IBM Z and LinuxONE Ecosystem Podcast

“IBM Z is the only platform we run on,” says Bob Biggs, an engineer with Altera Digital Health. “It’s always up, and it’s always available.”  When one of their clients moved to a Web-based platform, it was vital that Altera’s HealthQuest medical-records solution continue to access data from the secure, reliable mainframe. Altera responded with a faster, more-efficient solution utilizing TCIP/IP and CICS that provides near-instantaneous communication between server and mainframe.  Listen for a deep technical dive into how Altera implemented this solution for their client – and how Linux containers might soon increase data speeds from milliseconds to nanoseconds.

Resources
To learn more about Altera, visit them on the web.  

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here.

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.

“Teaching is not just about delivering content, but it's also about understanding and responding to the student needs!" 
Listen to this inspiring conversation with Germanas Samrickis an IBM Z educator from Lithuania as he passionately shares about how education can have profound impact on a person's life and shaping their future and broadening the horizons. What about “Butter Chicken and Snowboarding”? Well.... you don't want to miss this episode of z/Education Podcast!

A conversation with IBM Z educators around the world about their journeys, success stories, best practices and more!

The mainframe data landscape isn’t pretty. “It’s a mess,” admits Jesse Sedler, 1touch’s product VP.  “It's sprawled. It's all over the place. You have sensitive data on the mainframe that folks want to unlock and start using. They could be using that data in all sorts of places. A single record could be modified and copied and changed, and a thousand copies could be made.” 1touch is in the business of bringing order to data sprawl, making sure the right people have access to the right data at the right time through contextual visibility. Mainframe Security Posture Management equips organizations with a dashboard that details where critical data resides, and what options are available to control access. Listen to learn how MSPM and ContextualAI can help security experts and RACF administrators maintain a compliance posture that simplifies the audit process – and how up-front data discipline prevents costly rework of AI models.

Resources
To learn more about 1touch, visit them on the web.  

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here.

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.

Data volumes are always increasing, and that can cause bottlenecks. “Typically, our customers come to us because they run into a wall,” says Alebra Technologies CTO Bill Yeager. “They have a lot of data that they need to move within a certain window. Pretty soon, you’ve run out of time.” Alebra creates more time for mainframe customers. Bypassing traditional TC/IP, its solution enables rapid data access without affecting production. “We offloaded as much as possible from z/OS, so the processor could do the least amount of work to retrieve the data,” Yeager continues.  “With our Parallel Data Mover, a customer can access large amounts of data at any time of the day without impacting production work.” Listen to learn how faster data distribution improves security and compliance -- crucial advantages as AI becomes more important for enterprises across every domain, including on-prem systems, hybrid cloud, and off-prem cloud.

Resources
To learn more about Alebra, visit them on the web.  

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here.

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.

Tool-sprawl is a major headache. “When you look at the amount of automation tools out there, it's literally hundreds of different ones,” says Stonebranch CTO Peter Baljet.  “You can't manage each one individually. Service, Orchestration, and Automation Platforms can do the automation themselves, with everything on that one back plane, so you don't have to watch every tool individually.” Stonebranch brings a quarter-century of workload automation experience to SOAP, helping clients integrate the z/OS platform into the hybrid landscape. Listen to learn how SOAP is empowering business users as citizen automators, and where generative AI might be taking workload automation. 

Resources
To learn more about Stonebranch, visit them on the web.  

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here.

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.

Get ready to certify in IBM Cloud Financial Services specialty - the quick and easy way. Tune in to our one-hour webinar for a speedy Flash Jam exam preparation session with tips and tricks on the certification exam. Our host, Natalie Brooks Powell from the IBM Center for Cloud Training, will be joined by FS Cloud expert Dave Kliemann.

What to expect: 

• An explanation of the 45-question, 75-minute certification exam
• Flashcard questions that may appear on the exam
• An on-demand replay for more study and exam prep

Learn more about becoming certified when you tune in.  If you haven't already, register for the "Study with Me" program beginning April 8 to review study tips and sample certification questions in a daily blog series.

Click here to view this episode on YouTube
Click here to check out our YouTube channel for more episodes

Data-Centric Security: Protecting the Mainframe
“Data-centric security follows two principles,” explains Felix Rosbach, Comforte’s product VP. “Protect the data as early as possible, and then deprotect only when it’s absolutely necessary.” Comforte has been safeguarding mainframe data for more than 20 years. As threats grow, so does the challenge of effective cybersecurity. “Companies want to share data on the mainframe,” Rosbach continues. “They want to use it, they want to analyze it, they want to work with it, which results in a situation where you need to not only consider security on the mainframe itself, but also systems where the data is moving.” Listen as we explore how encryption and tokenization can form an effective perimeter for mainframe data without limiting access -- including the looming impact of AI technology. 

Resources
To learn more about Comforte, visit them on the web.  

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here.

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.

Summary
Get ready to certify as an IBM Cloud Technical Advocate--the quick and easy way. Tune in to our one-hour upcoming webinar for a speedy Flash Jam exam prep with tips and tricks on the certification exam.

• An explanation of the 66-question, 90-minute certification
• Approximately 60 flashcard questions that may appear on the exam
• Watch the replay for more study and exam prep

Resources
For the online Tech Advocate training, enroll here if you’re an IBM employee, and follow this link for others.
Learn more about becoming certified when you tune in. If you haven’t already, you can register for the “Study with Me” program beginning February 12 here: https://airtable.com/app3GP77Pwsk4H0dl/shrZF3cfkPFrkze8S

Key Speaker: Natalie Brooks Powell, Strategy & Go to Market Leader, IBM Center for Cloud Training

“Time is ticking once you receive an instant payment,” says Thorsten Völkel, CEO of PPI AG. “You only have ten seconds for the round trip, sending the instant payment to the receiving bank and getting back a notification, and then sending back a notification to your customer.” Speed is about to become very important in the European Union, where instant payments will become mandatory this year.  The IBM Z platform is uniquely suited for rapidly processing such transaction volumes.  PPI AG is a market leader in payment solutions; their instant-payments engine is helping institutions who depend upon IBM Z to comply with the new EU regulations.  Listen for a deep dive into instant payments on IBM Z, from market and regulatory requirements to technical solutions -- including design, infrastructure, cryptography, and AI.

Resources
To learn more about PPI AG, visit them on the web.  

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here.

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.