Jumar experts summarise Broadcom Mainframe Software event takeaways

Kevin Tate, Mainframe Portfolio Director and Mervyn Murray, Senior Solution Sales - Legacy Modernisation, attended the Broadcom Mainframe Technical Exchange in Prague. It’s one of three technical exchanges taking place this year, with the other two being held in Plano, Texas in June and an online event in October. The event itself was organised into a number of meeting tracks, encompassing a more General one, DevOps & Security, AIOps Performance and Automation, Open Mainframe and Workload Automation, Data Management.   

The focus was very much on the relevance of the mainframe platform and it’s products as part of today’s modern solutions.  A key facilitator for this is the Zowe open-source framework which unlocks the potential of the platform and associated products.

Here are the five key takeaways from the event: 

 1. Zowe: An integrated and extensible open source framework for z/OS 

Zowe comes with a core set of applications out of the box in combination with the APIs and OS capabilities that future applications will depend on. It offers modern interfaces to interact with z/OS and allows practitioners to work with z/OS in a way that is similar to experiences on cloud platforms today. Broadcom contribute to the development of the framework and it’s products to promote the continued use of the mainframe alongside other technologies. 

2. RESTful APIS: Opening up Mainframe Products 

Broadcom will expose RESTful APIs for their mainframe products to allow greater opportunities for future integration. The APIs will enable flexible solutions to be created to address the needs of customers. Broadcom are supporting the development of a solution to make the APIs easier to find and utilise.     

3. Mainframe DevOps/DevSecOps

There was a focus on DevOps for the mainframe and how different products can be utilised to provide the solutions customers require. There was an introduction to Broadcom’s Mainframe DevOps Suite, a look at Endevor working alongside Git and Bridge for Git, the advantages of using Visual Studio Code with Endevor and an acknowledgement of the importance of DevOps/DevSecOps for the mainframe. 

4. Broadcom ‘Beyond Code’ initiative

This seeks to reduce costs, provide better value for and reduce the skills gap. Broadcom have identified three key challenges that need to be addressed in order to allow the mainframe to remain relevant - skills shortage, change and innovation, optimisation.  

5. MRI – seeks to reduce costs and provide better value for money 

Broadcom mainframe business specialists will support Broadcom customers with mainframe related initiatives, issue management, general health-checks as part of their service to their customers. There is no charge for the service provided and covers both Broadcom and non-Broadcom products as required. The mainframe health-check should identify opportunities to optimise, reduce costs and increase flexibility.