Dear fellow mainframer,
Everybody agrees that AI has brought plenty of good news for mainframe customers. Frontier LLMs keep pushing the boundaries – they can read and understand COBOL (or just about any other language) with ease. Some even claim the mainframe skills gap is now a thing of the past: no need for years of specialized experience when anyone can write a prompt in natural language. (Of course, it helps to have a healthy budget for all those tokens.)
The reality, however, is a bit more nuanced. I’ve seen quite a few AI initiatives stall along the way; sometimes because vendors overpromised, but more often because implementing AI in a complex mainframe environment requires deep domain expertise. Every mainframe shop is unique, with decades of customizations, integrations, and tribal knowledge built into its systems. Success comes from combining strong mainframe expertise with practical AI skills – not from relying on either one alone.
In the heat of the European summer, we’re bringing you a real-world story of AI-assisted mainframe modernization.
And while you’re reading, save the date for the Mighty Mainframe Conference ’27. We’d love to see you there.
From Lost Documentation to Mainframe Clarity
Imagine inheriting a mainframe environment with no reliable documentation, no accurate system model, and no access to the original data access layer. Sound familiar? That was exactly the situation we faced in one of our recent projects.
The challenge was to rewrite a business-critical module and make it maintainable. To tackle it, we turned to CROZ Carbon.modernize, our modernization methodology, powered by AI-driven technology. By uncovering application flows, dependencies, and embedded business logic, it provides deep visibility into the application landscape. Instead of spending months piecing together system behavior from source code and scattered documentation, we could focus on validating insights and solving the actual modernization challenges.
Armin Kramer and Krunoslav Funtak share a first-hand, step-by-step account of the journey. Read it here.
THE Conference 2027 – Save the date!
The Mighty Mainframe Conference already has a date, and we thought you might like to be among the first to know.
We’re moving to a new venue, but don’t worry – we’re keeping everything you love: insightful content, a friendly atmosphere, and plenty of mind-blowing moments. If you’re wondering what to expect, check out this year’s feedback on our website.
Industry Insights
Mainframe Modernization in the AI Era
HyperFRAME recently published a well-written report on the current state of mainframe modernization in the age of AI.
Read the report here.
The Human Side of AI: Burnout and Rising Expectations
Andy McCandless recently shared a thought-provoking post on the growing pressure facing software developers—and why AI may be making the situation even more challenging. While this affects the IT industry as a whole, our small mainframe community is likely even more exposed to the risks of increased workloads and higher expectations.
The article includes an eye-opening interview and is well worth a read.
Read the full story here.
