Product Announcement News

PopUp Mainframe Further Revolutionizes Mainframe Delivery

Instantly Available Mainframe Environments under Linux on Z or the Cloud Dramatically Accelerate Mainframe Delivery Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness

The team at PopUp Mainframe are delighted to announce the general availability (GA) of its new flagship mainframe modernization products – PopUp Mainframe X Edition and PopUp Mainframe Z Edition. PopUp Mainframe X and Z Edition provide an instantly available mainframe environment whenever required to help mainframe delivery teams accelerate urgent development and testing activities.

“As fantastic as the mainframe is as a production environment, there remain struggles and bottlenecks in how quickly change can be delivered, which brings a high cost of change. Our vision with PopUp Mainframe is to revolutionize the mainframe delivery process by offering a ready-to-use mainframe environment whenever you need it,” said CEO and Founder, Gary Thornhill.

Platform Flexibility

PopUp Mainframe product provides a functionally equivalent environment to z/OS to ensure the behaviour is predictable, regardless of the platform chosen. Separate editions offer flexibility for customers who want to be able to choose between x86 / cloud-based platforms (X Edition) or running on LinuxOne, or inside the mainframe IFL/KVM Linux environment (Z Edition).

Gary Thornhill explained, “For many organizations, cloud or x86 resources offer a cheap and readily available IT resource that can run a PopUp Mainframe instance. Other mainframe shops may have tighter access controls but have ready access to the IFL/KVM environments, or even LinuxOne, and our research suggests there’s a growing market looking to leverage these technologies. PopUp Mainframe Z Edition is specifically designed to support those mainframe users who are looking to maximize the value of those platform investments.”

Release Highlights

PopUp Mainframe’s instantly available mainframe environment removes common bottlenecks in the delivery process, with customers reporting increased delivery velocity of over 400%, while sustaining vital quality and risk requirements.

Key capabilities

  • Instantly available mainframe environment removes key bottlenecks, enabling teams to accelerate development, testing, and training activities
  • Deployment via Linux on Z (Z edition) or cloud (X edition) platforms removes additional hardware requirement, while potentially freeing up vital z/OS production LPARs
  • Fully compatible mainframe environment supports traditional ISPF and modern DevOps toolchains, ideal for cross-team collaboration and training
  • Robust configuration allows restoration of initial state, perfect for new software testing, R&D projects, and training programs.
  • Instant shutdown removes any environmental footprint when not in use to support Green IT initiatives

Key Operational Benefits

  • Accelerated delivery of over 300%
  • Efficient, compliant testing support through advanced data management
  • Sustainability improvements of up to 33% through effective platform management
  • Cost Efficiency improvements through improved platform usage

What They Said

As excited as we are about this release, we are even more thrilled that others share our enthusiasm:

Paul Knight, IBM z Innovation & Business Development at TES Enterprise Solutions, commented, “The PopUp Mainframe capability is another breakthrough technology that adds even greater value to the LinuxOne and IFL/KVM environments. As our clients continue to seek ways to maximise their IBM z investments, PopUp Mainframe stands out as a powerful tool—enabling them to accelerate mainframe innovation and drive measurable business value more efficiently than ever before”.

Steven Dickens, CEO & Principal Analyst at HyperFRAME Research, remarked, “The introduction of PopUp Mainframe’s tools on Linux on Z unlocks new possibilities for mainframe agility and workload testing.This strategic move enables organizations to harness Linux environments directly on the mainframe to allow for the deployment of modern DevOps processes while ensuring operational efficiency for mainframe teams.”

Find Out More

For more information on this release, visit the PopUp Mainframe Z Editon / X Edition product page.

Market Survey – PopUp Mainframe’s press release

Hot off the press! Read the PopUp Mainframe press release regarding our new mainframe market survey.

New Mainframe Market Survey Reveals Fresh Focus on Silos, Strategic Goals, and Specialization

Results Underline Modernization Appetite to Address Topical Challenges While Leveraging New Mainframe Capabilities

PopUp Mainframe Ltd, an enterprise software company dedicated to revolutionizing mainframe system delivery,today announced the findings of its Mainframe Survey, which reveals the latest market trends and 2025 plans for enterprises utilizing IBM mainframe technology.

The survey reveals the continued reliance, investment and perceived value of the mainframe environment across the sector, with ninety-eight percent of respondents saying that rely on the IBM mainframe to run their organization. A further 94% confirm their “potential to leverage additional workload capacity on specialist / Linux environments on Z,” with 97% seeking to make “increased use” of specialist mainframe processors.

The survey also uncovers major strategic challenges facing leaders today, with around eighty percent in each case citing speed of delivery, cost management, flexibility, risk managementand meeting sustainability targetsas important issues, and for which improvements were needed. Operationally, ready access to mainframe environments was given by nearly two thirds of respondents as a hindrance to meeting mainframe delivery needs, while both technical skills and adequate tooling challenges were cited by most respondents.

“As we see the attitudes around mainframe modernization continue to evolve, the platform’s ability to help deliver change rapidly, without risk, and with the right levels of flexibility, remains critical,” said PopUp Mainframe CEO, Gary Thornhill. “With 60 years of success and a brand-newmodel now available, it is no wonder so many organizations see the enduring value of the IBM mainframe. What our survey shows is a reminder that, in an ever-evolving digital world, overcoming important strategic and operational challenges continues to be an imperative for many organizations, and that there remain a variety of difficulties to overcome. The responses suggest to us that how the mainframe is used must evolve to meet these challenges. Essential is the requirement for organizations to innovate through both tooling and process, with emphasis on cultural change,” he added.

Conducted with Vanson Bourne, a global research and analysis company, the survey asked leading practitioners and IT executives from the UK and North America about the strategic importance of the IBM mainframe to their business, current challenges and future needs, as well as their development toolchains and resources.

“This survey allowed for Vanson Bourne to gather valuable data from the mainframe community on the platform’s continued relevance, as well as the forward-looking insights needed forPopUp Mainframe – and the mainframe community at large — to continue shaping the mainframe technology landscape,” said Katie Haslett, Senior Research Consultant at Vanson Bourne.

Other findings of theMainframe Survey include:

  • Material concerns over the availability of mainframe environments (88%),staffing limitations, and tooling (both 79%) were given as hindrances to meeting business objectives
  • Nearly a third of all respondents said 4 or more separate teams were involved in a standard development and delivery process for the mainframe, while 96% reported they experienced development and testing challenges using the IBM mainframe
  • 28% said implementing mainframe change in a shorter timeframe was of critical importance to their organization – and 81% said improvements were needed in that area
  • 36% said improving the flexibility / agility of mainframe deliveries was of critical importance to their organization – and 86% said improvements were needed
  • 37% said the ability to meet regulatory and data compliance requirements was of critical importance to their organization – and 82% said improvements were needed
  • 29% said greater cost efficiency was of critical importance to their organization – and 90% said improvements were needed
  • 30% said the ability to delivery on IT-related sustainability objectives was of critical importance to their organization – and 86% said improvements were needed

“The launch of the z17 underscores the mainframe’s enduring strength, cementing its position in the market,” said Steven Dickens, CEO & Principal Analyst at HyperFRAME Research. “With evolving application needs, organisations are turning to DevOps advancements to enhance performance and maintain a competitive edge, and PopUp Mainframe stands out as a solution worth evaluating in this context.”

Derek Britton, CMO at PopUp Mainframe, commented “These initial findings clearly demonstrate both the commitment of the mainframe market to the platform, and a market that is continuously challenging itself to improve what it can accomplish. The issues uncovered reflect a relentless motivationformainframe-centric modernization and innovation to achieve even greater organizational results”.

Additional Information

The full PopUp Mainframe Market Survey report and related information are now available here.

The Modern Mainframe: A Ready-Made Hybrid? 

The popularity of the Linux platform continues to rise—but does that apply equally to mainframe users? This blog examines the growing hybrid trend in a mainframe context. 

Wait – Linux on a Mainframe? 

Absolutely! Since its inception a generation ago, Linux on IBM Mainframes–such as IBM Z and LinuxONE–has gained significant traction, particularly in enterprise environments.  

By 2006, Linux on IBM Z had already been embraced by over 1,700 customers. Its promise to combine the flexibility of Linux with the reliability and scalability of IBM’s mainframe systems, met with wide acclaim, and organizations adopted it to support a variety of use-cases, including modern applications, cloud computing, databases, and containerized workloads, benefiting from features like advanced data security, high performance, and sustainability.  

For example, the LinuxONE Emperor 4, is popular among financial services organizations such as Citibank, according to sources.  

Facilitating Innovation 

More recently, IBM introduced the Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL), a specialized processor designed specifically to run Linux workloads on IBM Z and LinuxONE systems. The IFL provides high server density, reduced operational costs, and

 enhanced performance capabilities, such as Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) and Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) technologies.  

Additionally, IFLs can be added dynamically to systems and support various capacity-on-demand options. That flexibility means organizations use Integrated Facilities for Linux (IFLs) in a cloud computing context to achieve scalability, security, and efficiency. Beyond cloud computing, IFLs are also leveraged – including to house additional development and testing environments: there’s understandable merit in using a flexible, robust and secure environment to simulate critical workloads, to accelerate delivery while keeping vital z/OS cycles devoted to production. 

From an IT sustainability perspective, there are genuine green credentials associated with the platform. According to IBM, running Linux workloads on an IBM z16 single frame or rack mount – instead of on comparable x86 servers in similar conditions – can reduce energy consumption by 75% and space by 67%. Who knew blue was so green? 

Measuring Success  

In 2020, IBM reported “Linux capacity increasing 55 percent year-over-year,” cementing the strategic nature of its investment commitment.  

Industry analyst, Brent Ellis, of Forrester, more recently explained, “[IBM] has a strategy to enable more modern workloads to run on the hardware and the number of people acquiring mainframe hardware to run on Linux is increasing. Over the next few years, it is likely there will be more capability … coming to [mainframe] Linux to ensure a steady and non-disruptive transition to modern environments within the mainframe.”  

Further quantifying that trend, however, is harder than you might expect. While there is plenty of information about the mainframe market – in the form of reports and surveys – details surrounding mainframe Linux are only lightly pencilled in. How Linux supports a modern mainframe-centric strategy is not well-defined, despite the uniformly accepted wisdom of its huge potential.   

To learn more, PopUp Mainframe included a couple of questions about attitudes towards mainframe usage—and specifically Linux environments—as part of the market survey we commissioned this year with research experts Vanson Bourne. We wanted to hear how Linux matters to mainframe decision-makers.  

The survey is still ongoing, so we’re not going to share the numbers yet. But early indications are worth mentioning. Firstly—no great surprise for a mainframe market survey, perhaps—we see an overwhelming loyalty to the mainframe platform, both today and into the foreseeable future.  

What’s perhaps more illuminating, however, is that the initial findings suggest a huge appetite – an overwhelming majority of respondents (we will give you the precise number when the survey is closed) – for using Linux-based mainframe environments in their various forms. Simply put, many who hold the mainframe in high regard see the potential and value of Linux as part of that equation.  

Make the Most of your Modern Mainframe 

Of course, potential is one thing and practical solutions are quite another. Our study therefore also digs into the bottlenecks facing mainframe teams today, and where they most want to improve their capabilities to support the business. 

We look forward to being able to report the full results in the coming weeks – revealing key findings, spotlighting challenges, and offering practical steps towards an even more efficient mainframe environment.  

Update – we are pleased to announce the survey results are now live – visit this page for more details.   

Can the best get any better?

The z16 mainframe was hailed as the very best, and customers agreed. As we look ahead to its successor, it’s time to ask whether it can get even better and, if so, what it needs to achieve. 

Continue reading

Virtually Trained and Ready 

 The mainframe industry must constantly train and educate new professionals. To make this possible, trainers, mentors, team leaders, and department managers need access to mainframe resources. But when mainframe access is in short supply, what can you do?  

More, more, more, mainframe! 

Countless market surveys and press articles point at a continued—and growing—reliance on the mainframe environment to support big business. Organizations today may have a plethora of choices in terms of IT platforms, yet the IBM mainframe remains the go-to platform for business-critical workloads. And the trajectory is upwards, as more customers and greater functionality increase demands for busy mainframe environments.  

Which means, upstream, there is also continued demand for additional skilled mainframers to get that work done. No surprise then that the demands of the mainframe from a training and skills development perspective is also on the rise. Simple laws of supply and demand are at play here—not to mention the murky reality of the much-documented skills crisis.  

You get what you’re given 

Continued business growth drives additional resource needs; this is a fact of business life. Yet such benign realities are not without their difficulties. The mainframe is a complex environment to administer, and it carries a significant cost.

Generally speaking, the mainframe’s expenses are seen as acceptable because mainframes act as the execution engine for a lot of revenue-generating activities. Yet cost justification struggles in less tangible areas such as research or training. With a heavy emphasis on production workload, allocating mainframe time to skill-building and research is—for some organizations—severely limited and extremely hard to commission. 

Understandably so, of course, but this makes meeting training demands all the more difficult.  

As if by magic, a mainframe appeared 

If only there were a way for a mainframe environment to magically appear whenever it was needed. We enjoyed this article by Planet Mainframe, which introduces the concept of the virtual mainframe, outlining its potential benefits as a training and research platform that can support a variety of scenarios.

The article expresses the value of virtualized mainframe training environments in two important areas –  

“Skills: With veteran developers retiring, training new talent is needed. In particular, experienced employees. Anyone with access to virtual mainframes can build new skills or expand existing skills – all in the same space.  

Modernization: Virtual mainframes allow students and developers to adopt DevOps and CI/CD pipelines while working within a mainframe context”. 

And the need is real; – both the skills question and the drive towards DevOps remain high on the agenda for mainframe teams, yet the environment sometimes struggles to support the ambition.  

The same article explains the challenge of mainframe access: “In addition to the expense, traditional mainframes [are] often shared, limiting access… As technology continually evolves, so should training, specifically for mainframe developers.” 

Access to an easy-to-use ‘sandpit’ enables junior or trainee developers to receive coaching from experienced mentors, learn at their own pace with tutorials, and get to grips with modern mainframe DevOps toolchain technology.  

The same environment is available to training departments or third parties looking to provide a comprehensive yet accessible mainframe training space and a ‘safe’ location for R&D activities. Onboarding new skills and providing a familiar, comprehensive platform for modernization efforts is an obvious benefit of a virtual mainframe training facility. 

A case in point 

The Planet Mainframe article further explores the situation at PopUp Mainframe customer, Legal & General (L&G). As part of its mainframe modernization program, the company implemented a ‘virtual mainframe environment’ to satisfy various training, development, and collaboration needs.  

Essentially, the PopUp Mainframe solution that L&G used provided the flexibility to enable mainframe resources to be used without impacting the regular mainframe production cycles or schedules.  

Fine-tune your own mainframe training program 

If you want to learn more about how PopUp Mainframe could help add flexibility and availability to your mainframe training and development activities, get in touch.  

Sustainable IT Strategies

Integrating the ESG Imperative 

According to the Global Sustainability Barometer survey – commissioned by Microsoft, conducted by Ecosystem, and released by Kyndryl, “Although 84 percent of organizations consider sustainability goals to be of high strategic importance, only 21 percent actively leverage technology to minimize their environmental impact and guide their broader sustainability strategy.”  

The days are over when technology solutions are purely and simply about helping improve profits and reducing costs; implementing IT initiatives to actively reduce resource usage and emissions is taking its rightful place on today’s strategic agenda. 

Innovating Towards Sustainable IT 

At the arrowhead of using technology to support a more sustainable business model are pioneering organizations and vendors driving the agenda toward a cleaner, responsible, and sustainable business environment

The work of SustainableIT.org in championing and recognizing IT’s vital role in ESG and sustainability imperatives is noteworthy. Their list of award winners reads like a who’s who in sustainable IT innovation.  

PopUp Mainframe was delighted to be among this year’s recipients in recognition of our work in supporting our clients’ ESG and sustainability objectives, as well as our internal efforts towards a cleaner, greener provision of technology.  

As the organizers explained, “In August 2024, after a rigorous judging process, 30 companies were named winners, based on their ambitious ESG goals and measurable results. These winners demonstrated the power of technology to impact not just the environment but also social equity and governance. Key Selection Criteria were:
Ambitious ESG targets & commitment; – Proven impact with clear metrics (e.g., CO2 reduction, cost savings); Leadership in best practices & innovation; Cross-functional collaboration” 

We were delighted to be among the winners of the Environment category award.  

PopUp Mainframe – helping customers deliver On GreenIT objectives 

While each customer case will differ, PopUp Mainframe’s solution offers breakthrough possibilities for an organization’s sustainable IT strategy –  

  • Removing the need for additional infrastructure investment and energy consumption by reusing existing data center or cloud resources 
  • Maximizing energy-efficient mainframe resources and deferring/removing additional energy requirements through efficient scheduling of production workload 
  • Reducing IT’s emissions and energy footprint by only running testing and development environments when needed  

We are actively engaged in supporting our customers’ efforts towards a more sustainable IT provision as part of their operational objectives.  

PopUp Mainframe and Green IT 

PopUp Mainframe provides a sustainable, low-cost, and rapid solution for organizations looking to modernize IT. The solution enables on-demand availability of virtual mainframe environments, dramatically reducing the need for physical hardware and thereby lowering energy and emissions. By enabling mainframe test environments to run in solar-powered cloud data centers, PopUp Mainframe offers mainframe access to anyone who needs it while serving as a catalyst for sustainable transformation.  

 

See SustainableIT.org’s 2024 Impact Award brochure here.