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Summer Mentorships 2026: MidTerm Blog Post

By | August 19, 2026

Rhian Barton

Written by Rhian Barton, Open Mainframe Project Summer Mentorship 2026, mentee researcher, guided by mentor Bruno Azenha

Introduction:

I am currently on an apprenticeship at Barclays Bank where I am working as a Mainframe Systems Programmer alongside studying for a degree in Digital and Technology Solutions specializing in Mainframe at Manchester Metropolitan University where I have just completed my 3rd year.

This year I am part of the 2026 Open Mainframe Project Summer Mentorship Program where I am working with my mentor Bruno Azenha and another mentee Brenda Aguiñaga and the goal is to write a whitepaper on Mainframe Modernization, looking into the question; What does it mean to Modernize the Mainframe?

 

Progress to Date:

We have started the mentorship by meeting up regularly to discuss research plans and planning out the content of the whitepaper and the areas to deep dive into. We have also set up slack channels to post our ideas and findings so we can look into what we want to include.

Most of my time has been spent looking into the concept of Mainframe modernization and forming ideas of what it means and what it looks like to a business. I have tried to split my research into a few areas:

  • Why modernize the Mainframe?
  • Modernizing applications on the Mainframe
  • Using DevOps tooling to modernize processes and development
  • How can the machine and infrastructure be modernized
  • Is all of this the case for just IBM Mainframes or other vendors as well?

I have also been looking into how a whitepaper should be structured and what it should include.

Mid Term Reflection:

So far in the project I have learned a lot of the reasons as to why a business would look into modernizing the Mainframe and how it can come down to different things such as expenses, scalability, security or a retiring workforce. I have also found different ways in which companies view modernization and what strategies they could employ to meet some of the goals relating to why the would want to modernize, such as upgrading their physical mainframes features, trying to remove monolithic application structures, transforming applications into more modern languages or implementing certain DevOps practises.

Next Steps:

My plan for the next stage in my mentorship towards writing the whitepaper is to look into interviewing different thought leaders in the industry to get a range of perspectives on what they see mainframe modernization to mean. I also plan on continuing to deep dive into research in order to help construct the whitepaper and working with Brenda and Bruno to get a solid, well informed piece together to share with the mainframe community and complete the project.

 

Stay tuned for more mentee blogs as our Summer Mentorship Program continues!

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