In this episode of the VirtualZ Skyward Data Podcast, Jeanne Glass, Founder and CEO of VirtualZ Computing, explores how traditional batch-based ETL is giving way to real-time, cloud-ready, AI-enabled data integration strategies.

As enterprises accelerate AI adoption and hybrid cloud modernization, operational data locked inside IBM Z systems has become both the biggest constraint and the greatest opportunity. Jeanne breaks down the major trends reshaping ETL and ELT — including real-time integration, no-code platforms, cloud-based transformation, AI-driven data processing, and data virtualization — along with the practical challenges organizations face around security, governance, cost management, and skills gaps.

She also explains how modern approaches, including VirtualZ’s PropelZ platform, simplify mainframe data integration without custom coding, fragile pipelines, or disruptive migration.

If you’re responsible for enterprise data strategy, modernization, or AI enablement, this episode outlines what the future of ETL really looks like — and how to unlock IBM Z data safely, incrementally, and at scale.