IBM z14 and Cognitive DevOps – Designed for Trusted Digital Experiences

Most IT hardware announcements focus mainly on new features, capacity, and performance offered by the new offering.  Impressive “speeds and feeds” are important, and the z14 certainly has those, but the focus needs to be on the business value being delivered.  This announcement delivers just that.  With pervasive encryption, where data is encrypted at all times without application changes, machine learning that provides valuable and timely insights without having to move operational data off the platform, and advances with API-enablement and modern DevOps tools and languages from IBM and open source projects, the z14 and the associated software is setting a new “high bar” for delivering deep business value. This is about responding to business requirements with agility, speed, quality and security.  This is a major change.  Read more in the z14 announcement. 

As you would expect, our DevOps teams have been working closely with the hardware, operating system and middleware teams from the inception of the z14 project…a deeper and earlier engagement than ever before.  As a result, we have many exciting new offerings with new client value to announce that leverage and augment the capabilities delivered by the other IBM Z teams.  Cognitive DevOps plus IBM z14™ delivers what enterprises need to succeed in the digital economy – agility, flexibility, time to revenue, speed of development, and simplified user experience to transform business obstacles into business enablers for growth and innovation.

To support the new IBM Z family we are making several announcements to strengthen your ability to digitally transform and support increasing demand for speed, customer centricity and operational efficiency.

NEW Announcements:

Application Discovery and Delivery Intelligence 5.0.2 (ADDI) is an analytical platform for application modernization. It uses cognitive technologies to analyze mainframe applications so you can quickly discover and understand interdependencies and impacts of desired changes. ADDI adds extensibility for custom APIs, support for more languages and will soon allow cataloging of services populated from z/OS Connect and API service impact analysis.

IBM Developer for z Systems V14.1 introduces significant new capabilities that improve your ability to incorporate proven z/OS application logic into the API economy, deliver more quickly, build in quality, and better integrate Developer for z Systems into your DevOps toolchain, with support for the SonarLint for Eclipse plug-in. This is bolstered by support for the latest levels of z14 and Eclipse software with a configuration assistant to help you move to V14.1 more quickly.

IBM Application Delivery Foundation for z Systems V3.1 is a bundle including IBM Explorer for z/OS 3.1.1, IBM Fault Analyzer V14.1, IBM File Manager V14.1, IBM Developer for z Systems Enterprise Edition V14.1, and IBM Application Performance Analyzer V14.1. IBM Application Delivery Foundation for z Systems V3.1 delivers capabilities to optimize z/OS application design, creation, initial quality assurance, and problem determination. V3.1 capabilities include day one support for IBM z14, debug code coverage enhancements, and new Host Configuration Assistant to simplify planning and configuration for the z/OS components within ADFz.  

z Systems Development and Test Environment V11 delivers role-based, self-service tools that enable your team to create z/OS application images and deploy the agreed upon images for development and test activities in a simplified way.

IBM Enterprise COBOL for z/OS V6.2 reduces CPU usage of compute intensive applications by up to 94%, and on average 47%, on z14 over the same applications built with Enterprise COBOL for z/OS v4.2. Compared with applications built with Enterprise COBOL for z/OS v6.1, the new compiler reduces application CPU usage by 38%, and on average by 10%, on z14. This significant reduction in CPU usage is achieved through improvements in optimization and compiler exploitation of the new Vector Packed Decimal facility.

IBM Automatic Binary Optimizer for z/OS V1.3 reduces CPU usage of compute intensive applications originally built with Enterprise COBOL V4.2 by up to 80%, and on average 47%, on z14.  Compared with ABO v1.2 optimized modules, IBM Automatic Binary Optimizer for z/OS V1.3 further reduces application CPU usage by up to 37%, and on average by 18%, on z14.  This significant reduction in CPU usage, without requiring source recompilation, is achieved by ABO using the latest advanced COBOL optimization technology and exploitation of the new Vector Packed Decimal facility.

Enterprise PL/I for z/OS® V5.2 exploits the latest z/Architecture®, including the latest IBM z14™ servers. It enables development of high-performing business applications on z/OS, while maximizing hardware use and improving application performance.

Node.js for z/OS Toolkit provides a module-driven, highly scalable approach to application design and development that encourages agile practices. By coding in the popular JavaScript language, Node.js allows enterprise clients to tap into the wealth of JavaScript developer talent and resources. With applications typically developed in a shorter time and with fewer lines of code, Node.js can enable enterprise clients to efficiently augment existing IBM Z® application stacks to provide a timely response to customer requirements driven by digital transformation.

 After several years of relentless hardware and software innovation, the mainframe is at an inflection point. It’s quickly moving from being a supporting platform of transaction revenue to becoming a source of revenue growth and innovation. According to IDC, in the Connected Mainframe report, modernization and integration initiatives led to new business innovations, which in turn are driving revenue growth for many IBM Z clients with more than a 300% ROI.

You too can experience the security and scale of the new and trusted IBM Z and overcome the complexity of heterogeneous IT systems with advanced DevOps enterprise and open toolchains.   Talk to your IBM sales contact or request a no-charge Modernization workshop today. To learn more about what’s new and how our Cognitive DevOps solution is successfully used by the world’s leading organizations, attend a free virtual conference with industry leaders from HCL, Infosys, SonarSource, MOST Technologies and Xact.  Reserve your spot by signing up here.

About The Author

Hayden Lindsey is Vice President and Distinguished Engineer of DevOps for Enterprise Systems. He is based in San Francisco, CA, USA. In his current role, he is responsible for the development, offering management, and support of this portfolio.  Hayden has worked at IBM for 30 years and has held a variety of positions, including software developer, product architect, product manager, co-leader of the Eclipse tools platform and director of the WebSphere Studio / Rational modeling and construction tools. Technically, Hayden was an early adopter of object technology and Smalltalk, applying it in the areas of code generation, debugging, IDEs, and performance. He has contributed 14 patents to IBM's portfolio. Hayden is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a BS in Mathematical Sciences.