Dear fellow mainframer, 

It’s been a scorching summer in Southern Europe, with nights often staying above 27°C for weeks on end. During this time, our team has been incredibly busy. Unsurprisingly, most of our clients’ requests have fallen into two main categories: mainframe modernization and tackling the operations challenges related to a shortage of skilled engineers. It’s funny how the mainframe is modernizing and hardly surviving at the same time. 

Mainframe Managed Services 

Recently, one of our German clients faced a major challenge in managing their mainframe systems due to a lack of experienced staff. With many of the long-serving staff nearing retirement, it was difficult to find qualified replacements. This lack of expertise was jeopardizing business operations. To solve this problem, the client turned to us. We suggested to empower their inhouse team with Managed Services. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll already know that by using managed services, the company was able to ensure continuous performance, reduce operational costs and gain access to expert support so they could focus on their core business. If not, click here to find out more about how our Mainframe Managed Services can help your business. 

Mighty Mainframe Conference ‘25 

I was going to start this exciting announcement with “Last year…” but then I realized that the end of summer isn’t, in fact, the end of the year, so I’d like to rephrase it. Next year’s Mighty Mainframe Conference is already upon us, preparations have begun, and I’m thrilled to announce that we’ll continue with the same energy as this year! Like last time, we’ll be a conference-within-a-conference at QED conference and following the theme of “UNcomplex”, which is a very poetic twist in these much more complex times. Look out for future updates and mark your calendars for May 18-20, 2025 for the UNcomplex spin on the mainframe! 

Generative AI and Mainframe Modernization: A year in review 

Amid the ChatGPT frenzy last year, IBM joined the party and introduced watsonx Code Assistant for Z. The mainframe community warmly received the announcement. Although the initial version was rather limited, IBM has since released several new versions over the past year, each bringing significant improvements. Now, a year later, it’s time to evaluate its maturity and effectiveness. 

In my recent blog, I examined the business value of different aspects of WCA4Z and tried to envision its future. 

Industry Insights 

In 2022, IBM unveiled the IBM z16, introducing AI capabilities to the mainframe for the first time. The microprocessor chip, Telum, featured a new AI accelerator, enabling AI inferencing at the speed of a transaction—such as checking for fraud during a credit card swipe. Meanwhile, we witnessed a true AI revolution, with new implementations emerging every week. 

The new IBM Spyre accelerator, previewed at the Hot Chips 2024 conference expands dramatically single accelerator in Telum by the 32 accelerator cores Future mainframe models will be real AI powerhouses, capable of running LLM models and many other AI implementations.