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Fast-track your mainframe DevOps initiatives

DevOps on the mainframe is particularly hard

In IT, mainframe is often the last piece to achieve automation. Many organisations have established automation and DevOps ways of working for the distributed teams, but haven’t managed to apply this to the mainframe areas yet.

As we see it, the main challenges in adopting DevOps for mainframe are:

Lack of dev and test environments in which to trial automation, new ways of working and new tools.
Culture, mindset, and ways of working changes (and ensuring those are sustained in the long term).
Inability to innovate due to locked down systems and timeboxed access to the physical mainframe.
Governance processes which are entrenched and inflexible.
Mainframe skills shortage and difficulty attracting new joiners.
Create a right-sized virtual z/OS instance with the right data and applications to suit the use case (not just a full copy of the LPAR).

We developed PopUp to help solve some of these pressing business problems.

At PopUp, our mission is to empower mainframe businesses to deliver changes faster, cheaper and better with on-demand environments for dev and test. We see this as a necessary pre-requisite for organisations to move into this final ‘DevOps frontier’ (where ALL teams, including mainframe, can embrace DevOps). This is necessary for businesses to truly achieve their agility aspirations at all levels of the business.

Find out more information about PopUp here.

How does PopUp fast track mainframe DevOps initiatives?

PopUp enables an organisation’s mainframe DevOps initiatives to take off, in a number of ways. PopUp enables companies to eat the elephant of mainframe DevOps by starting small and making progress quickly.

A. Pipelines & Automation

Automation and pipelines are a must for any DevOps journey. PopUp aids the implementation of automation and pipelines by:

Enabling users to spin up and manage fully functioning z/OS instances through a pipeline via RESTful APIs.
Making it easy to align mainframe pipelines with pipelines for distributed systems.
Providing mainframe teams with automation tools pre-installed and pre-configured on the PopUp.
Using the built-in test automation tools, developers can write unit tests and run them through automation in a PopUp.
Providing test automation tools which can be used to build a full regression test pack.
Making it easy to include code validation in pipelines.
Integrating out of the box with Git.

B. Increase Productivity by Giving Developers Mainframe On-Demand

The main bottleneck in mainframe delivery is lack of mainframe environments. This causes a huge knock-on effect when teams have limited slots on the physical mainframe, and have to schedule those far in advance. PopUp delivers z/OS environment capacity to teams at the speed its needed. This newfound availability of mainframe instances in turn enables fundamental changes to the teams’ ways of working.

Team members no longer need to wait days or weeks for their slot on the mainframe, instead they can do their work as needed. Once the biggest blocker is removed, wait times and idle time are reduced through every stage in the delivery process. This has a massive impact on productivity, as well as team satisfaction.

C. Modern tools boost the productivity of all team members

There are more and more tools available which allow developers to interact with mainframe systems without ever logging into a mainframe green screen. Modern mainframe tools provide a host of benefits including intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces, automatic code completion and syntax checks, debug tools, automation, and instant feedback.

However, it’s not always easy to adopt modern tools on the physical mainframe. On PopUp you are free to install or use any modern mainframe tools you wish and experiment in an isolated, completely risk-free environment. Mainframe teams can then realise the benefits of modern mainframe tools with no risk to the physical mainframe. Modern tools not only improve productivity of new joiners (who can be very productive using intuitive tooling even without prior mainframe experience), but vastly increase the productivity of existing team members too, who experience the same benefits.

D. DevOps with Compliant Data

One challenging element of ephemeral environments is getting the right data. Using PopUp in combination with Delphix, production data can be masked and moved onto the PopUp. This gives developers and testers the ability to test against fully compliant production-like data. The benefit of using prod-like data for testing is hard to overstate – it facilitates better test scenario creation and increased test coverage.

Another powerful feature of Delphix & PopUp is creating a Gold Copy image which includes masked data. This Gold Copy can be cloned as needed to provide a full z/OS instance with compliant data, ready to go. The test data can also be refreshed easily, ensuring that dev teams always have recent, prod-like, compliant data.

E. PopUp is a catalyst for mainframe innovation and fast feedback!

PopUp brings increased opportunity for innovation to mainframe teams since they can work and experiment in 100% safe, disposable environments. In a risk-free mainframe sandbox, you can be confident in experimenting with new capabilities which cannot be risked on the physical mainframe. This gives the opportunity for fast feedback on new tools and capabilities without needing to install anything on the physical mainframe.

Using Delphix alongside PopUp allows users to provision copies/clones of a PopUp, snapshot the instance during testing, then just rewind / forward-wind to any of the snapshots as needed. There is no need to worry about breaking the PopUp. This gives app teams tremendous flexibility and independence to develop, test and deploy changes faster.

F. Ready-made cloud z/OS environments

PopUp is available to buy directly through Azure MarketPlace and can be up and running in less than an hour. This provides near-instant z/OS compute capability in the cloud to service DevOps initiatives.

PopUp is also compatible with other cloud environments.

G. Accelerate your DevOps journey with new talent

Skills shortage is a big challenge in the mainframe space and can derail DevOps initiatives. Mainframe businesses need to attract a new generation of mainframe engineers, who usually want to use cutting-edge mainframe tooling, like desktop IDEs and automation tools.

Modern mainframe tools come out of the box with PopUp. So PopUp simultaneously appeals to traditional mainframe engineers who may prefer green screen (and enjoy the ability to spin up their own mainframe environments on-demand), as well as new mainframe engineers who prefer modern tools. Using PopUp, you can hire people with no green screen experience and be confident that they will still be able to integrate with and develop mainframe systems.

H. PopUp – Git integration is a cinch

Most DevOps initiatives rely heavily on modern version control tools. Git is regarded by many as the best, easiest to use, and the most effective one available and it’s everywhere in the world of distributed applications – but not yet for mainframe. PopUp enables Git integration with mainframe source out of the box, giving yet another boost on your DevOps journey.

How does PopUp help to create real, lasting DevOps cultural change?

This is often one of the trickiest parts of a DevOps transformation journey. It can be particularly difficult in mainframe teams which may have been operating in similar ways for decades and have no appetite to change.

It’s easier to make incremental cultural changes than forcing a completely new way of working in one go. PopUp provides the vehicle for this as users can adopt PopUp at their own pace alongside their existing ways of working on the physical mainframe.

PopUp empowers users as they benefit from the self-service capability, and that results in appreciation and uptake from the mainframe teams.

PopUp gives extra features to boost you on your DevOps journey

One amazingly powerful thing about PopUp is that it provides capabilities which physical mainframes cannot. This opens the door for deeper innovation and new working practices:

Replicate PopUps to create multiple z/OS clones including applications and data
Deploy and tear down mainframe instances using APIs or pipelines
Baseline and version PopUp instances
Take snapshots of PopUp throughout projects using Delphix
Return to a baseline (rewind), and fast-forward to snapshots
Switch a PopUp off when it is no longer needed. When it is brought up again it is exactly as it was – there are no ongoing maintenance costs as you have for a physical mainframe.

Curious to know more about mainframe DevOps? Contact us to discuss.

‘API’fy your z/OS Applications and Data with PopUp

Are you wondering how to expose your z/OS applications and data to the cloud, mobile, or the web?

Then z/OS Connect and Popup Mainframe might be the answer you are looking for.

PopUp Mainframe ships with IBM z/OS Connect out of the box, which enables you to create OpenAPI-compliant, consumable APIs in no time. You can develop and test the APIs on your PopUp with zero impact on your physical mainframe or Business-as-Usual applications.

IBM z/OS Connect can help with…

1. Integration with Modern Applications

Business Value: Allows organizations to integrate their mainframe applications with modern cloud and mobile applications.

Why It Matters: This integration enables a seamless user experience across various platforms, supporting digital transformation efforts and meeting the expectations of modern users.

2. API-Driven Development

Business Value: Enables organizations to adopt an API-driven development approach for mainframe services.

Why It Matters: APIs provide a standardized and flexible way to expose and consume services, fostering agility, collaboration, and innovation in application development.

3. Access to Mainframe Assets

Business Value: Extends the reach of mainframe assets and data to a broader range of applications and users.

Why It Matters: Organizations can leverage their existing mainframe investments, data, and business logic to support new business initiatives, rather than undergoing costly and time-consuming migrations.

4. Enhanced Developer Productivity

Business Value: Provides developer-friendly tools and resources for creating, testing, and deploying APIs.

Why It Matters: Improves developer productivity and accelerates the development cycle, reducing time-to-market for new applications and features.

5. Security and Compliance

Business Value: Ensures secure communication and integrates with mainframe security features.

Why It Matters: Maintains the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive data, meeting regulatory compliance requirements and instilling confidence in customers and stakeholders.

6. Cost Efficiency

Business Value: Allows organizations to modernise existing applications without the need for a complete overhaul.

Why It Matters: Minimizes the cost and risk associated with migrating away from mainframe systems, while still enabling the use of mainframe assets in modern ways.

7. Operational Efficiency

Business Value: Streamlines the process of exposing and consuming mainframe services through RESTful APIs.

Why It Matters: Improves operational efficiency by simplifying integration tasks, reducing manual effort, and promoting consistency in the development process.

8. Analytics and Monitoring

Business Value: Provides insights into API usage and performance through monitoring and analytics features.

Why It Matters: Enables organizations to optimize resource allocation, identify bottlenecks, and ensure that APIs are meeting performance expectations.

9. Support for Digital Initiatives

Business Value: Facilitates the incorporation of mainframe assets into broader digital initiatives.

Why It Matters: Supports the organization’s ability to innovate, respond to market changes, and stay competitive in the digital landscape.

IBM z/OS Connect delivers business value by promoting integration, modernisation, efficiency, and security in the context of mainframe systems. It allows organizations to leverage their existing investments while embracing the opportunities presented by modern tools and development practices.

DevOps Security

DevOps Dozen 2023 – Finalists!

We are very proud to announce that PopUp Mainframe has been listed as a finalist in 2 categories at the DevOps Dozen Awards 2023!

This recognition is particularly special to us as we are a very small, very young company, competing against some established players in the mainframe space.

We are finalists in the categories

Best DevOps for Mainframe Solution
Best New DevOps Tools/Service Provider

Awards Cloud Culture Delphix DevOps

GSE UK Conference 2023 – Photos!

The UK PopUp team (or “PopStars” as we call ourselves) attended the GSE conference at Whittlebury Park from 30th Oct – 2nd Nov 2023. It was a very well-attended event, brimming with mainframe enthusiasts, and copious deep discussions on all aspects of mainframe.

Thank you to the organisers, it was well run and enjoyed by all.

Legal & General – PopUp Mainframe driving Pensions Application Transformation

There were many highs across the four day event – the best was probably our founder, Gary Thornhill, joining one of our customers on stage to present their story.

Vamsi Bhogireddy and Javeed Miyandad from L&G shared how they transformed their pensions application with the developer experience at the heart of the project.

Using PopUp Mainframe to provide ephemeral z/OS instances in Azure, they reduced development cycle times with purpose-built, pre-configured tooling, driving pipeline automation and agility… whilst increasing the quality of deliverables.

What else we got up to

The team were joined by a brand new addition to the PopUp team – ‘mini PopStars’ in the form of lego minifigures.

The ‘mini PopStars’ got to meet their idol – the human-sized lego z16.

The PopUp team got up close and personal with a Formula 1 car.

We even let the ‘mini PopStars’ have a go at driving!

Our PopUp pants were a big hit and were snapped up quickly. If you missed out on a pair this time, come along to a future event for some more unique merchandise.

GSE attendees were lucky to be the first people to get their hands on our brand new PopUp Handbook.

The Handbook is your guide to getting the most from PopUp on your mainframe modernisation journey. It covers the future of mainframe, how to eat the elephant of mainframe modernisation, shift left testing, increasing agility, accelerating batch testing and many more topics.

Read The PopUp Handbook here. If you want your own copy, join us at one of our upcoming events.

We loved GSE 2023 and can’t wait for next year!

Cloud Culture DevOps GSE

PopUp is now listed on Red Hat Marketplace

We are thrilled to announce that in addition to our longstanding presence on the Azure Marketplace, PopUp Mainframe is now also available via the Red Hat Marketplace.

PopUp can be up and running on any x86 hosted environment in minutes… both on premises and in the cloud.

PopUp Mainframe has been certified to meet Red Hat standards of interoperability, security, and life cycle management when deployed on the Red Hat OpenShift platform.

Visit Red Hat Marketplace to download PopUp today!

Git for the mainframe? How Git boosts collaboration, improves productivity and enables CICD

Git is everywhere in the world of distributed applications, but not yet for mainframe.

Should you consider Git for your mainframe? Why?

Git is excellent at facilitating and accelerating collaboration for software teams. People with a distributed background already know this, but some of us are resisting a bit in the mainframe world.

Git is a distributed version control system which can store not just code, but nearly everything related to software development – including test packs, data, documentation, configuration and more. It is a common repository which can be shared across teams. This helps to break down silos between teams, as it means that everyone can access what they need and work together more effectively.

Why embrace Git?

Work with teams more easily as you can simply give them access to see the source code for your projects that they need to see. Collaboration is not shut down like it is when they don’t have a hope of getting access to your code.
When a change is made to part of your system which impacts another system, there is no need to send the edited code/new specifications across to other teams. Instead, you can inform them that there has been a change, share a link to where the new version is in Git, and they immediately have visibility. Pipelines can be shared between teams so when Team 1 edits an artefact e.g. copybook, Team 2’s API can be automatically rebuilt with the updated version.

Git liberates developers to work in a more agile way which results in changes being released faster. For example, using Feature Branches each person can perform their work at their own pace without affecting anyone else, and merge it to the Main Branch when its ready. This encourages small and frequent code check ins and ultimately a more agile way of working.

Git is the standard for version control across industries and systems. Even if your existing mainframe team members need upskilling to use Git, new joiners to your team will likely already have the skills and be productive quickly. Git (as well as the agile processes Git enables) can also be an attractive pull for people to join your company as Git skills will be key for most developers in future.

Git works extremely well with continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) pipelines. Git integrates by default with all CI and CD tools, which enables you to build mature automation and streamline your entire SDLC. Pipelines provide consistency and traceability, ensuring that every piece of code goes through the same rigorous validation and quality checks. For example, your pipeline could include mandatory code scanning for security standards.

Automate testing for higher quality changes. Streamline processes by creating automated test packs for unit as well as system and integration testing, which are associated with the code and run in pipelines. Test packs can be stored in Git alongside the code so they are always available and its easy to keep them in sync. Once you have completed your development, you can kick off an automated pipeline to do testing and deploy to the next environment. No need for slow, error-prone, manual testing.

Reduce handovers. No need to create a ticket to another team since the automated pipeline does the build, testing and deployment. There is no information lost/misunderstood, and no time wasted on ticket systems/calls to discuss the work/waiting for another team to be ready.

Empower the dev team to make infrastructure changes. No need to raise a ticket and wait on another team. For example, if you need to make a database change, add the DDL scripts to your Git repo and it will be included in the pipeline, tested and deployed. Terraform patterns and other infrastructure definitions can be incorporated into a pipeline.

Since Git is standard across most platforms, third party products are increasingly providing Git integration out of the box. This reduces the overheads in setting up a new system for your team.

Git is by no means the only distributed version control system available, but Git is regarding by many as the best, easiest to use, and the most effective.

If you want to talk about how to migrate from your existing SCM to Git, how Git can boost your dev and test practices, and hear some client stories, contact us.

Culture DevOps Testing

GSE UK Conference – Nov 2023

We are excited to be attending the GSE UK Conference 2023 from 30th Oct – 2nd Nov in Whittlebury Hall.

We will be co-presenting a session with one of our customers, Legal & General, on Tuesday 31st October.

GSE Session: Legal & General – PopUp Mainframe driving Pensions Application Transformation

PopUp Mainframe are working in partnership with Legal & General to transform their pension application’s development & test environments to deliver automated CI/CD capabilities.

They use a combination of market leading mainframe development tools and open-source DevOps tools which are fully integrated with PopUp Mainframe z/OS hardware emulation and the market leading data masking and data storage virtualization solutions from Delphix. Combined, these technologies provide a revolutionary, crafty leap forward into ground-breaking, data compliant DevOps velocity across the entire mainframe development lifecycle.

The GSE conferences are a hub for all things mainframe and will feature more than 250 technical sessions on a wide range of topics, including security, CICS, Db2, and modernisation to name a few. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with others and gain new knowledge, tips and guidance on different products and ideas.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet and talk with lots of like-minded mainframe professionals in person at Whittlebury Hall.

About GSE UK

GSE UK is a leading mainframe conference offering a wide range of sessions on all mainframe topics. It provides over 200 hours of technical training from IBM, other vendors and from GSE members themselves.

Modern Mainframe Tools – Your Next Superpower?

Some people say that to modernise your mainframe you need to migrate onto a different platform. We don’t subscribe to this view. We know that the mainframe is still the most highly performant and secure computer system available.

To be competitive, organisations don’t need to migrate off the mainframe. However they do need to ensure their mainframe teams are productive and mainframe is not a bottleneck to change.

Using the latest mainframe tooling is one way to turbo-charge productivity

Is your mainframe software upgrade process risky, cumbersome and thankless?

Upgrading software applications in the mainframe world can be an onerous and stressful task. It’s perhaps tempting to just take the path with the lowest perceived risk, time and effort involved. That is, moving to the new software version in dev/test, performing the minimum code changes necessary, and regression testing.

This is, of course, a valid approach. Let’s call this low-risk strategy to retain security updates, fixes and vendor support the “minimal upgrade”.

While there are benefits to the minimal upgrade, a great deal of opportunity is lost. For example, new versions of software typically come with enhanced features and new capabilities to enable organizations to achieve more with less.

In other words, application upgrades often provide extremely favourable conditions for the exploitation of competitive advantage.

Example

Db2 upgrade: V11 to V12

The new features available in Db2 V12 compared to Db2 V11 have massive performance implications and offer a host of other enhancements, such as:

Db2 V12 is officially recognised by Gartner as an “in memory database” as it is essentially able to use as much memory as is provided.
Commonly used indexes can be cached, resulting in significant performance improvements.
A very fast ingest rate with the ability to store many trillions of rows in a single Db2 table.
Significant CPU reduction.
Increased exploitation of real storage.

However, to take advantage of many of the new capabilities in V12, Db2 configuration changes are needed (for example memory optimisation), and application binds may be required.

Organisations may choose to perform the Db2 “minimal upgrade” only as they lack the budget, resources or mainframe environments to perform the regression testing needed for a bigger application change. However these organisations lose competitive advantage by failing to capitalise on the new features.

How can this problem be solved?

Having a dedicated, sandboxed, virtual mainframe environment allows organisations to safely experiment with and validate new versions of software without reliance on a physical mainframe.

Using PopUp Mainframe, users can spin up virtual mainframe environments in the cloud or on any x86 hardware with minimal fuss, and zero disruption to physical mainframes. PopUp makes it easy to try out ideas, change configuration at will, perform regression testing and validate functionality – all in completely disposable environments which can be bookmarked and reset in a snap. PopUp users can experiment with new features and dial in the optimal configuration required to squeeze all available juice from the upgrade process. When you are finished, these environments can be easily decommissioned, archived or re-purposed.

With PopUp, the upgrade process transforms into an opportunity to seize competitive advantage!

To find out more, contact us.

PopUp Mainframe 2.0

PopUp Mainframe today announced general availability of PopUp Mainframe 2.0, providing virtual environments running ZD&T 14.0.0 and IBM’s latest z/OS operating system, IBM z/OS V2.5.

With z/OS 2.5, supporting z16 architecture, this release introduces innovations such as new high performance AI capabilities, resiliency solutions, enhanced security, and more.

IBM z/OS 2.5 offers cutting-edge capabilities to make businesses future-ready including the ability to:

Embed AI in real-time into every business transaction, a key competitive differentiator.
Embrace quantum-resistant cryptography and utilise cryptographic testing capabilities.
Stay at the forefront of security and resilience with enhancements across authentication, authorization, logging, system integrity, system and data availability, and overall data privacy.
Adopt enterprise application modernisation with Java/COBOL interoperability, ease of use for z/OS container extensions and Linux integration, and cloud storage integration capabilities.

PopUp Mainframe 2.0 provides a quick, low cost way to test business applications on z/OS 2.5, with zero risk to the physical mainframe.

PopUp environments run on x86 hardware and are completely isolated from the physical mainframe. They can be spawned and retired in minutes, allowing teams to create an environment, perform their testing, then destroy the environment with no long term maintenance requirements.

In addition to the leading IBM z/OS 2.5 features within ZD&T, PopUp 2.0 provides added extras out of the box, including:

Enterprise applications
Utilities
Automation tools
Best practice baked in
ZD&T optimisations

“This release is very exciting for PopUp and our customers, as it ensures that businesses can take advantage of testing the latest version of Z-Series without disrupting any of their existing test environments and avoid any installation work. With PopUp, customers can quickly and easily test their existing application systems on z/OS 2.5 and try out new features, with zero risk to their physical mainframe.”

– Gary Thornhill, CEO, PopUp Mainframe

About PopUp Mainframe

PopUp Mainframe is a cutting-edge mainframe virtualisation product. PopUp provides IBM ZD&T software along with PopUp IP, which has been installed, configured and setup, and is ready to use out of the box. It enables customers to create mainframe environments on-demand and deploy them anywhere, including in the cloud.

Mainframe businesses often cite dev and test environment bottlenecks as the number one blocker to mainframe modernisation. PopUp directly addresses this, providing fully functioning mainframes via self-service, available on-demand. PopUp brings innovation to mainframe teams, providing features not available with a physical mainframe, for example the ability to take a full baseline of a mainframe environment, and replicate that using APIs. PopUp, in combination with Delphix, makes it possible to have a 4D mainframe: users can take a snapshot of a mainframe environment, then rewind or fast forward to a point in time. PopUp is fully compatible with automation pipelines.

With PopUp, mainframe businesses attract a new generation of mainframe engineers who can use cutting-edge mainframe tooling with PopUp, for example desktop IDEs. PopUp simultaneously appeals to traditional mainframe engineers who prefer green screen and now have the autonomy to spin up their own mainframe environments on-demand.

PopUp runs ANY mainframe subsystem or bespoke application.

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