Skyward Data

What is the mainframe skills gap, and how can enterprises close it without hiring more COBOL programmers? VirtualZ Computing CTO Vince Re tackles one of the most pressing problems in enterprise IT: the COBOL, JCL, and REXX experts who keep IBM Z mainframes running are retiring faster than they can be replaced, and few new engineers are trained on those technologies. The mainframes still process core banking, insurance, and government workloads — but the people who understand them are aging out.

In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing:

One practical answer is VirtualZ's no-code approach: PropelZ moves and replicates IBM Z mainframe data to the cloud — proven at 56,000 records per second — with no code and no homegrown pipelines, so teams integrate mainframe data without deep z/OS expertise. It's part of VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio for enterprise mainframe data, alongside Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage).

What if enterprise integration software were priced like a smartphone app store — pick the specific capabilities you need and skip the ones you don't? VirtualZ Computing CTO Vince Re explains how VirtualZ applies that model to mainframe integration, letting enterprises choose individual connectors and capabilities instead of buying a large suite and using a fraction of it.

How do you monitor IBM Z mainframe and cloud infrastructure in one place instead of two separate systems? VirtualZ Computing CTO Vince Re explains how PropelZ's console logging connector streams mainframe console messages directly into modern monitoring tools, so operations teams see mainframe, Kubernetes, and cloud alerts in a single unified view rather than treating the mainframe as an isolated silo.

PropelZ streams mainframe console messages, SMF records, and other z/OS data into cloud and monitoring platforms with no code and no homegrown pipelines, and is proven at 56,000 records per second, mainframe to cloud. It's part of VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio for enterprise mainframe data, alongside Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage).

Why does moving DB2 mainframe data to platforms like Snowflake still require weeks of manual COBOL copybook creation — and how can you skip that step entirely? VirtualZ Computing CTO Vince Re explains how PropelZ's automatic metadata discovery removes copybook work from database integration, so a DB2-to-Snowflake migration that used to take months can run in minutes.

PropelZ moves and replicates IBM Z mainframe data — including DB2 — to cloud data warehouses like Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift, and BigQuery with no code and no homegrown pipelines, and is proven at 56,000 records per second, mainframe to cloud. It's part of VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio for enterprise mainframe data, alongside Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage).

How do you migrate 200,000+ mainframe datasets to the cloud when transferring them one at a time would take months? VirtualZ Computing CTO Vince Re explains how the PropelZ multiplexer turns massive mainframe data migrations from an operational nightmare into an automated, parallel process — moving hundreds of datasets at once instead of queuing them individually.

Vince Re walks through inventory-driven migration: PropelZ takes a full inventory of the datasets to move, then runs them in parallel, cutting projects that would take months down to weeks. He explains why enterprises choose intelligent queue management over one-at-a-time transfers for virtual tape library migrations, application modernization, and large-scale cloud moves.

In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing:

- Real performance: 100–200 parallel transfers processing thousands of datasets per hour

- Comprehensive status tracking that turns black-box migrations into transparent, monitored processes

- Integration with existing automation and help-desk systems

- Uses beyond migration: compliance archiving, disaster recovery, and data center consolidation

- Why parallel, inventory-driven processing scales where individual file transfers don't

The multiplexer is built into PropelZ, VirtualZ's no-code tool for moving and replicating IBM Z mainframe data to the cloud — proven at 56,000 records per second, mainframe to cloud — with no code and no homegrown pipelines. PropelZ is part of VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio for enterprise mainframe data, alongside Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage).

Topics: mainframe data migration, IBM Z, z/OS, virtual tape library, VTL migration, parallel data transfer, application modernization, disaster recovery, no-code data integration, hybrid cloud.

Listen to more Skyward Data episodes: https://virtualzcomputing.com/podcasts/

What's new in PropelZ 2.0, and what does the release change for enterprise mainframe data integration? VirtualZ Computing CTO Vince Re walks through the major 2.0 release of PropelZ — VirtualZ's no-code tool for moving and replicating IBM Z mainframe data to the cloud — covering dozens of customer-requested features, including a 60% throughput improvement and native binary data handling.

Vince Re explains how real customer problems drove the release: a retailer's binary data requirements, a financial services customer's billion-row processing needs, and a large mainframe outsourcer's enterprise connectivity demands. He shares the technical detail behind each enhancement and how it maps to integration problems enterprises face now.

In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing:

- Custom input/output handlers with variable-length record support and binary data processing

- Java method integration delivering a 60% throughput improvement for billion-row workloads

- Enhanced incremental processing with minimal-change algorithms that optimize database updates

- Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) support for security and supply-chain compliance

- Databricks connectivity, SOCKS proxy support, and simplified configuration management

PropelZ moves and replicates IBM Z mainframe data to cloud platforms and data warehouses like Snowflake, Databricks, Redshift, and BigQuery with no code and no homegrown pipelines, and is proven at 56,000 records per second, mainframe to cloud. It's part of VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio for enterprise mainframe data, alongside Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage).

Topics: PropelZ 2.0, mainframe data integration, IBM Z, z/OS, binary data, SBOM, Databricks, incremental processing, billion-row data, no-code data integration, hybrid cloud.

Listen to more Skyward Data episodes: https://virtualzcomputing.com/podcasts/

What happens when mainframe-grade data movement runs anywhere, not just on z/OS? VirtualZ Computing Co-Founder and CTO Vince Re joins Co-Founder Dustin Froyum to introduce PropelZ for Linux — the multi-platform extension of VirtualZ's no-code data movement engine — which takes the same engine proven on IBM Z and runs it anywhere Java runs.

Vince Re walks through the architecture: why the core engine translates so cleanly across platforms, where the differences lie, and why they're smaller than you'd expect. He and Dustin also dig into the enterprise security capabilities that matter most — field-level filtering, data masking, SSL/TLS support, and sanitizing sensitive data before it ever reaches its target.

In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing:

- PropelZ for Linux runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, IBM i, UNIX, and any Java-enabled environment

- A 150–200% throughput improvement over existing ETL solutions, out of the box

- 26,000 rows per second to cloud-based Postgres — multiple terabytes per hour

- Zero-code, fully declarative setup — running in minutes to hours, not months

- A cautionary tale: a financial services firm spent two years on a legacy ETL project, abandoned it, then ran PropelZ the next day

- The Multiplexer: parallel processing that moves millions of files at once using full available bandwidth

PropelZ moves and replicates data with no code and no homegrown pipelines, now across mainframe and distributed platforms alike. It's part of VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio for enterprise data, alongside Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage).

Topics: PropelZ for Linux, ETL alternative, data integration, cloud migration, Postgres, multi-platform data movement, data masking, IBM Z, no-code data integration, hybrid cloud.

Listen to more Skyward Data episodes: https://virtualzcomputing.com/podcasts/

What really slows down IBM Z modernization? It's not the application code — it's the data. In this episode of Skyward Data, VirtualZ Co-Founder Dusty Froyum and Marc Sokol (Executive Chairman, former SVP at CA Technologies) break down what actually happens inside enterprise VSAM-to-PostgreSQL migrations, and why the data layer is the hardest part to get right.

Drawing on decades in the mainframe world, Marc Sokol explains why so many migration programs stall at the data layer — data dependencies, stale datasets, and heavy ETL or CDC architectures turning a "simple migration" into a complex one. Dusty Froyum outlines how a no-code, direct-access approach simplifies the architecture, reduces operational complexity, and helps teams hit tight migration windows without over-engineering.

In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing:

- Why data, not code, is what delays mainframe modernization

- Real results: 460,000 VSAM records moved to PostgreSQL in 25 seconds

- 60.9 million records delivered in 18 minutes — roughly 56,000 records per second sustained

- The hidden complexity behind migrations that look simple at the outset

- How to avoid overbuilt ETL and CDC architectures, and move data incrementally without disruption

This direct-access, no-code approach is delivered by PropelZ, VirtualZ's tool for moving and replicating IBM Z mainframe data — including VSAM — to the cloud and to targets like PostgreSQL, with no code and no homegrown pipelines. PropelZ is part of VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio for enterprise mainframe data, alongside Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage).

Topics: IBM Z modernization, VSAM, PostgreSQL, mainframe data migration, ETL alternative, CDC, no-code data integration, incremental data movement, z/OS, hybrid cloud.

Listen to more Skyward Data episodes: https://virtualzcomputing.com/podcasts/

Why does data access — not application code — stall so many enterprise modernization initiatives? In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing, VirtualZ joins Progress Software to explore how organizations modernize data access across hybrid environments without disrupting the systems that run their business.

Dennis Bennett, Principal Sales Engineer at Progress Software, joins VirtualZ Co-Founder and CTO Vince Re and VirtualZ Co-Founder Dustin Froyum to discuss how trusted enterprise connectivity and modern data movement work together to deliver secure, high-performance data integration. The conversation centers on transforming complex legacy data structures — including mainframe formats like VSAM — into modern, SQL-ready data that can power cloud databases, analytics platforms, and AI initiatives.

In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing:

- Why data access has become the real bottleneck in enterprise modernization

- How hybrid architectures support modern analytics without disrupting production systems

- The role of high-performance enterprise connectivity in scalable data integration

- How legacy mainframe data structures like VSAM are transformed into SQL-ready data

- What secure, high-performance integration looks like across a hybrid IT environment

On the VirtualZ side, this is powered by PropelZ, VirtualZ's no-code tool for moving and replicating IBM Z mainframe data — including VSAM — to cloud databases and analytics platforms, proven at 56,000 records per second, mainframe to cloud. PropelZ is part of VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio for enterprise mainframe data, alongside Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage).

Topics: enterprise modernization, mainframe data access, VSAM, SQL, Progress Software, hybrid cloud, data integration, cloud databases, no-code data integration, IBM Z.

Listen to more Skyward Data episodes: https://virtualzcomputing.com/podcasts/

Why do enterprises struggle to use their own data for AI — even when the data already exists? In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing, VirtualZ CEO Jeanne Glass lays out a 2026 framework for activating enterprise data across mainframe and cloud, instantly and safely, so AI initiatives aren't starved of the data they need.

Jeanne Glass argues that modernization is no longer a migration project, that integration alone isn't enough, and that the real bottleneck for enterprise AI is reaching mainframe and legacy data without disruption. She outlines how forward-thinking CIOs are building AI-ready hybrid data platforms that make existing data accessible rather than moving and re-platforming everything first.

In this episode of Skyward Data, the podcast from VirtualZ Computing:

- Why enterprises can't reach their own data — the real constraint on enterprise AI

- Why modernization is no longer a one-time migration project

- Why data integration on its own doesn't solve the access problem

- How CIOs build AI-ready hybrid data platforms without disrupting production systems

- What it takes to deliver mainframe and cloud data to AI pipelines safely

This is the problem VirtualZ Computing's no-code portfolio is built to solve: PropelZ (moving and replicating IBM Z mainframe data to the cloud, proven at 56,000 records per second), Lozen (live in-place data access), FlowZ (cloud storage for backup and archive), and Zaac (cloud and SAN as native z/OS storage) — making enterprise mainframe data accessible to cloud, analytics, and AI with no code and no homegrown pipelines.

Topics: enterprise AI, AI-ready data, mainframe modernization, hybrid data platform, data access, IBM Z, cloud migration, CIO strategy, no-code data integration, hybrid cloud.

Listen to more Skyward Data episodes: https://virtualzcomputing.com/podcasts/