Virtual TechU
2020-10-26 - 2020-10-29
TechU features exceptional technical content presented by IBM Engineers, Product Managers, IBM Champions, customers, and partners.
John Mertic will part of the opening session on Monday, October 26 from 08:30-09:20 EDT “Intelligent Brainy Modern Z” as well as presenting an On Demand session “Creating a sustainable open source ecosystem for mainframe through the Open Mainframe Project”.
Learn more.

Open Source Strategy Forum Virtual
2020-11-12 - 2020-11-13
Open Source Strategy Forum (OSSF) is the only conference dedicated to driving collaboration and innovation in financial services through open source software and standards. We bring together experts across financial services, technology, and open source to engage our community in stimulating and thought-provoking conversations about how to best (and safely) leverage open source software to solve industry challenges.
Thursday, November 12th at 2:15 pm EST, Open Mainframe Project will be speaking on a panel, Bridging Modern DevOps and the Mainframe.
Learn more.

Webinar: GenevaERS Project
2020-11-18 08:00 - 09:00 UTC
Join us to learn about GenevaERS Project. GenevaER i, a single-pass optimization engine driving the data supply chain executing on z/OS. GenevaERS offers businesses a high-level reporting solution uniquely tuned for big data scanning and improved financial transparency for better decision-making. This project combines the processing power of a single pass of large volumes of data, an optimized join feature, the reliability of the mainframe, and the dynamic open source community. As a recent addition to the Open Mainframe Project, there are many ways to get involved and the team would love to have your help.
Register now!

Open Source Summit Japan Virtual Event
2020-12-02 - 2020-12-04
Open Source Summit Japan connects the open source ecosystem under one roof. It’s a unique environment for cross-collaboration between developers, sysadmins, devops, architects and others who are driving technology forward.
On December 1st at 8:30 PM/ET John Mertic will be presenting, “Bridging Modern DevOps and the Mainframe” and
On December, 3rd at 8:30 PM/ET John Mertic will present: “Creating a sustainable open source ecosystem for mainframe through the Open Mainframe Project”
Learn more about Open Source Summit Japan.

Webinar: Open Mainframe Project - COBOL Programming Course
2020-12-16 08:00 - 09:00 UTC
Most financial organizations, banks, insurance companies, retailers, and governments need systems that must flawlessly handle huge volumes of transactions every day. Mainframes have been quietly managing this process for decades as their reliability, availability, security, scalability, and performance are unparalleled. While these core systems run Java, Python, and other languages, part of these core systems is COBOL, a reliable, proven programming language that has helped run some of the most mission-critical services applications in the world’s largest companies. The OMP COBOL Programming Course aims to educate and train the next generation of COBOLers.
Join us to learn more about this exciting project!
Speaker: Sudharsana Srinivasan, IBM Z Influencer Program Manager, IBM

OMP Mentorship Program Kickoff Session
2021-01-12 07:00 - 08:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join this kickoff session on Tuesday, January 12 at 7-8:30 am PST for the 2021 Open Mainframe Project Mentorship program. This year the mentorship program is looking to engage mentees in the planning process, and this session is intended to help orient the potential mentees to the program and the potential project areas. Agenda: – Overview of 2021 Mentorship Program – Project lead presents on each of their projects, and how to engage.
Register Now!

Zowe Quarterly Webinar
2021-01-20 08:30 - 09:30 UTC
Whether you are a Zowe User, Contributor, Extender, or simply interested in what’s happening with Zowe – please join us for the next Zowe Quarterly Update Webinar on Wednesday, January 20 at 8:30-9:30 am PDT.
The webinar will focus on Containerization of Zowe Components / Flexibility of Zowe Deployment, upcoming community events and interactive polls.
Speaker: Sean Grady, Senior Software Architect, Rocket Software
Register for this event here.

Computerworld IBM Digital Event
2021-01-28 09:00 - 10:40 (America/Los_Angeles)
On January 28 from 9 – 10:40 am , IBM partners with Computerworld to offer a digital event that shares insight about how they combine the massive performance and security of mission critical technology from IBM and Red Hat (both Open Mainframe Project member companies) with the agility of containers and microservices – and the ease-of-use of a modern environment.
Attendees will learn how to:

Drive your digital transformation
Qualify business decisions
Optimize service levels
Handle massive amounts of requests

The Agenda:
9 am: Welcome, Michael Svendsen, Computerworld Freelance Journalist
9:05 am: How to unlock business’ potential using modern application delivery and development, Oivind Ekeberg, Solution Architect, Red Hat
9:35 am: Open Source in today’s enterprise, John Mertic, Director of Program Management, The Linux Foundation
10 am: The cloud you want –with the privacy and security you need, Daniel Waage Kyte, Nordic Sales Specialist LinuxONE, IBM and Antti Maasalmi, LinuxONE Technical Specialist, IBM
10:25 am: Wrap up, Michael Svendsen, Computerworld Freelance Journalist
Registration is free. To register for the digital event or to learn more about the program, visit the main event website: https://computerworldevents.dk/1079/fuel-your-it-with-the-best-kept-secret-in-ibm/.

Treat Yourself to a Guided, Comprehensive Tour of Zowe Desktop Applications Webinar
2021-02-17 08:00 - 09:00 (Asia/Shanghai)
Every desktop is designed for an impactful out-of-the-box experience, providing the most-used programs and applications for easy access and increased productivity – the Zowe Desktop is no different. Join us as we go on a guided tour to discover (and RE-discover) the portfolio of applications delivered with the latest version of the Zowe Desktop.
Join us on February 17, 2021, at 11 am ET
Register Now!
Speaker: Leanid Astrakou, Zowe UI Developer, Rocket Software
Leanid is an experienced software engineer with a focus in mobile applications, game design, front end, and user experiences.

SHARE Virtual Summit March 2021
2021-03-02 - 2021-03-24
SHARE Virtual Summit takes place in March 2-4, 9-11, 16-17 and 23-24. On week three – Tuesday, March 16-17 the conference will focus on DevOps in the Enterprise, Open Source on Z and Zowe CICS.
Open Mainframe Project’s Zowe will be presented in several talks at the conference.

Tuesday, March 9:
3-4 pm: 28343 – Want to Use IBM Z NetView REST APIs? Here’s How! – Pamela Mclean and James Henderson, IBM
In this session, our speakers will provide information on configuring the IBM Z NetView REST Server stand-alone and with Zowe and how it can be used with Service Management Unite to view NetView dashboards or to write your own web applications. The speakers will also provide configuration hints and tips on setting up the NetView program to make it easy for you to retrieve data from all NetView programs in your enterprise using a single NetView REST Server.
Tuesday, March 16:
10:30-10:55 am: 28363 – Zowe: A User’s Experience from an IT Infrastructure View – Matheus Milani De Oliveira, Gustavo De Paiva Almeida, Guilherme Cartier, IBM
IBM Services presenting the modernization roadmap leveraging ZOWE, zOSMF and OpenSource for Mainframe Digital Transformation, in a DEMO-session focused on showing how integration of products and solutions is possible, aiming to achive real IT & Business goals in a interactive and fun.
11-11:25 am: 28453 – Test automation framework of your choice powered by Zowe – Petr Vacula, Broadcom
Mainframe development teams sometimes create their own test automation tools to automate repetitive testing tasks. Most common reasons to build such tools are that formal test automation products do not fit their application’s needs or simply because there are no good test automation products available. At the same time, there are many test automation frameworks available for non-mainframe testing, many of which are open source. What if you could use one of these well established and proven testing frameworks to perform mainframe testing? It can be done by enabling the test automation framework to perform mainframe actions. Zowe client SDK is perfect fit for this duty.
12-12:25 pm: 28452 – How to configure z/OSMF for Zowe, Rose Sakach, Broadcom
The IBM z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF) is delivered with z/OS. Though documented as an optional prerequisite for Zowe, configuration is highly recommended to fully exploit Zowe’s capabilities. Join this session for an overview of first-time configuration tips, a list of common problems, and suggestions for trouble-shooting typical issues.
1-1:25 pm: 28383 – Easy start in zOS with one of the most popular IDEs – Kiryl Branavitski and Viktar Mushtsin, IBA Group
Explaining how open source projects can bring a breath of fresh air to the mainframe world. Inspired by ZOWE VS Code extension, we are introducing our vision of how to organize the development of zOS applications in the modern IDEs.
1:30-1:55 pm: 28573 – Muscle Memory: New Zowe Desktop Apps for the Multi-tasker – Sean Grady, Rocket Software
Where did I save that file? I know I just used that dataset… Do blockers like these drive you crazy? Have you ever wished you could explore and manage your datasets, files, and USS processes as simply as you do on your own computer? Now you can! Get the latest on the hottest new apps for the Zowe Desktop that give you the user experience your mind and fingertips are already trained to do. Quickly, easily and effectively handle tasks like finding which process is consuming CPU time, setting files to the right encoding, and extracting compressed files. Discover how you can explore and manage your datasets and files per your usual habit and much more. From seasoned veterans to new z/OS users, these cool apps are must haves for your day-to-day tasks.
2:30-2:55 pm: 28479 – I Get My CICS on Route Zowe! Using Zowe for CICS Development, Administration, Automation and More! Joe Winchester and Russell Bonner, IBM
Google for CICS development and traditionally you’ll have been be presented with ISPF panels and blogs with CEMT, CEDA, and other 4 letter acronyms. This talk shows how that doesn’t have to be the case, where Zowe’s command line interface and VS Code extensions allow you to become productive with CICS using open, simple and familiar interfaces. The presentation will focus on how an experienced CICS developer can do their job using the Zowe CLI and VS Code extensions including building a devops pipeline in Jenkins and Travis using open source technology. The talk will also show how a developer who isn’t a CICS expert can navigate their way around JCL, compilation, deployment using scripting and familiar automation tools.
Wednesday, March 17:
1-1:25 pm: 28478 – Wowee it’s Zowe! Overview and deep dive in how customers, ISVS, and the community are using Zowe to transform and modernize the mainframe – Joe Winchester, IBM and Dan Kelosky, Broadcom
Zowe is an open source project owned and managed by the Linux Foundation working with a number of software vendors. This talk will cover the landscape of Zowe, the community, the technology, and its architecture. The focus will be on the deployment scenarios where since Zowe’s inception customers have deployed Zowe in their shops, and the different users to which they have adopted and been successful with the technology. This talk will include co-presenters from customer shops sharing their experiences, as well as case studies for where Zowe was a good fit for mainframe devops or automation modernization. The landscape of Zowe covers vendor offerings as well as runtimes such as CICS, DB2, IMS, MQ and more, so this talk has applicability across the diversity of what the mainframe can offer.
1:30-1:55 pm: 28578 – How to get Involved in the Zowe Community for fun, education, contribution or commercial extensions – Bruce Armstrong, IBM
Come learn the many ways you or your organization can get involved in the Zowe open community. The community is so much more than just open source code – it is the people and teams working together to improve the z/OS experience. We will cover how the community is organized, ways for you to interact with community members and key meetings to get your ideas, issues and requirements known. Zowe is a multifaceted project consisting of both open source but, almost more importantly, a set of executable services with open interfaces for download and immediate use. Bring your questions on how to get started and we will provide answers. The integrated components of Zowe can be used together or you can deploy selected components of Zowe for their specific capabilities. We will discuss deployment options. Come join the Zowe movement!!! Zowe is a project of the Open Mainframe Project. Zowe™ and the Open Mainframe Project™ are trademarks of the Linux Foundation.
2-2:25 pm: 28455 – Build z/OS-connected apps using Node.js, Python or Swift Zowe SDKs, Andrew Harn and Michael Bauer, Broadcom
The Zowe CLI Squad has recently introduced Software Development Kits (SDKs) for Node.js, Python, and Swift. These SDKs enable developers to integrate some of the most used Zowe CLI functions into their own projects with minimal development overhead. In this session, we will briefly describe how the Zowe CLI and the Zowe Explorer VS Code Extension utilize he Zowe Client Node SDK, what these SDKs have to offer, and explain how to get started with your own z/OS-connected project using your (Node, Python, or Swift) SDK-of-choice! We will also be interested to hear which languages you would like us to develop for next!
3-3:25 pm: 28539 – Proposed ZOWE Incubator – ZEBRA – Yongkim (Alex) Kim, Vicom Infinity
ZEBRA(Zowe Embedded Browser for RMF/SMF and APIs) is a proposed incubator project for Linux Foundation’s Open Mainframe ZOWE Project. It intends to provide re-usable and industry compliant JSON formatted RMF/SMF data records, so that many other ISV SW and users can exploit them using Open-Source SW for many ways. It can serve applications using JSON formatted RMF data thru ZOWE managed APIs to share/re-use them. It has potential to help system programmers, capacity/performance analyzers use more open-source utilities out there, perhaps create knowledge base to share among z performance SMEs and users.
3:30-3:55 pm: 28543 – Access z/OS Performance & Management Data using Zowe CLI and CA SYSVIEW – Michael Heuzey, Broadcom
Zowe and the Open Mainframe Project are helping mainframers everywhere access their z/OS data and services in new and innovative ways. No longer are you bound to the green screen in order to interact with the mainframe. The new SYSVIEW for Zowe CLI plug-in is the latest way to utilize Zowe to view your mainframe systems and transactions off-platform.
Discover how you can harness Zowe and CA SYSVIEW to improve and streamline devops processes. Use cases include help desk ticket creation and CI/CD pipelines.
Register for the event at their website: https://event.share.org/register. Check out the rest of the agenda here.

(Virtual) Open Mainframe Project Meetup - Japan
2021-03-03 10:00 - 12:00 (Asia/Tokyo)
Open Mainframe Project invites you to a virtual meetup for all developers, technologists, students and open source enthusiasts in Japan! Join us on Wednesday, March 3 from 10 am- 12 pm JST (March 2, 5-7 pm PST) to learn more about Open Mainframe Project as the leader in training and resources for all things mainframe. Several OMP ambassadors will also be on-hand to present overviews for Zowe, COBOL, Feilong and more!

All times Japan local.

10:00am – 10:25am

Open Source on Mainframe and Open Mainframe Project Overview
Open Source is growing on the mainframe, and now is becoming the trend driving increased usage of mainframe and bringing a new generation of developers to the mainframe. Learn more about the past, present, and future of open source on the mainframe and the role of the Open Mainframe Project as a focal point.

John Mertic, Linux Foundation, Director, Open Mainframe Project

10:30am – 10:55am

Zowe – Simplify the access to the MainFrame
Open Mainframe Project’s Zowe aims to reduce the learning curve for utilizing mainframe technology. Zowe is an integrated and extensible open source platform for z/OS which provides consistent access to z/OS systems and services and leverages industry standard methodologies, and standards familiar to the vast majority of today’s developers and IT staff within the Mainframe environment.

Jakub Balhar, Broadcom, Zowe TSC Chairperson

11:00am – 11:25am

Linux and open source on IBM Z and LinuxONE
This session will highlight Linux and some open source projects for IBM Z and LinuxONE. The attendees will also be introduced to several projects sponsored by the Open Mainframe Project, suggest how attendees can get involved and give details how to access a free Linux instance on an IBM Z and LinuxONE system.

Mike Friesenegger, SUSE, Feilong TSC Co-chairperson

11:30am – 11:55am

The future with COBOL
Ever wonder where to resources to help you in your journey with COBOL? Wonder no more!
The Open Mainframe Project has several projects that bring together a wealth of COBOL resources. From the COBOL Programming Course to a COBOL working group to the latest COBOL-check project, this is a community built to help the novice, the experienced, the curious and just about anyone interested in learning COBOL. Join us to learn more!

Sudharsana Srinivasan, IBM, COBOL Programming Course TSC Chairperson
Dave Nicolette, COBOL Check TSC Chairperson,
Cameron Seay, East Carolina University, COBOL Working Group Co-chairperson

Register for the meetup: https://zoom.platform.linuxfoundation.org/webinar/register?project=open-mainframe-project&id=2hkEu0G%2BHyqKNAuxHsfq8honeMnu2f6GRaMzCSW8LCrQ5arPFKXlRg%3D%3D&logo=openmainframeproject-color.svg&zoomID=98962937028

(Virtual) The Linux Foundation Spring Member Meeting
2021-03-09 09:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The Linux Foundation is virtually hosting its Spring Member Meeting on Tuesday, March 9. To see the agenda, visit the main conference page at https://events.linuxfoundation.org/lf-spring-member-meeting/.

(Virtual) Open Mainframe Project Open House
2021-03-09 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Open Mainframe Project has increased membership by 225% and projects by 1500% in just five years. On March 9 at 1-2 pm PT, join this Open House to learn directly from current Open Mainframe Project member companies about the programs they collaborate on and the benefits of being part of this strong open source ecosystem.

In this interactive session, you can ask questions about programs, membership and how to best help your organization get involved. This session is open to anyone interested in the Open Mainframe Project.

Register here today.

This session takes place after the Linux Foundation Spring Member Meeting on March 9.

Ambitus Project Webinar
2021-03-17 08:00 - 21:00 (Asia/Shanghai)
In this webinar, we will compare and contrast the open-source environments between Linux on Z, and z/OS. You will learn how much overlap, especially with containerized environments.
We will also discuss the Ambitus project, which helps users with open source workloads specifically on z/OS:
– A set of containerized workload examples that run on z/OS today
– Common example tasks for running native (non-containerized) z/OS open source workloads.
– Z Markup Language: a language-agnostic macro description format and tooling to generate high-level language specifications for control blocks that currently only have assembler bindings.

Register Now!

Speaker: Joe Bostian, IBM z/OS Open Source and Analytics Architect
Joe has spent his career enabling application development on the mainframe,
from the early days of Unix Systems Services through the current open source
era. He has spent several years as part of the Open Data Analytics development
team. He is currently focusing on containerized workloads and the mainframe
open source ecosystem.

DevOps.com Webinar: How Open Source is Modernizing the Mainframe
2021-03-25 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
On Thursday, March 25 at 12 pm PST/3 pm EST, DevOps and the Linux Foundation are hosting a webinar titled, “How Open Source is Modernizing the Mainframe.” Register here: https://webinars.devops.com/how-open-source-is-modernizing-the-mainframe

Speakers Alan Shimel, Founder and CEO of DevOps.com, and John Mertic, Director of Program Management at the Linux Foundation, will cover how an “open mainframe” is the perfect solution for deploying open source on an enterprise computing platform.

Attendees will learn:

how the mainframe platform is a natural technology for Linux deployments and
how the mainframe community operates within the 18 open source projects and working groups hosted by Open Mainframe Project.

With projects such as COBOL, Zowe, Mentorship and Mainframe Open Education, many of these programs complement each other and we’ll take through how to participate and join the collaboration.

Zowe Quarterly Update Webinar
2021-04-21 08:30 - 09:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Whether you are a Zowe User, Contributor, Extender or simply interested in what’s happening with Zowe – we invite you to the next Quarterly Update Webinar on April 21 at 8:30 am PT /11:30 am ET (US and Canada)! This is the third in the series of webinars we plan to host each quarter that includes a topic, Zowe Squad update, brief Zowe update, community events overview and interactive polls. This session will give you an introduction to security tokens and recommend best practice when implementing token-based security in Open Mainframe Project’s Zowe.
Join this session to learn how this technology can help you to achieve the exceptional security expected from a modern mainframe system and how to provide great flexibility for client application and mainframe services developers. Attendees will learn:

What is a token anyway
How tokens help to enhance API security and fuel cross-platform integration
What security tokens exist and what is their purpose
Token types used by Zowe API ML and how to choose between them:

Working directly with SAF JWT tokens
Utilizing z/OSMF LTPA or JWT token
Seamlessly exchange .509 client certificate for a JWT
JWS signature

What tokens are not yet employed in the Zowe API ML ecosystem and the rationale for introducing them

Identity token
Refresh token

Speakers include Michal Supak, Product Manager, and Pavlin Zahariev, Architect, from Broadcom Inc and the Zowe Onboarding Squad.

Register Now!

Webinar: How Personal Experiences Shape Corporate Inclusion
2021-04-28 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
When we join companies, we bring our experiences—societal, cultural, spiritual, familial— with us. These experiences then create personas within the company that contribute to the collective personality of the organization. In this webinar on Wednesday, April 28 at 9 am PST/11 am CST/ 12 pm EST, hear personal stories and histories of colleagues across the mainframe community to reveal how experiences influence “company culture” and shape corporate inclusion. Panelists for this webinar (sponsored by Broadcom, IBM, Open Mainframe Project, Rocket Software, TechChannel and VirtualZ Computing) will include:

Ashley Peterson, product marketing manager, IBM Z and LinuxONE, IBM
Jeff Henry, vice president, Product Management and Design, Mainframe Software Division, Broadcom
Sharra Owens-Schwartz, inclusion, diversity and equity senior director, Rocket Software
Jerry Chuaypradit, manager, IBM Z Enterprise Networking Solutions, IBM
Moderator: Dr. Gloria Chance, president/CEO, The Mousai Group

With a goal of accelerating diversity by sharing voices, perspectives and corporate cultures, we hope to inspire meaningful conversations and most importantly, approachable actions that elevate inclusivity with lasting impact.

Register for the webinar: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FxRrFYh-Q5SUgwVqbtwX7A

SUSECON 2021
2021-05-18 - 2021-05-20
Open Mainframe Project member SUSE will be hosting its annual SUSECON on May 18-20 as a digital event again this year. John Mertic, Director of Program Management, will be giving a presentation titled, “Death of the mainframe? Hope Open source modernized the mainframe.”
The open source movement has rapidly become the leading way to develop code for today’s smart and agile businesses. This session will cover how an “open mainframe” is the perfect solution for deploying open source on an enterprise computing platform. Attendees will learn how the open source community has gathered around the mainframe platform and how open source projects such as Zowe, COBOL and more are the starting point for open development. The session will also cover how the mainframe platform is a natural technology for Linux deployments and how the mainframe community operates within the wider construct of the Linux Foundation. Attendees will also learn about Open Mainframe Projects’s endeavors to promote the next generation of mainframers with its OMP internship program and Women in Technology initiatives.
To see the complete schedule or to register for this free conference, visit the main conference website: https://www.susecon.com/.

Opening Mainframe Education - Join the Movement! Webinar
2021-05-19 08:00 - 09:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join us on May 19 at 8-9 am PT/11 am – 12 pm ET for an Open Mainframe Project Webinar – this one will focus on the Mainframe Open Education Project!

Mainframe Open Education (MOE) Project is a community partnership focusing on ‘open sourcing’ Mainframe learning roadmaps and community knowledge transfer. The MOE mission is to offer all mainframe users a platform to cultivate skill onboarding that is most critical to future hires and to allow for knowledge sharing and community contribution. Why? To make it easier for hiring managers to have access to a plan and co-develop valuable assets – much of it in the minds and archives of our respective organizations. Join us to learn more about this exciting movement and see how you can participate and contribute!

Register Now: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1mqv7M_2RfiVgQMKmAwAFQ

Jennifer Francis, IBM, Developer Advocate, OpenGroup Master Certified Architect
During the day I am a Developer Advocate. In this role, I get the opportunity to work with customers, business partners, and vendors on leading edge technologies and teaching developers how they can use them. I’m constantly challenged to find engaging ways to create technical material that can be used around the world at any time. It is a lot of fun!
When I’m not working, you’ll find me exploring my new home in the UK, expanding my baking skills through new bakes or cake decorating, and doing Olympic weightlifting training.
I’ve contributed to 3 IBM Redbooks, blogged for IBM, and created various customer workshops. If you Google me, you’ll find videos of me talking about various technologies I’ve worked with and my passion for bringing in new talent to work with and learn from. As time allowed while I was in the US, I worked with campuses in the Dallas area where I lived to encourage students to continue their technology-related studies and recruited on campus for IBM. I also am a member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. As a Cherokee, I love getting to network with others from similar backgrounds and volunteer to work with students who are paving the way for their families and keeping the culture alive.

Lauren Valenti, Head of Mainframe Education and Customer Engagement, Broadcom
Lauren is based in Melville, New York. Her team is focused on ensuring customers and partners, who have adopted Broadcom Mainframe Solutions, have the right technical training designed to acquire, maintain and improve their IT skills for the Mainframe. Lauren has held various positions in Marketing, Support, and Engineering since joining CA Technologies, now Broadcom, in 2000.

IDUG 2021 NA Db2 Tech Conference
2021-06-07 - 2021-06-16
Open Mainframe Project will be participating in the IDUG 2021 NA Db2 Tech Conference, taking place virtually on June 7-16, again this year. Several Open Mainframe Project members and leaders will be presenting sessions or keynotes.
June 8 at 7:30 am PST (10:30 am EST): Rocket Software’s Tim Willging, VP and Chief Architect, and Paul Bartak, Distinguished Engineer, will give a keynote address about optimizing Db2 for z/OS development and management. They’ll share ideas, strategies, and innovations that allow you to support greater agility across Db2 administration and development. With superior automation, intelligent assistance, and optimized user experiences, you will have the tools to align and elevate Db2 for z/OS with your enterprise’s broader innovation initiatives.
June 9 at 7:30 am PST (10:30 am EST): Greg Lotko, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Broadcom, will give a keynote presentation about new ways to amplify the value of your mainframe investment while also making your day-to-day life working with Db2 for z/OS easier.
June 9 at 12:55 pm PST (3:55 EST): Open Mainframe Project Ambassador Joe Winchester, Senior Technical Staff Member at IBM, will present “Software in Space – What can IT earthlings learn from space missions.”
June 11 at 10:50 am PST (1:50 pm EST): John Mertic, Director of Program Management at The Linux Foundation, will present the “(Re) Emergence of Open Source on Mainframe.”
Check out the complete schedule or register for the event at the IDUG main conference website.

VM Workshop 2021
2021-06-10 - 2021-06-11
The annual VM Workshop, which originally was planned for in-person at Ohio State University, will now take place virtually on June 10-11. Open Mainframe Project will be represented at the conference as several community leaders will be giving presentations. Check out the schedule below.
Friday, June 11 (EDT):
1:45-2:45 pm: Evangelizing IT’s Best Kept Secret to Students – Len Santalucia, Chair of the Open Mainframe Project Governing Board/ Vicom Infinity
3:30 – 4:15 pm: Kubernetes Management with Rancher – Mike Friesenegger, Chair of the Feilong project/SUSE
4:15 – 5 pm: Consolez – access z/VM consoles and more from a Web UI – Phil Tully, Chair of Open Mainframe Project’s Technical Steering Committee/ ADP
To learn more about the event or to register, visit the main VM Workshop page: http://vmworkshop.org/2021.shtml.

Women Who Code CONNECT Reimagine
2021-06-10 - 2021-06-11
REIMAGINE is a space to connect, level up technical skills, and find inspiration to reimagine your world.
Focused on Women Who Code, this is a full developer conference with great technical talks from industry leaders, experts, and peers. Discover new ways to connect with companies and your community. Technical tracks include topics like blockchain, mobile, web, cloud, data science, security, AI, and ML delivered through talks, workshops, and demos. Get actionable advice, share best practices, and meet people who believe that tech is better with women in it.
One of Open Mainframe Project leaders – IBM’s Elizabeth Joseph, Chair of the Software Discovery Tool project, will be speaking at the event on June 11 at 11:15 am – 12 pm (EDT). Her session, “You’re Running That on WHAT? Developing Software for Non-x86 Platforms” will discuss how many people don’t think twice about the hardware platform we’re developing software for, but what happens when it begins to matter?

To learn more about the conference or to register, visit the main Women Who Code Connect Reimagine website.

2021 Enterprise Computing Community (ECC) Conference
2021-06-13 - 2021-06-15
On June 13-15, Open Mainframe Project will be at the annual ECC Conference, which will be hosted virtually. Several Open Mainframe Project leaders will be in presenting at the conference – check out the schedule below.
Monday, June 14:
10:45 – 11:15 am: How a Student Modernized a Legacy Banking Application

Misty Decker, member of the COBOL Working Group/Micro Focus
Sudhanshu Dubey, Open Mainframe Project 2021 Summer Mentee

11:30 am – 12 pm: The Facts about COBOL (panel)

Moderator: Cameron Seay, Chair of the COBOL Working Group/ East Carolina University
Moderator: Len Santalucia, Chair of the Open Mainframe Project Governing Board/Vicom Infinity
Panelists: Members of Open Mainframe Project’s COBOL Working Group

2:15 – 2:45 pm: Death of the Mainframe? How Open Source Modernized the Mainframe

John Mertic, Director of Program Management, the Linux Foundation

3-3:30 pm: Teaching Bergen Community College students. You can do it too! COBOL and Linux skills for the IBM Z Mainframe (Panel)

Moderator: Len Santalucia, Chair of the Open Mainframe Project Governing Board/Vicom Infinity
Vincent Terrone, member of the Open Mainframe Project technical community/ Vicom Infinity
Emily Vandalovsky, Bergen Community College

Tuesday, June 15:
10:15 – 10:45 am: Watson Integration to Enterprise Open Source Performance Monitor

Alex Kim, member of the Zowe community/Vicom Infinity
Salisu Ali, Graduate of the 2020 Open Mainframe Project Mentorship Program
Len Santalucia, Chair of the Open Mainframe Project Governing Board/Vicom Infinity

3-3:30 pm: Create a Fully Automated CI/CD Pipeline for a z/OS Test Environment using Jenkins and Zowe

Subhasish Sarkar, member of the Zowe community/BMC Software

Open Mainframe Project is also a Bronze Sponsor of the ECC Conference. To learn more about the conference or to register for free, visit the main ECC Conference website: https://ecc.marist.edu/web/conference2021.

cdCON 2021
2021-06-23 - 2021-06-24
Open Mainframe Project will be participating in cdCON, a virtual event on June 23-24, for the first time this year with two presentations.
On Wednesday, June 23 at 7:45-8:15 am PST (10:45 – 11:15 am EST), Broadcom’s Daniel Kelosky, Software Architect, and Michael Bauer, Product Owner will give a presentation titled, “Mainframe DevOps and Modernization.” Add this to your schedule here.
This presentation will show traditional mainframe development practices and interfaces and how the practices and interfaces can be modernized with Open Mainframe Project’s Zowe framework. The session will be in the context of C and assembler language software development for z/OS, but the concepts apply to other language development for mainframe, like PL/1 or COBOL.
On Wednesday, June 23 at 11:30 am – 12 pm PST (8:30 – 9 am EST), John Mertic, Director of Program Management at the Linux Foundation, and Sudharsana Srinivasan, Program Manager at IBM, will lead a session titled, “Back to the Future with COBOL.” Add this to your schedule here.
Mainframe applications are the lifeblood of the global economy. COBOL is the lifeblood of those applications. Yet few people realise or acknowledge the profound impact the COBOL language has had over its 60 year history. Showcasing a brand new OMP Working Group, this session reveals COBOL’s secret history and the efforts of OMP and others to bring COBOL’s value to the public eye. The session will cover – 1. COBOL’s enduring value – how it stood the test of time 2. Recent trends to demonstrate COBOL’s ongoing popularity 3. The work of the OMP in promoting COBOL.
Open Mainframe Project is a proud sponsor of cdCON. To learn more about the conference or to register for it, visit the cdCON main event site: https://events.linuxfoundation.org/cdcon/

Zowe Quarterly Update - July 2021
2021-07-21 08:30 - 09:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Whether you are a Zowe User, Contributor, Extender or simply interested in what’s happening with Zowe – we invite you to the next Quarterly Update Webinar on July 21 at 8:30 am PT /11:30 am ET (US and Canada). This is the fourth in the series of webinars we plan to host each quarter that includes a topic, Zowe Squad update, brief Zowe update, community events overview and interactive polls.
In this session, you’ll learn more about the Zowe Explorer Team Configuration. Register today for this webinar: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8-Ktj-0NQYeA1RGXA-dhXQ.
Zowe Explorer is adopting the Team Configuration File (recently developed by the Zowe CLI Squad) – designed to make profile management more centralized and much simpler. In this webinar, you’ll learn more details about the configuration, how users can try it and ask questions.
Speaker: Jessielaine (Jelly) Punongbayan, Product Owner at Broadcom and the Lead for Zowe Explorer Squad and an Open Mainframe Project Ambassador. Jessielaine is a modern mainframe engineer who has experience in both mainframe and distributed systems. She is passionate in finding new solutions to modernize mainframe and share it with the community through her blogs and video tutorials. She is a committer for Zowe Explorer, Zowe CLI and Zowe Mobile Application. Additionally, she is also part of the TSC for Open Mainframe Project COBOL Programming Course and a member of the COBOL Working Group.

Unmasking Our 'Whole Self': Can We Create Inclusive Psychologically Safe Spaces in the Workplace?’ Webinar
2021-07-28 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
In the third webinar installation of the Making Our Strong Community, Stronger collaborative initiative on diversity, equity and inclusion, ‘Unmasking Our ‘Whole Self’: Can We Create Inclusive Psychologically Safe Spaces in the Workplace?’ we look at how the pressures of the pandemic have heightened racial, gender and additional inequalities.
Register for the July 28 webinar at 9 am PDT/12 pm EDT here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9lBJWkNzSpChfbUQoa8n3w.
Work/life integration is the modern equivalent of work/life balance, and inherent in this is the idea that your “whole self” is welcome at work. As the last many months demonstrated, there is less separation between work and personal lives than we originally thought. But this idea of work/life integration and its influence on corporate inclusion plays out differently for different people, when being your “whole self” is a privilege—while some may be comfortable being their genuine “whole self” at work, others (especially those from more diverse populations) still feel a need to wear a mask based on how they are expected to behave but not who they really are. How can we create psychologically safe spaces where all employees feel comfortable bringing their “whole selves” or more of themselves to work? Panelists for this webinar include:

Allyson B. Cook, Program Lead, Customer Engagement Programs, Broadcom
Earl Dixon Jr., Principal Client Services, Vitality Program Tech Lead, Broadcom
Kevin Norlin, Chief Revenue Officer, Rocket Software
Tina Tarquinio, Product Management Director for IBM Z, IBM

We are also pleased to host a unique event after the webinar for attendees only: Dr. Gloria Chance, our webinar moderator and President/CEO of The Mousai Group, will hold a private Town Hall on July 29 at 9-10 am PDT for attendees to join the conversation, bringing their own experiences and questions into this growing DE&I community.
The Making Our Strong Community, Stronger collaborative initiative is sponsored by Broadcom Mainframe Software, IBM, Open Mainframe Project, Rocket Software, TechChannel and VirtualZ Computing.

Zowe 1.23 Live System Demo
2021-08-04 06:00 - 07:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Open Mainframe Project is excited to announce that Zowe 1.23 release is now available! OnAugust 4 at 6-7 am PST/ 9-10 am EST, Zowe squads will share the new benefits of the release as well as live demos to see these features in action.

What: Live Zowe Demos and Q&A
When: Wednesday, August 4 at 6-7 am PST/9-10 am EST
Where: https://zoom.us/j/94784372343
Add to your calendar: https://lists.openmainframeproject.org/g/zowe-dev/viewevent?eventid=1205575&calstart=2021-08-04

This is a great way to not only see the new features and enhancements, but to ask questions to the teams who work on Zowe and give them input that will help shape future release items. Key 1.23 features include API Mediation Layer authentication based load balancing, improvements to the Docker and High Availability tech previews, allowing the Zowe cLI to filter data sets by volume serial number, and for the Zowe Explorer a number of enhancements for refreshing UI content and an improved developer guide.

Check out the last few demo presentations here:

Zowe 1.22 Release Highlights and Demo Video
Zowe 1.21 Release Highlights and Demo Video

SHARE Virtual
2021-08-09 - 2021-08-13
The SHARE virtual conference (#SHAREvirtual21) is hosting its summer session on August 9-13. There will be more than 100 live sessions and 100 on-demand presentations focused on a variety of topics related to mainframes. Several Open Mainframe Project community leaders will be speaking at the event about Zowe, COBOL and other topics. Take a look at the details below and add these sessions to your schedule.
Monday, August 9:
12 – 12:45 pm: How Zowe made the mainframe open, simple and familiar – Joe Winchester, IBM
The Zowe project launched at Share in August 2019, will be two years old this month ! This talk will cover how the project has grown up to where it is today, with its core components, its incubators, its community, and its customers. The focus will be on how Zowe has been deployed as infrastructure for education classes, at customer sites for automating system operations and devops tasks, by developers learning VS Code rather than ISPF, and by vendors modernizing their mainframe software tools by onboarding them within the Zowe technology stack. Attendees to this talk will get to hear real world examples of where Zowe has been a success, together with where it didn’t meet customer needs but was able to evolve and add missing or new features. Speakers include a customer, and a student who has done Master the Mainframe before and after Zowe.
1:15 – 1:35 pm: What’s new with Zowe CLI? – Rose Sakach and Michael Bauer, Broadcom
Join us for a review of some key CLI features planned for the Zowe V2 LTS release. From converting to the new profile configuration offering easier onboarding for CLI users, to nearly instantaneous response time for interactive commands, we will include the value-add details and help prepare you on how best to take advantage of each of them.
1:40 – 2 pm: Configuring Zowe CLI with new team configuration – Eugene Johnston, Broadcom
The Zowe Team Configuration replaces the current method of defining application profile properties. The goal is to enable team members to easily share their configuration. We will discuss how this changes the way users configure Zowe-CLI.
Tuesday, August 10:
10 – 10:30 am: Colleagues in Corvettes Getting Cappuccinos – Greg Lotko, Broadcom
Join us for a fun-filled session and learn about some of the latest mainframe trends and best practices.
10:45 – 11:05 am: Top 5 (and more) reasons customers modernize with Zowe’s API mediation layer – Rose Sakach and Michal Supak, Broadcom
Do not miss this session if you are beyond experimenting with Zowe. We will describe the critical role of the API Mediation layer and share some tips and tricks for installation.
11:10 – 11:30 am: Using a Zowe CLI plugin to manage mainframe developer workspaces – Vaughn Marshall and Michael Vasak, Broadcom
Modern developer workflows involve coding in a working directory, typically opened in an IDE. Using CLI’s like Git, they are able to easily sync and integrate changes from other developers via a single command. No tracking what you’ve changed or where conflicts lie hidden in the central repo. In this session we’ll see how we constructed a similar experience for mainframe developers using a Zowe CLI plugin.
11:45 am – 12:05 pm: DIY Zowe Explorer Starter Kit – Jessielaine Caidic Punongbayan and Richelle Anne Craw – Broadcom

o you want to build a mainframe VS Code extension but don’t know where to begin? Good news! We have just what you need to get you started. In this session we will talk about building VS Code extensions using Zowe Explorer extensible APIs. We will share code samples, tips and tricks and best practices so that you don’t have to start from scratch. We will also discuss what you need to keep in mind while building, in order to be compatible with the Zowe Explorer conformance criteria.

Wednesday, August 11:
12:45 – 1:30 pm: Do you really understand mainframe modernization? – Ed Airey and Misty Decker, Micro Focus
The phrase Modernization has been used frequently in the last year, but do you really understand what Modernization means when it comes to Mainframes? Does it mean moving off of the mainframe or rewriting COBOL applications in Java? Modernization means many things to many people and differs based on the requirements and the desired outcome. Today’s demands require mainframe applications to do more for the business—connect, share, integrate and secure—across networks, devices, platforms and the cloud. All while running the business and keeping the lights on. These mammoth mainframe systems aren’t going away either. Rather than a re-write or replacement strategy which is prone to cost overruns and risk of failure, IT leaders are looking to modernization as a pragmatic path to achieve IT transformation. During this session, we will: • introduce a new mind-set to mainframe modernization including how to re-think digital change for IBM Z applications. • Share the research into the effectiveness of various techniques. • explore how your organization can get started quickly along this modernization journey by leveraging best practices, proven technology and choosing the best modernization technique for your unique situation.
3:45 – 4:30 pm: Avoid unconscious bias to become a better professional – Misty Decker, Micro Focus
What does unconscious bias have to do with being an ally? In this session, we’ll explore this question and in the process learn something about ourselves. We’ll start with a revealing riddle and an exploration of unconscious bias, learning how we all have biases. Then we’ll discuss what it means to be an ally, including specific actions you can take to help others. Finally we’ll explore how an awareness of our own biases is essential to being an ally.
3:45 – 4:30 pm: What’s new in cloud provisioning and management with continuous delivery – Hiren Shah, IBM
Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS allows middleware system programmers to create software service templates that provision IBM® middleware, such as IBM Customer Information Control System (CICS®), IBM DB2®, IBM Information Management System (IMS™), IBM MQ, and IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS). System programmers can track software instances that were provisioned from those templates. Application developers can quickly provision and deprovision an environment as needed through a self-service software services marketplace. In this session we will go over new enhancements provided in Cloud Provisioning and Management with continuous delivery stream.
Friday, August 13:
11 – 11:45 am: Shh! Don’t say the M-word; How to talk about mainframes – Misty Decker, Micro Focus
To the non-mainframer, the word “Mainframe” comes with lots of assumptions, usually not complimentary. In this session, we’ll explore the word “Mainframe”. – Explore the wide range of ways people use the word “mainframe” and the confusion that can ensue. – Learn how you can explain what you do in a way anyone can understand. – Learn how to convince people mainframes are cool with just a few words.
Register for the SHARE conference here: https://www.share.org/Events/SHARE-Virtual-Experience/Registration.

Code PaLOUsa 2021
2021-08-18 - 2021-08-20
Codepalousa is a multi-day software development conference designed to cover all aspects of software development regardless of technology stack. The conference features presentations from well-known professionals in the software development community and virtual booths where leading software development companies come to interact with attendees to show off their latest wares. Open Mainframe Project Ambassadors Joe Winchester, Jessielaine Punongbayan, Richelle Anne Craw as well as John Mertic, Open Mainframe Project Director, will be presenting several sessions including:
Joe Winchester, Wowee it’s Zowe – how the mainframe got its groove again – Thursday, August 19 at 8:30 am EDT
The mainframe is often viewed as a legacy 65 year old computing platform operated by grey (or zero) haired developers typing 8 letter commands into green screens. This talk myth busts that stereotype and discusses the growth of the mainframe in today’s hybrid computing world, especially around the Linux Foundation’s Zowe project. This provides a command line interface, a VS Code extension, academic initiative training courses, and is a bridge to modern tech stacks around Jenkins, Node.js, Swift, Golang and more. https://www.codepalousa.com/Sessions/1983
Jessielaine Punongbayan and Richelle Anne Craw: VS Code for Green Screen Developers. Thursday August 19th 9:45am EST
Mainframe modernization is an unavoidable topic for every developer these days, whether your tool is the traditional green screen or another IDE. How does the coding experience differ between the two? In this session, we will showcase a side-by-side comparison on these development environments, based on our experience using both. We will also dig into what the different mainframe VSCode extensions are, how to take advantage of automation in VS Code, and how to integrate product-specific components and other open source tools in the developer workflow. https://www.codepalousa.com/Sessions/1997
Jessielaine Punongbayan and Richelle Anne Craw: COBOL Coding in the Cloud. Friday August 20th 8:30am EST
How do you imagine coding in COBOL? Join this session as we give you a glimpse of our day as COBOL developers working with Eclipse Che4z, a mainframe development tool that blurs the lines between mainframe and distributed environments. Come and hear about the tips and tricks we learned first-hand; the technologies involved; and the challenges we experienced, switching from traditional green screen development to Cloud IDEs. We will discuss the benefits of using a cloud managed mainframe stack and how quickly we can provision our development environment and get started with team collaboration. https://www.codepalousa.com/Sessions/2049
John Mertic and Joe Winchester: Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? – Friday, August 20 at 9:45 am EST
The Mainframe computer is over 65 years old, and has a dual personality of either being viewed as a proprietary thing of the past or else a hidden closed locked down machine as espoused in Hollywood movie plots. The truth is neither, and a huge amount of mainframe computing workload today comes from open source tooling. This talks show the use of Linux Foundation tools, especially Zowe, Jenkins, modern tools such as VS Code, IntelliJ, modern languages like Node.js, Java, Swift, Golang, and more. A lot of the mainframe’s growth comes not from tech, but from its ability to build communities and academic learning initiatives. From what was once a platform businesses were leaving due to stagnation, this talk shows the turnaround and the important lessons to be learned that apply to any technology wishing to survive beyond its 50th birthday. https://www.codepalousa.com/Sessions/2061
Learn more about the conference or register for it here: https://www.codepalousa.com/Default.aspx

I am a Mainframer: Personal Stories and Lessons from the Next Generation of Mainframe Developers
2021-08-18 08:00 - 09:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join us on Wednesday, August 18 at 8-9 am PDT for a new webinar that explores “Personal Stories and lessons from the next generation of mainframe Developers.”
Five open source mainframe developers will share their personal journey into the mainframe, covering what they’re working on, the challenges and issues (good and bad) and their experiences with customers, the open source community, and more.
One of the challenges of open source and projects like Zowe is how it can reinvent a 60 year old computing platform for the next generation of developers and system programmers and architects at tomorrow’s IT companies.
This webinar will shine the light on four key Open Mainframe community members who are playing their part and open the lid on their successes, failures, and questions and answers for the secret sauce that is powering Zowe and other Open Mainframe Projects they are involved with. The success of Zowe and the Open Mainframe Project comes in large part from the diversity and background of its committers, and this panel brings together a group that includes the Zowe Technical Steering Committee lead together with squad members from different companies.
Speakers include:

Joe Winchester, Senior Technical Staff Member at IBM (Moderator)
Jakub Balhar, Staff Software Engineer at Broadcom and Zowe TSC Chair
Lauren Li, Front-End Developer at IBM
Leanid Astrakou, Staff Software Engineer at Rocket
Leonid Baranov, Staff Software Engineer at Broadcom
Ashley (Nan Nan) Li, Content Designer at IBM

Register for the webinar here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XxwiPaFtRreDN1aONdQa_A.
