For years, mainframe systems have served as the bedrock of enterprise networks, standing unmatched in terms of reliability, scalability, and data protection. But with emerging practices like DevOps, the rise of open-source, and the move to hybrid cloud models, security risks have become a pressing concern. With constantly changing rules and shifts in how software is developed and used, it's more important than ever to focus on mainframe security ...
Mainframe
February 16, 2021
In the quest to quickly deliver quality apps and services while providing a superior customer experience, DevOps is proving critical for modern enterprises, giving them the ability to adapt quickly to customer demand and cultural shifts, automate throughout the software delivery lifecycle (SDLC), and heighten security of the data and infrastructure vital to application development ...
September 16, 2020
There is a story that must be told since it uncovers an injustice visited upon a piece of IT equipment called a mainframe computer. These, like many such situations displaying bigotry and ignorance, are put forward by people who do not understand the butt of their criticism ...
April 08, 2020
Vanson Bourne recently conducted a survey of organizations reliant on the mainframe with a surprising finding: deployment frequency for new mainframe features is expected to increase by 41%, compared to 38% for non-mainframe applications. Why would deployment frequency on the mainframe be higher than other platforms? ...
February 11, 2020
Many IT professionals have discounted the strategic relevance of the mainframe for years on baseless claims. The reality is that in this Digital Age, the mainframe's strategic relevance has only increased as the number of transactional workloads continues to rise on a platform that remains unbeatable in reliability, transactional performance, security, and transactional efficiency ...
June 10, 2019
Most innovative web-based applications ultimately depend on finely tuned mainframe code to complete their basic functions. This tuning should begin with individually and independently scrutinizing the smallest part — the unit — of an application for proper operation ...
December 05, 2018
The industry is revealing increasingly optimistic attitudes towards mainframes, with 93% of executives and 92% of all respondents viewing the mainframe as a strong long-term platform – the highest level in five years – according to the 2018 Mainframe Research Report from BMC ...
July 17, 2018
In my first blog in this series, I highlighted some of the main challenges teams face with trying to scale mainframe DevOps. To get past these hurdles, the key is to develop an incremental approach that enables teams to capture value along each step of the journey ...
July 16, 2018
The key to mainframe DevOps success is in quickly identifying and removing major bottlenecks in the application delivery lifecycle. Major challenges include collaboration between mainframe and distributed teams, lack of visibility into the impact of software changes, and limited resource flexibility with scaling out necessary testing initiatives. Now let's take a closer look at some of these key challenges and how IT departments can address them ...
May 03, 2018
The prospect of increased workloads, combined with shrinking mainframe skillsets, has huge implications for mainframe DevOps. The only way for organizations to solve this skills gap crisis is by optimizing developer productivity. Drilling down a level further, what does this all mean for mainframe DevOps? ...
January 08, 2018
DevOps experts offer predictions on how DevOps and related technologies will evolve and impact business in 2018. Part 8, the final installment, covers testing ...
December 21, 2017
DevOps experts offer predictions on how DevOps and related technologies will evolve and impact business in 2018. Part 4 covers Agile, CD and the development process ...
November 08, 2017
Mainframes may be legacy, but they still run a lot of business. With so much in play, businesses run a great risk when practices for maintaining and developing on mainframe remain largely the same despite the rest of the organization undergoing significant change to keep pace with the latest DevOps trends ...
April 20, 2017
One could argue that testing is the most important phase of an IT project. It's also time-consuming and expensive. It's essential to strike a balance between an IT testing program that ensures a quality product and the cost-to-value ratio of your project. But when you're dealing with replatforming projects, how much testing is enough testing? ...
March 27, 2017
A recent survey, conducted by Forrester and commissioned by Compuware, showed 96 percent of new business initiatives involve the mainframe. However, the platform is not without challenges. The survey also revealed frustration and concern among development leaders, particularly when it comes to their team's ability to accommodate the speed and agility required to compete in today's digital market ...
January 23, 2017
Until recently, many IT leaders still believed they could allow their mainframe environments to languish in two-code-drops-a-year waterfall mode, while they embraced DevOps and Agile across their distributed and cloud environments. This so-called "Bimodal lT" strategy has proven to be dangerously flawed. So how do you actually get your mainframe environment up to speed? ...
March 16, 2016
DEVOPSdigest asked experts from across the industry for their recommendation on a key technology required for DevOps. Part 3 of the list covers covering continuous delivery ...
January 08, 2016
In the field of financial services, transitioning to DevOps can be especially challenging for two main reasons. First, there is a strict separation of Development and Operations. Second, many executives and IT people believe that the software and hardware environments of financial services companies, particularly banks, are not compatible with DevOps. Enough with the challenges. Here are some practical ways for financial services companies and many other organizations to embrace DevOps successfully ...
December 21, 2015
In DEVOPSdigest's first annual list of DevOps Predictions, experts — analysts and consultants, and the top vendors — offer predictions on how DevOps and related technologies will evolve and impact business in 2016. Part 5 is the final installment of DevOps predictions ...
November 19, 2015
DEVOPSdigest asked experts from across the industry to define what DevOps means to them. The goal is to show just how many varied ideas are connected with the concept of DevOps, and in the process learn a little more what DevOps is all about. The third installment shows the impact of DevOps on both Dev and Ops team members ...
October 26, 2015
Most discussions of DevOps assume that the "dev" is being done exclusively in programming languages of recent vintage and that the "ops" are occurring exclusively on distributed or cloud platforms. There are, however, at least three compelling reasons to have a DevOps discussion that focuses on the mainframe ...
