Performance & Tuning Month
Tuning for Business Value, Not Cost: Building a Better Business Case for Mainframe Modernization
Modernization can deliver tremendous business value. But cost savings only materialize when organizations understand how mainframe economics really work. Organizations often launch mainframe modernization initiatives with a clear objective: reduce costs by moving...
Understanding CICS Performance: How SMF 110 Turns Symptoms Into Evidence
How monitoring and statistics data turn performance symptoms into evidence When something slows down in a CICS environment, the conversation often starts with a phrase every systems programmer (sysprog) has heard before: "CICS feels stuck." The problem with that...
Exploring the Latest Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter: Practical Guidance for Modern Mainframe Shops
What happens when an IMS logger fills up in production? How do you prepare for z/OS 3.2? Is Coupling Facility encryption worth the effort? And what does AI really mean for the future of the mainframe workforce? The latest issue of Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter tackles...
z/OS UNIX Tuning: What New USS Practitioners Should Know
This article offers a practical USS tuning primer for new mainframers, developers moving into z/OS UNIX, and technical leaders who need to understand the basics before changing system settings.z/OS UNIX tuning can feel familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. USS...
An Undocumented CICS Fix That Boosts Throughput and Cuts CPU
IBM has an undocumented fix to the CICS WEB interface that can optimize throughput and response time while also saving CPU. This article explains how to make it work for you. In the course of my current project, I had the pleasure of working with Ole Olsen at JN Data...
CICS. Db2. IPL. The Latest Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter
The Latest Tuning Letter issue is out now! Subscribers to Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter will find the newest issue, 2026 No.1, on our Tuning Letter website. If you are not a current subscriber yet, sign up today! This subscription-only resource is available to both...
Why Ongoing Education Matters for the Mainframe Skills Gap
I graduated virtually with my Master’s degree in 2020, about two months after COVID-19 shut down much of the world. Behind the scenes, I had been working for Enterprise Performance Strategies, Inc. (EPS) since 2017, so I had a supportive professional environment while...
Turning Nightly Downtime into a Competitive Advantage with VSAM File-Sharing
If you run on IBM Z, you may still stop CICS overnight so batch jobs can update VSAM files. That pause might be necessary today, but it is no longer a requirement. We will show you how to remove the trade-off between fresh data and uninterrupted access with VSAM...
Latest
Modernize Security with ACF2 and Top Secret Version17.0
In the world of security, many things have changed since the last release of ACF2 and Top Secret. Credential-based attacks are up - compromised credential-based attacks cost organizations $4.67m annually, while being the initial attack vector 10% of the time¹....
The Need for Effective Change Management
Introduction Over the last few years there has been an ever-increasing number of widely publicised problems involving notable corporate organisations and the failings of their IT systems. Incidents of ransomware, hacking and phishing are becoming worryingly...
Extending the Security Stack: Red Teaming, Scenarios, Risks, and Reality
Mainframes hold the heart of the most critical business processes in finance, healthcare, and government. Yet many security programmes still draw a neat line around them, treating z/OS as out of scope for red teaming, scenarios, and cyber risk quantification. This...
The Open Mainframe Project Has a Trust Problem — And the Mainframe Can’t Afford It
Open Mainframe Project Security Concerns I was chatting with a mainframer buddy the other day, and he expressed some concerns about the overall code security of the Open Mainframe Project (OMP), particularly around member vetting. So, I spent a bit of time digging...
IBM z17 NTS Enhancements: Securing Time Synchronization
In October 2025, Planet Mainframe published the first article of this two-part series on IBM z17 Time Synchronization Enhancements. That article focused on time synchronization resiliency and accuracy enhancements introduced on IBM z17. This article continues with a...
z/OS Security Assessments: What We Missed in 2015 vs. Today
My career has, over the nearly four years of working in this field, predominantly been comprised of RACF Administration and Engineering, interspersed with other opportunities that I foolishly volunteered myself for. Such opportunities have included writing articles,...
PowerTerm End-of-Life: Why Organizations Must Act Now – And Why the December 10 Webinar Is Critical
In March 2025, Ericom PowerTerm, a terminal emulator still used by thousands of organizations to access mainframes, IBM i systems, Unix hosts, VMS machines, and other mission-critical environments, officially entered End-of-Life (EOL). For decades, PowerTerm provided...
Mainframe AI Agents: The Interns Who Never Sleep
A conversation with BMC Anthony Doroand Leah Sokalov.A Knowledge Problem That Can’t Wait Amanda Hendly, Managing Editor of Planet Mainframe, met with Distinguished Engineer Anthony Doro and Senior Product Manager Leah Sokalov, both from BMC. The conversation focused...
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Upcoming Events
Events
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Virtual IMS User Group: Modernizing IMS Backup and Recovery – The Strategic Shift to Cloud Storage
Zoom - Virtual Meeting📅 July 14, 2026 🕦 11:30 AM ET As enterprise data volumes continue to grow and cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, organizations are rethinking how IMS backup and recovery environments […]
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Virtual Db2 User Group | Mastering Access Path Management in Db2 for z/OS – Simplify, Optimize, Succeed
Zoom - Virtual MeetingThis session explores strategies for simplifying and optimizing access path management in Db2 for z/OS environments. Attendees will gain insight into techniques for improving query performance, reducing operational complexity, and […]
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Accelerating Mainframe Efficiency: Training and Onboarding Webinar
FeaturedReady to transform your mainframe training strategy? Join the second installment of the PopUp Mainframe Persona Webinar series for a dynamic exploration of cutting-edge mainframe training, featuring renowned industry experts […]
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SHARE Pittsburgh 2026
FeaturedSHARE Pittsburgh brings together mainframe IT professionals for five days of education, networking, and knowledge sharing. The conference program features expert-led sessions, hands-on learning, and forward-looking insights designed to help […]
❓Mainframe History Trivia: Mauchly and Eckert
This week at Planet Mainframe Trivia we’re dipping back into the deep history of computing with a quiz on the work of John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert—two of the most influential pioneers in the history of computing. Their work helped move electronic computers from...
Accelerate Agent-Drive Transformation, a New AWS Transform Integration, and more
Kyndryl Launches AI Orchestration for Business to Accelerate Agent-Driven Transformation Rocket Software Joins HPE Unleash AI Partner Program to Accelerate AI Adoption IBM Launches Global AI Builders Challenge With IBM Bob for University Students, Expanding...
❓Everything CICS Trivia
While most people you know probably haven’t even heard of CICS, anyone that banks, travels, or does business in the modern world has benefited from this cornerstone of enterprise transaction processing. Evolving alongside changes in hardware, operating systems,...
A New AWS Deployment, Project Glasswing, and more
IBM installs €11.5m Mainframe at South East Technological University to Mark 70th Anniversary in Ireland Precisely Powers Customer Communications with AWS Deployment IBM Brings Its Most Advanced AI-Powered Security Portfolio to Clients, and is Strengthened by Ongoing...
❓Windows Meets the Mainframe
When Microsoft Windows emerged in the 1980s, it represented a very different vision of computing from the centralized, highly structured world of the mainframe. Windows powered the rise of personal computers and client-server systems, while mainframes continued...
Think 2026, Vertica Acquisition, and more
Think 2026: IBM Positions Mainframe Environments as Governed AI Infrastructure Rocket Software Completes Acquisition of Vertica®, Expanding High-Performance Analytics and AI for Mission-Critical Systems Kyndryl unveils agentic AI capability that proactively prevents...