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

image with the text "API". Text: APIfy your z/OS applications and data
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.

 

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GSE UK Conference 2023 – Photos!

Four people standing in front of a lego z16 mainframe, smiling

4 popup team members behind the PopUp stand at GSEThe 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.

 

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

 

 

 

Vamsi presenting the technical solutionUsing 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.

5 lego minifigures and a mini lego z166 lego minifigures standing inside a 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!

Four team members behind formula 1 carminifigures and the PopUp Handbook on top of formula 1 car

 

3 pairs of underpants with the PopUp logo on the front

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.

 

 

4 booklets on a tableGSE 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!

 

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PopUp is now listed on Red Hat Marketplace

Text: PopUp Mainframe is now available in Red Hat MarketPlace. Background: clouds

 

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!

 

 

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

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.

 

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GSE UK Conference – Nov 2023

Text: GSE 30th Oct - 2nd Nov Whittlebury Hall

 

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

 

Company logo: Legal & GeneralPopUp 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.

 

 

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Modern Mainframe Tools – Your Next Superpower?

Text: modern mainframe tools, your next superpower? Image: 5 children wearing superhero outfits

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

Continue reading

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

 

logo for IBM Db2The 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

New release: Announcing 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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GSE UK Conference – February 2023

Text: From zero to mainframe CICD in a day. Image: stars

We are looking forward to presenting a session at the upcoming GSE UK Virtual conference 2023.

The PopUp session is

“From zero to Mainframe CI/CD in a day”

at 12pm UK time, Thursday 9th Feb.

You can build CICD pipelines for your mainframe systems from a standing start in just ONE day!

Join the session for a demo and detailed discussion on getting automation pipelines in your mainframe environment.

You will see:

  • Create turnkey mainframe environments in the cloud with pre-configured DevOps tooling running on ephemeral mainframe instances
  • Case study – verifying whether deployment of z/OS connect will really reduce mainframe transaction speeds prior to formal adoption and production rollout
  • Demo

 

 

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.

 

The theme of this GSE UK Conference is: Mainframes are MAD – Modern, Adaptable, Diverse

 

M is for Modern

Today’s mainframe is a thoroughly modern platform, ‘the core of trusted digital experiences’. Fast, secure and resilient, it’s the heart of so many organisations. The system of record, the mighty transactional engine, providing real-time analytics for personalized digital experiences.

A is for Adaptable

The modern mainframe is also an extremely flexible and versatile platform – from System/360 to z15 it has moved with the times and reinvented itself decade after decade. It’s a trusted hub for the latest digital transformations and so often the lynchpin of today’s cloud strategies.

D is for Diverse

From banking, insurance and financial markets to healthcare, retail, travel and utilities, the modern mainframe is put to work in a multitude of ways. From supporting the surge in online retail and transactions during the pandemic to supporting patient care and life-saving research.