Partner Development Executive
For decades, there have been two camps when it comes to the mainframe: stay on or get off. Depending on the business objectives of an organization, neither group is altogether right or wrong; however, as IBM has innovated the mainframe in recent years—with IBM z15 being the latest iteration—the computing platform has garnered new respect and support from senior leaders at major enterprises and esteemed analysts who say the mainframe is alive and well.
In particular, they’re raising awareness that continued advancements in mainframe technology will ensure the platform remains an essential system of record, and that it must integrate into your hybrid cloud strategy for your enterprise to truly accelerate digital transformation.
Most organizations are quick to acknowledge the reliability, availability and serviceability inherent in IBM Z. Where they struggle is evolving the culture, processes and tools surrounding the mainframe and elevating their focus from the platform to its role in end-to-end DevOps value streams that carry solutions to their business and customers.
Evolve Mainframe Culture, Processes and Tools with DevOps
Entrenched cultural practices, siloed Waterfall processes, and esoteric green-screen tools that have been used for decades often bring strong resistance to change on the mainframe. While these ways of working were sufficient in the past, today they clash with the agile, iterative approach of continuous integration/continuous delivery that DevOps teams are using to advance systems of engagement.
The more your systems of engagement rely on the mainframe—and they increasingly do as digital transformation accelerates—the more your mainframe becomes a bottleneck if the culture, processes, and tools surrounding it are still stuck in the 90s.
Mainframe teams must shed traditional ways of working under methodologies like Waterfall. Transforming a static, linear model of software development and delivery into a continuously flowing infinity loop of progress inherent in DevOps is essential to ensuring the mainframe can adapt to change quickly and support other systems in end-to-end DevOps value streams to best deliver solutions to business end-users and customers.
Elevate Siloed Mainframe Processes into Value Streams
This leads us to another important shift in mindset. Mainframe teams, as well as IT and business leaders, must shift their perspective from managing siloed workloads across z/OS, CICS, Db2, IMS and other systems to managing these as processes in DevOps value streams that span mainframe to cloud. By shifting to DevOps value stream management, it becomes clear how the mainframe is engaged in a sequence of actions that are required to develop and deliver value to internal and external customers.
Leveraging a DevOps value stream management platform like ASG-Enterprise Orchestrator enables infrastructure, operations, and DevOps teams to visualize, orchestrate and automate value streams, from cloud to mainframe, then manage the higher volume of operational value stream instances. This makes it possible to optimize business process flows, improve resource efficiency, and accelerate the delivery of innovation.
Without this perspective, the silos that are typical in mainframe environments are only perpetuated, and collaboration and communication are diminished. These silos evolve into more serious bottlenecks that impede the flow of innovation to your business and customers.
Mainline and ASG Technologies Enable Your Mainframe Transformation
Mainline actively partners and collaborates with ASG Technologies to deliver significant value through groundbreaking and innovative solutions.
Both companies acknowledge the continued importance of the mainframe for our mutual customers, and our shared mission is to ensure your business is equipped with best-in-class solutions that solve your immediate and long-term challenges as you adapt your mainframe for the digital age.
We believe adopting DevOps culture, processes and tools, and shifting to a mindset of delivering on customer needs through end-to-end DevOps value streams are both key enablers for evolving your mainframe ecosystem. We’re ready to help you take the next step.
More Information
For 30+ years Mainline has been helping businesses nationwide leverage more value from their mainframes. We are a multi-time recipient of IBM Beacon Awards for innovative mainframe solutions, and our mainframe transformation experts are eager to help you. To learn more about DevOps value streams or mainframe transformation solutions contact your Mainline Account Executive directly or contact us here.
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Guest blogger: Mike Siemasz
Mike Siemasz leads product marketing for ASG Technologies’ IT Systems Management product portfolio, including performance, operations, and applications management solutions. Prior to ASG, he led content strategy at Compuware. He has also led customer marketing and advocacy for startups in supply chain management and HR tech.