For a decade and a half, students from around the world have been taking part in IBM’s annual Master the Mainframe competition. Designed as an introduction to the world of z/OS programming, the contest requires no prior knowledge or skills, and leads participants from their first taste of the UI and the concepts that underpin […]
Improved Error Handling Increases Usability
March 1, 2019
Errors can be managed, anticipated, controlled and sometimes resolved if an IT development unit is properly structured.
ArticlesThree Innovative Middleware Solutions
December 17, 2018
This week, I am finishing up this three-part series on middleware. In the first post in the series, I discussed the roots of middleware in what I referenced as the real history of middleware, with the real roots being in centralized enterprise systems. Last week, I discussed the taxonomy and market size of middleware. This […]
ArticlesFRAIKIN Group Develops a Flexible Thin-Client Environment
July 1, 2018
UP CLOSE Customer: FRAIKIN Group Headquarters: Colombes, France Business: Fleet-vehicle provider Challenge: Lowering client-side costs while also improving user services Solution: Embracing Google hardware and cloud software to streamline its front-end computing environment, while also maintaining 3270 TE access to IBM Z Hardware: An IBM-owned and hosted IBM Z server; Google Chrome devices Software: SysperTec […]
ArticlesIBM z14 Model ZR1 Is Ready for Cloud, Pervasive Encryption and More
May 1, 2018
How can medium-sized businesses solve the conundrum of scaling for business growth with ease and confidence? The answer is the latest lean, mean and super fast player in the IBM Z* product line, the IBM z14* Model ZR1. It hits the field of play with a complete new physical system design. In a world where […]
ArticlesIBM Cloud Private With IBM Z Helps Clients Reap the Benefits of Cloud
March 1, 2018
Enterprises are eager to adopt cloud computing to gain its many benefits including elasticity, scaling of resources, lower cost and ease of use. But concerns about latency, security and compliance make some enterprises reluctant to wholeheartedly adopt cloud. Knowing this, IBM has created IBM Cloud Private to provide a secure cloud platform that works seamlessly […]