Time for a Change of Direction?

Grace Hopper is quoted as saying “Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, ‘We’ve always done it this way’. I try to fight that. That’s why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise.”

Hopper’s famed intellect and uncompromising thinking demonstrated legendary leadership. Her daring perspectives challenged all aspects of accepted wisdom and were responsible for many technical creations we take for granted today.

So, what, from a mainframe perspective, could enable teams to reimagine things – to turn the metaphorical clock to run counter-clockwise? How are teams able to cheat time in mainframe delivery?

Interestingly, the possibilities are not quite so hard to conceive. They are fundamentally a blend of smart technology and creative thinking. Let’s take some time to look at a few ideas.

Sensible Scoping.

At PopUp Mainframe, many organizations we speak with want to re-create their entire current z/OS dev/test setup on a PopUp Mainframe instance. At least initially. That often equates to dozens of users, countless configurations, and – literally – Terabytes of code and test data. Their argument is that their entire environment is necessary to do things the same way as before, but in a new environment.

But, as we discuss the matter, it becomes clear quite quickly that replicating everything may not yield the best return on investment (ROI). The reality of dev/test is that it is a transient state – it exists merely to support a journey towards production. It must reflect the changing nature of the task, and be fluid, dynamic, and scalable. It must also be replicable and easily communicable, but not burdensome or overblown. A shadow copy of an entire production system could take weeks if not months to commission and is, bluntly, going to slow everything down.

So, what’s the better approach? Our experience shows us is that our customers that start with the mindset of, “What mainframe issues need addressing?” achieve the best ROI. They start with the objective of improving the value of mainframe delivery – and to achieve that they look to fix the underlying challenges they are facing.

Challenging Times

In most mainframe organizations, challenges are never too far from the surface. PopUp Mainframe’s recently commissioned survey through Vanson Bourne (the full summary is here) offers empirical market data on how mainframe organizations view their current environment and processes.

The survey responses show a range of typical challenges facing the mainframe community. Choosing a few examples gives us an opportunity to plan improvements.

96% Experience Development and Testing Challenges using the IBM Mainframe

Of the survey responses, the highest percentage response relates to Development and Testing challenges. A near-unanimous response rate reflects widespread issues around development and testing on the mainframe. And a common element on the critical path is the effort in creating test data. Too much of it, too laborious a process, too hard to maintain, and testing cycles become too lengthy. By ensuring the data is right sized, testing cycles are shorter and ensure that program changes are tested. The PopUp Mainframe FastTrack Option delivers a way to create a snapshot of secure data, which can be reset to a known state if testing fails, or a new snapshot if the data has been aged correctly. Rapidly delivered test cycles, against a subset of data, instantly repeatable, enables teams to maximize time on resolution, not execution.

Thinking differently around test data is a big reset for mainframe time. Lots of data isn’t the right approach for dev and test. Right-size the data and make your metaphoric clock run anti-clockwise.

90% Think Greater Cost Efficiency is Needed in Mainframe Delivery

The “z” in z/OS relates to zero downtime, which is perfect for production workloads, which must be always on. For other functions, the technology must be available when it is needed – but that’s all. At PopUp Mainframe we believe that dev and test environments (and training and R&D, come to that) should only be operational when required.   And that’s what the PopUp Mainframe environment offers – they are only up when needed, delivering an efficiency on power whilst providing the flexibility a busy mainframe team requires.

Think differently about LPAR availability. Having a testing LPAR available only when you need it helps that clock anti-clockwise.

88% Have Concerns Over the Availability of Mainframe Environments

It is worrying to imagine that nine out of ten mainframe users have issues over the availability of the mainframe environment. Investing the effort in creating a known starting point for a z/OS LPAR, with all the necessary apps, tools, data and config – enables teams to establish a baseline environment that can be used and shared, and reset if needed. Building incremental changes on top with a new instance provides a journey of updates that can also be shared as the basis for incremental delivery pipelines and collaborative test cycles. PopUp Mainframe and the FastTrack facility offer a unique, rapid-fire way to snapshot, update, share and reset z/OS environments the whole team can rely on.

Thinking differently about scaling and sharing delivery environments can ensure your figurative clock runs anti-clockwise.

Staffing Limitations and Poor Tooling are Hampering Business (79%)

Another worrying concern was around skills and tooling. Oftentimes the availability of the right staff, using the right tools, at the right time, is causing bottlenecks in mainframe delivery. Availability delays may be as much, of course, about the environment as the people. It is often a combination. PopUp Mainframe’s instantaneous availability – according to the configuration of your choosing – offers the ‘always on’ capability that mainframe teams need to ensure staffing, with the right tools, are always on standby for critical dev/test activities.

When clock cycles are being lost due to staffing shortages, why not stop that clock with an always-available toolkit for key staff?

Look again at the time!

Our market survey uncovered the challenges the mainframe ecosystem is currently facing. Current thinking and approaches have created that reality – those challenges are because of the way things are done today.

By imagining new possibilities, doing things differently, using smart thinking and smart tech, mainframe teams can address the challenges to make outcomes better. Your own challenges may differ, but similar creative thinking may yield a new, innovative approach.

Paraphrasing the legendary Grace Hopper, if you’ve always done it this way, and this way isn’t efficient, then it is time to think again – and find a quicker way. Learn more about our FastTrack facility in this short video.